From the Windup is Matt Snyder's weekly look at some aspect of America's pastime.
Zack Greinke has been the best pitcher in the majors this season.
That statement wouldn't be disputed by anyone other than people who look only at won-loss record and nothing more. I'm not suggesting you throw that stat out the window, but you can take Greinke's 15-8 record, combine it with everything else, and still come to the conclusion that the best pitcher in 2009 plays for the Kansas City Royals.
With that in mind, I wanted to create a starting rotation from the past decade of pitchers who were similarly plagued by a less-than-stellar record, while also sporting filthy numbers elsewhere. It's the Zack Greinke Tribute Team.
[Note: We only used guys who finished in the top 10 in ERA and made at least 30 starts -- this group comprises the best five resumes from 2000-2008 with 15 wins or less and 7 losses or more who finished outside the top three in Cy Young voting]
Cole Hamels, Phillies (2008): He ranked in the top 10 among NL pitchers in ERA (3.09, sixth), strikeouts (196, sixth), shutouts (two, tied for third), complete games (two, tied for sixth), quality starts (23, tied for fourth), K/BB (3.70, fifth among full-time starters) and WHIP (first among qualified starters at 1.08). Hamels even played for a division and World Series champion, winning MVP of the Fall Classic. Consider all this, and then consider that he didn't net a single vote for the Cy Young. The culprit? Probably Hamels' unlucky 14-10 record.
Roy Oswalt, Astros (2006): Oswalt ranked in the top 10 among NL pitchers in ERA (2.95, first), innings pitched (219 2/3, eighth), K/BB (4.34, third among full-time starters) and WHIP (1.17, fifth among full-time starters). He walked only 38 batters, which translated to a career-low 1.5 per nine innings. Oswalt did finish fourth in Cy Young voting, likely due to the fact that his 15-8 record was among the best in the league that season.
Jake Peavy, Padres (2005): Peavy got only 30 starts in '05, but he made them count. He -- again, despite making just 30 starts -- led the NL in strikeouts with 216. He also finished top 10 in the league in ERA (2.88, fifth), complete games (three, tied for sixth), shutouts (three, third), K/BB (4.32, fourth), K/9 (9.58, second among full-time starters ... to Mark Prior?!) and WHIP (1.04, third among full-time starters). Peavy's 13-7 record didn't do him any favors as he failed to collect a single Cy Young vote (in fairness, it was a stacked year -- though I would have at least thrown him a vote before Chad Cordero).
Ben Sheets, Brewers (2004): First things first, let's commend the voters who had enough vision to throw Sheets enough votes to finish eighth in Cy Young voting. He had a losing record (12-14), so there were probably many who automatically eliminated him because of that. But look at the rest, and tell me why he should be penalized for how bad his team was. He finished top 10 in the NL in ERA (2.70), strikeouts (264, second only to the Big Unit), innings pitched (237, third), walks allowed (just 32, first among qualified pitchers and one fewer than Greg Maddux), complete games (five, second), K/BB (first with an obscene 8.25), K/9 (10.03, fifth) and WHIP (0.98, second). This was actually one of the best pitching seasons of the decade, and he was stuck with a losing record on a team that went 67-94.
Kerry Wood, Cubs (2003): The Cubs had a Cy Young candidate in 2003 as Mark Prior finished third. He (rightfully) overshadowed a stellar season from Wood. Kid K finished in the top 10 in the NL in ERA (3.20, sixth), strikeouts (266, first), complete games (four, tied for fourth), shutouts (two, tied for third) and K/9 (11.35, first among full-time starters). Opponents hit just .203 against Wood. Yet, he was cursed with bad fortune in the win-loss column. He went just 14-11, compared to Prior who went 18-6. Thus, no Cy votes.
When compiling this list, two things jumped out at me. First of all, everyone on the Tribute Team played in the National League. We're all aware the NL is the much more pitcher-friendly league -- routinely sporting a lower average ERA -- so this makes sense.
It also makes what Greinke is doing in 2009 that much more impressive.
The numbers from everyone on the Tribute Team absolutely pale in comparison to Greinke's '09 line. It's just not even remotely close (yeah, that's redundant, but Greinke's line is so ridiculous it causes me to go a bit haywire). In fact, I'm going to list his stats relative to the entire major leagues, just to show how excellent he's been.
He leads the majors with a 2.08 ERA. His 229 strikeouts trail only Tim Lincecum and Justin Verlander for the lead. Only Roy Halladay has more complete games and Greinke's three shutouts lead the majors. Only Felix Hernandez has made more quality starts. Greinke's 4.87 K/BB rate is exceptional and his 1.06 WHIP places him first in the American League (in fact, he's one of only two American Leaguers in the top 10 in all of baseball in WHIP). If you want to get into sabermetrics, only Lincecum has a better DIPS (defense-independent pitching) among full-time starters. His ERA+ is 210, which is the third highest this decade (behind only Pedro Martinez in 2000 and Roger Clemens in 2005). His opponents are slugging just .336 and getting on base at a .272 clip.
Put simply, we are witnessing one of the most dominant pitching seasons in recent memory -- if not baseball history. If Greinke pitched for a large-market team, you'd already be sick of hearing about his greatness.
In fact, Hall of Famer Jim Rice recently said Greinke reminded him of a right-handed Roger Moret. Rice played with Moret in 1973 when he went 13-2 and again in 1975 when Moret compiled a 14-3 record.
Of course, Rice meant it as an insult (and it really was, if you've seen Moret's stats other than his record in those two seasons), saying Greinke "didn't really impress" him. It's even more of an insult when you consider the sad end to Moret's career.
Rice did us the justice of copping to the fact that "maybe" he caught Greinke on a "bad night." Thanks, Jim. It was a rough one for Greinke -- throwing six shutout innings of two-hit baseball against a Red Sox team that has scored the third most runs in the majors this season and had won 10 of 12 entering the game. I mean, what's so impressive about that?
Digression/sarcasm aside, another difference between the ZGTT (how ya like that acronym?) and its namesake is that Greinke will be finishing in the top three of Cy Young voting. It seems the voters are collectively turning themselves around on the whole win-loss thing, otherwise CC Sabathia would take home the brass.
Fortunately, not many (any?) members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, the body that votes on postseason awards, have been writing compelling arguments for anyone else to win the Cy Young. Let's hope that means they are collectively ready to pull the trigger on a Greinke vote.
I believe that's exactly what is going to happen. Greinke's season deserves the proper documentation and the award would be the icing on that proverbial cake.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-25-2009 @ 12:32PM
baseballfan said...
I agree with you, there is no comparison between Zack Greinke and Felix Hernandez
for this years Cy Young award, it is hands down Felix Hernandez. You would have to have your head in the sand to not see that.
Felix – 17 wins Zack – 15 wins; Felix – 5 losses Zack – 8 losses; Winning percentage:
Felix - .772 Zack - .652;
Please don’t even bring up run support in this argument, for Felix plays for a team that scores the fewest runs by a long shot in the “Entire American League”. Hernandez plays for a team that averages 3.95 runs per game (last in the AL) while Greinke's team scores an average of 4.24 runs per game.
14 of Felix’s wins have come directly after a Mariner loss; which you sharp baseball minds know is a big thing in avoiding long losing streaks.
Which player’s efforts was the bigger factor in there teams performing better this year ?
Felix has been instrumental in raising the Seattle Mariner record this year to 80-73, and 7 GAMES OVER .500, from a team that was 40 GAMES BELOW .500 last year at 61-101. That is a 47 game turnaround in the win-loss column, rarely ever seen; while how big a factor was Zack really in the Royals going from a team that was 75-87 last year to now a Royal team 27 games under .500 at 63-90 ?
Seattle's ace has 10 no-decisions, two more than Greinke
Longest Winning Streak: Hernandez's longest winning streak was seven games, one longer than Greinke's hottest streak
Saving your teams Bullpen : Hernandez has pitched at least seven innings 22 times, Greinke only 19 times.
Zack does have a lower era, but who is that against ?
Who faced Tougher Opponents: Seattle plays regularly in a far tougher division, where the combined win loss totals of the other teams is 35 games OVER .500; Kansas City plays in a division that its combined win/loss totals are 20 games BELOW .500 .
BIGGEST TEST: how do they stack up against the best teams : Hernandez has a 10-3 record against teams with a winning record this season, a .770% clip; while Greinke is 6-4, just 2 games over .500 .
Felix Hernandez is 5-1 against probable playoff teams and Greinke is 4-2.
People get real: if Zack loses one or two of his next starts he could end up with a record of 15-10 , and that truly is the person you believe to be the next Cy Young ?
Better yet, ask the Yankees who they would rather face Felix or Zack this year; oh that’s right Zack never faced the likes of the Yankees in 2009.
KirklandTom – (voice for common sense).
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9-25-2009 @ 1:22PM
Matt said...
W-L is a terrible measure of a pitcher's season because it evaluates the whole team's performance, and not the individual. You, however, used it as the crux of your argument. I mean, good night, you didn't even bring up ERA because it favors Grienke.
Just, man. You should be a politician for all that smoke and mirrors.
9-25-2009 @ 12:44PM
Felix Hernandez said...
I would vote for Zack Grienke. He is a better pitcher.
~ Felix Hernandez
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9-25-2009 @ 3:11PM
mkinzer1 said...
He did mention ERA, Matt, didnt you read the whole post. He makes a good argument for Felix and Seattle does play in a tougher division than KC. I would put the 2 about even though, but the reality of it is Sabathia is going to get it because he will have 20 wins and the guy with the most wins on the team with the best record more times than not wins the CY over the pitchers with the overall best stats. Watch and see.
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9-25-2009 @ 3:45PM
Matt said...
I guess he kind of brought it up, only to go straight back to wins and losses. Doesn't change the fact that win-loss record is the worst method folks use to evaluate pitchers.
9-25-2009 @ 8:14PM
Padrick said...
Just because you are too lazy to do a little research.
Against the vaunted and amazing AL West:
Greinke: 3-2, 0.94 ERA in 48 innings
Hernandez: 4-2, 2.81 ERA in 67.1 innings.
Against the crappy, awful, should be contracted AL Central:
Greinke: 7-3, 1.81 ERA in 104.1 innings.
Hernandez: 5-1, 2.09 ERA in 56 innings.
Who is the better pitcher again?
Oh right, it's Greinke, no question.
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9-25-2009 @ 8:56PM
sphinxter said...
Wow, trying to throw out run support without actually looking it up. Felix has been getting 4.31 runs per game in the games he has started. Greinke has been getting 3.75. Yes, that is a huge difference. Greinke has received three runs or less run support nineteen times. Felix, "only" twelve.
You sir, have no clue what you're talking about.
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9-26-2009 @ 9:33AM
baseballfan said...
Listen – Felix Hernandez is less than perfect – but you people talk like Greinke is light’s out everytime out and that the only reason Zack loses is because he has bad luck where his Royal team does not score for him on the day he pitches. On the days he takes the mound the team is only one game above .500 at 16-15. The Mariner’s are 23-9 on day’s Felix pitches. That’s it – in a nutshell. They both have poor offensive teams supporting them, but one finds a way to win a much higher percentage of the time.
Even Zack would have told you in these games he could have done more to get the Royals a win then he did. Try asking him yourself:
August 19th: 4 earned runs in 7 innings in Chicago 4-2 loss
Aug 3rd : 6 earned runs in 5 innings in Tampa Bay 10-4 loss
July 8 : 3 earned runs in 6 innings in Detroit 3-1 loss
July 3rd : 4 runs – 2 earned runs in 6 innings in CWS 5-0 loss
June 17th: 6 runs ( 4 earned runs) in 6 innings in Arizona 12-5 loss
June 5th: 7 runs in 5 innings (5 earned runs) in Toronto 9-3 loss
June 11th : no decision, 3 runs in 7 innings loss to Cleveland 4-3
May 31st : 4 runs (3 earned runs) in taking 7-4 loss against Chicago WS
These don’t all look like some 1-0 hard-luck loss as many of you try to portray. He has performed well –no doubt; But Felix has performed better.
Would you rather have a pitcher that has a .4 lower era garnered in a inferior league, or someone who knows how to simply Win games - which is what their job is !
Good pitchers manage a game in an effort to win it, much like a quarterback in football; If your ahead in a game you pitch differently than if your behind or tied. Great pitchers find a way to win those games, whether it be 1-0, or 3-2. Roger Clemens did not win the era title every year but certainly won his share of Cy Young awards.
Both pitchers have great ERA's; one had achieved theirs, some might say, pitching in a weaker division. The Mariners may very well being playing in the toughest: http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/09/23/mlb-power-rankings-al-west-is-best/#cont .
The Mariner's, a team that cannot score a run to save their lives, would only be 2.5 games out of 1st place in that weak division. Era is a great stat to help guage one's value but is not the only stat. Working long into games helps your bullpen, thus helps your team win more games in the long run. Putting a W up when your team has recently lost is a huge factor in a teams success, and no one has done that better than Felix. But above all, finding a way to win, especially when runs are hard to come by, is the making of a true CY Young. And Felix's winning percentage is better than even CC's, who gets a huge an enormous amount of run support. Felix has had 10 no decisions, and with any type of support he would have 25 wins this year.
Felix's value cannot be understated; they have improved their record from 40 games under .500, to 7 over .500; while Zack has been so important to a Royal team that took a huge step backward this year.
Look - both are great pitchers, and have done a super job, but Felix has put the weight of a 100 plus losing franchise on his back and has perfomed outstanding this year, and for which I believe makes him worthy of the CY Young Award !
Yours Truly,
Kirklandtom
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9-26-2009 @ 11:09AM
Padrick said...
Dude,
Greinke's 2009 season is one of the 20 best pitching seasons in American League history. To say that anyone, save for maybe — MAYBE — Lincecum, has been better at him at pitching a baseball this season is flat-out wrong.
Every available metric shows that Greinke has been better. Wins, however, are a flawed and awful tool to use to measure a pitcher's effectiveness. A win is more a measure of how the team performs, not the pitcher.
Also, are you seriously saying the AL West is a tougher division than the AL East or the NL West? Even so, Greinke pitched better against the AL West and the AL Central than did Hernandez.
And if it's only wins you care about, Hernandez doesn't have a leg to stand on. CC Sabathia holds a one-win edge on him.
Also, the Mariners aren't making the playoffs regardless of division. They are a perfectly mediocre baseball team.
Do you really want to run down all the individual bad performances Hernandez had? I don't think so. Plus it is an awful argument. We are looking over the course of the season.
As season in which Greinke has absolutely destroyed.
9-28-2009 @ 7:52PM
Eric said...
"On the days he (Greinke) takes the mound the team is only one game above .500 at 16-15. The Mariner’s are 23-9 on day’s Felix pitches. That’s it – in a nutshell."
So...doesn't this make more of a case for Greinke? If he has a good outing, there's a good chance the team loses after he leaves, meaning a ND for Greinke and a worse team record than his personal record. If he has a poor outing, the chance that the team recovers and wins is low, so the record isn't much better than Greinke's record.
I do think W-L is a horrible metric for pitching performance, but even in this example, it seems like you're proving that Greinke is better than Hernandez.
By the way, you're = you are, your = possessive.
Look, Felix Hernandez is a good pitcher who has had a very good season, but you might want to settle down. Greinke's season has been better.
9-27-2009 @ 3:01PM
baseballfan said...
"20 best pitching seasons in American League history. "
Ridiculous comment;
I wish you had the opportunity to tell the baseball greats that little old Zack's 15-8 season stacks up there with the greatest of all time; be sure to mention to them that Zack’s ERA was achieved in a weak division and he never faced the NY Yankees. I wonder how Walter Johnson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Christy Mathewson, Lefty Grove, Steve Carlton, Bob Gibson or Cy Young himself would feel about such a statement; They would probably have offered half their paycheck back for a season like that, and could fill you in on what a season is like when you "absolutely destroy" the competition. Now-a-days a quality outing is considered going 6 innings, and being relieved by a specialist, when back in the day that was considered a complete failure.
Felix is the Best . It's about Wins AND Losses. I suppose you would rather have a pitcher that was 20-19 instead of 19-5. Get real. It's about both ! Look, if their pitching records were near identical - yes you bring in era or some other stats, but Greinke has lost almost twice as many games as Felix . Felix wins games at a .773 % clip, while pitching on a team that has only scored 609 runs this year, by far the lowest in the American League. CC is 19-7 which is a good win pct of .760 % while pitching for a team that scores enormous amount of runs (879) . Greinke at 15-8 a .652 % mark would not even be in the discussion if not for era he compiled in his weak division, where the Royals have scored 658 runs thus far. You start with the record then you look at the other stats not vice versa. Zack has a .4 better era than Felix, but the records are not even close, even though Felix has faced much tougher competition. If Greinke had the same era and was 8-15 would we be having this discussion - no; because the Win - Loss record counts.
Felix pitch’s for a team that lost over 100 games last year and is vastly better this year with his outstanding performance; What exactly has Zack done that has made the Royals so much better this year with one of the "20 best pitching seasons in American League history."
Ridiculous comment - study your baseball history and then spout off.
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9-28-2009 @ 11:06AM
Padrick said...
http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/earned_run_avg_plus_leagues.shtml
ERA+, a metric that adjusts for park and era, with 100 being average. Greinke clocks in at 213, one of just 12 seasons of ERA+ in American League history.
As for your ridiculous hypothetical about a 20-19 pitcher vs. a 219-5 pitcher: I can't chose. I have no idea which pitcher is better when you just give wins. What if the guy that was 19-5 had and ERA of like 4.30 and a WHIP of 1.35 and the 20-19 guy was sporting like 3.70 and 1.15? I'd probably pick the latter, but it doesn't matter, because I don't have to make that choice, because those people do exist.
Greinke and Hernandez do exist, however, and given a choice between them, I would pick Greinke over ever other pitcher in the American League this year.
In fact, I would pick him over every other player in the AL this year, aside from Joe Mauer.
Yes, I have a bit of hard-on for Greinke, but he has been, far and away, the best pitcher in the AL.
He leads Hernandez 88.2 to 70.5 in VORP, roughly the same difference between Hernandez and Jon Lester.
Hernandez has been very, very good this year, but not as good as Greinke. Look at their WARP — which measures the number of wins a player contributed above an average replacement player — numbers: Greinke leads Hernandez 10.5-6.3 in WARP1, 11.5-7 in WARP2 and 11.9-7.2 WARP.
I get that the Mariners do not score a lot of runs, but they do score some runs for Hernandez, at least, more than the Royals score for Greinke. I don't see how Seattle not being able to score when like Vargas or Fister starts has any impact at all on Hernandez.
Also, Greinke is better at striking out opposing batters, the most important thing a pitcher can do. Greinke averages 9.55 strikeouts per nine innings; Hernandez comes in at 8.3.
Just to get back to the historical argument. Yes, Greinke has been that good this season. I am tired of making this argument, here we go.
Mathewson didn't even play in the American. He was awesome, yes. In the National League. I don't begrudge him that, but seriously, that's not even cogent to what I was arguing. Same with Grover Cleveland.
They were all really good for a long period of time, and some had phenomenal single seasons in the 20s and early 1900s. You know who else is having a phenomenal single season?
Zack Greinke.
9-28-2009 @ 2:21PM
baseballfan said...
RE: “ Greinke is better at striking out opposing batters, the most important thing a pitcher can do.”
Both pitchers have over 200 k’s this year, but that is not the most important thing for a pitcher to do; a pitcher’s job is to give up fewer runs than the opposing pitcher. Mr. history buff - if it was all about k’s, tell me how many Cy Youngs the greatest strikeout pitcher (Nolan Ryan) of all-time won ? That would be none !
You are no different than any of the other ignorant individuals who tout a pitcher who is 15-8. Who believe that the ERA is the only criteria for selecting a Cy Young award winner and that the pitching record is completely meaningless . So if Cliff Lee, last years Cy winner had his same stats this year, 22-3 with a 2.54 era, he would not win the Cy Young award because Greinke had a lower era ? Cliff Lee’s era was higher than Felix’s ? and we know that wins are solely a team accomplishment according to the brainiacs on this site.
Take a look at recent Cy Young history :
2007 the era leader was John Lackey , 3.01 era, with a 19-9 record, but the Cy Young winner was Sabathia who finished 5th in the league in era (3.21), but had a slightly better record of 19-7 .
Bartolo Colon won the Cy Young in 2005, but was 8th in era, with a record of 21-8 and a 3.48 era.
In 2003 Roy Halladay won the Cy Young with 22 wins and a 3.25 era (5th Best), while being over a full point higher than Pedro Martinez in era (2.22).
In 2002 Barry Zito won the award with a 23-5 record even though Pedro Martinez 20-4 led the league with a 2.26 era, .5 lower than Zito.
2001 – Freddy Garcia was 18-6, had the lowest era in the league at 3.05, was 1st in innings pitched. 1st in opponents batting average, and at/or near the top in most other categories, but lost out to someone named Roger Clemens because he had a better pitching win loss record (20-3); the same meaningless record that is strictly a team accomplishment – because he certainly did not win it with his 3.51 era ! Maybe Freddy could have used the complaint that Clemens had better run support that year, and should have received the award !
Nobody ever wins the Cy Young award on era alone; by chance the winner may also hold the era title but they won the Cy Young award on their won-loss record. That is both Wins AND Losses. A pitcher that is 20-3 is usually regarded better than someone 21-12. Thus you go by wins and losses. And Felix Hernandez has it over the Cy Young Finalists on that merit; while also having the 2nd lowest era, for those of you that are enamored by this stat.
Remember stats are only comparable if the variables are the same; and in this case they are vastly different. To exaggerate this point: If the Royals played the Yankees and Redsox everyday and another pitcher, pitcher “B” faced the likes of only the Baltimore Orioles throughout the season, could you seriously make a fair comparison of Greinke and pitcher B’s stats. If you are unsure – ask your science teacher.
To predict the future – simply look at the past ! I don’t have to convince you of anything, I am just stating how the Cy Young has been voted on for decades.
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9-28-2009 @ 5:07PM
Padrick said...
I am not saying Hernandez or even Sabathia won't win, just that they shouldn't.
Greinke has been the best pitcher in the American League this year, and it's not just ERA that shows that. It is every available metric that measures an individual's value to his baseball team.
Of course the Royals are going to have a worse record than the Mariners; the Royals are bad at baseball. Greinke, however, is really awesome at baseball.
Yes preventing runs is important, but a pitcher can only do so much when the ball is put in play. Really, and I am kind of stealing from Voros McCracken here, a pitcher can control about three things when he takes the mound: strike outs, home runs and walks. Once the ball is in play, it essentially becomes a crap shoot as far as the result. Obviously it helps if you are prone to keeping the ball on the ground, but other than that, there is not much you can.
Nolan Ryan is notorious, absolutely notorious, for walking a whole bunch of batters. Yes, he struck out people, but he also put a lot, a lot, and I cannot stress this enough, A LOT, of people on base, and that is the opposite of good pitching.
Greinke is striking out people and keeping them off the bases and keeping the ball inside the park, and those are the best things a pitcher can do.
Wins, as always, are a culmination of several acts on a baseball field, not just one individual performance.
And it is not just ERA that supports Greinke's case, it is literally every single available individual metric. VORP, ERA+, WARP-1, WARP-2, WARP-3. It is insane how good Greinke has been.
And it doesn't take away from Hernandez, who has been phenomenal this year and could be a better pitcher for like forever and Greinke could flame out this year, but those things do not matter. What matters is who has been a better pitcher this year.
And that pitcher is Greinke.
9-28-2009 @ 2:27PM
baseballfan said...
As for other Stats: Greinke and Felix both have 32 starts.
That is where the stats have to end between these two individuals, because you are comparing apples to oranges. Kansas City plays in the worst division in baseball, the Seattle Mariners arguably one of the best, if not the Best. The Royals did not even throw their staff “ace” against the Yankees once when they played them.
You want stats, here are some stats for you:
"Every" team in the AL west is over .500 when playing that pathetic division.
The AL West is 40 GAMES OVER .500 , while the AL Central is 43 GAMES UNDER .500
The Angels are 11 games over .500 facing that division, while the AL West last place team Oakland is 16-8 against that division, and you think it is fair to evaluate someone who plays in that division straight up for stats that has to face much harder competition through out the season, on a regular basis?
There is no way any of you can say that is a fair evaluation; the only question is why doesn’t Greinke have a lower era than that. Terrible division .
If you looked at the previous post you would have seen no one wins the Cy Young on era alone – EVER ! It starts with Wins AND Losses, and then if you have two or more pitchers that have similar records approaching 20 wins, you may look at the other stats, such as era to try to separate the two. This is not news – it is the way it has been done - forever. If Felix doesn’t win at least one if not both of his last starts he won’t win the Cy Young either, it will end up with CC if he is successful closing out the season.
Greinke had a great season, and he did not get a lot of run support, but in the 8 games he lost, the vast majority Was Not due to lack of run support, he simply gave up too many runs on those days and lost. Greinke had great 1st month of the season, and the last month he has been sharp, but he will tell you himself he could have pitched better at times this season.
Every pitcher has a game or two they should have won where they gave up only one run, as Zack did on two occassions, but Felix on the other hand had 3 games where he pitched 7 innings or more and gave up No runs and did not receive credit for a victory ! Without pitching all nine innings, and recording all 27 outs yourself you cannot be better than ZERO RUNS IN 3 STARTS that were NO DECISIONS !
Felix has had more than his share of hard luck, playing for a team that scores the fewest runs in the entire American League :
Sept. 8 LAA - 7 ip / 1 earned run - Felix NO DECISION
Aug. 23rd – Cleve – 6 ip / 3 earned runs - Felix LOSS
Aug 18th Det. - 1 earned run – Felix no decision
Aug 12th CWS - 7 ip / “0” earned runs - Mariners Win – Felix NO DECISION
Aug 7th – TB - 6 ip / 3 earned runs - Mariners Win – Felix NO DECISION
July 3rd – Bos - 7 ip / 3 earned runs - Mariners Win – Felix NO DECISION
June 21st - Ariz. – 7.1 ip / 2 earned runs - Mariners Win – Felix NO DECISION
June 5th - Minn. - 7ip / 1 earned run - Felix LOSS
May 30th – LAA - 6.2 ip / “0” earned runs – Mariners Win – Felix NO DECISION
May 14th - TEX 7 ip / “0” earned runs – Felix Felix NO DECISION
While the “majority” of Zach’s losses were NOT of the hard luck variety as you are portraying, while playing in a division that is 43 games under .500 while Felix pitches in a division 40 GAMES OVER .500 :
Zack games :
August 19th: 4 earned runs in 7 innings in Chicago 4-2 loss
Aug 3rd : 6 earned runs in 5 innings in Tampa Bay 10-4 loss
July 8 : 3 earned runs in 6 innings in Detroit 3-1 loss
July 3rd : 4 runs – 2 earned runs in 6 innings in CWS 5-0 loss
June 17th: 6 runs ( 4 earned runs) in 6 innings in Arizona 12-5 loss
June 5th: 7 runs in 5 innings (5 earned runs) in Toronto 9-3 loss
June 11th : no decision, 3 runs in 7 innings loss to Cleveland 4-3
May 31st : 4 runs (3 earned runs) in taking 7-4 loss against Chicago WS
When Zach pitches the Royals are 16 wins / 15 losses in games he started;
When Felix takes the mound the Mariners are 23-9 !
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