Q. OK. Enough comedy jokes. If Dr. D were handing out the 2013 Cy Young ... how much of a travesty would we be in for?
A. For one thing, I don't like the kiddie Roto debates about whether to draft Justin Verlander first or Felix Hernandez first. I avoid them.
What purpose does it serve, to argue about whether LeBron James could have beaten Michael Jordan in 1-on-1? Most of the time, that argument just serves to diminish one of the players. "Jordan wasn't that great. LeBron would embarrass him."
OK, so forget that Jordan was better than any other player in human history. Focus on your belief that there did exist one player who was better? Yeah, that's the right orientation on Jordan.
When Grumpy's surgical career comes up, let's make it about the fact that Frederic Mohs was better than he is. Forget the fact that you don't have a CPR card :- )
...........
Arguing about Scherzer vs Iwakuma serves usually has the result of diminishing one of the pitchers.
.
Q. That said, do you give 'Kuma a Cy Young for that season?
A. Hisashi Iwakuma, in 2013 had a Cy Young season. So did other guys.
Many years, a pitcher steps forward and owns the Cy. Pedro and Randy Johnson used to lap the field. That was not the way this year.
It's an important distinction to make. Some years, there is a thundering Cy performance. Other years, there is a handful of co-Cy's.
Nobody gets a Pedro award this year.
.
Q. James said "the fabric of baseball history is woven on great starting pitchers." What was historic about Iwakuma?
A. Had you noticed that WBC-san went 14-6 for a terrible team? How do you make 33 starts for the Seattle Mariners, and only lose 6 of them? I'd like to see you try it.
But: there were about 8-10 worthy pitchers this season, including Bartolo Colon, and Chris Sale. Colon had the same ERA as Iwakuma (fewer IP), and went 18-6 for a division winner.
For the Cy Young specifically, I like to factor in actual results along with an awareness of how great their underlying stats (K, BB, etc) were. I'd probably go something like
|
Pitcher |
W-L |
ERA |
WAR |
"James Fabric" Remark |
|
Scherzer |
21-3 |
2.90 |
6.4 |
Amazing W-L ... 10K, 2 BB .. led Detroit |
|
Sanchez |
14-8 |
2.57 |
6.2 |
Pitched great, and had a great ERA |
|
Iwakuma |
14-6 |
2.66 |
4.2 |
Most runs saved; unbeatable w awful team |
|
Colon |
18-6 |
2.65 |
3.9 |
Like Scherzer ... but 5 K's drop him a bit |
|
Felix, Verlander, Sale, Darvish |
|
|
|
In any order; all great pitchers who threw great, but results were a bit less |
.
Q. Where is Iwakuma heading into next season? What exactly is his status in the pantheon of the game now?
A. He has answered the last question that was left ... to you amigos on SSI, that is, not the questions posed by cigar-chomping NY sportswriters.
That question was durability. He might not throw 220 innings every year, finishing as light as a Puget Sound breeze, but then he doesn't have to.
The Mariners have two Cy Young-caliber starting pitchers.
.
Q. Who would you rather have, our guys or the legendary "Spahn and Sain and Two Days of Rain"? :- )
A. Spahn wasn't underrated by any stretch. The man won 363 games, and brotha, go check his loss column.
That said, Warren Spahn used to lead the league while running a 120 ERA+. It's more of a lifetime achievement thing, like Don Sutton, Bert Blyleven, etc. Felix, at this point, is much preferable to Spahn at the same age.
Johnny Sain had a 3-year peak, ERA+ of 157, 112, 149, then hurt himself and fell off. VERY good comparison to Iwakuma at this point -- a short-term guy but a Cy Young frontrunner.
Felix and Iwakuma, going into 2014, I'll plump for them over Spahn and Sain going into 1949.
BABVA,
Dr D