Originally Posted by
Swampdog
I can say it easily, because it's the truth. I knew when I made the statement it was likely to cause confusion. At least to some people. So I will elaborate, once again.
1) Beckett and Wakefield were better than Burnett. A pitcher is ultimately graded on how well he prevents runs. K's, walks, hits allowed, etc., are all components of this. Beckett had an ERA of 4.03 to Burnetts 4.07. Beckett pitches in Fenway Park, a hitters park. Burnett pitched in Rogers Centre, a pitchers park. Thats why Beckett shows an ERA+ of 115 to Burnetts 105. In this case (unlike as in, say, Hearts, or Golf) 115 is better than 105. Wakefield, btw, was 112, also "better". Thats why I said they were better. Because they were.
2) Masterson and Colon were both better at preventing runs than Burnett was. I noted the "small sample size" originally. Small sample or not, they were still better. Burnett had a more value because he pitched a lot more innings. Nonetheless, they were still better at preventing runs, when they pitched.
3) Masterson threw 54 of his 88 innings as a starter. So the majority of his innings were not "out of the bullpen".
4) Chamberlain was not one of the top 3 pitchers in baseball, and was not even close. To the original point, Chamberlain was better than Mussina at preventing runs. Mussina had much more value overall, however, and he had the best season. Joba the Hutt may possibly be NY's best pitcher this year though, who knows?
I hope I have explained my original meaning to your satisfaction.