06-15-2010, 12:34 PM
And you're completely ignoring his body of work before those two years.
5.01 (his rookie year and in limited action)
3.48
5.04
5.53
3.71
4.13
6.02
That's a listing of his ERA, by year, before signing a 3/21 contract with the Cubs. At a glance, 3.48 and 3.71 look like outliers to me. You can also consider the fact that he was pitching under the tutelage of Leo Mazzone and Dave Duncan during those years and neither one of them had much continued success with him.
A 6.02 ERA could be looked past if he had just one atrocious season, but that wasn't the case. Usually you get demoted to AAA if you have a 6.02 ERA in 200 innings. Instead, he got a 3-year contract.
5.01 (his rookie year and in limited action)
3.48
5.04
5.53
3.71
4.13
6.02
That's a listing of his ERA, by year, before signing a 3/21 contract with the Cubs. At a glance, 3.48 and 3.71 look like outliers to me. You can also consider the fact that he was pitching under the tutelage of Leo Mazzone and Dave Duncan during those years and neither one of them had much continued success with him.
A 6.02 ERA could be looked past if he had just one atrocious season, but that wasn't the case. Usually you get demoted to AAA if you have a 6.02 ERA in 200 innings. Instead, he got a 3-year contract.