Quick test of your baseball knowledge: Which pitcher leads the American League in ERA?
OK, so that's an easy one. You already know that the answer to that question is "Pedro Martinez" (bonus points if you also know that Pedro's currently sitting on the DL with a 2.26 ERA).
Here's a tougher one: Which pitcher ranks second in the American League in ERA?
Need help? Here's a hint: our No. 2 man is one of two working knuckleball pitchers in the major leagues right now.
No, not Steve Sparks (though he's pitching quite well, too. Another hint: our No. 2 man is now, in the absence of Mr. Martinez, the ace of Boston's league-leading pitching staff.
Yes, it's Tim Wakefield. After beating the Indians yesterday (albeit with a less-than-stellar outing), Wakefield sports a 2.61 ERA that nestles comfortably between Martinez (2.26) and Andy Pettitte (2.95).
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| 2001 SEASON STATISTICS |
| G |
W-L |
IP |
Sv |
K-BB |
ERA |
| 23 |
6-2 |
93 |
2 |
86-33 |
2.61 |
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How is he doing it? After all, this is the same pitcher who posted a 5.48 ERA last year, and a 5.08 ERA the year before that. The biggest factor is a simple one: Wakefield is getting more of his knuckleballs over the plate for strikes. The revised strike zone may be helping him, as the knuckler essentially starts high before (ideally) dropping through the strike zone. So of course, the higher the zone is, the better for Wakefield.
Also, he's throwing a curveball this year, in addition to his knuckler and his hit-this-if-you-can-guess-it's-coming, 78-m.p.h. fastball. Yesterday, though, he mostly stuck with the knuckleball; among 99 pitches, I counted only two fastballs and one curve (though there might have been a few more of the latter). Jimy Williams has taken to calling Wakefield 'a pitcher who throws a knuckleball,' but in my book he's still a knuckleballer, plain and simple.
But whatever you call him, Wakefield's been so good that you have wonder, which of the following two pitchers is more deserving of an All-Star slot?
IP Hits BB SO W-L ERA
Pitcher A 87 68 30 82 5-2 2.38
Pitcher B 47 44 16 49 6-2 1.91
Pitcher A's ERA is a bit higher, but he's also thrown twice as many innings as Pitcher B, and allowed fewer baserunners per nine innings. Pitcher A is Wakefield -- the listed stats are from before yesterday's game, as that's when the All-Star selections were made -- and he's not going to the All-Star Game. Pitcher B is Mike Stanton, and he is going to the All-Star Game. Yes, it's lovely to see a middle reliever making the team ... but they've already got that covered with the selection of Toronto's Paul Quantrill.
Frankly, this is one of those situations where the Commissioner's Office should have stepped in and said, "You know what, Joe? We know that you're a loyal guy, and we know that your owner and your players want you to select as many Yankees as you can. So we'll take some of the heat off you, and exercise our rights by 'helping' you choose the All-Star reserves."
Instead, Commissioner Bud punted. Maybe he figured that All-Star rosters are a "league matter," forgetting that there really aren't leagues any more.
Before I get to another All-Star snub, let me stress that most of the snubs aren't really snubs at all, but rather are simply situations where there isn't room on the roster for every player who's enjoying a great season. Yes, I would have taken Greg Maddux over Rick Reed, and I certainly would have found a spot for Paul LoDuca. But at least I can see the argument for the guys who made it. And reports indicate that Maddux lobbied for teammate John Burkett to Bobby Valentine, implying he wouldn't mind spending the three days golfing.
That said, I didn't think that Valentine would have the nerve to leave Cliff Floyd off the All-Star team, their silly feud notwithstanding. Or rather, I didn't think that Major League Baseball would let Bobby Valentine leave Cliff Floyd off the All-Star team.
Games AB HR Runs RBI OBP Slug OPS
Floyd 78 291 21 69 69 .414 .636 1050
Alou 66 266 18 49 61 .409 .643 1052
Just looking at the percentages, Alou has been every bit as effective as Floyd. But look a little closer. Floyd has played a dozen more games than Alou. Floyd ranks fourth in the National League with 69 runs scored, while Alou ranks 27th. Floyd has stolen 11 bases, Alou one. What's more, Floyd plays in one of the best pitcher's parks in the National League, while Alou plays in one of the best hitter's parks in the National League.
They're both great hitters, but Floyd is clearly having the better year, so it's a black mark against both Valentine and MLB that Floyd won't be in Seattle next week. Major League Baseball has a responsibility to "help" the managers avoid the appearance of impropriety, and this year that august organization simply ignored that responsibility.
Rob Neyer is a Senior Writer for ESPN.com. His column runs Monday through Thursday.
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