It isn't Rocket Science...
Chris Carpenter's has set him apart in the NL Cy Young race
Most of the time a 1.57 ERA, .92 WHIP, and .185 batting average against would allow us to put as much thought into Cy Young voting as our morning shower, a call that even the most brain-dead of baseball fans could make, especially when the name tied to those stats is Roger Clemens.
But on Saturday, with sports-nation glued to the first weekend of college football, Chris Carpenter basically mugged Roger Clemens on a dark, poorly lit street, scampering off with what could have been the Rocket’s seventh Cy Young, on the legs of a complete game win over the Houston Astros.
Forget for a moment that yet again, Astro hitters backed Clemens with what would be a mediocre GPA in the 4-2 loss. In 18 of his 28 starts, Houston failed to put up enough runs to make the dean’s list, including eight hopeless, Blutarski-style "zero…point…zero"s.
Many, including myself, were ready to give the Rocket his due despite scraping up just 11 wins. After all, statistically he is assembling one of the most amazing seasons of all time -- at the age of 43. What a story.
But that masked thief raided the night and stole the story book ending, simply by being the more effective pitcher. Carpenter is 20-4, with a month left. His 2.28 ERA would drop jaws like Jessica Alba any other year. His Rocket-esque .98 WHIP further proves he is not the product of the league’s best offense.
And Saturday, Carpenter illustrated the biggest difference between the two pitchers this year (aside from the quality of lumber in their corners). When Clemens left with a hamstring problem after the fifth, the Cardinals led 2-1. Houston tied the game in the sixth, but Carpenter remained in the game to hold Houston down to earn yet a second victory against Clemens.
That refusal to hand the game over to the bullpen sets Carpenter apart from every NL Cy Young contender, including Clemens. Carpenter leads the majors in complete games (seven) and is second in shutouts (four), including a 3-0 July 17 shutout against, yup, Roger Clemens. Clemens has just one complete game, and his last shutout came in 2003, his only of the millennium. On the year Carpenter has racked up 213 innings, which leads the majors and is 23.2 more than Clemens.
That’s almost an inning more per start that Carpenter takes out of the hands of his bullpen, keeping it fresher for the rest of St. Louis’ starters. Think baseball’s best bullpen (3.16 ERA) isn’t grateful? That buffer also allows manager Tony LaRussa more options the days before and after Carpenter’s starts. With a majors-leading 26 quality starts out of 28 (21 straight), Carpenter has cemented his post as the league’s most reliable pitcher, helping the whole staff in the process.
This workhorse role he assumes can hurt peripheral numbers. He goes after hitters; his 13.8 pitches per inning is lowest the NL, and a 1.86 walks per nine innings is second. Carpenter doesn’t dance around cleanup hitters or come out of games with two on, none out in the fifth. Nevertheless, he does not lag noticeably behind any pitcher in any meaningful statistic.
On top of all that, Carpenter has been stingiest in his toughest match-ups. He has beat Dontrelle Willis and Clemens (twice) with complete games. In those 27 innings against playoff contenders with the other two Cy Young contenders on the mound, Carpenter surrendered three runs on 14 hits and three walks. That comes out to 4.8 hits, a walk and a run per nine innings. The man just cripples offenses.
Is there another pitcher you would prefer on the hill for your team in a big game right now? Keep in mind he’s unbeaten since June 8, and if you remove an eight-run outing his second start, he has a microscopic 1.97 ERA.
Oh, and for those of you swayed by the always sexy strikeout, Carpenter accommodates, to the tune of 8.07 per 9 innings. Clemens sits at 8.03.
Forget Willis, Andy Pettitte, and Pedro Martinez. Willis owns a somewhat human 1.12 WHIP and a .242 BAA. Pedro suffers with 13 wins, and a 2.90 ERA. Pettitte sports 14 wins, a 2.42 ERA, and a .235 BAA. No one has anything to set himself apart from the Cardinals’ workhorse.
As for Clemens, his season will still go down as one of the most remarkable of all-time, especially considering his age. But the Cy Young should be just as blind to age as it should be to the team a pitcher plays for. Carpenter has been more reliable, more efficient, and more valuable than any NL pitcher this year.
Looks like this NL Cy Young Award as much of a no-brainer as we originally thought. Let the thief scamper away with the storybook ending, he earned it.
