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Originally Posted by KSig RC
I think this is right on track - the thing is, Buehrle clearly got a little lucky last year, too, as his peripheral stats didn't really reflect his record very well.
Anyway, this season, he's right about the same H/9, and his HR rate isn't any different. However, the striking statistics are these: WHIP of 1.31 (bb/9 up about 40%) and a K-rate of 3.96 K/9, which is down about a third. It's nearly impossible to exist with fewer than 5 K/9 in the majors, and you're seeing how that works out - at some point, you just have to miss a bat or two.
The other interesting thing is that the Cell really deflates his numbers - hitters' OPS against him on the road is .899, meaning that he turns every opposing hitter into Carl Crawford when he's not in the Cell. The only other really suspicious number is that his GB/FB ratio is down to about 1.22, after averaging about 1.40 for the past few seasons . . . not a huge drop (possibly not even significant) but it might account for an increase in solid contact across the board.
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The thing that sucks is that he hasn't pitched this bad his whole career. Some point out that Vasquez pretty much the same numbers as Buerhle last year minus the W/L and ERA. That goes to show how lucky he was last year but still has been a high 3 ERA pitcher his whole career.
Ric Flair always used to say "to be the man... you have to beat the man" and the sox sure played like ass vs the two best in the AL
