It’s hard to keep up with the sloppy and illogical analysis of Chronicle sportswriter Richard Justice, so usually I don’t even try to do so. However, sometimes it spills over to such an extent that it simply can’t be ignored.
In this column, Justice criticizes Stros owner Drayton McLane for not matching the New York Yankees’ absurdly rich $32 million, two-year contract offer for former Stros pitcher Andy Pettitte. In gushing over Pettitte, Justice really lets loose with a doozy:
[Pettitte] was one of the National League’s best pitchers last season. He was 10th in quality starts and 13th in innings while going 14-13. His won-loss record was unimpressive because the Astros had one of baseball’s worst offenses.
Say what? One of the best pitchers in the National League last season? Pettitte was barely the fourth best pitcher on the Stros last season (behind Oswalt, Clemens, and Wheeler). As of August 1st, before pitching well down the home stretch, Pettitte was one of the worst starters in the National League. Based on the key statistic of runs saved against average, Pettitte finished tied for 46th among National League pitchers who pitched more than 100 innings last season, resulting in a C grade in my post-season evaluation of Stros players. Regardless of what you think about Pettitte generally, he clearly was not one of the best pitchers in the National League last season.