CC’s Great, but Harden’s Better

Since being exported to the land of Lombardi, all eyes have been fixed on CC Sabathia, and rightfully so. We haven’t seen a pitcher have an impact like this since Rick Suttcliffe went on to win the Cy Young award after switching leagues and joining the Cubs in 1984.

The parallels between these two players are uncanny. Without Sutcliffe the Cubs probably wouldn’t have captured the NL East pennant, and without Sabathia the Brewers would probably be floundering in third place right now. Sutcliffe performed so well that he finished fourth in MVP voting.  Now mind you, he didn’t join the Cubs until June 12, much as Sabathia didn’t join the Brewers until July 8.  So, as much as I disagree, Sabathia’s 8-0 record has catapulted him into Cy Young contention despite only putting in half a season of work in the National League, and some have even suggested that he should win the MVP.

I don’t disagree with the acclaim that Sabathia has garnered; I just don’t think he should win any awards. The thing is, Sabathia hasn’t even been the best pitcher in his division during the second half, let alone the league. Hell, he hasn’t even been the best pitcher acquired before the deadline: those distinctions belong to Rich Harden.

It’s no secret that the appeal of Sabathia is his win-loss record. Writers love wins, the media loves wins, fans love wins, so we give pitchers awards and acclaim based off of how many wins they generate for their team. The problem is, more times than not, we give all this attention to guys that don’t deserve it. Wins have very little to do with the pitcher himself. The guys behind him have to score runs and make plays, and if all goes well, the bullpen has to preserve the lead.

In 1984 Sutcliffe got gassed up because he was the flavor of the week, and in the process Doc Gooden got robbed of the Cy Young, which to this day remains one of the biggest snubs of all-time. Well, at least in my opinion.

Sutcliffe ‘84: 20GS, 16-1, 150.3 IP, 155 SO, 39 BB, 2.69 ERA, 1.078 WHIP, 9.28 K/9, 7.36 H/9, 2.33 BB/9

Gooden ‘84: 31 GS, 17-9, 218 IP, 276 SO, 73 BB, 2.60 ERA, 1.073 WHIP, 11.39 K/9, 6.65 H/9, 3.01 BB/9

Clearly, despite winning only one more game over 11 more starts, Gooden had the better season. He exceeded Sutcliffe’s production in virtually every statistical category. You can hardly attribute Sutcliffe’s winning percentage to having a better season than Gooden when the numbers prove to the contrary. Besides, Gooden should have won this award by default for putting together that amazing season as a 19 year-old.

Harden is hardly in the running for the Cy Young award, but if Sabathia is receiving votes, than the voters should really take a long and hard look at the numbers because he has been far more efficient. The lines are really blurred here because Sabathia is 8-0 and is averaging just a little under 8 innings a start, while Harden is 4-1 due to having two leads blown by the bullpen.

Here are their numbers since being traded to the National League:

CC Sabathia: 10 GS, 8-0, 79 IP, 1.59 ERA, 1.051 WHIP, 74 SO, 15 BB, 8.43 K/9, 1.71 BB/9, 7.74 H/9

Rich Harden: 8 GS, 4-1, 49 IP, 1.47 ERA, 0.857 WHIP, 70 SO, 14 BB, 12.86 K/9, 2.57 BB/9, 5.14 H/9

I’m not discounting what Sabathia has done, his run of complete games is impressive, if not abusive, but it’s not like he’s been out there dueling it out in these games. In all but one of his complete games the Brewers have been leading by three or more runs. Now keeping the bullpen fresh is invaluable, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story.

Harden has only put in 62 percent of the work Sabathia has, but pitch for pitch he has been far more efficient. Granted, it’s a small sample size, but according to Fan Graph’s Harden has stranded 98.3% of the runners he has allowed to get on base, and he’s smoking Sabathia in batting average against: .233 to .162.

That’s insane.

Almost as insane as ignoring what Harden has accomplished.