| Today we are going to look at ERA and find out just | | | | other 8 pitchers all play for teams that are either in the |
| how important having a pitcher with a good ERA is for | | | | playoff hunt or are playing above .500. |
| a team. We'll look at the top 10 pitchers, ERA wise, in | | | | Given that 80% of the top 10 plays for winning clubs, I'd |
| the American League. Does knowing having a top 10 | | | | say there is a strong coloration between having a top |
| pitcher in ERA equate to wins? Does this mean we | | | | 10 pitcher in ERA and winning. By the way, the next |
| can pick more winners and take home more cash? | | | | three pitchers are Schilling with Boston, Bonderman |
| Let's find out. | | | | with Detroit and Escobar with the LA Angels. So, now |
| Our journey starts in the American League. Here's a | | | | we have 11 of the top 13 ERA pitchers on winning |
| listing of the top 10 pitchers for ERA as of this writing. | | | | clubs. That's 84.6%. The numbers are too strong to |
| 1. Santana - Minnesota | | | | ignore. |
| 2. Verlander - Detroit | | | | It's not the end all, but paying attention to the ERA of |
| 3. Halladay - Toronto | | | | pitchers on a team can help determine their overall |
| 4. Kazmir - Tampa Bay | | | | ability. Starting pitchers typically pitch 6-7 innings per |
| 5. Sabathia - Cleveland | | | | game on average. That means they account for the |
| 6. Lackey - LA Angels | | | | pitching in 66% to 77% of each game they start. While |
| 7. Mussina - NY Yankees | | | | you can't bet solely on starting pitching, because the |
| 8. Zio - OAK | | | | bullpen still accounts for up to 33% of the game on |
| 9. Haren - OAK | | | | average, you can begin to get a great picture of the |
| 10. Wang - NY Yankees | | | | game by looking first at the starting pitching. |
| The first thing we see is that most of these teams are | | | | The next time you are deciding who's going to win, |
| in the playoff hunt. The worst team to have a pitcher | | | | give some thought to where the pitcher ranks-for |
| in this top 10 is Tampa Bay. Sabathia plays for | | | | ERA-in the league. It just might be the one piece of |
| Cleveland. The Indians are playing just under .500 ball | | | | information that helps you rope in another winner. |
| right now. These two are the exception. However, the | | | | |