I’m in a mixed league and the NL is really starting to bother me. I know Brett Myers has turned his game around, but look at the STL lineup he mowed down on last week:

Eckstein
Nunez
Pujols
Edmonds
Sanders
Cedeno
Grudz
Molina
Marquis

Rolen’s out, and Walker didn’t play. So Myers Ks 9 in 7 IP. Why is he so good all of the sudden? Could it have anything to do with facing Roger Cedeno 3 times in a game? Well, let’s see.

If I were Gil Meche I’d be absolutely begging for a trade to the senior circuit. If Myers can post a 1.88 ERA, Meche is good for at least 2.50.

Would Johan Santana have a sub-1.00 ERA in the NL? Imagine what he would have done last year pitching for the Padres.

I know, I know. I shouldn’t be complaining: I should be trading for these guys. So lets take a look at Brett Myers and the sole reason for his ’05 dominance…THE NL. Continued here…

In 2004 the average NL starter posted a line of 11-9/4.03 ERA/1.32WHIP/173 IP/170 HITS/59BB/130 Ks.

The average AL starter was damn close at 11-9/4.23 ERA/1.32 WHIP/173 IP/ 175 HITS/54 BB/123 KS.

Does this mean I’m wrong and AL pitchers are really just the same as NL pitchers? Heck no!

Despite facing the pitcher 3-4 times/game, NL starters had almost identical hit and K rates as their AL brethren. Despite playing in a league that places a premium on defense, NL starters had almost identical ERA and WHIP totals as the boys on the junior circuit. What does that tell you? They’re facing pitchers instead of DHs (traditionally the best hitters on the team) and they’re putting up the same numbers. Something’s up.

In 2003 Roger Clemens went 3.91/1.21/211 IP/199 HITS/190 Ks. He didn’t necessarily look completely washed up, but he’d been on the downside of his career for at least 3 years. Then he goes to the NL and posts 2.98/1.16/214 IP/169 HITS/ 218 Ks. At 41, that’s 30 fewer hits and 30 fewer Ks than his final AL days. It was also his lowest ERA in 6 years. After his ’98 Cy season he’d chalked averages of 4.60 in ‘99/3.70 in 2000/3.51 in 2001/4.35 in 2002/3.91 in 2003…and 2.98 in 2004!

Randy Johnson’s career high for Ks in the AL? 308. The NL 372!

Curt Schilling’s 2003: 194 Ks in 24 starts for the D-Backs. 158 IP.
Curt Schilling’s 2004: 203 Ks in 32 starts for the Red Sox. 226 IP.

That’s 9 more Ks in almost 70 more innings!

Want some more?

Curt Schilling’s 2002: 316 Ks, 218 Hits, 259 IP.
Curt Schilling’s 2004: 203 Ks, 206 Hits, 226 IP.

33 fewer innings, over 100 fewer Ks, and only 12 fewer hits! 12 fewer hits in 33 fewer innings.

So what does this have to do with Brett Myers?

Well, in 2003 Ben Sheets gave up 232 hits in 220 innings and Kd 157.
In 2004 he gave up 201 hits in 237 innings and Kd 264.

In 2004 Brett Myers gave up 196 hits in 176 innings and Kd 116.
In 2005 he’s given up 44 hits in 62 innings and Kd 71.

Rated over an entire season that puts him on pace for roughly 237 IP/269 Ks/167 hits.

He seems to be an NL version of Roy Halladay, at least in the early going. But put him in the AL and there’s no way that ERA would be anywhere near 1.88. His OBA is almost 90 points lower than last year (.198 vs. .281). Halladay has 47 K in 69 IP this year with a 3.13 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. His OBA is .241. In his breakout ’02 season his OBA dropped from .270 to .244. He was never getting hit as hard as Myers and was striking out almost 5 fewer/9 innings. Yet Brett shows a 91 mph fastball and the entire league hides in the bushes.

That’s why I hate the NL. While AL teams have Miguel Tejada at SS, NL teams have Royce Clayton. Alfonso Soriano plays in the AL. Neifi Perez plays in the NL. The AL has David Ortiz. The NL has Julio Franco. I realize Jim Thome, Jeff Kent, and, well…Rafael Furcal aren’t too bad themselves. But you won’t find any AL lineup outside of the dregs of KC with David Bell at CI.

Pedro Martinez and his partially torn labrum now top out in the mid-high 80s. He’s featuring the worst stuff he’s ever had in his career. His WHIP and OBA are at ALL-TIME LOWS!

Man, I hate the NL.

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Update (9/26/05): Brett’s slowed down quite a bit since his hot start, but he still looks like a good bet for 15 wins next year and 200+ Ks if he can just make that next step and stop making bad 0-2 pitches.