Carpenter Just Can't Win (Other Than Games)

By Eric Butterman

Editor's Note - Stats current as of 9/22

Okay, sure he's pitched considerably fewer innings, but with an ERA that low, don't you think he should get the Cy Young over the other guy? Look, I know you really want to give it to the other guy. And I know all the arguments. He's won more games. His team's going to the playoffs. I know all this. But his ERA's more than half a run higher. Yes, a half a run! So, seriously, let's do the right thing here. Are we all in agreement? Great. Therefore, I'm happy to present the NL Cy Young Award to... Jake Peavy.

That would have been the 2004 NL Cy Young Award winner based on the logic that's trying to be used to hand Roger Clemens his, ahem, eighth Cy Young award. And, in case you're wondering, he won his seventh Cy Young in 2004 (Peavy didn't even finish in the top ten). So, you may ask, what's different between Clemens' and Peavy's situation? Well, to start, Peavy wasn't 43 years old last season. Of course, one could argue it's rather amazing that he was only 23 and accomplished what he did - but, frankly, it's a Julio Franco world and we're all just living in it. With that in mind, Chris Carpenter, the same pitcher whose career appeared to be over from injuries just two years prior, the same one who so valiantly pitched the Cardinals into the playoffs last year despite getting injured again, the one who became what Matt Morris never could, a leader, has had a year that we may have to go back to Steve Stone to find a remote comparison. Carpenter just keeps winning - and with each win, he gets penalized just a little more. And why? Because it only paints a starker comparison to the wins that Roger Clemens doesn't have through lack of run support. It's as if Clemens is a panhandler holding a decrepit peeling sign reading "Will Work for Wins" and Carpenter is Bill Gates, glancing away and softly murmuring, "I gave at the office."

But is Carpenter really being penalized the most for his wins? No, but something close to his heart is - his ERA. Behind all the complaining about Carpenter getting uber run support lies a dark secret that would make the ending to Chinatown seem a trifle family dispute. When your team stakes you to a 5-0 lead, you're told, no, make that ordered to give up runs. That's right, it's called pitching to the scoreboard. Baseball is a game about percentages and as every fan worth his Cracker Jack should know, the best way to make a lead disappear is to start nibbling at the corners for every out - and end up walk, walk, walking your way to a 6-5 defeat. So your pitching coach tells you to throw it down the middle and let 'em hit it. You're told that a solo homer won't beat you. No, but it might beat your chances at an ERA title.

For Carpenter, it's done exactly that. Before Carpenter's less than stellar outing against Milwaukee (a game the Cards won anyway), in his previous ten starts, he gave up the most runs in games where he got the most run support, while "coincidentally" turning the screws to his opponents in the games where the Cards' bats flew south. If you think that was coincidence, you didn't watch the games. I did. Carpenter changed his game plan and pitch selection time and time again in games with a strong lead. He was helping his team do something - it's called win games.

And another thing that's been hurting his ERA has been his willingness to win the games he doesn't pitch. Yep, you read right. Carpenter even has more wins than his outstanding record implies. By leading his league in complete games, he has saved his team's bullpen for the next day throughout the season. That indisputably leads to something called "more wins," though it doesn't necessarily help Carpenter's ERA as he tires later in ballgames or when the innings creep up later in the year. How many complete games does Clemens have in 2005? None. In fact, he has only one going back to 2001. You can complain that the bullpen has let him down this year, but he hasn't exactly picked them up by often leaving games before the seventh inning (see four of his last five outings for more details). Clemens' strongest supporters reason that he has to leave early because of his age, but why does his inability to finish games go away when it's time to talk Cy Young? Shouldn't Carpenter leave games early because he's more prone to injury than the cast of Jackass?

Roger Clemens has had an amazing year for a 43-year-old, or a 23-year-old, but this award is supposed to be given to the best pitcher in the league. The one you'd want on the mound in a Game 7 situation. The one who makes the other team reserve golf courses for the following day. If you think it's Roger Clemens, then may I be the first to commend you on your sense of nostalgia. And to condemn you on your lack of sense. You might recall it was a 42-year-old Clemens that started the 2004 NLCS Game 7 for the Astros against Carpenter's Cardinals. But, like almost every other game he's pitched in the last four seasons, Clemens wasn't there to shake his catcher's hand at the end of the game. When the final out was recorded, nobody on the Astros' side was shaking anything but their heads.

I wonder how Jake Peavy would've pitched.

Eric Butterman is a New York-based sports and film writer. He has profiled directors such as John Woo and Richard Donner and is a monthly contributor to Muscle & Fitness UK