7/5/12

James Gentile - When FIP Won't Buy You Win

There's been an unhealthy amount of discussion in the mainstream media recently over the quality of Cliff Lee's 2012 season. Heading into yesterday's game against the Mets, Lee was still winless after 13 starts despite fantastic underlying peripherals which contributed to a highly impressive 3.01 FIP and a 3.11 SIERA. With Lee's victory yesterday he improved to 1-5 on the season, but many of his detractors still remain.

Certainly, readers of Beyond the Boxscore are acutely aware of the noise and randomness involved in a pitcher's W/L record, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Lee's situation is commonplace. Such a disparity between a pitcher's W/L record and his FIP has occurred only a handful of times in recent history. But it clearly happens to the best of them-- Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, and Mike Mussina are among the names who have also suffered under the cruel, undiscriminating hand of an undeserving W/L record at one time or another.

BTBS

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