I remember having an argument with a Braves fan on here in early April about who was better.......John Maine or Chuck James. I think the numbers speak for themselves this year but the question is. If you are building for the next 5 years, who would you want in your rotation.......Chuck James or John Maine?

Maine: 14-8, 3.57 ERA, 163 Innings Pitched, 144 K's, 63 Walks, 138 hits allowed

James: 9-9, 4.22 ERA, 136 Innings Pitched, 97 K's, 55 Walks, 140 hits allowed

wins don't mean anything. era isn't even completely indicative of where they stand. chuck james' era has gone up 3.55 to to 4.22 this month alone, i'm not sure what's up there. he may just be unlucky. he's given up more hits but that could be because his defense, especially infield (minus tex, who just came) is pretty awful. overall, they appear to be similar.

DIPS ERA: A pitcher's ERA independent of the defense behind him. This formula, based on essays by Voros McCracken, assumes that all pitchers have consistent BIPA (Balls In Play Average. Batting Average Against, not including home runs or strikeouts.), and adjusts accordingly. The DIPS ratios on ESPN use the DIPS 2.0 formula, are not park-adjusted, and do not adjust for knuckleball pitchers.

DIPS:
maine: 4.07
james: 5.14

BIPA:

maine: .255
james: .269

what the second number tells you is that james has been unluckier than maine.

so are you saying you would rather have James?

not necessarily, no.

Thats what I thought. I don't put much thought into numbers that do not take into account home runs allowed. James was stellar today. But hey, he had great minor league #'s. And so did Phil Hughes.

i'd like both, how's that.

I personally equate James to the urinal I went in at the PJ show in Camden during "Alive". They both stink.

heh.

well, davo's the guy you argued with. i remember it. i'm sure he'll stop in here.