A Graphical Look at the Battle of the Big Threes

Nationally, it's pretty much unanimously agreed upon that the Phillies have the best big three in the majors. The Giants, however, are unfairly overlooked. Any Giants fan understands that Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez form a nasty trio...I thought it'd be cool to look at their numbers graphically. So here's a comparison table -- a heatmap. Green = good, yellow = okay, red = bad. The values are relative, so if one of these pitchers were to have a decent ERA of 3.70, it would be red, because it is bad relative to the other starters....

There's really a lot to be taken from this chart. In terms of what it says about which big three is better -- it's not very relevant. The pitchers have changed with the season -- more notably on the Giants' side. Lincecum had struggles throughout the year, but has since rediscovered his vintage Cy Young status. Sanchez has also matured, and is now easily one of the best pitchers in the National League (just look at that opponent average!). Home run rates are admittedly skewed by the fact that the Giants play in San Francisco as opposed to Philadelphia.

Anyway, I find it to be extremely interesting that the two worst opponent averages are the aces of each staff. Roy Halladay's .246 average is the worst of the six pitchers. By far, though, Halladay's numbers are the best. He's pretty much guaranteed a Cy Young award this year...what an amazing K/BB ratio.

Lastly, I don't think people realize just how good Roy Oswalt is. He has a very good strikeout rate, the best WHIP of the six pitchers, and the second-best ERA among the six. He's an ace...pitching in the third spot in the rotation. Just amazing...Anyway, I'll dive into the September/October heatmap later. That really will show a more relevant comparison, as that's where the pitchers are currently at.

Needless to say, these will be some of the best postseason matchups in Giants history. 2010 Cy Young vs. the 2009 Cy Young.