First post.  Grill away if you want.  I can take it.  Grrr.

Preaching to the choir here.  But I hear CC mentioned as a frontrunner for the Cy Young in the same sentence as Felix, and I want to blow my brains out.  Wins are an archaic statistic that have almost nothing to do with pitching performance.  So take away the fact that CC plays for the Yankees, and what does he have?  A good line of numbers that are NOT among the top for the American League.

Felix:

• ERA - 2.38 (2nd in AL)

• K's - 200 (1st in AL)

• WHIP - 1.10 (3rd in AL)

• CG - 5

• K/BB - 3.39

• K/9 - 8.52

• BB - 59

• BAA - .222
• QS% - 90%

CC:

• ERA - 3.02 (6th in AL)
• K's - 165 (7th in AL)
• WHIP - 1.20 (14th in AL)
• CG - 2
• K/BB - 2.54
• K/9 - 7.33
• BB - 65 (in fewer innings, I should add)
• BAA - .239
• QS% - 79%

I explain this to people, and I'm met with different responses:

1.  "I don't believe in quality starts as a bearing for performance.  3 ER in 6 IP is a 4.50 ERA.  That's awful."  Ummm ok.  I won't argue the fact that "quality" might be a misnomer with the statistic, but I think you're missing the point.  When a pitcher goes out 90% of the time and throws 6 innings and only allows 3 ER, that's BETTER than a pitcher who only does so 79% of the time (or 70% of the time, as is the case for many other pitchers).  Arguing the name of the statistic doesn't change the fact that a 90% QS pitcher is more reliable and consistent than a 79% QS pitcher.

2.  "Well CC's ERA may be above 3.00, but that's because he pitches at the new Yankee Stadium.  Obviously a pitcher will allow more total runs when he pitches half his starts on that small field!"  I can reply to this by pointing out CC's Home ERA vs his Away ERA:

• ERA @ Yankee Statium: 2.26
• ERA away: 3.75

All you have here is a pitcher who pitches well at home.  Once he leaves the comfort of his home stadium, he's average at best.  And I should note something else:

• Felix's ERA @ NYY:  0.00

3.  "CC's ERA is only inflated because he plays in the AL East.  He's pitching against teams like TB and Bos on a regular basis."  Yeah, I have a response for that too.

• ERA against AL East:  3.08
• ERA against Non-AL East:  2.98

Pretty insignificant disparity, no?

Excuses, excuses.  Felix is still King any way you slice it.  I only hope the voting body takes off their blinders, pulls their heads out of the East Coast's colon, and votes him in despite his "unimpressive" win/loss record.