The St. Louis Cardinals own the best starters’ ERA in all of MLB at 3.35. With three starters in the top ten of ERA, headlined by Mike Leake at 2.64, and the resurgence of Adam Wainwright, the Cardinals starters have been dominant on the mound.
Except there’s two sides to every story. A 4.60 bullpen era, which ranks 13th in the National League, explains the Cardinals’ sub-.500 record of 26-28.
Brett Cecil not living up to his lofty contract, Jonathan Broxton finding barrel after barrel (and getting released), and relievers like Kevin Siegrist and Matt Bowman failing to be consistent paint an even clearer picture as to why starting pitching continues to be spoiled.