I know we hate the offense right now.  And I know we like the starting pitching.  But do we know just how good the starting pitching has been?  It's actually been slightly better than 2007 starting pitching, and remember:  We suffered a similar swoon after the All-Star break and it was the starting pitching that wrapped the duct tape around our collective head.

So enjoy this, let it cheer you up, and convince yourself that our bullpen will once again develop a CofT.

Quality Start Percentage

2008:  59%
2007:  58%

ERA

2008:  3.78
2007:  4.18

K / 9 IP

2008:  5.8
2007:  5.7

Innings Pitched

2008:  6.1 per start
2007:  6.25 per start

BB / 9 IP

2008:  4.1
2007:  2.2

Overall Rating

2008:  Proon-Correctingly Awesome
2007:  Pronksmashingly Sweet

The biggest surprise to me was the K rate; Cliff Lee's world-beating April has made up for Fausto's anemic K rate.

The biggest red flag was the BB rate, but the spike is entirely the result of CC and Fausto's wildness.  Considering that those two guys could have split the 2007 Cy Young, it's a pretty good bet that they'll return to better statistical neighborhoods.

Turns out that if we can enjoy any offensive bounce at all, we're going to be very, very good.  We just need to flip that switch before too many losses pile up.