R.A. Dickey, Ace Hurler

By Rob Neyer - National Baseball Editor

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Feb 14, 2012 - You know, Sandy Alderson's a tough smart cookie and we've all been enjoying his surprisingly funny tweets. And without Sandy Alderson there would be no Billy Beane, and without Billy Beane there would be no Brad Pitt, and without Brad Pitt there would be no Moneyball: The Movie, and without Moneyball: The Movie I wouldn't be able to impress young women who liked Moneyball: The Movie.

Me: Did you see Moneyball?
YW: Yes! It was so good!
Me: You know that guy Bill James they kept mentioning?
YW: Yes! Handsome fella!
Me: Pretty much that was actually me.
YW: Really?
Me: Yes!

So, to Sandy Alderson I say thank you, sir.

Still, I simply cannot allow this to stand:

Alderson: "Our rotation is pretty solid - Santana, if healthy, Pelfrey, Niese, Dickey and Gee."

— New York Mets (@Mets) February 14, 2012

Perhaps I'm reading reading too much into this, but can one avoid the conclusion that Alderson considers R.A. Dickey the Mets' fourth-best starter?

He's not. Not by my lights, anyway. I know I'm not objective when it comes to knuckleballers, so let's check the numbers over the last two years, minimum 150 innings:

ERA
1. Johan Santana (2.98)
2 - R.A. Dickey (3.08)
3 - Dillon Gee (4.04)

Innings
1 - Mike Pelfrey (397)
2 - R.A. Dickey (383)
3 - J.J. Niese (331)

Strikeouts/Walks
1 - J.J. Niese (2.70)
2 - Johan Santana (2.62)
3 - R.A. Dickey (2.48)

Home Runs / 9 Innings
1 - Johan Santana (0.72)
2 - R.A. Dickey (0.73)
3 - Mike Pelfrey (0.75)

Those are the four big ones, right? If you score each of the five rotation mates, Santana just edges Dickey for first place. And considering the questions about Santana's shoulder, I think there's a perfectly reasonable argument (see above) that Robert Alan Dickey is, at this moment, the New York Mets' best starting pitcher.

Oh, and he's consistent. Lest you think he's riding on the tails of his out-of-nowhere 2010 campaign. In both 2010 and '11, Dickey posted a 2.48 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He gave up 0.7 home runs per nine innings in 2010, 0.8 in 2011. Yes, we all "know" that knuckleball pitchers are inconsistent and perhaps they are. More than your conventional pitchers, though? I'm not yet convinced. Phil Niekro was pretty consistent.

I'd rank them like this: Santana (if healthy), Dickey, Niese, Pelfrey and Gee. And until Sandy Alderson issues a correction or retraction, I'm boycotting his Twitter feed. I don't care how many grins it costs me. Sometimes one must stand on principle.

Read More: Johan Santana (P - NYM), Mike Pelfrey (P - NYM), R.A. Dickey (P - NYM), Dillon Gee (P - NYM), New York Mets

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