By no measure has Matt Cain had a dominant or even very good 2007, but the Giants? hitters have treated him unfairly. Cain has an ERA of 3.78, but a record of 5-13. The Giants average 3.21 runs per game for Cain, down from their average of 4.31.
Noah Lowry, who leads the club with 13 wins, gets 4.61 runs per start.
Since 1961, there have been 16 other pitchers who have posted an ERA of 3.80 or better, with a 30% Win-Loss percentage and at least 150 innings pitched. Most of them occurred in the 60?s and 70?s, with only three in the 80?s, John Dopson?s 1988 season being the most recent. Jerry Koosman has the dubious honor of having two appearances on this list.
John Dopson, Montreal, 1988:
3.04, .214
Nelson Briles, St. Louis, 1966:
3.21, .211
Steve Rogers, Montreal, 1976:
3.21, .292
Jerry Koosman, NY Mets, 1977:
3.49, .286
Dave LaPoint, San Francisco, 1985:
3.57, .292
Galen Cisco, NY Mets, 1964:
3.62, .240
Bill Singer, LA Dodgers, 1972:
3.67, .270
Juan Marichal, San Francisco, 1972:
3.71, .273
Atlee Hammaker, San Francisco, 1985:
3.74, .294
Jim Rooker, Kansas City, 1969:
3.75, .200
Jerry Koosman, NY Mets, 1978:
3.75, .167
Gary Peters, Chicago White Sox, 1968:
3.76, .235
Tom Murphy, California, 1971:
3.77, .261
Roger Craig, NY Mets, 1963:
3.78, .185
Barry Lersch, Philaelphia, 1971:
3.78, .263
Clay Kirby, San Diego, 1969:
3.80, .259
What makes Cain?s season so special is how rare it has been in this era when pitchers don?t get as many decision as they once did.
There are only six other active players who have even had a 30% or below winning percentage and an ERA under 5.00.
Mark Redman, Pittsburgh, 2005:
4.90, .250
Ryan Franklin, Seattle, 2004:
4.90, .200
Jason Isringhausen, NY Mets, 1996:
4.77, .300
Nate Cornejo, Detrot, 2003:
4.67, .261
Tom Glavine, Atlanta, 1988:
4.56, .292
Mark Hendrickson, Tampa Bay/LA Dodgers, 2006:
4.21, .286
Glavine has become a 300 game winner, possibly MLB?s last, so Cain must look at how he turned his 7-17 season in 1988 into a 14-8 season in 1989.






