Come To Think of It: Friday's Cubs Game Offers Rule Change Reminder

I don’t know about you, but I would like to see major league baseball alter the way in which it allocates wins to pitchers in a ballgame. This is nothing new, but Friday’s Cubs game reminded me of how unfair the current rules are. After starter Rich Harden threw an astounding 103 pitches in only four innings of work (not a recipe for success by the way), Jeff Stevens was brought into the game. Stevens proceeded to give up a three-run bomb to the Reds’ Jonny Gomes and—poof—the game was tied. That was the only inning that Stevens pitched. He allowed three runs on three hits in one inning of “work”. Yet he was awarded with the win. Why? Well, for two reasons, of course. One, Harden failed to go the minimum five innings required to qualify for a win. And two, he was in the right place at the right time. Yes, though his ERA for the game was an unsightly 27.00, Stevens happened to pitch in the top half of the inning when the Cubs took the lead, a ...