Today's Fun Felix Hernandez Facts

100% fun, no MSG. Diet jokes!

Fun fact the first:

Over 93 career starts against teams at .500 or better, Felix has a 3.23 ERA and a 3.38 FIP. Over 78 career starts against teams below .500, Felix has a 3.18 ERA and a 3.46 FIP.

Over the last two years, Felix's ERA split has been -0.34. That is, since the beginning of the 2009 season, Felix's ERA has actually been 34 points better against good teams than bad teams.

For the sake of comparison, Roy Halladay's career split is +0.34.

CC Sabathia's career split is +0.79.

Johan Santana's career split is +0.29.

Roy Oswalt's career split is +1.10.

Randy Johnson's career split was +1.07.

Dan Haren's career split is +0.52.

There are two ways you could take this. One - the fun way - is that Felix has been able to elevate his game against good teams and meet the challenge head-on. Two - the less fun way - is that, while Felix has been at his best against good opponents, he's done worse against lousy teams, which may be somewhat indicative of coasting or lapses in focus.

Personally, though, I'd rather have a guy who's great against good teams and good against bad teams than a guy who's good against good teams and great against bad teams. With Felix, I don't think it's ever about a lack of skill. It can be about a lack of motivation. Put that guy on a good Mariners team, where he's always motivated, and God only knows what we could see.

-----

Fun fact the second:

Felix pitching to Rob Johnson this year over 21 starts: 2.93 ERA, .635 OPS, 3.0 K/BB

Felix pitching to Adam Moore this year over ten starts: 1.22 ERA, .505 OPS, 3.7 K/BB

Felix pitching to Josh Bard this year over three starts: 1.59 ERA, .509 OPS, 8.0 K/BB