1) Those cutoffs for rotation slots are current era, one-year numbers. 05-07 was a higher run environment, so you’d have a higher threshold for ace status. Also, multi-year stretches converge towards the mean, making for a lower standard deviation and different cutoffs.

2) Make sure you include IP totals when you talk about WAR. The reader wouldn’t know if the WAR totals are skewed because Lackey threw more innings during his 3-year stretch. Turns out Weaver had 20 more IP, which widens the gap a bit further between the two.

3) When talking about past results, don’t call predictive stats like SIERA worrisome. That is like saying you’re worried about someone’s BABIP from five years ago; the next phase of his career is already over, so you don’t have to predict anything.

4) When filtering out categories, don’t say someone is last in that stat. Lackey still had a below league-average BB rate during that stretch. Also, you should expect him to be the worst of the bunch when you cherry-pick the filter guidelines.

5) 2011 was really just a freak year for Lackey in all senses. First, the park factor difference between LAA and BOS is 99 to 105, fairly significant. Second, moving from the AL West to AL East results in facing much better offenses. Third, he had the major distraction of his wife battling cancer and the ensuing divorce talks. Also, he ended up having TJ, so he was probably hurt for a stretch of the year, which won’t help the results.

Ok, that was a lot more than I thought.