Chris Sale
By Josh Nelson
Chris Sale is a stud. He’s been one of the most dominating pitchers over the past several years and hasn’t shown any sign of slowing down. As long as injuries don’t affect him, Sale will continue to be the ace for the White Sox for years to come.
Now, Mike Irace will try to tell you that Jake Arrieta is the better pitcher (Mike’s a Cubs homer), but he couldn’t be more wrong. Sure, Arrieta has a Cy Young award under his belt, but that was only because he had an all-time great second half to the 2015 season. Throw that half out the window and Arrieta is still a solid pitcher but nowhere near Sale’s level.
Perhaps the most impressive part of last season was when Sale went eight straight games with 10 or more strikeouts, which tied Pedro Martinez for most consecutive games with double-digit strikeouts. Anytime you tie a record set by Martinez, you’re doing something right.
Over his career, Sale boasts 1,011 strikeouts while posting a 57-40 record with a 2.91 ERA. All of these stats came while pitching for the White Sox, who have been incapable of giving Sale any run support over the past few seasons.
Sale also finished in the top five in the Cy Young race in three of the past four seasons and made the All-Star team the past four years. Until Arrieta can show that consistency, Sale will continue to be the better option.
Jake Arrietta
By Mike Irace
The baseball season is just around the corner, and as a Chicago Cubs fan, I personally could not be more excited. With the talent they have in their position players and pitching staff, the Cubs are looking to make it to the playoffs two years in a row.
The pitching staff I mentioned has the reigning National League Cy Young award winner, Jake Arrieta. He may have been the best pitcher in the National League last year, but is he the best pitcher in Chicago? In my opinion, yes, he is.
There are baseball fans who would argue Arrieta has some competition on the Southside in power-throwing lefty, Chris Sale. It is a pretty tough decision on who is better, but Arrieta wins my vote. Arrieta had a 1.77 ERA compared to Sale’s 3.41 last season. Based off last season’s statistics alone, Arrieta is the better pitcher. Josh Nelson might disagree and say Sale is the better pitcher, but what does he know, he’s a Cleveland Indians fan.
This upcoming MLB season should be a fun one for us Cubs fans; this year could most definitely be the year they break the 108-year World Series drought. The Cubs just need to hope that Arrieta comes back where he left off.
