As Whataboutisms go, We did it before, so why not keep doing it the same way is a pretty awful one. There is nothing wrong with learning from what you know today and adjusting your thinking to match.
As for Curt, I always kind of felt his peak didn't last long enough, or wasn't great enough to overcome the rest of his career. He didn't hit any of the big key numbers. He never won a Cy Young. Close, but not quite for me.