QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Mar 19, 2005 -> 05:27 PM)
I am not saying Mark is not a good pitcher. I'm saying he isn't an ace.
When I think of ace, not only do I think of those ERA and WHIP numbers along with the QS and W's(IP really do not matter a ton), I also think of sheer dominance. Mark does not have the stuff to be a dominant pitcher.
As a comparison, how does Mark stack up to Ben Sheets? Off the top of my head, I think Mark throws more innings per year and he wins more games, but Sheets had an ERA of 2.70, a WHIP of .98, and an incredible K/BB of 8.25. I don't know off the top of my head how many QS's Sheets had, but I'm sure he had quite a few.
If you want some more comparisons, compare MB to Johan, Jason Schmidt, Randy Johnson, Tim Hudson, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Oliver Perez, and perhaps more.
There are very few ace types in the league. However, you do not need one to have a very winning team(Angels of 02)...but it is nice to have them(Sawks 04, Marlins 03, DBacks 01, Yanks 00)
Alright, to each his own.
I'll just say I'm damn satisfied with Mark as the #1 of my staff.
Also, Garcia has pretty damn good stuff, possibly ace stuff depending on how you view, "ace".