Not-so-great expectations

Ian Snell and Tim Hudson face off tonight as the Pirates try to steal a road series from the Braves and finally close the door on the Braves playoff hopes, as small as they are right now. It's funny to note that Snell (11-8, 4.51 ERA, 1.46 WHIP) and Hudson (10-10, 4,77, 1.44) have almost identical numbers this year but Hudson has been a huge disappointment while Snell has been one of the few bright spots in Pittsburgh this season. Actually, that's not funny, it's depressing. If you dig a little deeper, it's also not really fair to Snell. His strikeouts and K/BB numbers (127 K's to 105 and a 2.27:1 ratio compared to 1.7:1)have both been considerably better than Hudson's in about 20 fewer innings. Snell also had some horrendous early season performances that are still skewing his numbers at least a little bit. Oh, and Snell is 24 and Hudson is 31. This comparison thing, Snell doesn't do that. Continue on with the hope.