Sports journalism is traditionaly the weakest branch of journalism in the US, and it's not like the average journalist is a genius, but this article features some of the dumbest writing I've ever seen. Sports Illustrated writer John Donovan:

No regular starter in baseball over the past 17 years has been as consistently successful ... as Greg Maddux. ... Maddux -- there's no sugarcoating this -- is getting hit these days, maybe harder than he ever has in his career.

...

His ERA, the mark that once set him apart, climbed to a galling 5.02.

The dart-throwers out there will insist that the 39-year-old Maddux is finished, that his stuff has stopped moving, that hitters are finally on to him ... The problem with that assessment is that, despite getting hit on occasion, Maddux still wins. Sometimes it's hard to figure out how he does it. But he does.

Maddux (who, before Tuesday's game, enjoyed the fifth-best run support in the National League at more than six runs a start) is clearly no longer the pitcher who won four straight Cy Young awards (1992-95). Still, he is the only pitcher in history to win 15 or more games in 17 straight seasons (1988-2004). During that run, he boasted a 2.83 ERA.

He is 7-6 -- that's more wins than anyone on that decimated Cubs' staff, and more losses, too -- even with his embarrassingly large 5.02 ERA. ... But even with that ballooning ERA, Maddux has proven his worth. ...Somehow, still, he keeps baffling.

Let me get this straight, John. Maddux is giving up an average of five runs per game, which is much worse than his career average of about three. But because he has a seven win, six loss record this season, he isn't actually a worse pitcher; he just has a mysterious ability to keep winning. Oh, and paranthetically, he's had the good fortune that his team is scoring, on average, over six runs each time he starts.

I know that serious mathematical analysis of baseball is only slowly penetrating the inside circles of baseball, but I feel confident that even my readers without any knowledge of baseball will be able to uncover the mystery of Maddux's winning record.