MLB.com streaky about postseason pitching streaks

There are many great pitchers holding a variety of records. One of those is 'scoreless-inning streak in postseason action' as follows:

• Postseason Consecutive Scoreless Innings Pitched, Rank.from CNNSI.com, 10/14/2000 (updated to 10/13/08):

"The UNTOUCHABLES

• Mariano Rivera 33.1* NYY

• Whitey Ford 33.0 NYY

• Babe Ruth 29.0 BOS

• Christy Mathewson 28.0 NYG

• Lew Burdette 24.0 MIL

• George Earnshaw 22.0 Phil

• Jonathan Papelbon 22.0 BOS

• Orel Hershiser 21.1 LA

• Joe Niekro 20.0*

• Bob Gibson 19.0 StL

* 16 saves, 22K in 23 appearances"

• From cnnsi.com 10/14/2000.
• (I added Papelbon's numbers which of course came after the CNNSI article
• was written).
• *CNNsi.com did not list Niekro. Since B-R said he has 20 scoreless innings in postseason, I added him here. (sm)

In at least 2 articles in the past week MLB.com has trumpeted Jonathan Papelbon as having broken the career postseason scoreless innings streak.

• They've given their stat a regal quality in a specially designed chart with the heading "World Series '08." (Chart heading below).That alone is misleading as the 'record/streak' they trumpet isn't for just World Series pitching, nor has a pitch been thrown in a 2008 World Series.

Papelbon has done something special but different. His record is for a player's 'first 22 scoreless innings' in the postseason, not for 'total scoreless postseason innings.' From MLB.com: "With a scoreless inning in Game 1 of the ALCS, Jonathan Papelbon broke the

• career scoreless-innings streak in postseason action."...

		They list 4 people on this 'streak:' Papelbon, Joe Niekro, Dennis Cook, and Duster Mails, Papelbon leading at the time of the article (10/11) with 20.2 innings. (He now has 22, shown above). MLB.com ran a similar chart on 10/6/08. If they want to make a chart for him, they should have noted his record was for scoreless innings "from the start of postseason appearances." Which is great of course. But he doesn't have the record the chart says he does, ie for "career scoreless-innings streak in postseason action." That is shown at CNNSI.com, 10/14/2000, and to which I added Papelbon's innings (above). ***The 10/6 MLB.com article clearly states an incorrect stat (from the point of view of the general public). This one could easily have been left out of the article and is not nice:*** (MLB.com): "Joe Niekro has the current record for most career postseason innings (20) without allowing a run." Not true. Mariano Rivera has that record with 33.1 IP. Whitey Ford is second with 33. The second MLB.com article makes some reference in the narrative to innings pitched from the 'start of a career' but is still misleading. The point is not that there may be a shred of truth in what they're regally promoting, but that it is almost impossible if not completely impossible to detect. Not that anyone cares. Or would question MLB.com about anything.

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