Sheets Can't Hit

I know, tell you something you don't already know. I knew Sheets was bad but I didn't realize that he might the worst hitting pitcher in the league, though. According to Nate Silver at Baseball Prospectus, Sheets is just that:

Lies, Damned Lies: Evaluating Pitcher Hitting

Assuming about 80 PA (what an average starter racks up over 32 or 33 starts, Sheets costs his team 2.2 runs, compared to the average hitting pitcher. Showing up on the "best hitters" list is Yovani Gallardo, at 4.9 runs above average. That's good for 4th best in the league. Roughly speaking, that 7.1 run difference in hitting talent between Yo and Sheets equates to around .30 ERA points. Wow!

You can find some addition discussion here on this topic.