"I had an LL team with mediocre (at best) starting pitching which led its league in ERA by over a run per game (2.89 vs 4.25) and had 3 of my starters in the top 10 in league ERA (2nd, 3rd, 8th)."

I took mediocre and expanded that to a number, 3.5 to 4.0 ERA. If you pitchers had actual stats that were better than there actual ERA's, then they end up with better PB ERA's.


"The game does seem to consistently favor (or penalize) certain players in certain years and when it happens, usually it is across all leagues"

It favors pitchers with better overall stats then what there ERA may reflect. This would then give them better PB ERA's after playing the season.