Time for a little pitcher comparison ...

Let's compare two pitchers who had long and productive careers. 

You ready?

Pitcher A: 214 wins; 3,283.1 innings pitched; 3.81 ERA; 33 complete games; 10 shutouts; two no-hitters; one perfect game; four Gold Gloves; five All-Star Game appearances; 1,870 strikeouts; 117 ERA+; 4.11 FIP; 1.281 WHIP; 59.1 WAR; one World Series championship

Pitcher B: 200 wins; 2,740 innings pitched; 3.66 ERA; 15 complete games, four shutouts, one no-hitter, zero perfect games; zero Gold Gloves; five All-Star Game appearances; 2,488 strikeouts; 117 ERA+; 3.78 FIP; 1.278 WHIP; 44.2 WAR; three World Series championships

Pitcher A has an advantage in wins and WAR; a significant advantage in innings pitched; a significant advantage in complete games and shutouts; threw one more no-hitter, plus a perfect game; and was far superior than Pitcher B at fielding his position, as evidenced by a 4-0 edge in Gold Gloves.

Pitcher B has a significant advantage in strikeouts; a slight advantage in WHIP; and an advantage in FIP. Pitcher B played on better teams and had more postseason success -- 3 World Series rings to 1.

The two pitchers appeared in an equal number of All-Star games, and had an identical ERA+.

Pitcher B is Jon Lester, who retired Wednesday, and is being hailed around Chicago as a slam dunk Hall of Famer.

OK, cool. Lester has had a terrific career, and I hope he makes it to the Hall, because that would mean Pitcher A should be there, too. After all, Pitcher A is comparable in many key categories, and superior in some others.

Pitcher A is Mark Buehrle.

If Buehrle doesn't get 5% of the vote this year and falls off the Hall ballot, someone's going to have to explain that one to me.