i don't think he fundamentally is better than those 2 you mentioned but teammates like him- he pitches fast and he's a warrior. frankly, i'd like to see him stay in the NL- he says SF is his first choice but we already have a high paid ace in zito.
"he's a good teammate and his durability is beyond question. He might appear to be a little heavy to mere mortals, but maybe he is simply a mountain of a man. He has made 30 or more starts in seven of his eight Major League seasons, and the one time he didn't, in 2006, he made 28. He strained a muscle on a bitterly cold, damp Opening Night in Chicago at the beginning of that season"