Re-visiting the Cy Young award talk
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by TehLoki
As we near the stretch of the season, it's time to look at our Cy Young hopefuls. I'm picking out what I believe are the top 3 at this point. You can post anyone else you believe in comments.
National League
Jake Peavy, SD (18-6 2.39 ERA 225 K's)
Brad Penny, LAD (16-4 2.88 ERA 131 K's)
Brandon Webb, ARI ( 16-10 2.99 ERA 184 K's)
I was going to include Chris Young, but his numbers aren't overly impressive although his 2.77 ERA is nice, a 9-7 record isn't. Cole Hamels has a 14-5 record but a 3.50 ERA plus he's just coming back. Peavy's proving to be one of the tops in the MLB. He's kept his team in games and will carry them to the playoffs, so they hope. His ERA is tops in the NL, as are his 225 K's. Teams are hitting a .204 on Peavy.
Brad Penny is also having an amazing year, 16-4? His previous 3 years he is 16-19, but his ERA is higher and K's are lower. Hitters are hitting .252 against Penny. Right hitters though, are hitting .285.
Brandon Webb, our previous champ, is having another great year, but his losses and ERA are higher with less K's. Hitters are hitting .230 against Webb, which is better than Penny's, lefties are hitting .267 off webb.
Peavy gets this choice.
American League
Josh Beckett BOS (19-6 3.20 ERA 180 K's)
Fausto Carmona CLE (17-8 3.07 ERA 126 K's)
C.C. Sabathia CLE (17-7 3.21 ERA 198 K's)
The AL was much harder to choose from with guys like Johan Santana, Erik Bedard and Chien-Ming Wang, but I've seen a bit more of these 3. Like I said, you can disagree with me, but make sure you post in your comment of who and why.
Here in the AL, my original pick was Beckett, as stated in my first article early in the season. He's the first 19 game winner this year, and he's been a constant threat every game. His ERA is 2nd in the AL and he ranks in the top 10 in K's. Hitters are hitting a mere .241 in the high octane AL.
Fausto Carmona: Before this season, I had no idea who he was. Well, he made quick work of that, he quickly and quietly, behind Sabathia, became one of my favorite pitchers. His ERA is 1st in the AL, although he ranks low in the K's his ERA and record show he doesn't need to strikeout everyone to win. Hitters are hitting .245 against him .004 points higher than Beckett which is very impressive from the 2nd year starter.
C.C. Sabathia, whom I was hounded for not including early on, did indeed prove me wrong. #6 in ERA, top 10 in wins and 4th in K's. Very Cy Young like numbers. He's proving to be a top flight pitcher when healthy. Hitters are hitting a .241 against him, with lefties being the problem; well "problem" hitting .276.
It's a tight race in the AL, with all 3 very good picks, but I'm staying my course with Josh Beckett. He's too dominant to ignore.
Jake Peavy for the NL and Josh Beckett for the AL.
As always, I would love to see if you agree or disagree. All I ask, again, is if you disagree say who you'd choose and why.
