As the season winds down, a number of American League Cy Young candidates seem to have separated themselves from the pack. In my mind there are five pitchers worthy of serious consideration. Those are:
1. Francisco Rodriguez - LAA - 2-2 with 51 Saves, 56.1 IP, 63 SO, and a 2.56 ERA.
2. Cliff Lee - CLE - 19-2, 185.1 IP, 145 SO, and a 2.43 ERA.
3. Daisuke Matsuzaka - BOS - 16-2, 140.2 IP, 124 SO, and a 2.82 ERA.
4. Ervin Santana - LAA - 13-5, 179.2 IP, 179 SO, and a 3.36 ERA.
5. A.J. Burnett - TOR - 16-10, 186.2, 193 SO, and a 4.48 ERA.
Honorable Mention (because he's awesome):
Jon Lester - BOS - 12-5, 176.2 IP, 124 SO, and a 3.41 ERA. Not to mention a no-hitter... all this coming from a guy who just came back from cancer. Wow.
Personally, as a Red Sox fan, I'm partial to Daisuke winning the award, especially since he's been such a stud for us this year, when we so desperately needed him to be.
Regardless of how you feel about closers, closers winning the Cy Young, and Rodriguez himself, I really believe that if he breaks the saves record (Bobby Thigpen's record of 57), especially with how well the Angels have played this year (and the impact he's had on that success), there's no way he isn't awarded the Cy Young.
On the flip side of that is Cliff Lee. While he is on a bad team, that will not make the playoffs, he is having a phenomenal year. As a starting pitcher, he is also a more traditional Cy Young candidate. Will the fact that he pitches for a crappy team derail his chances of winning the award?
What say you loyal readers of The Lineup Card?
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5 comments:
How the hell do you have Burnett on there with a 4.48 ERA. You shouldn't even be considered a candidate with that ERA. I understand that hes been pitching well since the break, but come on. Being the red sox fan that you are, I feel like you only put him on there because he's dominated the Yanks. As a baseball fan, and yes I am a Yankee fan, Jon Lester should definitely be on that list ahead of Burnett
How about John Lackey? He's doing a hell of a lot better than AJ Burnett. He's 11-2 with a 2.95 ERA. Also about Burnett, you shouldn't be considered a CY Young candidate when you have double digit losses. That's just absurd.
What about Roy Halladay? He's been so much more consistent than AJ Burnett. He's 16-9 (a lot of those losses were complete games and he didn't get any run support), with a 2.69 ERA and 175 strikeouts.
AJ Burnett has given up 4+ ER in 4 of his past 6 starts. That's not dominant. Awful consideration for a CY Young candidate
You'll notice that, short of simply adding him to the list, I said nothing more of Burnett. Truthfully, I don't want him to win the Cy Young, and I know that he won't. I put him on my list, primarily, because he leads the league in strikeouts, and he does have 16 wins, while playing for a crappy team. In hindsigh, his inclusion, I admit, is a bit sketchy... but I stand by my list.
You said the same thing about AJ Burnett as you did all the other pitchers you mentioned on your list. Halladay has the same amount of wins, almost 2 ER lower ERA, and 18 less strikeouts than Burnett and your going to tell me that your going to mention that their second best pitcher is worthy of the CY Young award. I don't care who you want to win. I like the effort in being bold, but come on, you have to be a little more realistic.
Here's an example of your thinking:
Oliver Perez in 2004 led the NL in strikeouts, went 12-10 for a bad Pirate team, and even had a 2.99 ERA. Roger Clemens went on to win the CY Young that year with an 18-4 record with a 2.98 ERA
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