MLB 2018 regular season thread

Blake Snell has fungus on his shower shoes.

 

Man - that's a brutal fade by the Rockies. How many days have they been in first in the NL West this season?

 

20 wins (WINS!), 200 strikeouts, 1.97 ERA ... admitting a little Rays-fan bias here, but I can't imagine making an argument for anyone other than Blake Snell for the AL Cy Young.

 

Sale has more than an arguement because even with the time missed, his innings total is still going to be close to Snell and he's been slightly better than Snell regardless.

150 innings, 93 hits, 33 walks, 222 strikeouts, 1.92 ERA
169 innings, 106 hits, 56 walks, 200 strikeouts, 1.97 ERA

Both have two more starts

Verlander could make a very late push with a couple dominant starts since he's going to end up leading the league in innings and strikeouts.

 

Snell has 19 more innings. That is roughly three starts. If the ERA remains that close, I think you have to go with Snell, though Sale definitely has a case.

Edit: Does Sale even have enough innings to qualify for the ERA title?

DeGrom's edge over everybody in ERA has only gotten larger and he still can't get a win. A starting pitcher wins the NL Cy Young with only eight victories. We should all know that's fine, but can the voters wrap their heads around that one?

 

Oh, the irony if a TB starting pitcher wins the Cy Young award.

I know that wins don't tell you who the better pitcher is, but 20-5 for Tampa Bay sure looks a lot better than 12-4 for a 100-win team. And though the innings difference isn't huge, Snell was available to his team every day while Snell missed a month.

I think Sale is the better pitcher and Snell wins the award. It will make seven consecutive years that Sale receives votes in the Cy balloting without winning. Wonder if there's been a longer streak.

 

Since we’re in the dog days for most of the teams ...
One night in Texas Al Kaline says to George Kell:

“Uh. Gee George. It was a beautiful night here but now it looks really dark out past the center-field fence.”

Kell: “Al, it’s about 20 minutes to 9. That’s called NAITT.”

 

Kluber's knee issues mid-season really kept him from being in the discussion again. There were about three or four weeks there where he had nothing on the ball and his mechanics were screwed up in compensation for the knee. The outing in St. Louis stands out.

 

STOP USING WINS!!!!

 

If you think the voters won't consider 20-5 -v- 12-4 for a 100-win team, you cray-cray.

 

I do, but they shouldn’t.

 

I'm OK with it if they are using it as a tiebreaker. Is everything else equal between Snell and Sale. If you think so, reward the guy with the great win/loss record.

Sale is better in pretty much every category, though. ERA he has a slight edge, basically insignificant. They are the same in H/9, to lead the league. Sale much better in WHIP. Big advantage in K/9 and BB/9 for Sale. ERA+ goes to Sale. FIP says Sale is as good as his ERA shows and that Snell has been fortunate.

So Sale is better in just about everything, and the one major thing they are equal in is because Snell has been a bit luckier. Does the 19-inning difference erase all that? Snell was available to his team for a month when Sale was not. Sale is scheduled for two more starts. Will he get the 12 innings needed to qualify for the ERA title? (162 innings, or one IP for each game played by your team.)

I would have a hard time giving it to a SP who pitched as little as Sale. Qualifying for the ERA title would calm those worries.

I do not think the W/L record is a tiebreaker as Sale is better, IMO.