AL Cy Young

Buster Olney...

Right now, I'd rank the AL Cy Young Award contenders along these lines:

1. Sabathia
2. Felix Hernandez
3. Price

 

The King Felix groundswell was cute and all for the last couple weeks, but Sabathia will cost to the Cy Young after a couple more wins and a few columns from NYC about how well he is pitching in the heat of the pennant race (where failure would net them the wild card by about a half-dozen games).

 

And people think I'm smug? Comical.

Let's see Sabathia put together two good starts in a row, something he hasn't done lately. Even with the dominant outing, his ERA is still much higher than Hernandez's (3.03 compared to 2.39). And your own post points out how silly this crap about division-race pressure is. There is no pressure. Both teams are going to the playoffs.

Sabathia did finally get a taste of what Hernandez has to deal with every time he steps on the mound -- having to pitch knowing that if he gives up even one run that he is likely to lose and even shutting the opposition out might not be enough.

 

And I say this as a lifelong Red Sox fan, but the best pitcher in the American League is ...

Mariano Rivera.
If I had a vote for AL Cy Young, I'd vote for Rivera like the dead vote for Daley in Chicago — 10 times a day and twice on Sunday.

 

good thing you don't

 

Agreed.

 

If you're voting for a lifetime achievement award, it's Rivera.

 

He will get his dues after he retires with a first ballot HOF and a standalone monument behind the outfield wall.

And anytime a "greatest ever" team is put together, his name will be there for closer/relief pitcher. It will be the easiest spot to fill in.

 

Yet another statement by Felix Hernandez. No-hitter through seven. Ends up giving up one run on three hits and a walk while striking out eight in eight innings tonight against the Rangers. One mistake, a solo home run to Nelson Cruz. Drops his ERA down to 2.35 for the season.

 

More like just another game after he lost the no-hitter.

 

True. The dominant performances do start to run together with him.

 

I'm guessing you saw none of it. Or, you're writing literally, and referring to the final two innings.

Texas is a tough hitting team. But for the first seven innings, they were completely flummoxed. In the eighth, Hernandez left a fastball up and Cruz turned it around, and from there he struggled a bit. But he closed out the inning.

The kid can pitch.