NL Cy Young .. whaddya think?

I have saying Sabathia should not win the NL Cy Young because he has only been there half of the season.

But there is a hell of a lot of difference between dominating as a starting pitcher for two months (so far) as Sabathia has done and dominating for 24 total innings in middle relief.

 

OK, you jumped into a "best pitcher deserves it" debate, that is why I threw a flash like Joba out there.

The Cy is for the best season, IMHO.

 

Well, consider this then, Devil:

Sabathia leads the National League in shutouts (3) and complete games (6). Half-season or not.

 

You called that one perfectly. He was the best pitcher at the end of last season, not throughout the season.

 

I was and still am one of the ones arguing for the best season. I understand your point about the full season. I just don't think Chamberlain illustrates it very well because he was not even close to the best pitcher in his league at the end of last season. He was a kid with great stuff putting up phenomenal numbers in large part because the team was babying him.

 

Jeez, now two of you are doing it. I think the top three finishers in the AL Cy Young voting last year (Sabathia, Beckett and Carmona) might have something to say about that, especially since they all finished strong.

 

No Joba did not deserve the Cy in the AL last year. I was trying to disprove that argument.

Shotty, those are for six games. They don't count twice in the standings.

In 2001 Pedro had a .97 WHIP and an ERA one run lower than the winner of the Cy, but not a sniff at the Cy Young. Why? Because he only pitched half a season.

Does this sound familiar?

 

I know why you used the argument. I'm saying he wasn't the best pitcher at the end of the season, either, (not even close) so not such a good comparison for Sabathia this year.

Pedro Martinez in 2001 is a much better comparison, though there were three 20-game winners in the AL that year. In only 18 starts, he wasn't going to hang with those guys in the voting.

 

My take, since I started the thread (and I have a vote, by the way)...

The award is for the "pitcher who has the best season in the NL" IMO. It is not for who is the "best pitcher" or who is "most valuable pitcher" or who is the "most dominating pitcher." I don't think a team performance is relevant. (This is not the MVP, for which I think Sabathia is worthy of some consideration.)

For now, I think it comes down to Webb vs. Lincecum. The only way I can see Sabathia getting involved is if he finishes 15-0 or something and the other guys slide.

As to Webb vs. Lincecum, Webb's edge in victories at the moment is canceled out by Lincecum's edge in winning percentage. So if you look at the other "how they pitched" stats (ERA, WHIP, Opp BA), I think Lincecum comes out ahead.

For the record, I don't care about strikeouts. I'm not going to penalize a guy who knows how to get through an inning on 4 pitches by getting three ground balls. He may be helping his team in the long run by keeping his pitch-count down and getting deeper in games.

At this moment, then, I'm thinking...

1. Lincecum
2. Webb
3. Sabathia

But it's subject to change.

All of that said, I'm not going to be surprised if Webb wins, because voters love wins, and Webb and Sabathia are getting all the Sports Center time, with their teams in the race.

Coincidentally, this race is similar to Zito vs. Pedro in 02. Zito had three more wins, but Pedro had a much lower ERA and more Ks, but Zito won the award.

 

Sabathia's win over Beckett last year was surprising because CC did not get the magic "20" that Beckett did. However, I think his ERA was nearly a run better.

That could give some hope to Lincecum but he's got to get to 19 wins and keep his ERA edge.

 

I think the numbers all the way around, if I'm remembering correctly, were very similar for Sabathia and Beckett. They're not so similar with Webb and Lincecum.

I think Webb comes away with it, mainly because of his victory total.

 

Well, today's start certainly isn't helping Webb's cause.

5 2/3 5 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 6 K

Of course, he'd have given up more if Manny Ramirez was as good as Jason Bay.