NL Cy Young Winner?

[AZGrizFan]

You are correct. I wonder if playing for a 4th place team will impact his chances?

Guess it didn't hurt Fernandez last year....

Unless he absolutely implodes in September, I think he's a lock for the award.

Fernandez didn't have someone as close to him in every number as A is to D this year. A's pitching games that matter, in a more competitive division, in a more batter friendly ballpark, than D is. A's got 5 more starts so getting to 20 wins is a definite possibility. If the numbers don't change drastically and A gets to 20 wins, I think he's going to have a second in a row Cy Young.

"A" also has two pretty decent starters behind him to pick him up when he fails, something C & D don't necessarily have. Not saying you're wrong, but there's still a lot of baseball to play. At this point my money is on Kershaw if he keeps pitching the way he has so far this year. As much as I'd like to see Kennedy win it, it would take a miraculous push in his last 5 starts to get anywhere NEAR Halladay's and Kershaw's numbers. Leading the league in wins just isn't enough.

[GannonFan]

Fernandez didn't have someone as close to him in every number as A is to D this year. A's pitching games that matter, in a more competitive division, in a more batter friendly ballpark, than D is. A's got 5 more starts so getting to 20 wins is a definite possibility. If the numbers don't change drastically and A gets to 20 wins, I think he's going to have a second in a row Cy Young.

"A" also has two pretty decent starters behind him to pick him up when he fails, something C & D don't necessarily have. Not saying you're wrong, but there's still a lot of baseball to play. At this point my money is on Kershaw if he keeps pitching the way he has so far this year. As much as I'd like to see Kennedy win it, it would take a miraculous push in his last 5 starts to get anywhere NEAR Halladay's and Kershaw's numbers. Leading the league in wins just isn't enough.

You're right about wins - they just get you into the dicussion, but once there all the other things matter more. I don't see how having other good starters on your staff would hurt Halladay, except if someone like Lee or Hamels would take votes away from him. But I don't see that happening, as Lee's had enough rough starts that his numbers won't approach Halladay. Hamels missing a few starts is also keeping him behind Halladay as well. I think when it comes down to it, Kershaw's numbers aren't appreciably better than Halladay's - in most cases, they're about equal. If everything's even, the guy on the team playing important games is going to get the award. Doesn't mean it's right, it's just reality. If you're going to pitch for a team that is out of it by the All Star break, to win the Cy Young you need to be exceptional compared to the second place guy. Kershaw's numbers aren't there and really, both only have about 5-6 starts left so the numbers aren't going to change drastically, barring someone blowing up.

[AZGrizFan]

"A" also has two pretty decent starters behind him to pick him up when he fails, something C & D don't necessarily have. Not saying you're wrong, but there's still a lot of baseball to play. At this point my money is on Kershaw if he keeps pitching the way he has so far this year. As much as I'd like to see Kennedy win it, it would take a miraculous push in his last 5 starts to get anywhere NEAR Halladay's and Kershaw's numbers. Leading the league in wins just isn't enough.

You're right about wins - they just get you into the dicussion, but once there all the other things matter more. I don't see how having other good starters on your staff would hurt Halladay, except if someone like Lee or Hamels would take votes away from him. But I don't see that happening, as Lee's had enough rough starts that his numbers won't approach Halladay. Hamels missing a few starts is also keeping him behind Halladay as well. I think when it comes down to it, Kershaw's numbers aren't appreciably better than Halladay's - in most cases, they're about equal. If everything's even, the guy on the team playing important games is going to get the award. Doesn't mean it's right, it's just reality. If you're going to pitch for a team that is out of it by the All Star break, to win the Cy Young you need to be exceptional compared to the second place guy. Kershaw's numbers aren't there and really, both only have about 5-6 starts left so the numbers aren't going to change drastically, barring someone blowing up.

The "other good starters" lends itself to the pressure of being your team's ONLY answer....Halladay has (or had) Lee, Hamels & Oswalt....all #1's in their own right. Kershaw has.....nobody.

And if things progress as we expect, Kershaw will be #1 in wins, ERA, WHIP, and K's....that's going to be hard to ignore. At least it would for me as a voter. Granted, Halladay will probably be #2 in all those categories, but doesn't that in itself speak to what their relative positions should be?

I wonder how much thought is given by voters to a) supporting cast and/or b) ballpark effect.

[GannonFan]

You're right about wins - they just get you into the dicussion, but once there all the other things matter more. I don't see how having other good starters on your staff would hurt Halladay, except if someone like Lee or Hamels would take votes away from him. But I don't see that happening, as Lee's had enough rough starts that his numbers won't approach Halladay. Hamels missing a few starts is also keeping him behind Halladay as well. I think when it comes down to it, Kershaw's numbers aren't appreciably better than Halladay's - in most cases, they're about equal. If everything's even, the guy on the team playing important games is going to get the award. Doesn't mean it's right, it's just reality. If you're going to pitch for a team that is out of it by the All Star break, to win the Cy Young you need to be exceptional compared to the second place guy. Kershaw's numbers aren't there and really, both only have about 5-6 starts left so the numbers aren't going to change drastically, barring someone blowing up.

The "other good starters" lends itself to the pressure of being your team's ONLY answer....Halladay has (or had) Lee, Hamels & Oswalt....all #1's in their own right. Kershaw has.....nobody.

And if things progress as we expect, Kershaw will be #1 in wins, ERA, WHIP, and K's....that's going to be hard to ignore. At least it would for me as a voter. Granted, Halladay will probably be #2 in all those categories, but doesn't that in itself speak to what their relative positions should be?

I wonder how much thought is given by voters to a) supporting cast and/or b) ballpark effect.

All those things would be important (i.e. who's #1 and who's #2) if it weren't for the fact that they are pretty much even on all the stats. And in some cases Kershaw is #1, in some cases Halladay is (Kershaw's ahead in ERA for instance, but Halladay is ahead in ERA+ when taking into account where they pitch). Wins don't matter, as long as they are close, and the WHIP difference is miniscule. Kershaw has the lead in K's but Hallday in the K's/BB. If Kershaw was well ahead in something like wins or ERA like King Felix was last year, it would be a different story. As it is, Kershaw has the same stats as Halladay and Halladay pitches in games that matter.

[UNHWildCats]

A & D are close, I went with A, because the K/BB ratio for him is so much better... but really either is deserving.

[AZGrizFan]

All those things would be important (i.e. who's #1 and who's #2) if it weren't for the fact that they are pretty much even on all the stats. And in some cases Kershaw is #1, in some cases Halladay is (Kershaw's ahead in ERA for instance, but Halladay is ahead in ERA+ when taking into account where they pitch). Wins don't matter, as long as they are close, and the WHIP difference is miniscule. Kershaw has the lead in K's but Hallday in the K's/BB. If Kershaw was well ahead in something like wins or ERA like King Felix was last year, it would be a different story. As it is, Kershaw has the same stats as Halladay and Halladay pitches in games that matter.

Like I said earlier, I wonder how much "ballpark" and "games that matter" matter to the voters.

[BlueHen86]

All those things would be important (i.e. who's #1 and who's #2) if it weren't for the fact that they are pretty much even on all the stats. And in some cases Kershaw is #1, in some cases Halladay is (Kershaw's ahead in ERA for instance, but Halladay is ahead in ERA+ when taking into account where they pitch). Wins don't matter, as long as they are close, and the WHIP difference is miniscule. Kershaw has the lead in K's but Hallday in the K's/BB. If Kershaw was well ahead in something like wins or ERA like King Felix was last year, it would be a different story. As it is, Kershaw has the same stats as Halladay and Halladay pitches in games that matter.

Like I said earlier, I wonder how much "ballpark" and "games that matter" matter to the voters.

I would guess that "games that matter" would be considered by many voters, probably more so than "ballpark". Just a guess. And even if they are considered, they are only a small part of the equation.

[AZGrizFan]

Like I said earlier, I wonder how much "ballpark" and "games that matter" matter to the voters.

I would guess that "games that matter" would be considered by many voters, probably more so than "ballpark". Just a guess. And even if they are considered, they are only a small part of the equation.

If I were a voter, home/away splits would matter much more than "games that matter".

[BlueHen86]

I would guess that "games that matter" would be considered by many voters, probably more so than "ballpark". Just a guess. And even if they are considered, they are only a small part of the equation.

If I were a voter, home/away splits would matter much more than "games that matter".

I know that there are voters who won't vote for an MVP candidate if he's on a bad team. I realize that the Cy Young has a different voting criteria than MVP, I just think there are voters who will give the edge to the guy on a winning team.

Like I said, just a guess.

[AZGrizFan]

If I were a voter, home/away splits would matter much more than "games that matter".

I know that there are voters who won't vote for an MVP candidate if he's on a bad team. I realize that the Cy Young has a different voting criteria than MVP, I just think there are voters who will give the edge to the guy on a winning team.

Like I said, just a guess.

Yep...it's the old "last place with him, last place without him" theory.

[Grizalltheway]

If I were a voter, home/away splits would matter much more than "games that matter".

I know that there are voters who won't vote for an MVP candidate if he's on a bad team. I realize that the Cy Young has a different voting criteria than MVP, I just think there are voters who will give the edge to the guy on a winning team.

Like I said, just a guess.

CoughJoltinJoecough

[dbackjon]

C got 18th win against closest division rival AT their park with 7 innings of 5 hit 1 run ball


C is your CY Young winner.

[AZGrizFan]

4 pitchers with statistical ranking in parenthesis:

Pitcher A: 15-5 (T-3), 2.56 ERA (5), 182 K's (4), 7 CG (1), 0 SO (T-22), 1.054 WHIP (2), 7.91 K/BB ratio (1)
Pitcher B: 14-7 (5), 2.71 ERA (7), 191 K's (2), 5 CG (2), 5 SO (1), 1.065 WHIP (6), 4.90 K/BB ratio (3)
Pitcher C: 17-4 (1), 3.03 ERA (11), 161 K's (T-7), 1 CG (t-17), 1 SO (T-4), 1.121 WHIP (8), 3.29 K/BB ratio (12)
Pitcher D: 16-5 (2), 2.51 ERA (3), 207 K's (1), 4 CG (3), 2 SO (2), 1.023 WHIP (1), 4.31 K/BB ratio (5)

What say ye?

Updated stats through Sunday:

Pitcher A (Halladay): 16-5, 2.49 ERA, 195 K's, 7 CG, 0 SO, 1.056 WHIP, 7.50 K/BB ratio
Pitcher B (Lee): 16-7, 2.47 ERA, 204 K's, 6 CG, 6 SO, 1.031 WHIP, 5.10 K/BB ratio
Pitcher C (Kennedy): 18-4, 2.96 ERA, 167 K's, 1 CG, 1 SO, 1.117 WHIP, 3.27 K/BB ratio
Pitcher D (Kershaw): 17-5, 2.45 ERA, 222 K's, 5 CG, 2 SO, 1.021 WHIP, 4.44 K/BB ratio

IMHO, Halladay just got passed by Lee for 2nd place behind Kershaw. More K's and SIX shutouts. And at this point I might give him the edge over Kershaw as well....

[grizzaholic]

I am not a baseball guy so I went with pitcher B...just one question. With this whole Pitcher A-D thing, shouldn't there be a Pitcher of Beer option?

[AZGrizFan]

I am not a baseball guy so I went with pitcher B...just one question. With this whole Pitcher A-D thing, shouldn't there be a Pitcher of Beer option?

Had I been thinking when I created this thread then the answer is definitely YES. However, since it's plainly known that I RARELY am thinking while posting, I think you see what happened here.

edit: I have duly amended my poll to include Pitcher of Beer as an option.

Please vote again.

[93henfan]

Regardless of who wins, if I had to pick one of the four to start a playoff series starting four days from now (because he pitched yesterday), I take Lee without hesitation. Nobody is pitching better since Aug 1st.

[BlueHen86]

Regardless of who wins, if I had to pick one of the four to start a playoff series starting four days from now (because he pitched yesterday), I take Lee without hesitation. Nobody is pitching better since Aug 1st.

IMHO when Lee is at his best he is the best pitcher in baseball. He goes through periods where he is average and that is why he is not running away with the Cy Young.

[AZGrizFan]

Regardless of who wins, if I had to pick one of the four to start a playoff series starting four days from now (because he pitched yesterday), I take Lee without hesitation. Nobody is pitching better since Aug 1st.

IMHO when Lee is at his best he is the best pitcher in baseball. He goes through periods where he is average and that is why he is not running away with the Cy Young.

And then he goes through periods like THIS:

Since giving up 4 ER's during a July 30th start against Pittsburgh (a game in which his ERA rose to 3.14), he has given up exactly TWO earned runs in 48.2 innings spanning 6 starts...he's dropped his ERA to the aforementioned 2.47 and raised his record from 9-7 to 16-7. He had a similar stretch in the month of June, winning 5 straight and giving up 1 ER in 42 innings.

edit: FYI, those two earned runs he's given up since 7/30 were to the D-Backs.

[Grizalltheway]

Pitcher of beer is running away with it!

[AZGrizFan]

Pitcher of beer is running away with it!

But of course. It's a pitcher of Bud Light.

[grizzaholic]

Pitcher of beer is running away with it!

But of course. It's a pitcher of Bud Light.

I would like to change my vote.

[eagleskins]

Stephen Strasburg.

[dbackjon]

Kennedy wins #19

7.2 innings, 1 Run, 0 BB, 11 K


He deserves it.

[SuperHornet]

Kennedy wins #19

7.2 innings, 1 Run, 0 BB, 11 K


He deserves it.

With a performance like that, why was he removed?

[AZGrizFan]

Kennedy wins #19

7.2 innings, 1 Run, 0 BB, 11 K


He deserves it.

With a performance like that, why was he removed?

2 on, 2 out....bring in the heat.