NL CY Young to be announced later today

[redsfandan]

who would you pick?

TIM LINCECUM, RHP, SAN FRANCISCO
G IP H ER BB SO W-L WHIP BAA ERA OPS
34 227.0 182 66 84 265 18-5 1.17 .221 2.62 .612

18 wins on team that only won 72 games. 1st in the majors in strikeouts, 1st in k/9 ip by a full k, 1st in baa, 2nd in wins, 2nd in opponents ops, 3rd in era, 3rd best win %, 2nd in quality starts, 3rd in % of quality starts, 3rd most ip, top 10 in whip, first pitcher in the history of the San Francisco franchise to lead the majors in strikeouts in a single season.

JOHAN SANTANA, LHP, NY METS
G IP H ER BB SO W-L WHIP BAA ERA OPS
34 234.1 206 66 63 206 16-7 1.15 .232 2.53 6.48

Won his last nine decisions. 1st in ip, 1st in quality starts, 2nd in era, 2nd in k's, 2nd in % of quality starts, top 10 in k/bb, top 10 in win %, top 10 in whip, top 10 in baa, and top 10 in opponents ops.

BRANDON WEBB, RHP, ARIZONA
G IP H ER BB SO W-L WHIP BAA ERA OPS
34 226.2 206 83 65 183 22-7 1.20 .242 3.30 6.36

22 wins on team that only 82 games. Won his first nine starts and didn't take a loss until May 21, won 13 games before the All-Star break. 1st in wins, 3rd in opponents ops, 3rd in quality starts, 4th best in Win %, 4th in ip, 6th in % of quality starts, 10th best era among starters with 170+ ip.

CC SABATHIA, LHP, MILWAUKEE
G IP H ER BB SO W-L WHIP BAA ERA OPS
17 130.2 106 24 25 128 11-2 1.00 .222 1.65 .553

Sabathia led the Brewers to their first playoff berth in 26 years and tossed seven complete games in only three months with the brew crew to lead NL. 1.65 era led all NL starters by almost a full run, 1st in % of quality starts, 2nd in k/bb, 1st in winning %, 2nd in baa, 1st in opponents ops, top 10 in k/9 ip.

BRAD LIDGE, RHP, PHILADELPHIA
G IP H ER BB SO W-L SV BS WHIP BAA ERA OPS
72 69.1 50 15 35 92 2-0 41 0 1.23 . 198 1.95 .565

Lidge was perfect for the world champion Phillies, going 41-for-41 in save opportunities, a comeback season worthy of the Comeback Player of the Year award. 1st in k/9 ip among NL closers.

Others:
Ryan Dempster: 17-6, 33 starts, 206.2 ip, 174 hits, 187 k's, 1.21 whip, .227 baa, 2.96 era, .642 ops, ranked among the top five in wins, era, winning percentage, baa, and opponents ops. ranked in the top 10 in innings, strikeouts, and quality starts.

Edinson Volquez: 17-6, 32 starts, 196 ip, 167 hits, 206 k's, 1.33 whip, .232 baa, 3.21 era, .681 ops, finished in top 5 in k/9 ip, finished in top 10 in wins, era, strikeouts, hits/9 ip, and winning percentage.

[schmidty622]

This is a no brainer... Lincecum. Who ever voted for Volquez needs to take a better look at Lincecum's numbers. It's not even close.

[redsfandan]

wow i expected more support for sabathia and lidge than this.

[Betterread]

I think it will be interesting this year. I think Lincecum should win -but his team was poor, which seems to penalize candidates. I wonder if Lidge will win because of the Phillies success.

[Jack Burton]

I'd say it's between Sabathia and Lidge.

[Mitri]

1. Lincecum
2. Santana
3. Webb

[Az. Reds Fan]

The thing that Webb, Lidge and Santana have going for them is they were pitching in meaningful games down the stretch, Lincecum didn't pitch in a meaningful game all year. Not necessarily his fault, but it should be taken into consideration.

I'll take Webb and his 22 wins in a real close vote over Lincecum and Lidge.

[freestyle55]

I'd say it's between Sabathia and Lidge.

Neither of which should be considered IMO. I don't understand how someone can award what is supposed to be the best pitching award to a guy who pitches 70 innings or to a guy who didn't pitch half the year in the league, and even if you count the other league's stats, still doesn't surpass Lincecum or Santana.

It should be between Lincecum and Santana, and I think it should be Lincecum...slightly lower WHIP, higher K/9, .75 lower DIPS ERA, 30 pts lower opp. OPS, and for a much crappier team...

[freestyle55]

The thing that Webb, Lidge and Santana have going for them is they were pitching in meaningful games down the stretch, Lincecum didn't pitch in a meaningful game all year. Not necessarily his fault, but it should be taken into consideration.

I'll take Webb and his 22 wins in a real close vote over Lincecum and Lidge.

Wins are team dependent, and his other stats don't compare to Lincecum. Sure, Lincecum didn't pitch in meaningful games, but does that make him any less eager to win them or pitch well? Plus, he did pitch against the Dodgers and Arizona 2x during September, and I'm pretty sure those games were meaningful to them.

Lincecum also pitched with the 2nd worst offense in all of MLB behind him, that should count for something as well...

[redsfandan]

Neither of which should be considered IMO. I don't understand how someone can award what is supposed to be the best pitching award to a guy who pitches 70 innings or to a guy who didn't pitch half the year in the league, and even if you count the other league's stats, still doesn't surpass Lincecum or Santana.

It should be between Lincecum and Santana, and I think it should be Lincecum...slightly lower WHIP, higher K/9, .75 lower DIPS ERA, 30 pts lower opp. OPS, and for a much crappier team...

even though they have a separate award for closers i'm sure lidge will have a few votes. same with f-rod in the AL. rick sutcliffe was the only pitcher to win a cy young after a mid season trade and iirc he was dealt a month sooner. sabathia will have a few votes but he wouldn't be in my top 3. i'd probably have to agree with mitre on linc 1st, santana 2nd, and webb 3rd. i'd consider sabathia for 4th but i'd leave lidge off altogether.

[Az. Reds Fan]

Wins are team dependent, and his other stats don't compare to Lincecum. Sure, Lincecum didn't pitch in meaningful games, but does that make him any less eager to win them or pitch well? Plus, he did pitch against the Dodgers and Arizona 2x during September, and I'm pretty sure those games were meaningful to them.

Lincecum also pitched with the 2nd worst offense in all of MLB behind him, that should count for something as well...

You're right, wins are team dependant, but wins play a huge factor in the Cy voting.

Of course not pitching in meaningful doesn't mean he doesn't want to win them or pitch well, it means he has NO pressure on him from a team standpoint to win the games. If they lose, no big deal, they're out of the playoff race anyway.

Sure they were big games for AZ and LA, but what pressure did Lincecum have on him? All the pressure was on AZ and LA to win those games, not Lincecum. I'm sure he would have loved to knock those teams out of the playoffs, but that's not the same thing as pitching in a game that your team needs to win to stay in the playoffs. Much different.

Now I'm not saying Lincecum isn't a great pitcher, he is, and I think it will be neck and neck between him and Webb, but I think that Webb's 22 wins for a playoff contender trumps Lincecums better stats for a cellar dwelling team.

Really, you can't complain if Lincecum, Webb or Santana win. They all are deserving. Sabathia, with only a 1/2 year, doesn't qualify in my opinion. Lidge, as a reliever, will have his naysayers, which will probably keep him from winning.

Just my opinion...

[HeatherC1212]

Lincecum wins the NL Cy Young: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081111&content_id=3674375&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

[JWP]

How does Drew Stubbs look now? :(

Sorry, had to say it.

[redsfandan]

Lincecum received 23 of 32 first-place votes to win NL Cy Young honors. Lincecum received 137 points to Brandon Webb's 73 and Johan Santana's 55. Webb and Santana both received four first-place. CC Sabathia received the other, though he finished behind Brad Lidge in fifth place.

[schmidty622]

How does Drew Stubbs look now? :(

Sorry, had to say it.

Yea, that was a stupid pick.

[GoReds33]

I voted Volquez, not because he has better stats, but I want to see him get some respect.

[redsfandan]

How does Drew Stubbs look now? :(

Sorry, had to say it.


Yea, that was a stupid pick.

it's not like the reds were the only team to pass on linc. alot of people have been skeptical cuz of his build and how violent his motion is. san fran took a chance and it paid off.

[Jack Burton]

How many big games did Lincecum pitch in this past year?