Poll: A.L. Cy Young

[wayne1218]

Many will agree that it is a 2 horse race right now and these are the stats on both. It looks very, very close right now.

Who do you think should Win the A.L. Cy Young Award?

C.C. Sabathia (18-7) 3.19 Era, 234 IP, 205 K's, 36 Walks, 24 Quality Starts, 1.14 WHIP, K/9 IP 7.88

Josh Beckett (20-6) 3.14 Era, 195 IP, 188 K's, 40 Walks, 20 Quality Starts, 1.13 WHIP, K/9 IP 8.69

Both Teams are also in 1st place.

[frankb03]

Their stats are almost identical. I went with Beckett for two reasons. First, 20 wins. Second, he shut down the Yanks last weekend in a critical game. IMO that start greatly increased his Cy Young chances.

[wayne1218]

Their stats are almost identical. I went with Beckett for two reasons. First, 20 wins. Second, he shut down the Yanks last weekend in a critical game. IMO that start greatly increased his Cy Young chances.

I know it was only T.B. but last night was a huge effort at a time in which they needed it too.

The last win Boston had was Beckett's start and Win over Wang and the Yankees last weekend. After that game, Boston lost the next 4 until last night in Beckett's start (again). When they are desperate for a win, he has been the one. He is the reason why Boston still has the lead in the East right now.

Boston only has 3 Wins from their starting pitching since September 8th and all 3 were Beckett.

[kbsooner21]

Man, what a tough one to call. I went with CC due to the fact of innings pitched. 40 more IP with the same exact numbers.

[TwoTonTony]

Wow....alot closer than i thought.....Sabathia has been a horse and i know beckett has been money....I am going with Beckett because he has 20 now and has some clutch performances.....

but i love pitchers like sabathia who are fat

[wayne1218]

Man, what a tough one to call. I went with CC due to the fact of innings pitched. 40 more IP with the same exact numbers.

Beckett has almost as many K's in less innings and a few more Walks in less innings too. I think they all kind of cancel out.

I went with Beckett because not only does he have 20 wins but he also has a lower Era & WHIP and a higher K/9 IP. Not by alot on any but added to the more wins and less losses, i have to go with him.

[TwoTonTony]

wayne,

can you explain what w WHIP is and what it means??

[wayne1218]

Walks and Hits combined per innings pitched

[wayne1218]

Walks and Hits combined per innings pitched

Anything near or under 1 is EXCELLENT!

[ULikeApples]

Also note:

Complete Games: Beckett 1, Sabathia 4

Shutouts: Beckett 0, Sabathia 1

Don't just breeze by those 40 extra IP too. That's more than 1 IP a start which is much more valuable to a team's bullpen. As you can tell, I voted for CC here, although Beckett is on my fantasy team. And a disclaimer, I am an Indians fan.

[wayne1218]

Tony ...

For Example: Papelbon has a 0.80 WHIP ... Very Good!

[TwoTonTony]

wow...this could go either way....

thanks for the explanation Wayne....

[wayne1218]

Also note:

Complete Games: Beckett 1, Sabathia 4

Shutouts: Beckett 0, Sabathia 1

Don't just breeze by those 40 extra IP too. That's more than 1 IP a start which is much more valuable to a team's bullpen. As you can tell, I voted for CC here, although Beckett is on my fantasy team. And a disclaimer, I am an Indians fan.

To me complete games are a tough one to gauge. That is decided more by the manager than it is the player. Beckett could have finished off several more games but Okajima & Papelbon were used for the 8th & 9th most of the year and as 2 All Stars, they should have been. It also kept Beckett's pitch count down. Sabathia didn't have the greatest late relief until late in the season when the bullpen came together.

There were many times Beckett wanted to finish and Francona took the ball.

[ULikeApples]

To me complete games are a tough one to gauge. That is decided more by the manager than it is the player. Beckett could have finished off several more games but Okajima & Papelbon were used for the 8th & 9th most of the year and as 2 All Stars, they should have been. It also kept Beckett's pitch count down. Sabathia didn't have the greatest late relief until late in the season when the bullpen came together.

There were many times Beckett wanted to finish and Francona took the ball.

True, but if you're going to factor in stuff like that, you'd have to factor in that "bad" Indians bullpen earlier in the year, and even some lately, blowing wins for CC. It's really just best to look at the numbers and not factor in "What ifs".

As for the pitch count, Beckett is averaging 103.6 pitches per start, but only 6.68 IP per start. I'd say it's been mostly on him he hasn't gone the distance more compared to Francona. Based on that average a CG would take him up over 130 IP.

Either way, the numbers are all clearly very, very close.

[Dat Boi E]

tough call, but i went with Beckett!