NOTE: Closers have been excluded from the discussions of possible Cy Young award winners this season. Closers usually need some monstrous stats with much less innings pitched than starters. Unless there are no stand-out starters in a specific season and a closer puts up HOF-like season, Cy Young usually belong to guys who used their arms for ~200 (if not more) innings. The argument for how valuable a dominant closer is for a winning team is another (long) discussion. Simply put, a stud starter who puts up top-of-the-league #'s over 200 innings contributes a significant part to a team's success (or failure, but it wouldn't that guy's fault).
Honorable Mentions for Closers this season are at the end of this blog.
HOU: Roy Oswalt
Oswalt had an All-Star season with NL-leading 2.98 ERA in 220 2/3inn pitched. His contribution to Astros' late-season run for the NL Central title gives him more credit as a big-time ace. His #'s are consistent all-season-long.
| G | GS | W | L | SV | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | BAA | |||
| April | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42.1 | 42 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 27 | 2.76 | 1.20 | .271 | ||
| May | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38.2 | 42 | 16 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 26 | 3.49 | 1.27 | .282 | ||
| June | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29.0 | 31 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 3.72 | 1.28 | .284 | ||
| July | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35.0 | 37 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 3.09 | 1.20 | .274 | ||
| August | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32.0 | 32 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 28 | 3.38 | 1.09 | .252 | ||
| September | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43.2 | 36 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 39 | 1.85 | 1.01 | .224 |
| Total | 33 | 32 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 220.2 | 220 | 76 | 73 | 18 | 38 | 166 | 2.98 | 1.17 | .263 |
His only weakness in the eyes of voters would be his strikeout rate; Oswalt only stroke out 166 all season, which implies a possible decline in his dominance over hitters with power. (the Astros ace stroke out 206 &184 in '04 & '05, respectively, which has been slowly declining, including this season) Getting guys with strikeouts sound much sexier to those baseball writers who vote for the award than a pitcher who uses much of the defense behind him. Only Greg Maddux in '94 won a Cy Young with a so-so 156Ks and he had a 1.56ERA that season, Tom Glavine won in '98 with 157Ks and he had 20 wins& 2.47ERA, & Doug Drabek won in '90 with 131Ks and he had 22 wins and 2.76ERA are Cy Young winner starters with less than 180Ks since '90.
Roy's 2.98ERA is great by any standards for pitchers with 200+inn thrown in a season, but his middle-of-the-pack 15wins & strikeouts will be held against him when voters compare to STL ace, Carpenter (see below).
STL: Chris Carpenter
Carpenter put up another solid season with Cardinals this season. His 15 wins, 3.09ERA, and NL-leading 1.07WHIP are impressive, but they are not going to show up in the Top 20 season list in a Bill James stats book. His WHIP is the most important indicator of his dominance that will set him apart from other power arms. Only giving up 197Hs & 43BBs over 221 2/3 innings, he knows how to get hitters out and he has 184Ks. Another factor in his favor is his team winning its division. With the almost-collapse of the St. Louis team in September to Houston, Carpenter had to stay in games longer than he should have late in the season with Cardinals' regular closer, Isringhausen out and a depleted, shaky bullpen. His #'s could have been better (i.e. wins & ERA) if STL had a more consistent offense and more reliable relief pitching. Carpenter had a find season with those stats he had, regardless.
| G | GS | W | L | SV | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | BAA | |||
| April | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40.0 | 36 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 31 | 1.80 | 1.08 | .235 | ||
| May | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 | 24 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 22 | 3.96 | 1.44 | .240 | ||
| June | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33.0 | 33 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 35 | 3.27 | 1.21 | .256 | ||
| July | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 40.1 | 31 | 14 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 28 | 3.12 | 0.97 | .220 | ||
| August | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 38.0 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | 3.08 | 0.71 | .197 | ||
| September | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 45.1 | 44 | 19 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 41 | 3.57 | 1.15 | .256 |
| Total | 32 | 32 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 221.2 | 194 | 81 | 76 | 21 | 43 | 184 | 3.09 | 1.07 | .235 |
While his #'s are not as jaw-dropping as his '05 season, Carpenter should be a solid candidate in the final consideration for Cy Young this season. Obvisouly, his stats won't clearly set him apart from the crowd of aces this season, but his contribution to his team holding on (rather than winning it outright) to the division title will help arguing for his case.
P.S. How bad was it for Blue Jays that gave up on Carpenter and now that he could be a multiple Cy Young winner?! (they just didn't have the money to sign him & wait for his return from arm surgury is the truth) This could be considered to be up there with Red Sox giving up on Roger Clemens... Haven't been teams been signing guys who would be out for months, if not an entire year recently? (e.g. Wade Miller with BOS & Dotel with NYY, but those rich boys got the dough)
2005 National League Cy Young Award
1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Chris Carpenter STL 19 132 140 0.94 | 21-5 242 2.83 1.06 213
2 Dontrelle Willis FLA 11 112 140 0.80 | 22-10 236 2.63 1.13 170
3 Roger Clemens HOU 2 40 140 0.29 | 13-8 211 1.87 1.01 185
4 Roy Oswalt HOU 0 2 140 0.01 | 20-12 242 2.94 1.20 184
5 Chad Cordero WSN 0 1 140 0.01 | 2-4 74 1.82 0.97 61 47
5 Andy Pettitte HOU 0 1 140 0.01 | 17-9 222 2.39 1.03 171
ARI: Brandon Webb
Webb has emerged as Arizona's ace over the last couple of seasons. He has 2nd-best WHIP of 1.13 & 3rd-best 3.10ERA (just behind Carpenter's 3.09) in NL. Winning 16 games for a team that only won 76 is no small effort. He has been considered for the Cy Young honor all season. His #'s are definately convincing enough for him to win the award and he deserves it. However, his not-in-contention club will be a setback for him. It'd be a tough and rather unfair situation for Webb. ARI didn't have a even par relief pitching that could have helped their ace in Webb in the season. Webb established himself as a true All-Star since coming into the league. '06 is the best season for him so far in his young career. Cy Young may not be awarded to him after all, and baseball community should make a note of the awesome sinker pitcher in the desert, regardless.
| G | GS | W | L | SV | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | BAA | |||
| April | 6 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44.2 | 42 | 12 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 25 | 2.22 | 1.07 | .258 | ||
| May | 6 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 45.0 | 42 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 33 | 1.80 | 1.02 | .252 | ||
| June | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33.2 | 42 | 22 | 19 | 3 | 9 | 32 | 5.08 | 1.51 | .298 | ||
| July | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44.0 | 35 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 35 | 2.45 | 1.02 | .220 | ||
| August | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23.1 | 25 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 15 | 15 | 5.01 | 1.71 | .287 | ||
| September | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 40.1 | 22 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 33 | 2.23 | 0.64 | .156 | ||
| October | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 15.75 | 2.50 | .400 |
| Total | 33 | 33 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 235.0 | 216 | 91 | 81 | 15 | 50 | 178 | 3.10 | 1.13 | .246 |
CHC: Carlos Zambrano
A work-horse, Zambrano didn't have a CG all season, but in 241 innings pitched, he managed to put up top-notch 3.41ERA, 1.29WHIP, & 210Ks along with 16 wins for the disappointing Cubs. Carlos "Mozilla Firefox" (that's another story from last season) always has the dominating power fastballs and devastating curves & sliders since he entered the league. At 25 years-young, he has many more All-Star seasons left in his built-to-last 6'5, 255 frame. His inconsistency with his pitches are his biggest problem. His 115BBs implies his control problem. Hitters only manage to hit only .208 against him this season. If Chicago Cubs had met their "expectation" (i.e. ~92 wins & make the playoff), Carolos might been sitting with ~20 wins with the kind of performance he had in '06. His Ks will be his biggest upside, but his avearge win numbers and 5th rank in ERA & 14th rank in WHIP will be a heavy downside for the award.
CIN: Aaron Harang
Harang has quietly developed into an ace not just on his team's staff but in the entire league. '06 is the big-coming-out party for him with NL-leading 216Ks over 234 1/3 innings. Having 16 wins for a Cincinnati Reds team that was in contention all season, is another strength for his Cy Young chase. His 6 starts in September further proves his worth to his team down the playoff chase (3.83ERA, .98WHIP over 47inn).
| G | GS | W | L | SV | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | BAA | |||
| April | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 39.1 | 40 | 22 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 33 | 4.35 | 1.25 | .263 | ||
| May | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33.2 | 33 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 42 | 2.94 | 1.22 | .256 | ||
| June | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 39.1 | 40 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 11 | 34 | 2.97 | 1.30 | .280 | ||
| July | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37.0 | 40 | 17 | 17 | 3 | 12 | 35 | 4.14 | 1.41 | .278 | ||
| August | 7 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38.0 | 47 | 20 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 31 | 4.26 | 1.55 | .301 | ||
| September | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47.0 | 42 | 20 | 20 | 8 | 4 | 41 | 3.83 | 0.98 | .239 |
| Total | 36 | 35 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 234.1 | 242 | 109 | 98 | 28 | 56 | 216 | 3.76 | 1.27 | .269 |
The Red ace doesn't have a top-notch ERA and that could be his biggest weakness among other pitchers. Cincinnati was in the playoff hunt, thus, Harang's consideration won't be subtracted because of his club's record. He is in the middle of his prmie (28yr-young) and will be making the All-Star team for a many seasons if he stays healthy. '06 is a big leap to the elite class from other cannon arms in the leaguefor Harang. Whether or not if he gets the Cy Young, this is truly a memorable season for him.
CIN: Bronson Arroyo
Arroyo, the one-time Pirate player who won a World Series with Red Sox in '04 was traded for Wily Mo Pena, the real-life Pedro Cerrano from "Major League" to the Reds. The trade turned out to be a daylight-robbery of the Boston club for Cincinnati. Arryo was a horse for Reds, pitched NL-leading 240 2/3 innings. In addition, Bronson (named after Charles Bronson) was a strikeout force in '06, striking out 184. His 3.29ERA & 1.19WHIP are in the top-tier in NL. Although, he only managed to earn 14 wins in his hard-working season. He may not receive substantial amounts of votes for the Cy Young, but for CIN, his presence is one of their valuable assets for years to come.
| Last 3 years | Team | G | GS | W | L | SV | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | BAA | |
| 2004 | BOS | 32 | 29 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 178.2 | 171 | 99 | 80 | 17 | 47 | 142 | 4.03 | 1.22 | .249 | |
| 2005 | BOS | 35 | 32 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 205.1 | 213 | 116 | 103 | 22 | 54 | 100 | 4.51 | 1.30 | .266 | |
| 2006 | CIN | 35 | 35 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 240.2 | 222 | 98 | 88 | 31 | 64 | 184 | 3.29 | 1.19 | .243 | |
| Career | 161 | 125 | 47 | 44 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 829.0 | 833 | 447 | 388 | 93 | 254 | 551 | 4.21 | 1.31 | .260 |
SD: Chris Young
Christopher Ryan Young was traded for Adam Eaton, Akinori Otsuka, and Billy Killian with Terrmel Sledge to the Padres and immediately made a postiive impact on their pitching staff. His 3.46ERA & 1.13WHIP are All-Star worthy (partly contributed by the SD's pitcher-protective ballpark). Young's limited 179 1/3 innings pitched & 11 wins are his biggest setback for Cy Young. He has a strong strikeout rate with 164Ks this season and limits hitters to hit only .206 against him. This young Padres stud doesn't have all it for a Cy Young this season, his pitching performance should make other teams jealous of not having him, nonetheless.
NOTE: Brad Penny was considered Cy Young-bound before the All Star break. Somehow, he turned into Darren Dreifort after the Pittsburgh vacation. It's just rough. It shows how tough and rigorous a Major League season is. You don't and can't win it all unless you win it all the way.
| G | GS | W | L | SV | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | BAA | |||
| Pre All Star | 19 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 108.1 | 103 | 35 | 35 | 7 | 28 | 82 | 2.91 | 1.21 | .249 | ||
| Post All-Star | 15 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80.2 | 103 | 59 | 56 | 12 | 26 | 66 | 6.25 | 1.60 | .317 |
| Total | 34 | 33 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 189.0 | 206 | 94 | 91 | 19 | 54 | 148 | 4.33 | 1.38 | .279 |
Honorable Mentions: Top Closers who will get a few votes for Cy Young, but probably won't win the Cy Young:
| Name | Team | G | GS | W | L | SV | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | BAA | |||||||||||||||||
| Francisco RodrÃguez | LAA | 69 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 73.0 | 52 | 16 | 14 | 6 | 28 | 98 | 1.73 | 1.10 | .197 | |||||||||||||||||
| Trevor Hoffman | SD | 65 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 63.0 | 48 | 16 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 50 | 2.14 | 0.97 | .205 | |||||||||||||||||
| Billy Wagner | NYM | 70 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 72.1 | 59 | 22 | 18 | 7 | 21 | 94 | 2.24 | 1.11 | .219 | |||||||||||||||||
| B.J. Ryan | TOR | 65 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 72.1 | 42 | 12 | 11 | 3 | 20 | 86 | 1.37 | 0.86 | .169 | |||||||||||||||||
| Joe Nathan | MIN | 64 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 68.1 | 38 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 16 | 95 | 1.58 | 0.79 | .158 | |||||||||||||||||
| J.J. Putz | SEA | 72 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 78.1 | 59 | 20 | 20 | 4 | 13 | 104 | 2.30 | 0.92 | .207 | |||||||||||||||||
| Mariano Rivera | NYY | 63 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 75.0 | 61 | 16 | 15 | 3 | 11 | 55 | 1.80 | 0.96 | .223 | |||||||||||||||||
| Chris Ray | BAL | 61 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 66.0 | 45 | 22 | 20 | 10 | 27 | 51 | 2.73 | 1.09 | .193 |
COWBOY UP's PICK: Chris Carpenter, STL
The ace-trio of Carpenter, Oswalt, and Webb in the NL in '06 season make the Cy Young award picking more difficult. It'd be easy to just say "pick any of three" or "all of them can share the award". Realistically, it will come down to specific factor that will be considered along major stats. The ERAs, WHIPs, and wins among the three are very close with one another. Carpenter showed more dominance with his pitching with the most strikeouts. Plus that his team made the playoff will be another variable for Cy Young consideration. His opposing average and WHIP will also help his case for his 2nd straight Cy Young honor.
| Name | Team | G | GS | W | L | SV | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | BAA | |||||||||||||||||
| Roy Oswalt | HOU | 33 | 32 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 220.2 | 220 | 76 | 73 | 18 | 38 | 166 | 2.98 | 1.17 | .263 | |||||||||||||||||
| Chris Carpenter | STL | 32 | 32 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 221.2 | 194 | 81 | 76 | 21 | 43 | 184 | 3.09 | 1.07 | .235 | |||||||||||||||||
| Brandon Webb | ARI | 33 | 33 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 235.0 | 216 | 91 | 81 | 15 | 50 | 178 | 3.10 | 1.13 | .246 |
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