Mauer, Pujols, Named MVPs

Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols each won the Most Valuable Player in their respective leagues.

Mauer earned American League honors with a near unanimous vote. Mauer started the year on the disabled list, but that didn't prevent him from receiving 27 of the 28 votes, totaling 387 points.

Mauer, 26, led the majors with a .365 batting average. He had a .444 on-base percentage, .587 slugging percentage, and a 1.031 OPS. He hammered a career high 28 home runs. He had 96 runs batted in.

Mauer becomes a free agent after the 2010 season, but the Twins are hoping to get a long term deal done by this Christmas.

Pujols won his third National League MVP award, and his second in a row. Pujols received a unanimous 32 first place votes totalling 448 points.

Pujols batted .327 and had a .443 on-base percentage. He led the majors with 47 home runs, a .658 slugging percentage, and a 1.101 OPS. He drove in 135 runs and stole 16 bases.

Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter finished second and third respectively in the AL. Hanley Ramirez finished second, and Ryan Howard finished third in the NL. There really was no debating that Mauer and Pujols deserved the awards.

Lincecum Wins NL Cy

For the second consecutive year, Tim Lincecum wins the National League Cy Young Award, and deservedly so. Lincecum helped anchor the San Francisco Giants' pitching staff, which was one of the best in baseball.

Lincecum is the eighth pitcher in major league history to win back-to-back Cy Young Awards. The 25-year earned 100 points, edging Chris Carpenter (94 pts.) and Adam Wainwright (90 pts.).

Lincecum started 32 games (225.1 innings pitched). He went 15-7 with a 2.48 earned run average. He led the National League in strikeouts, with 261 (10.5 strike outs per nine). He had a 1.05 WHIP. Opponents batted .206 against him.

Lincecum faced a lot of controversy since the season ended, but not for what he did on the field. Lincecum was cited earlier this month for possession of marijuana. (Dock Ellis, anyone?) Lincecum says that he regrets his actions, but will have a hearing in December. In the meantime, he'll be celebrating his Cy Young Award and prepare for 2010.

AL & NL ROYs

J.A Happ finished second in the 2009 National League Rookie of the Year voting. Chris Coghlan of the Florida Marlins won the award, receiving 105 points (17 first place votes). Happ finished with a total of 94 points (10 first place votes).

In 128 games, Coghlan batted .321 with nine home runs and 47 RBI. In 35 games, Happ went 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA.

In the American League, Andrew Bailey of the Oakland A's took home honors. Bailey finished with 88 total points, edging Elvis Andrus.

Bailey saved 26 games and posted a 1.84 ERA.

Rookie of the Year Candidates

As seen on Phillies Nation.

Tomorrow, the 2009 National League Rookie of the Year will be announced. Here are some of the top candidates for the award:

J.A Happ (PHI): 12-4, 166 IP, 2.93 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 119 SO, .244 AVG

There is no clear cut favorite. However, Happ has the numbers to make him a top Rookie of the Year choice.

Tommy Hanson (ATL): 11-4, 127.2 IP, 2.83 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 116 SO, .225 AVG

Happ's advantage in innings may give him the edge over Hanson.

Randy Wells (CHC): 12-10, 165.1 IP, 3.05 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 104 SO, .261 AVG

The Cubs didn't give Wells much run support this year. In some cases, the voters take a team's performance in account, and the Cubs aren't helping Wells' campaign.

Chris Coghlan (FLA): 128 G, .321 AVG, 9 HR, .850 OPS

Phillies fans know enough about this guy. The question is whether his offensive numbers compete with the pitchers' stats

Garrett Jones (PIT): 82 G, .293 AVG, 21 HR, .938 OPS

Jones did not play in many games, so that may hurt his campaign. However, the 28-year old has showed his power in his limited major league experience.

Andrew McCutchen (PIT): 108 G, .286 AVG, 22 SB, .836 OPS

He's the future of the Pittsburgh Pirates. But he is in the same boat as Jones. Does he have enough playing time to get enough votes?

Colby Rasmus (STL): 147 G, .251 AVG, 16 HR, .717 OPS

Rasmus doesn't matchup with the other candidates. His batting average and on-base plus slugging percentage are mediocre at best.

Casey McGehee (MIL): 116 G, .301 AVG, 16 HR, .859 OPS

McGehee has put up some solid offensive numbers, but his defense may factor in. He spent the majority at third base, where he had a .916 fielding percentage.

Ryan Howard was the last Phillie to win the Rookie of the Year award. Will Happ follow his footsteps?

2009 Silver Sluggers

Congratulations to the 2009 Silver Slugger winners:

American League

C: Joe Mauer
1B: Mark Teixeira

2B: Aaron Hill

SS: Derek Jeter

3B: Evan Longoria

OF: Ichiro

OF: Torii Hunter

OF: Jason Bay

DH: Lind

National League

C: Brian McCann

1B: Albert Pujols

2B: Chase Utley

SS: Hanley Ramirez

3B: Ryan Zimmerman

OF: Ryan Braun

OF: Matt Kemp

OF: Andre Eithier

P: Zambrano

Chase Utley won his fourth Silver Slugger Award. Players, coaches, and managers selected Utley as the best hitting second baseman in the National League.

Utley finished the year with a .282 batting average, .397 on-base percentage, and .508 slugging percentage. Utley hit 31 home runs and drove in 93 runs.

Pablo Sandoval gets snubbed again! First, he's left off the All Star game roster, now he misses out on a silver slugger. Kung Fu Panda had hit .330 with 25 homers and had a .943 OPS. Zimmerman had a .888 OPS.

Blog Note: Please take the Swing and a Long Drive survey! Also, make sure you vote for the "This Year in Baseball" Awards!

NL Gold Glovers Announced

Congratulations to the 2009 National League Gold Glove Winners:

C: Yadier Molina (2nd GG)
1B: Adrian Gonzalez (2nd GG)
2B: Orlando Hudson (4th GG)
3B: Ryan Zimmerman
SS: Jimmy Rollins (3rd GG)
OF: Shane Victorino (2nd GG)
OF: Michael Bourn Astros
OF: Matt Kemp
P: Adam Wainwright

Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino each won a National League Gold Glove Award at their respective positions. This is the eleventh time in franchise history that the Phillies have had multiple Gold Glove winners.

With the award, Rollins becomes the first Phillie to win three consecutive Gold Gloves since Mike Schmidt. Rollins led all shortstops with a .990 fielding percentage. His six errors were the fewest in baseball among qualified players.

Victorino wins his second consecutive Gold Glove. Victorino had the second best fielding percentage among all outfielders (.997).

While Rollins and Victorino were honored, Chase Utley was snubbed. Utley had a 10.8 Ultimate Zone Rating, which was the best among NL second baseman. Orlando Hudson, the NL second base Gold Glove winner, had a UZR of -3.3. With that being said, Victorino probably wasn't the best option either. He had a -4.1 UZR.

Blog Notes: Make sure you take the Swing and a Long Drive Survey! Also, in honor of Veterans Day, More Hardball has the best games at Veterans Stadium.

The AL Gold Glovers and Flaws

Congratulations to the 2009 American League Gold Glove Winners:

P: Mark Buehrle
C: Joe Mauer (2nd consecutive GG)
1B: Mark Teixiera (3rd GG)
2B: Placido Polanco (2nd GG)
3B: Evan Longoria
SS: Derek Jeter (4th GG)
OF: Adam Jones
OF: Ichiro Suzuki (9th consecutive GG)
OF: Torii Hunter (9th consecutive GG)

A little bit of controversy here, but not as much as previous years. Franklin Gutierrez, arguably the best outfielder defensively this year, was snubbed. Adam Jones only played in 113 games.

Derek Jeter wins his fourth gold glove, having one of his better defensive season. Jeter has won gold gloves in the past despite being a below average defender. If this doesn't tell that the Gold Glove system is flawed, then look at Ichiro and Hunter. It shows that if a player wins their first Gold Glove, they are favorites to win the award for many years to come.

The choices weren't horrible, and not to take anything away from the winners. They are each great defenders, but the argument is whether or not they were the best option. That being said, it was "leaked" that Orlando Hudson will win the National League Gold Glove at second base. Once again, Chase Utley will be snubbed. Utley had a 10.8 Ultimate Zone Rating, second in MLB, compared to Hudson's -3.3. Plus, Hudson played about 100 innings less than Utley.

Does this mean that Greg Maddux will win his 19th Gold Glove?

Blog Note: Please click the link and complete this survey for Swing and a Long Drive.

News Around MLB

Raul Ibanez was named the National League Player of the Week. Ibanez batted .481 with 4 HR and 12 RBI. He also slugged .963. It was the fifth time in his career he was named to this honor.

Roy Hallday earned honors in the American League. Halladay was 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA with the first place Toronto Blue Jays.

According to a poll of Major League executives and managers, Jayson Werth and Adrian Gonzalez are the two most underrated players in the National League.

Currently, Gonzalez leads the majors with 15 HR and Werth has 7 homers. Gonzalez is batting .294, the same average as Werth. Gonzalez has 29 RBI, Werth 24. Gonzalez has a 1.017 OPS and Werth's is .936.

The Phillies signed catcher Paul Bako to a minor league deal. In his 11 year career, Bako has hit .231 with 21 HR and 186 RBI.

Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado will need surgery to remove a bone spur and repair torn labrum in his right hip. The injury is similar to Alex Rodgriguez and Alex Gordon's. He will need about two months to recover.

Ricky Weeks is sidelined for the remainder of the season because he will need surgery on his wrist. Weeks suffered the injury when he struck out swinging. Weeks was batting .272 with 9 HR and 24 RBI.

Remember when the Phillies were in the World Series? Good times, right? Remember how you stayed up past midnight to watch the Phillies fight their way to a championship? Remember how you got up 6 AM or earlier the next day for work (or school). Remember how exhausted you were, even if it was well worth it?

Now, you won't have that problem. Introducing new World Series times! Games will start approximiely 40 minutes earlier! That is 40 minutes earlier!

Perhaps Phillies fans came through again? Remember 1980 when the Phillies broadcasters could not call the game. Fans complained and 3 years later the rule was changed. Or, as FOX claims, they did it for the young fans.

Call of the day: Bonus! Since yesterday was an off day, I'll give you two calls of the day in one shot. Pat Burrell hits two home runs during the NLDS against the Brewers.

"Swing and a long drive! Fair or foul? It is a... fair ball! Outta here! 3 run
home run Pat Burrell, and the Phillies take a 4-0 lead here in the third
inning!"

"Swing and a line drip to deep left field. And this ball is..
over the fence and OUTTA HERE! Line drive home run Pat Burrell, his second home
run of the game, and the Phillies now lead it by a score of 6 to 1 here in the
8th inning. What a day by Burrell who came into this game of the division series
0-for-8. But he made up for that this afternoon, 3-4 with 4 RBI, two home runs."

2009 Preview: End of the Year Player Predictions

Here are some early pre-season predictions for the 2009 season.

American League Rookie of the Year: Matt Wieters, Orioles
National League Rookie of the Year: Cameron Maybin, Marlins

AL MVP: Grady Sizemore, Indians
NL MVP: David Wright, Mets

AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay- Blue Jays
NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum- Giants

Homerun Leaders

NL: Ryan Howard- Phillies
AL: Miguel Cabrera- Tigers

ERA Leaders

NL: Tim Lincecum- Giants
AL: Roy Halladay- Blue Jays

Strikeout Leaders

NL: Tim Lincecum- Giants
AL: CC Sabathia- Yankees

AL Surprise Team: Oakland A's
NL Surprise Team: San Francisco Giants

AL Disappointing Team: Tampa Bay Rays (I think they'll still be good, but not like last year)
NL Disappointing Team: Los Angeles Dodgers

AL Surprise Player: Alex Gordon- Royals
NL Surprise Player: Jayson Werth- Phillies

AL Disappointing player: AJ Burnett- Yankees
NL Disappointing player: Derek Lowe- Braves

This Year In Baseball Awards

The fans from across the country have voted for the 2008 This Year In Baseball Awards. Here are the winners, and my take on the winners.

Best Hitter

Winner: Albert Pujols

My take: Totally agree with this one. No arguments here. Any questions? Just visit the old MVP article.

Best Starter

Winner: Tim Lincecum

My take: Lincecum had a great year, well deserving of the National League Cy Young, but it probably should of went to Cliff Lee, for best starter.

Rookie

Winner: Evan Longoria

My take: Agree

Manager

Winner: Charlie Manuel

My take: Agree, but you can't go wrong with Joe Maddon as well as a few others.

Closer

Winner: Brad Lidge

My take: I would of given the award to Mariano Rivera. Yes, there is the debate that Lidge was perfect in save opportunities, however, like wins, saves are irrelevant as the team has to be up no more than 3 runs to be put in a save situation. Rivera blew just 1 save, as Lidge blew one. However, Lidge was more at a risk to blow a save than Rivera.

Rivera: 6-5, 39/40, 70+ IP, 1.40 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 77 SO, 6 BB

Lidge: 2-0, 41/41, 69+ IP, 1.95 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 92 SO, 35 BB

The WHIP and walks are a huge factor. Lidge allowed many baserunners, while Rivera had a limited number of baserunners. Statistically, Rivera was better.

Set up

Winner: Hong-Chih-Kuo

My take: I would of probably gave it to Brad Ziegler.

Defense

Winner: Orlando Cabrera

My take: I would of probably gave it to any of the other nominees before Cabrera, but I'm not exactly sure who I'd give it to.

These rest are more opinionated things, as they can't really be measured. It's just who the voter think is best, so it can go anyway. All of these topics are voted by the fans, so really in most cases all of them are just voted on popularity.

Performance

Winner: Jon Lester's no hitter

My take: Agree

Play

Winner: Gabe Kapler falls into stands after robbing a homerun.

My take: Agree, but after looking at the nominees, all the plays were great, but I thought there were some better plays this year that could of been nominated for best play.

Moment

Winner: Derek Jeter honoring fans at Yankee Stadium closing

My take: I'd probably go with Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th homerun. I would even go with Ryan Braun's grand slam. Those were my top moments of the nominees, although Jeter's was memorable for the New York Yankees and around baseball

Oddity

Winner: Johnny Damon, ball sits on top of fence.

My take: Agree, Michael Cuddyer's catch off his head was pretty good too.

Executive

Winner: Pat Gillick

My take: Agree

Postseason moment:

Winner: Chase Utley nails runner at home plate

My take: Clinching the World Series topped Utley's play, although that was one great play.

AL MVP

Dustin Pedroia was named the 2008 American League Most Valuable Player. Pedroia joins Cal Ripken Jr. and Ryan Howard to be the only ones who won Rookie of the Year and MVP in back to back years.

The Red Sox's second baseman, Pedroia, totaled 317 points, 16 first place votes, to take home honors and beat out Justin Morneau of the Twins who received 257 total votes, 7 first place votes. Pedroia's teammate, Keven Youkilis, finished third.

Pedroia finished the 2008 season with a .326 AVG. He had a .376 OBP, .493 SLG and .869 OPS. .He hit 17 homeruns and 83 RBI. He also stole 20 bases.

In my opinion, I would have given the award to Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees. A-Rod finished the year with a .965 OPS. He batted .302 with 35 HRs, 103 RBI, and 18 SB. Several other players, including Mauer and Morneau should have finished ahead of Pedroia.

However, Pedroia adds an MVP Award to his throphy case.

NL MVP

In mid September, Swing and a Long Drive discussed who should win the National League MVP. Similar to our NL Cy Young breakdown, the stats have altered a little, but not nearly enough to change minds. Our pick was Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals, and he was named the 2008 Most Valuable Player.

The race was closer than it probably should have, but Pujols won and that is all that matters. Pujols' 369 total points, 18 first place votes, beat out the Phillies Ryan Howard who totaled 308 points with 12 first place votes. Also like the NL Cy Young Award, other players should have been ranked higher or lower on the list. However, Pujols is the winner.

Pujols finished the 2008 season with a .357 AVG, 37 HR, and 116 RBI. He had a .462 OBP, .653 SLG, and a Major League leading 1.114 OPS. He scored 100 runs and only struck out 54 times.

In 2006, Pujols led his team to a World Championship while Ryan Howard's Phillies just missed the playoffs. Instead of Pujol's taking the MVP trophy home, Howard took it. This year, Howard and Pujols switch roles.

After Howard was named the MVP, Pujols stated this:

"I see it this way: Someone who doesn't take his team to the playoffs doesn't
deserve to win the MVP."

Well, I guess Albert changed his mind. Either way, he was totally deserving of the MVP.

QUOTE SOURCE: AOL.com

Silver Slugger Winners

The 2008 Silver Slugger's have been announced. The players and coaches voted for the player they felt was the best hitter at each position. Players and coaches could not vote for their own team members.

American League

C Joe Mauer, MIN
1B Justin Morneau, MIN
2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS
3B Alex Rodriguez, NYY
SS Derek Jeter, NYY
OF Josh Hamilton, TEX
OF Carlos Quentin, CWS
OF Grady Sizemore, CLE
DH Aubrey Huff, BAL

National League

C Brian McCann, ATL
1B Albert Pujols, STL
2B Chase Utley, PHI
3B David Wright, NYM
SS Hanley Ramirez, FLA
OF Ryan Braun, MIL
OF Matt Holliday, COL
OF Ryan Ludwick, STL
P Carlos Zambrano, CHC

AL Cy Young

For the second straight year, the Cleveland Indians have themselves a Cy Young winner. CC Sabathia took last years honors, and Cliff Lee takes this years honors.

In 2007, Cliff Lee had a 6.29 ERA in just 97.1 innings of work. He was able to put the past behind him, turning it around and having a Cy Young type year.

Lee was 22-3 with an ERA of 2.54, which led the American League in 2008. He struck out 170 batters in 223.1 innings of work. He had a WHIP of 1.11

Lee finished with 132 points, 24 first place votes. Roy Halladay finished second, and the single season saves leader, Francisco Rodriguez, finished third.

Baseball Note: Joe Maddon (AL) and Lou Piniella (NL) were named 2008 managers of the year.

NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum

In mid-September, Swing and a Long Drive discussed who should win the Cy Young in 2008. Yes, the stats have changed slightly since the time of that article, but not enough to change our minds. Tim Lincecum was our pick, and Tim Lincecum is the 2008 National League Cy Young winner.

Lincecum received 137 points to win the Cy Young. He beat out Brandon Webb, who finished second with 73 points. Johan Santana followed Webb, and Brad Lidge and Ryan Dempster followed Lincecum.

Not exactly, our top 5 as Santana, Hamels and Dempster should have finished in front of Webb, but Lincecum deservedly won the Cy Young, so that is all that matters.

Lincecum, 18-5, finished the year with a 2.62 ERA for the San Francisco Giants in 227 IP. He led all of baseall with 265 strikeouts. He had a WHIP of 1.17 and batters hit just .221 off him.

This could be the first Cy Young of many for Lincecum. Lincecum is just 24 years of age, and is dominating at the Major League level.

Rookies of the Year

The 2008 Rookies of the Year have been announced today. The Tampa Bay Ray's Evan Longoria earned American League honors. The Chicago Cub's Geovanny Soto earned National League honors.

Longoria, the Ray's third baseman, hit .272 with 27 HR and 85 RBI in 122 games as a rookie. He had a .343 OBP and .531 SLG to give him a .874 OPS. He scored 67 runs and stole 7 bases.

Soto, the Cub's everyday catcher, hit .285 with 23 HR and 86 RBI in 141 games. Soto scored 66 runs. He had an OBP of .364 and an SLG of .504. He had a .868 OPS.

Longoria beat out the White Sox's Alexei Ramirez for the award. It was unanimous as Longoria received all 28 first place votes giving him 140 points. Ramirez received 59 points, and the Red Sox's Jacoby Ellsbury received 26 points for third place.

Soto was almost unanimous. He earned 31 first place votes, and 1 second place vote to finish with 158 points. Soto beat out Joey Votto of the Reds, who finished second with 76 votes. Jair Jurrjens of the Braves finished third with 34 votes.

The NL Rookie of the Year should have been closer than it was. Votto finished the year with a .297 AVG, 24 HR, and 84 RBI in 151 games. He also scored 69 runs. His OBP was .368, his SLG was .506, giving him a .874 OPS. The first baseman Votto's stats very close to Soto's, but just barely better. However, Soto sits with the ROY trophy.

AL Gold Gloves

The 2008 American League Gold Glove Winners have been announced. Here are your winners:

American League
P, Mike Mussina, NYY
C, Joe Mauer, MIN
1B, Carlos Pena, TB
2B, Dustin Pedroia, BOS
3B, Adrian Beltre, SEA
SS, Michael Young, TEX
OF, Torii Hunter, LAA
OF, Grady Sizemore, CLE
OF, Ichiro Suzuki, SEA

Hunter and Ichiro won their 8th consecutive Gold Gloves.

The players and coaches voted for the winner. They could not be vote for their own teammates. The National League winners were announced yesterday.

Gold Gloves

The 2008 National League Gold Glove winners have been announced today. Here are the winners:

C: Yadier Molina, STL
1B: Adrian Gonzalez, SD
2B: Brandon Phillips, CIN
3B: David Wright, NYM
SS: Jimmy Rollins, PHI
OF: Nate McLouth, PIT
OF: Carlos Beltran, NYM
OF: Shane Victorino, PHI
P: Greg Maddux, LAD

This is Maddux's 18th Gold Glove, his 5th in a row. He has won 18 gold glove in 19 years. Maddux plans to retire, according to his agent.

For the Phillies representatives, this is the second for Rollins, and first for Victorino. Wright and Beltran have also won multiple awards.

Other Award Winners previously announced:

Roberto Clemente Award: Albert Pujols

Hank Aaron Award:

NL: Aramis Ramirez
AL: Kevin Youkilis

Delivery Man of the Year: Brad Lidge

MLB Cluth Preformer: Carlos Zambrano

In other Phillies news, third base coach Steve Smith was fired. So Taguchi was also released from the Phillies.

As we now know, Barack Obama will be the next president, but the Philadelphia Phillies recieve 470 votes for the election. And then I found out there was an actual guy by the name of Phillies.

Comeback Players of the Year

After he gave up a homerun to Albert Pujols in the 2005 postseason, nobody thought he would be the same. Although it was close, Brad Lidge was perfect in save opportunities during the regular season. For his outstanding year, Lidge was honored with the 2008 National League Comeback Player of the Year Award.

In 2007, Lidge didn't have a closing role at the beginning of the year, but gained it back. He posted 5-3 record with a 3.36 ERA and had a WHIP of 1.25 in 67 innings. He was 19/27 in save opportunities last year. He struck out 88. Opponents batted .219 against him.

Other stats included a 2.93 K/BB ratio and 11.82 K/9 ratio in 2007.

Coming into 2008, on his new Phillies team, nobody knew what to expect from Lidge. He injured his knee in spring training and missed the first week of the season. Also, nobody knew how Lidge would fair in a hitter friendly park. But Lidge proved the change of scenery helped, and he couldn't be more happy to be a Phillie as he heads back to the postseason.

This year, Lidge picked up 41 saves in 41 opportunities earning himself 53 points in the Comeback Player of the Year Voting. He picked up 12 first place votes and beat out Kerry Wood, Ryan Ludwick, Jorge Cantu, as well as others.

To go with the saves, Lidge was 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 69 innings. He struck out 92 batters. Opponents batted .198 off him.

His K/BB ratio was 2.63 and his K/9 ratio was 11.94.

No Phillies closer with at least 20 saves lasted an whole year without a blown save, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

In the American League, Cliff Lee ran away with the Award picking up 76 points, 24 of the first place votes. Lee beat Mike Mussina, Milton Bradley, and Aubrey Huff, as well as others.

Lee will also make a run for the Cy Young Award.

Lee is leads the American League with a record of 22-3 and a 2.54 ERA. His ERA last year was 6.29. He pitched 97 innings last year, and pitched more than twice as much this year with 223.1 innings. His 170 strikeouts are more than 100 more than last year's 60.

His 2007 WHIP was 1.52, which lowered to 1.11 this year. Batters hit .284 in '07, and .253 in '08.

The past is history, and both these players have forgotten their past.

Photo Courtesy of Philly.com

The Cy

Now that the NL MVP has been discussed, who deserves the National League Cy Young Award?

Brandon Webb leads the league in wins with 21. Does that make him the NL Cy Young? Absolutely not.

Wins are a bad stat to use. A pitcher could win every game, but allow ten runs in 5 innings. On the other hand, a pitcher could pitch a complete game, allow only one run, and still earn the loss. It's a team stat. It's all about the run support.

However, Webb also has some pretty good numbers.

At 21-7, Webb has an ERA of 3.26. He struck out 170 and has a WHIP of 1.19. Opponents are batting .241 against Webb.

But do his numbers match Tim Lincecum? Tim Lincecum is my pick for the Cy.

Linecum's 10.14 K/9 beat out Webb's 7.19 K/9.

The sophomore is 17-4, with the San Francisco Giants, a weak team. His ERA is 2.46, the league leading among NL starting pitchers.

To go along with that, Lincecum currently leads all of baseball in strikeouts with 243.

He is 5th in the league in innings pitched with 215.2. His WHIP is 1.15 and opponents are hitting just .220 against the righty.

Johan Santana, Ryan Dempster and Cole Hamels, should all finish behind Lincecum in the voting, but ahead of Webb.

CC Sabathia could also be in the top voting, due to his dominance after the trade from Cleveland.

In 217.1 IP, Santana's ERA is 2.65. He struck out 187, and his WHIP is 1.17.

Hamels has an ERA of 3.10. He struck out 189 and his WHIP is 1.08

Dempster, who moved from the bullpen to the rotation for the Cubs, pitched 196.2 innings. He has an ERA of 3.02 and a WHIP of 1.22. He struck out 182.

What about Brad Lidge? Well I will tell you about Brad Lidge.

Lidge has only pitched 65.1 innings. His ERA is a minuscule 1.93 and a WHIP of 1.19. He struck out 84 batters. He has struck out an amazing 11.57 batters per 9 innings.

However, relief pitchers do not pitch enough innings, in my opinion, to qualify for Cy Young contention. Rolaids Relief Man of the Year? Yes. He'd be my pick.

There are some other pitchers I didn't mention who may be in the voting, but nobody comes close to "The Franchise."