NL Cy Young

The following are excerpts from MLB writer Jayson Stark. I think he has it correct.

Tim Lincecum has been getting way too little play in this debate for way too long, anyway. But Webb's mini-funk has helped bring Lincecum back into the conversation. And it's about time.

True, Lincecum has four fewer wins (19 to 15). But how much of that is his fault? He's 15-3, with five blown saves and six CUS (?Criminally Unsupported Starts -- games in which he pitched at least six innings and his team scored one run or none while he was in the game). Webb has one blown save and only two CUS. So that accounts for your gap in wins, gang.

Toss wins out of the discussion, and Lincecum looks as if he has clearly outpitched Webb by most standards. Lincecum leads in ERA by more than three-quarters of a run (2.43 to 3.19), leads in strikeouts by 50 (210 to 160) and tops the league in both categories. Lincecum also leads the NL in OPS allowed (.609), quality-start percentage (22 of 27, 81 percent) and strikeout ratio (10.2 per 9 IP). And unlike Sabathia, you may have noticed that he has been in the same league, on the same team, all season.

if you look seriously at the big picture -- not just win totals or the last two months -- I believe that pitcher is Tim Lincecum.

For the full Jayson Stark story and comparisons please see the following: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=22202

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Lincecum clear choice for Cy Young

For a Giants fan, it is always disturbing to see the Dodgers take over first place in the division. Today, the Diamondbacks relinquished the division lead and drop a 1/2 game behind the Dodgers. However, the Cy Young contest just became tighter. Diamondbacks ace, Brandon Webb (19-7), dropped his third straight. He now has an ERA of 3.41 in 197.2 innings pitched, with 166 strikeouts to his credit.

Tim Lincecum (15-3) has an ERA of 2.60 in 190.1 innings pitched with 216 strikeouts. More impressive is he has achieved it on a Giants team that has only scored 539 run this season compared to the Diamondbacks 640.

Chris Haft, the Giants beat reporter and author of the Giants Mailbag Column (08/25/2008) answered the question on ever Giants fans mind. The question asked was if anyone ever has ever won the Cy Young not only on a team with a losing record, but on a team so far below .500?


Chris responded “Yes indeed. The classic case is Steve Carlton, who captured the Cy Young Award while finishing 27-10 for the 1972 Philadelphia Phillies. Their record: 59-97. Other comparable examples include Brandon Webb -- this year's likely NL winner -- who took it home in 2006 when Arizona finished 76-86, and Randy Jones, the NL's Cy Young recipient in 1976 with a San Diego club that posted a 73-89 mark.”

How can Lincecum not get the Cy Young?!

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