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Sep 27, 2011 - Cliff Lee pitched for the Phillies last night, and pitched brilliantly.
No surprise there.
Lee ran his record to 17-8, which figures to get him into third or fourth place in the Cy Young balloting.
If Lee doesn't finish third, it'll be because the voters are more impressed with Ian Kennedy's 21-4 record than Lee's 2.40 ERA and 5.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The real action happened Sunday, when both Clayton Kershaw and Roy Halladay pitched.
Of course, because they're Clayton Kershaw and Roy Halladay, they both won.
How close are they?
Halladay's 19-6 and Kershaw's 21-5.
Halladay's got a 2.35 ERA, Kershaw's is 2.28.
Halladay pitched 233⅔ innings, Kershaw 233⅓.
Kershaw struck out 248 batters, Halladay "only" 220.
Halladay has one big edge: strikeout-to-walk ratio. While Kershaw's command of the strike zone has been excellent, his 4.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio pales next to Halladay's MLB-best 6.3 mark.
Halladay's also got a big edge, percentage-wise, in home runs. He's given up only 10 home runs all season, compared to 15 for Kershaw.
It's funny, they're mostly tied except for the K/BB ratios and the home runs ... but those are the categories most likely to be ignored by the voters. Voters like wins and ERA and strikeouts, and Kershaw's got Halladay in all three.
There's more, though.
Kershaw's going to win the pitcher's Triple Crown, leading his league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts.
Prior to this season, there have been 11 pitcher Triple Crowns since the advent of the Cy Young Award
Sandy Koufax three times
Roger Clemens twice
Steve Carlton
Dwight Gooden
Pedro Martinez
Randy Johnson
Johan Santana
Jake Peavy
And 11 times, the Triple Crown was accompanied by a Cy Young Award.
I'm not sure Kershaw will make it 12 straight. The voters will be impressed by Kershaw's Triple Crown, but voters pay more attention to the other statistics than they used to and I'm pretty sure Halladay will pick up some first-place votes.
Just not enough, probably.
3 comments
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Comments
"It's funny, they're mostly tied except for the K/BB ratios and the home runs"
That seems to mostly ignore Kershaw’s significant edge in strikeouts, which in my mind outweighs the K/BB and HR edge, but not by much. However, I wouldn’t argue anyone is wrong for disagreeing and going with Halladay over Kershaw, they’re damn close.
by Dave Pomerantz on Sep 27, 2011 6:11 PM EDT reply actions
Ignoring WAR, Kershaw pitched against the Giants and the Padres and in the pitcher friendly confines of Dodger stadium. If they were divers, Kershaw was starting out with a 9.5 max while Halladay was starting out with the ability to get a perfect 10.
For Who? My teammates.
For What? To Win.
How Much? Where do I sign?
by jonk on Sep 27, 2011 10:33 PM EDT reply actions
t's funny, they're mostly tied except for the K/BB ratios and the home runs ...
It ignores Kershaw’s edge in strikeouts, and wins. Two wins is a lot, and even one fewer loss is somewhat significant. I would argue Kershaw balances out the K/BB ratio with his 174 hits allowed compared to Halladay’s 208; Halladay’s WHIP, then, is slightly higher at 1.04 compared to 0.98. I agree with Dave, though, that nobody would be wrong to vote for Halladay. But as much as his reputation and name recognition will prop the Doc up, if you put this season in a bubble, Kershaw should get the award.
by Mycoakes on Sep 28, 2011 10:44 AM EDT reply actions
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