There are 6 candidates for the American League Cy Young Award through the month of May. They are:
Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox - Beckett's record is very impressive this year. He has yet to lose a game and he has the highest win total of any pitcher
who has yet to suffer a defeat. The reason for Beckett's success is that he has kept his home run total down. So far this year he has only given up 2 home runs through 10 starts, which is mighty impressive considering he had more than 25 go out off of him all of last year. Beckett is 8-0 with a 2.95 ERA. What takes Beckett out of the running is that he hasn't pitched enough. His recent stint on the DL has left him with only 64 innings pitched, not enough in my mind to qualify so far.
John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - Lackey really turned on the juice in May. In that month alone he was 5-1. In his worst start in May he gave up only 4 ER, not too terrible, but still suffered a loss at the hands of the White Sox and against Jon Garland, who is getting much better. Lackey has also been a workhorse pitching 86.2 innings. To me John Lackey just hasn't been quite as dominating as he needs to be with only 67 strikeouts, but he has been doing very well recently and should be in the race all season long for the great Angels.
C.C. Sabathia, Cleveland Indians - Even though the Indians have been very good this season, they have had problems finding a dependable pitcher. C.C. Sabathia is the only person who has filled that role. His ERA is a little high at 3.40, but he has been pretty dominate against opposing batters going 9-1 on the season. Except for his struggles at the beginning of May C.C. has been great. He has 83 strikeouts in 90 innings pitched, or almost one strikeout an inning, hard to do for a starting pitcher. The best part of C.C.'s game this year is that he has given up only 14 walks or a little more than 1 per game. His control has been fantastic. Sabathia will be in the running for the award at the end of the season if he can keep it up.
Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox - Beckett's record is very impressive this year. He has yet to lose a game and he has the highest win total of any pitcher
John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - Lackey really turned on the juice in May. In that month alone he was 5-1. In his worst start in May he gave up only 4 ER, not too terrible, but still suffered a loss at the hands of the White Sox and against Jon Garland, who is getting much better. Lackey has also been a workhorse pitching 86.2 innings. To me John Lackey just hasn't been quite as dominating as he needs to be with only 67 strikeouts, but he has been doing very well recently and should be in the race all season long for the great Angels.
C.C. Sabathia, Cleveland Indians - Even though the Indians have been very good this season, they have had problems finding a dependable pitcher. C.C. Sabathia is the only person who has filled that role. His ERA is a little high at 3.40, but he has been pretty dominate against opposing batters going 9-1 on the season. Except for his struggles at the beginning of May C.C. has been great. He has 83 strikeouts in 90 innings pitched, or almost one strikeout an inning, hard to do for a starting pitcher. The best part of C.C.'s game this year is that he has given up only 14 walks or a little more than 1 per game. His control has been fantastic. Sabathia will be in the running for the award at the end of the season if he can keep it up.
|
|
Type in Your Comments Below