Cy Young Award 2012, Who Should Win and Who Will

It's that time of year again.  The playoffs are in bloom, now with an extra wild card game to boot, and award season will soon enough follow.  And in a season where one player won the Triple Crown on the batting side.  Congratulations Miguel Cabrera.  There wasn't really one outstanding season in the pitching realm, although there sure were a number of pretty good ones, particularly on the relief side.  Now, don't get us started.  The fact that some of the relief pitching seasons were sensational doesn't mean we think they should or will win the Cy Young in either league.  But just that they were among the best seasons ever by a relief pitcher.  We're talking top ten for one guy nobody seemed to be talking about.  Sorry, Greg Kimbrel, it wasn't you, although you're in the Top 40.  But we'll get to him, that other guy later.  For now, we'll start with the who we think will win ...

The American League Cy Young
There's going to be some push back, we think, when the voting begins, from some writers who awarded him both the Cy Young and MVP prize last year (didn't think he should win the MVP last year), but to us, there's no doubting that this season, for Justin Verlander, while not quite as special, is the best of the bunch.  No, he didn't win those 20 games that Price and Weaver did, but his peripheral stats, and a number that we think is pretty darn important, the most innings pitched, put him over the top.  Now, all three candidates were pretty darn good.  ERAs below 3.00 for all, but Verlander did this in 27 innings more than Price and more than that of Weaver.  Three full games worth of great pitching, instead of the sixth starter or that sixth inning reliever is what I'd want from my starter, so the nod, for us, goes to Justin.  However, it might be in the fifth place finisher that you have the most underreported story of the year.  Sure, we heard lots of Kimbrel and Jim Johnson noise from the relief side, but it was in Tampa Bay Ray land that the best season of the relief pitching year was occurring.  How many times have you heard of an ERA of 0.60, but that's what Fernando Rodney put up.  Along with 48 saves.  And pitching 74.7 innings, too, which is a ton for a relief pitcher these days.  All that adds up to a relief pitching season that with a PEVA of 20.292, ranks 10th ALL-TIME in the history of the game.  Somebody explain to me why that hasn't gotten more Baseball Tonight and media attention.

Who Should Win - Justin Verlander, Detrot Tigers
Who Will Win - David Price, Tampa Bay Rays
Top Five - Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers; David Price, Tampa Bay Rays; Jared Weaver, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox; Fernando Rodney, Tampa Bay Rays.

The National League Cy Young
He won twenty games, lost fewer than the guy most think he has to beat out, pitched more innings, and had a lower ERA, all pitching for a bad team.  So, okay, we hate to admit it, but we think R.A. Dickey, the knuckleballer who pitches for the Mets, should and will win the Cy Young Award in the National League.  We know the talk these days has Gio Gonzalez in a two man race for the award with Dickey, but Dickey was just a bit better, and being consistent with our rational from the American League, pitched over thirty innings more at those ratios.  We actually think the second place finisher should be Clayton Kershaw, although we doubt he finishes in that position.  The loss of a couple starts in September, coupled with the way the Dodgers played down the stretch, not making the playoffs after all those trade deadline deals, will likely push Kershaw down to three or maybe five in the voting.  And no, we just don't see Kimbrel making a run for this title, not with three starting candidates who are as worthy as they are.  But we wouldn't be surprised if he finishes third.

Who Should Win - R.A. Dickey, New York Mets
Who Will Win - R.A. Dickey, New York Mets
Top Five - R.A. Dickey, New York Mets; Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers; Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds; Gio Gonzalez, Washington Nationals; Kyle Lohse, St. Louis Cardinals.

Top 40 Pitchers 2012
Best Relief Pitching Seasons in History