http://www.kansascity.com/sports/royals/story/1489939.html#
Posted on Sun, Oct. 04, 2009
Greinke faces tough competition in AL Cy Young race
Star News Services
The Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez is just 23 years old. Fans in and out of Seattle have already anointed him King Felix. And the Yankees’ CC Sabathia has called him the best pitcher he’s seen all season.
And after Sunday, he may be the last man standing between the Royals’ Zack Greinke and the American League Cy Young award.
Hernandez closed his season by bolstering his Cy Young candidacy in the Mariners’ 4-3 win over the Rangers.
Hernandez, who picked up the win and finished tied for the major-league lead with 19 wins, allowed two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings.
He also struck out six — finishing with 217 strikeouts, fourth most in the AL — and walked one.
Hernandez finished with a 2.49 ERA, second in the AL to the 2.16 of Greinke. Hernandez’s .792 winning percentage was the AL’s best, ahead of Josh Beckett’s .739.
And Hernandez saved his best for last.
He went 15-2 with a 1.98 ERA after Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu called him out for not stepping up during a sloppy loss to the Angels on May 19.
So the numbers line up quite nicely for Hernandez. And he did get an endorsement from Sabathia, who might have his own case for the Cy Young — more on that momentarily.
Of course, Hernandez isn’t openly campaigning for the honor, and neither is Greinke.
And while Hernandez might be Greinke’s toughest competition, other voters might be swayed by Sabathia’s 19 wins and his pinstriped uniform.
Sabathia finished 19-8 with a 3.37 ERA and 197 strikeouts in 230 innings.
And unlike Hernandez or Greinke, Sabathia is headed to the postseason.
Sabathia had his chance to weigh in the Cy Young race last week.
“Greinke’s been great…” Sabathia told the New York Daily News. “But we haven’t seen him pitch. I saw Felix up close the other day and I was like, ‘All right, this guy is unbelievable.’ So right now, to me, he has my vote.”
Then there is Detroit’s Justin Verlander.
Verlander may also be headed to the playoffs — if the Tigers can beat the Twins on Tuesday — and he may have pitched himself into the Cy Young discussion on Sunday.
Verlander pitched into the eighth inning in the Tigers’ 5-3 win over the White Sox.
He finished the season 19-9 with a 3.45 ERA and a league-leading 269 strikeouts.
“I tip my hat to Verlander,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said on Sunday. “That kid went out and did what everyone in the Tigers organization expected him to do.”
But in the end, the award may come down to Greinke and Hernandez.
Unfortunately, the winner will not be announced until after the World Series. And after his win Sunday, Hernandez said he wasn’t thinking about the award — yet.
“It’s not about me. It’s the voters and everything,” Hernandez told MLB.com after Sunday’s game.
“If it happens, it happens. Next year is another year. I feel pretty good about my season, so that’s the most important thing.”
Posted on Sun, Oct. 04, 2009
Greinke faces tough competition in AL Cy Young race
Star News Services
The Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez is just 23 years old. Fans in and out of Seattle have already anointed him King Felix. And the Yankees’ CC Sabathia has called him the best pitcher he’s seen all season.
And after Sunday, he may be the last man standing between the Royals’ Zack Greinke and the American League Cy Young award.
Hernandez closed his season by bolstering his Cy Young candidacy in the Mariners’ 4-3 win over the Rangers.
Hernandez, who picked up the win and finished tied for the major-league lead with 19 wins, allowed two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings.
He also struck out six — finishing with 217 strikeouts, fourth most in the AL — and walked one.
Hernandez finished with a 2.49 ERA, second in the AL to the 2.16 of Greinke. Hernandez’s .792 winning percentage was the AL’s best, ahead of Josh Beckett’s .739.
And Hernandez saved his best for last.
He went 15-2 with a 1.98 ERA after Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu called him out for not stepping up during a sloppy loss to the Angels on May 19.
So the numbers line up quite nicely for Hernandez. And he did get an endorsement from Sabathia, who might have his own case for the Cy Young — more on that momentarily.
Of course, Hernandez isn’t openly campaigning for the honor, and neither is Greinke.
And while Hernandez might be Greinke’s toughest competition, other voters might be swayed by Sabathia’s 19 wins and his pinstriped uniform.
Sabathia finished 19-8 with a 3.37 ERA and 197 strikeouts in 230 innings.
And unlike Hernandez or Greinke, Sabathia is headed to the postseason.
Sabathia had his chance to weigh in the Cy Young race last week.
“Greinke’s been great…” Sabathia told the New York Daily News. “But we haven’t seen him pitch. I saw Felix up close the other day and I was like, ‘All right, this guy is unbelievable.’ So right now, to me, he has my vote.”
Then there is Detroit’s Justin Verlander.
Verlander may also be headed to the playoffs — if the Tigers can beat the Twins on Tuesday — and he may have pitched himself into the Cy Young discussion on Sunday.
Verlander pitched into the eighth inning in the Tigers’ 5-3 win over the White Sox.
He finished the season 19-9 with a 3.45 ERA and a league-leading 269 strikeouts.
“I tip my hat to Verlander,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said on Sunday. “That kid went out and did what everyone in the Tigers organization expected him to do.”
But in the end, the award may come down to Greinke and Hernandez.
Unfortunately, the winner will not be announced until after the World Series. And after his win Sunday, Hernandez said he wasn’t thinking about the award — yet.
“It’s not about me. It’s the voters and everything,” Hernandez told MLB.com after Sunday’s game.
“If it happens, it happens. Next year is another year. I feel pretty good about my season, so that’s the most important thing.”
