cy young 2010

Roy Halladay won the National League Cy Young Award, and the baseball community agreed it was the right choice. The American League Cy Young will be announced Thursday, and I expect Felix Hernandez to win. Usually, 13-12 pitchers are never in the discussion.

But this discussion is a lively one, even more than last season, when Tim Lincecum (15-7) and Zack Greinke (16-8) won the awards. Those pitchers, at least, had outstanding winning percentages. Hernandez was one game over .500. 2) C.C. Sabathia and David Price will split the vote. Look, if you go with the best overall stats and choose the most dominant pitcher of 2010, it’s Hernandez. Sabathia was 21-7, Price was 19-6. Both pitched meaningful games all year.

“It’s tough,” Halladay said. Sometimes the run support isn’t there, but you sometimes just find ways to win games. I think the guys that are winning and helping their teams deserve a strong look, regardless of how good Felix’s numbers are. I don’t presume to know more than Roy Halladay about what constitutes pitching greatness.

And I still like the won-lost record, mostly for the sake of continuity and tradition. Over the course of a career, won-lost record is important, because luck generally evens out over time. Hernandez had 12 starts in which he allowed two earned runs or fewer and did not win. Hernandez pitched in front of the worst A.L. offense of the designated-hitter era. Sabathia and Price would be fine choices.

They had brilliant seasons. This year, for Hernandez, they didn’t. Felix Hernandez was excellent this year, Cy Young excellent. He led the league in innings pitched, ERA, games started and hits per nine, and struck out 232 batters. He pitched against the Yankees three times and the Red Sox once, winning all four of those games. Looking at his season game log, Hernandez only had four, maybe five, bad outings.

Doubtful.

He struggled in what is traditionally the most important Cy Young Award statistic, wins. I guess it makes sense, since Cy Young will forever be the all-time wins leader. So, traditionally, Hernandez' 13 wins might as well be zero when considering someone for the Cy Young award.

In his 12 losses, the Mariners offense was shut out four times and scored just one run five times. Those simple numbers, numbers that every baseball fan can understand, are the reason why pitchers can't be overly lauded or condemned for their win/loss records.