Is John Lackey really on a 3 game winning streak?

Seriously, he's won 3 in a row?
Doesn't it seem like he reaches a new level of suck everytime he puts on a Red Sox uniform? But evidently he has now won 3 games in a row for the Sox.

And tonight he outpitched Felix Hernandez. That was the one game I thought the Mariners had their best shot. Now the Mariners have dropped 13 in a row and face Josh Beckett tomorrow.

Either way, seeing that I thought tonight's game was going to be a loss, I might as well update the tally.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 32

April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)
May 1 - 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)
May 8 - 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

May 9 - 2-1 win against the Twins. (A bullpen breakdown cost Beckett the decision but Cark Crawford ended the game with an 11th inning walk off hit.)
May 13 - 5-4 win in the Bronx. (Youkilis homers off of Joba and Bard and Papelbon make it more interesting than it needed to be.)
May 15 - 7-5 win in the Bronx. (Sox fall behind 4-1 but come back as Youk, Papi and Salty all homer.)
May 16 - 8-7 win against the Orioles. (Down 6-0 after 6 innings, the Sox rally and win it with a 2 run walk off double by Adrian Gonzalez)
May 18 - 1-0 win against Detroit. (With 2 outs in the 8th, Salty doubles home Crawford from first for the only run. Papelbon gets himself in and out of 9th inning trouble.)
May 19 - 4-3 win against Detroit. (Bard blows Beckett's lead but Carl Crawford wins it with a walk off hit.)
May 24 - 4-2 win in Cleveland. (Varitek throws two runners out and homers as the Red Sox win their first game against the Indians.)
May 29 - 4-3 win in Detroit. (The Red Sox blow an early 3-0 lead but David Ortiz wins the game with a pinch 9th inning homer.)
June 3 - 8-6 win against Oakland. (Buchholz lets up 4 runs in the first but the Sox come back thanks to Carl Crawford's 2 run single.)
June 4 - 9-8 win against Oakland. (Red Sox blow a 4 run 9th inning lead and trail in the 11th before Ellsbury ties it and Drew wins it in 14.)
June 7 - 6-4 win in the Bronx. (Papelbon strikes out A-Rod to end the game with a runner on base.)
June 9 - 8-3 win in the Bronx. (Down 2-0 to Sabathia in the 7th, the Sox score 7 runs as Papi exacts revenge after getting plunked. A 3+ hour rain delay pushed the game past 1:30 AM)

June 15 - 3-0 win in Tampa Bay. (Youkilis homers in the 7th for the only runs in Beckett's 1 hit masterpiece.)
June 16 - 4-2 win in Tampa Bay. (Papelbon wiggles out of a 2 on, nobody out jam in the 9th thanks to Youk's diving catch.)
June 26 - 4-2 win in Pittsburgh. (The Pirates make 4 errors and the Red Sox score 2 in the 7th to avoid a sweep by the Bucs.
June 30 - 5-2 win in Philadelphia.(An injury to Cole Hamels leads to the Red Sox bats waking up.)
July 1 - 7-5 win in Houston. (The Sox score 6 in the 7th inning to come back and win.)
July 3 - 2-1 win in Houston. (The Red Sox score a run in the top of the 9th on a walk to break a tie.)
July 5 - 3-2 win against Toronto. (Lester gets hurt but Darnel McDonald throws out the tying run at the plate to end the game.)
July 6 - 6-4 win against Toronto. (The Sox score 4 in the 4th to take the lead and Wakefield and company hang on for dear life.)
July 10 - 8-6 win against Baltimore. (The Orioles score 6 runs off of rookie Kyle Weiland in the second, but the Red Sox hit three homers in the bottom of the second to tie the game and hold for dear life.)
July 16 - 9-5 win in Tampa. (Lackey puts the Sox in a 3-0 first inning hole, but 3 Sox homers bring them back for the win.)
July 17 - 1-0 win in Tampa. (Beckett throws a masterpiece and the bullpen throws 8 amazing innings. But the Sox bats go dead, leaving 17 men on base before Pedroia drove in a run with 2 outs in the 16th inning.)
July 18 - 15-10 win in Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 6-2 lead but score 8 runs in the 8th to take the game.)
July 22 - 7-4 win against Seattle. (John Lackey beat Felix Hernandez and Mike Carp's error helped the Red Sox score 5 in the 7th to give them some breathing room.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 23

April 1 - 9-5 loss in Texas. (The Sox tie Opening Day in the 8th with an Ortiz homer only to have Bard implode and the Sox let up 4 in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 5 - 3-1 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox drop their 4th straight as the bats are dead in Cleveland.)
April 7 - 1-0 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow a great Lester performance on a squeeze bunt and Darnell McDonald overrunning the bag to end the game.)
April 12 - 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. (A solid Lester performance is wasted as Kyle Farnsworth of all people shuts down the Sox.)
April 15 - 7-6 loss to Toronto. (Bobby Jenks implodes with a 4 run seventh inning as the Red Sox waste Pedroia and Youkilis homers and a clutch RBI double by Scuatro.
April 19 - 5-0 loss in Oakland. (Pedroia gets picked off, the Sox bats go dead and waste a solid Lackey start.)
April 26 - 4-1 loss in Baltimore. (Buchholz pitches tentatively and the Sox let Kevin Gregg of all people to close out the 9th.)
April 27 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (The Sox tie the game with a 3 run 8th only to have Bard lose it in the bottom of the 8th.)
April 29 - 5-4 loss to Mariners. (Bobby Jenks blows a 7th inning lead, wasting 2 Mike Cameron homers.)
April 30 - 2-0 loss to Mariners. (The Sox strand 11 runners and let Milton Bradley double home the go ahead run.)
May 4 - 5-3 loss to Angels. (7 hours with rain delays and stranded runners. Marco Scutaro was thrown out at the plate in the 12th)
May 10 - 7-6 loss in Toronto. (8th and 9th inning heroics, including a homer by Adrian Gonzalez, are undone by a walk off sacrifice fly by David Cooper.)
May 21 - 9-3 loss to Cubs. (Up 3-1 in the 8th inning, the bullpen and defense implode. The Cubs score 8 runs while both teams wear their 1918 uniforms.)
May 23- 3-2 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox blow a 2-1 8th inning lead when the Indians rally with 2 outs. Crawford ends the game on a double play.)
May 29 - 3-0 loss in Detroit. (Verlander keeps the Sox off base and prevents the sweep.)
June 1 - 7-4 loss to White Sox. (Konerko drives in three, spoiling a game tying Ortiz homer.)

June 14 - 4-0 loss in Tampa Bay. (Wakefield's solid outing is spoiled. Longoria scores on a passed ball.)
June 18 - 4-2 loss to Milwaukee. (The Brewers hit three homers early off of Lester and hang on.)
June 21 - 5-4 loss to San Diego. (Ortiz hits a double play in the 9th to stifle a potential winning rally.)

June 24 - 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh. (The Red Sox strand 7 runners in scoring position.)
June 25 - 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh. (The Red Sox fall out of first as Pedroia's error leads to a Pirates run.)
June 29 - 2-1 loss in Philadelphia. (Vance Worley duels John Lackey and slumping Raul Ibanez drives in both runs.)
July 4 - 9-7 loss to Toronto. (John Lackey's miserable start puts the Sox in too big a hole to climb out of.)
July 19 - 6-2 loss in Baltimore. (Scutaro gets thrown out stealing and the Orioles tack on 3 big runs late.)

Back up to +8.

And speaking of 8, if you ever wonder why some people discount a pitcher's win loss record, let me say this.

John Lackey is 8-8.
Tim Lincecum is 8-8.

Which one would you rather have pitching for your team?

The Yankee bullpen irony for tonight

The much maligned Yankee bullpen came up big tonight in Seattle.
Ivan Nova couldn't make it out of the 4th, giving the Mariners the lead with defending Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez on the mound. But then pen combined for 7 1/3 shut out innings and the Yankees crawled back in and forced it into extra innings.

And ironically the game was lost by Mariano Rivera, the ONE reliever people think they can count on.

The Yankees lost the series in Seattle and are now behind in the win AND loss column against the Red Sox.

Thanks for the help, Mariano.

King Felix is confused... What are these "Runs" you speak of?

The Mariners scored 6 runs for Felix Hernandez tonight in Oakland. Did they score 6 runs for Hernandez ALL YEAR last year? I can't remember.

It's a nice start for a Cy Young defense. He also has 1 complete game which might lead the league at the end of the year. Seriously, he's a young kid throwing a complete game and nobody is worrying that his arm might fall off.

Keep scoring these runs for your ace, Mariners. It will make the explanation of why he deserves the Cy Young award a lot easier for all of us.

THE KING IS CROWNED!!!!!!

YES!
Felix Hernandez won the Cy Young Award that was rightfully his.

And we can all breathe a nice sigh of relief that the writers voting didn't say "Hey! He didn't get as many wins... how good could he be?"

Best WAR for Pitchers.
The best ERA.
Best Hits per 9 IP.
2nd best WHIP.
Most innings pitched.
2nd in strikeouts (1 strikeout behind the leader.)
Most games started.
2nd most complete games (1 behind the leader.)
Best Adjusted Pitching Runs
Best Adjusted Pitching Wins
Best Base-Out Runs Saved
Best Situational Wins Saved
Best Base-out Wins Saved.

AND he won 13 games on a team that lost 101!

As I wrote before, he deserved it even if he was sub .500.

Good job writers... unlike the American Idol voters, you impressed me.

Prove me wrong, baseball writers... vote for the King

Come on, Voters... make the right call.
Felix Hernandez was the best pitcher in the American League for 2010.

And if you've been reading this blog (which you are right now), you know I've covered this in detail why Felix Hernandez should win BECAUSE of his win loss total.

There's nothing left to do but wait... and hope the writers made the correct choice.

Hey Mariners... let's compromise on Felix Hernandez starting

So the Mariners are at home for the last day of the season... and I guess it is fitting for a year where many people picked them to win the AL West and instead lost 100 games that they are giving their fans nothing to cheer for on the last day.

Felix Hernandez, looking to cement a Cy Young resume that has everything except the eye popping win total (although winning 13 games on a 100 loss team isn't easy) has been shut down for the year.

You see, the young man has thrown too many innings. In fact he has more innings pitched than anyone in the American League.

He's thrown 249 2/3 innings... and evidently his arm will explode if he throws 250.

I get it... innings limits. It works. Just ask Joba Chamberlain and Stephen Strasburg.

But do you really want the final moment of the 2010 Mariners season a start by Ryan Rowland Smith?

The guy let up 11 earned runs in one start in July. I know I am supposed to ignore win totals, but 1-10 just sucks... and the 6.90 ERA doesn't help.

So here's what I propose, Mariners... for the fans.

Have Felix Hernandez start and throw two innings. Inevitably he will strike out 2 batters in those 2 innings.

Then remove him to a thunderous ovation.

Why 2 innings and 2 strikeouts?

2 innings will give him 251 2/3 innings... 1 more inning than Roy Halladay who leads the majors in that category.

He is also 1 strikeout behind big league leader Jared Weaver.

So those 2 innings will give him the most innings pitched in the bigs, the most strikeouts in the bigs, the lowest qualifying ERA in the bigs, and tied for the most starts in the bigs.

Those 2 innings and 2 strikeouts could make a compelling argument to even the old school voters that he pitched better than anyone in baseball this year.

And hey! That would mean people would be talking about the Mariners in the off season.

How nice would that be?
I would say nicer than a Ryan Rowland Smith start.

The Mariners truly appreciate their fans

Thank you fans! Now please enjoy the game that we are waving the white flag in before it even starts.

Thanks for supporting a team that thought Milton Bradley would be a good power source. Thanks for cheering a team that couldn't put one 20 home run hitter, one 70 RBI man and only one .250 hitter.

And seeing that the only thing left to cheer for is King Felix Hernandez, we'll take THAT away from you too.

Thanks a lot fans, and be sure to buy tickets for NEXT season. It will be just as Crap-Tastic as this one.

YES... you can be a .500 winner and deserve the Cy Young Award

I heard the panel on MLB last night talk about the American League Cy Young Award today and they unanimously picked C. C. Sabathia, mainly based on his 20 wins.

John Hart said that Felix Hernandez had the great numbers but his win total wasn't enough.

I don't claim to know more about baseball than John Hart nor the panel.
That being said, that is "smearing feces on the wall crazy."

And yesterday's game is a case in point.
Hernandez let up one run in the first inning... the 50th home run of the season by Jose Bautista.
That was the only blemish. He pitched a complete game, retiring 13 in a row at one point. He let up only one other hit besides the Bautista homer, walked 4 and faced 28 batters in 8 innings for the complete game.

He got the loss. So in John Hart's mind, 8 innings, 1 run and 2 hits is a performance that shows he is NOT worthy of a Cy Young.

Let me put it into clearer terms.

Here are the categories where Hernandez finishes ahead of Sabathia
(and he leads the league in the bold categories:)

ERA
INNINGS PITCHED
STRIKE OUTS
BATTERS FACED
ADJUSTED PITCHING RUNS
BASE OUT RUNS
SAVED SITUATION WINS SAVED
COMPLETE GAMES
COMPLETE GAME SHUTOUTS
WALKS AND HITS PER INNINGS PITCHED
BATTING AVERAGE AGAINST
STRIKEOUT PER 9 INNINGS
STRIKEOUT TO WALK RATIO
FEWEST HOME RUNS PER 9 INNINGS
ADJUSTED ERA +

Here are the categories where Sabathia finishes ahead of Hernandez
(and he leads the league in the bold categories:)

WINS
WIN LOSS PERCENTAGE

And that's it.

I don't even know what half of those stats mean for Hernandez... all I know he has pitched better all season. Was he supposed to throw more innings? Let up fewer runs? Strike out more batters? Nobody did ANY of those better than Hernandez!

I am not disrespecting Sabathia who is having a wonderful season. And I understand he has a role of the horse of the Yankee staff and has to shoulder the innings burden of a shaky rotation.

But keep in mind that 10 of his 20 wins have been against Baltimore, Seattle and Kansas City.

Nor am I putting down David Price who should finish in the top 3 in the Cy Young vote with Sabathia and Hernandez.

But both of them have All Stars in their line up and bullpen. I covered in an earlier post that with a team this bad, 12 wins IS an accomplishment!

And guess what? He is 3-0 against the Yankees.

In Hernandez's 12 losses, his team has scored a GRAND TOTAL of 14 runs.

Nice support.

I can go through Hernandez's line up that he had today... the fact that the number 3 hitter is a .236 batter and the clean up hitter is below the Mendoza line... but keep this in mind.

In a one run game they pinch hit for the #5 hitter.

Would the Yankees say "It's late in a close game. Send in someone to bat for Robinson Cano"?

Nope.

He's the Cy Young winner.
The numbers don't lie.

If not, then just automatically award the Cy Young to the guy with the most wins.

Is there an East Coast Bias in Awards voting?

I've been supporting Felix Hernandez as the Cy Young winner even though I think voters will vote for C. C. Sabathia and his 20 wins (even though King Felix has him beat in every other category.)

But some people, including the good folks at Emerald City Diamond Gems, think that the fact that Sabathia plays in New York will tip the scales his way.

I've heard this before... the votes ALWAYS slant towards New York and Boston and to a degree Philadelphia... and stars in the west tend to get ignored come award time.

This is a terrific theory. It sounds correct.
And it is repeated each year by some writer in the west as if it is a fact.

Here's the problem with that theory:
It's not true.

Let's take a large sample of recent awards...

The Joe Torre era in New York.
1996-2007. A 12 year span where the Yankees dominated media coverage, made the playoffs all 12 seasons, won 6 pennants and 4 World Series titles and seemed to have every star in the galaxy.

How many MVPs do you think they had in those 12 years?

2. Both by Alex Rodriguez in years the Yankees did NOT even win the Division Series. (2005 and 2007.)

Do you know what team had as many MVPs as the Yankees during the Torre years?
The Mariners.

In fact what division do you think DOMINATED the AL MVP category during the Joe Torre Yankee years?

I'll give you a hint... none of the teams played in the Eastern Time Zone.

That would be the AL West, winning 9 straight MVPs from 1996 to 2004.

In those 12 Torre Yankee years, the Texas Rangers won 4 MVPs (Juan Gonzalez in 1996 and 1998, Pudge Rodriguez in 1999 and Alex Rodriguez in 2003.)

The Mariners won a pair (Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997 and Ichiro Suzuki in 2001).

The A's also won a pair (Jason Giambi in 2000 and Miguel Tejada in 2002.)

And the Angels won one (Vlad Guerrero in 2004.)

In fact it is interesting when you break those awards down how the East Coast bias did NOT work.

When the great shortstop era was played out in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it wasn't New York's Derek Jeter nor Boston's Nomar Garciaparra who won an MVP despite putting up the best numbers of their careers.

A-Rod won his with Texas and Miguel Tejada, arguably the least known of the big shortstops of that era, won his.

And there have been two instances in the past few years where players from the Minnesota Twins, not exactly a media hub for anyone except Ted Baxter, won close MVPs votes over Derek Jeter.

I am going out on a limb to say that Derek Jeter gets more media attention than Justin Morneau or Joe Mauer.

Let's take a look at the Cy Young voting since the divisions expanded from 4 to 6 (1994 to present.)

With all the great Yankee pitching over the years, how many Cy Youngs do you think have gone the Yankees way?

Out of 16 Cy Youngs handed out, a grand total of one was given to a Yankee in that time.
Roger Clemens in 2001.

Actually Clemens Cy Young was the only Yankee Cy Young since Ron Guidry's dominating 1978 season.

Yup. The Yankees went through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s with a grand total of ONE Cy Young Award.

Compare that to Kansas City, who has had 2 Cy Youngs since 1994...
Minnesota has 2...
Cleveland has 2...



Which team has won the most Cy Young Awards in the AL since 1994?

That would be the Toronto Blue Jays with 4...

1 for Pat Hentgen... 1 for Doc Halladay... 2 for Clemens.

And remember Hentgen beat out the Yankees ace Andy Pettitte and Clemens beat out David Wells when he was lights out for the World Champs in 1998?


Now of course there IS an East Bias in coverage.
I wrote about that earlier.

And there's a reason for that... the most popular teams are on the East Coast and there are more transplanted New Englanders, New Yorkers and Philadelphians than there are transplants from California and Arizona.

I'm a case in point. I live in California and am a rabid Red Sox fan... even though I haven't lived in Massachusetts since Ronald Reagan was President.

Oh yeah, also the teams in the Northeast have won the last 3 World Series.

But that is media coverage... not awards bias.

So yes... Sabathia could indeed win the Cy Young for an irrational reason.
But that reason is numerical (20 wins) NOT geographical.

Felix Hernandez's win total is reason FOR his Cy Young Candidacy

I've been making the case for Felix Hernandez to win the Cy Young Award for about a month now and I have been alone.

Yes he leads the league in a lot of statistics that I don't completely understand...

Win Probability Added... Situational Wins... Base Out Wins Saved... Adjusted Pitching Wins... I am still learning how to quantify them. But King Felix leads all of those categories, which is impressive.

But this isn't just twisting some obscure numbers to make a point (a la the greatness of Colby Rasmus.)

He also leads the league in all sorts of categories that traditional voters drool over.

ERA? He's the best.
Strikeouts? He's the best.
Games started? He's the best.
Innings pitched? He's the best.

Not to mention being third in complete games and having the third lowest Walks and Hits per nine inning ratio.

Sounds like a Cy Young front runner to me!

But then people bring up his win total.
"Can we REALLY have a Cy Young winner who only has 12 wins?"

And my response to that is simple.
12 wins? Are you kidding me? He should win the Cy Young BECAUSE he got 12 wins with this God Awful Mariners team!

Now I don't consider wins to be a worthless stat (that IS the objective of the pitcher... to win the game) but it can also be an amazingly misleading stat.

Mitch Williams blew the lead in two beautiful pitched games by Curt Schilling in the 1993 NLCS... and Williams got the win for both games. A casual glance would see Williams having a 2-0 record in the series and Schilling's record being 0-0 and Williams would look like the dominating pitcher.

Harvey Haddix threw 12 perfect innings in a game in 1959, let up a run in the 13th and got the loss. I am going to go out on a limb and say he pitched well enough to get the win in that game.

So Sabathia and the other front runners (David Price, Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester) all play for teams that will win 90 some odd games.

Hernandez's team has ALREADY lost 91 games.
They have only 56 wins all season.

12 by Hernandez.
Yup, that means there have been only 44 wins by the Mariners that WEREN'T Felix Hernandez.

And guess what? He plays for a team that said "We have a solution for the #4 hole! MILTON BRADLEY!"

While Sabathia's team and Price's team flip flop for the title "Best Team in Baseball" Hernandez has to go out each night and say "I hope Franklin Gutierrez and Michael Saunders can drive in a few runs and David Aardsma can hold the lead."

12 wins?
That's only 7 fewer than Sabathia, who has a team that can bring Lance Berkman and Curtis Granderson off the bench in some games. And has Rivera closing games.

That's only 6 fewer than Price who has the likes of Crawford, Longoria and Pena driving in runs and Soriano closing games.

12 wins is a REMARKABLE total when you look at the hand he was dealt!

Here's something to think about...
Hernandez's 12 wins represents roughly 21% of the Mariners wins for the year.

What would be 21% of the Yankees' 89 wins so far?

19 wins... the same total that Sabathia has.

So Hernandez IS winning at the same clip as CC Sabathia... he just has a worse supporting cast.

Cy Young inspite of 12 wins?
Try BECAUSE of 12 wins.

Man, Price and C. C. sure LOOKED like Cy Young contenders tonight

I've been singing the praises of Felix Hernandez to win the Cy Young Award since August.
And Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports agrees with me.

And I know I am not supposed to be seduced by David Price's and C. C. Sabathia's win loss total.

But holy cats they looked like a pair of aces tonight.

8 innings, no runs 9 strikeouts for Sabathia?
8 innings, no runs, 3 hits 2 walks for Price?

In a game for first place?

That's what you want in an ace.
I guess it is appropriate that neither will get a win.

King Felix wants his Cy Young

There is a Cy Young front runner pitching in Anaheim tonight and it is NOT the dude with 15 wins.

Ervin Santana is having a nice year but so far Felix Hernandez has been dominating everything but the win-loss column.

I really hope the Mariners win and more specifically Felix wins tonight. I want that win total around 14. I don't want a nitwit sports writer to NOT vote for the most dominating pitcher in the American League by saying "Is the league's best pitcher a 12 game winner?"

YES when they tried to have Milton Bradley as the clean up hitter.

I was making fun of the outcome of last night's Angels/Mariners game as irrelevant. But today? GO MARINERS!

Did I get what I wanted this weekend?

Maybe I should rephrase the title "Did ANYTHING happen the way I wanted it to this weekend?"

I made a wish list for the weekend... let's see how awfully it turned out.

RED SOX vs. WHITE SOX
I wanted the Sox to sweep. They did. Unfortunately it was the WHITE Sox who did the sweeping. The Red Sox season is basically done... but the White Sox are rampaging.

YANKEES vs. BLUE JAYS
I wanted the Jays to sweep. They lost 2 of 3... but showed that there are cracks in the Yankees armor in terms of their starting pitching.

METS vs. CUBS
I wanted to see the Mets take 2 of 3 and R. A. Dickey to pick up a win. The Cubs took the first two before being thrashed today. Dickey got the loss on Friday.

ORIOLES vs. RAYS
Wanted an Orioles sweep. The Rays took the first game but lost the next two. Not that it helped the Red Sox in the standings any!

PHILLIES vs. BREWERS
I wanted the Brewers to take 2 of 3 but Halladay to take the win on Saturday. Hamels finally got a close win, Halladay won his 17th on Saturday but the Brewers avoided a sweep today.

PIRATES vs. NATIONALS
The fans at this series never have to prove their loyalty to their team in any other way. I wanted the Pirates to take 2 of 3. Naturally the Nats did.

BRAVES vs. MARLINS
I've never been a fan of the Bobby Cox Braves, so I wanted a Florida sweep to knock them out of their perch, to use a fish term. The Marlins took 2 of 3 including a thriller today.

RANGERS vs. TWINS
No offense to Minnesota, but I wanted the Rangers to sweep so Chicago could keep pace. It was the Twins who swept and kept pace with the surging White Sox. And oh yeah, one of the games ended on a crazy ticky tack interference call.

TIGERS vs. ROYALS
I wanted a Zack Greinke win. The bullpen blew a lead for him. I wanted an Armando Gallaraga win. He got a no decision. I also wanted a 28 inning game. I got an 11 inning one. Close enough.

CARDINALS vs. REDS
I wanted the Cardinals to take 2 of 3. They did. But I was hoping Wainwright's 18th victory would come this weekend, which it didn't.

ASTROS vs. DIAMONDBACKS
I didn't care about this series so basically I wanted three winners. Specifically I wanted 30 inning games, but I would settle for thrillers. I got three one run victories, including a wild comeback from Houston on Saturday as they took 2 of 3.

ANGELS vs. A'S
I still don't like the Angels and I hoped for an Oakland sweep. I got 2 of 3 for the A's. Both Cahill and Santana got wins to keep padding their win total.

INDIANS vs. MARINERS
I wanted them to go back in time to 1995 when they were both contenders. I also wanted Felix Hernandez to get a win. They stayed in 2010 but King Felix did indeed get a "W."

ROCKIES vs. PADRES
I spent the weekend in San Diego. It's a lovely city and the Padre fans have been wonderful. But I am rooting for the Giants to win it all if the Red Sox can't. I wanted a Rockies sweep. That's exactly what I got.

GIANTS vs. DODGERS
I hoped the Giants could inch closer to a playoff spot by sweeping L.A. While it wasn't a sweep, Juan Uribe is etching his name into the history book of late season Giants heroics as he powered San Francisco to two wins in three games.

So all in all, I didn't get a lot of what I wanted...
The Red Sox season appears to be over.

However, my dad (and my son Aidan) should be thrilled to see the Giants climbing back into the thick of things.

So as long as my family is happy... I'm happy.

Here's what I want to have happen this Labor Day weeekend

As we enter the last part of the season, there is a full slate of games for this weekend.

Here's what I hope happens in each series.

RED SOX vs. WHITE SOX

I want to see the White Sox win the division... but not at the expense of MY Sox. Look, I realize the Red Sox are probably going to fall short, but I want the Yankees and Rays to EARN their playoff spot. Obviously I want a sweep... but I wouldn't mind seeing Manny hit a garbage time home run either. Buchholz is going for win #16, Lackey for win #13 and Beckett win #...5? Let's pad some stats!

YANKEES vs. BLUE JAYS:
Duh... I want the Blue Jays to sweep them. And I don't want any game to be close. And I want someone in the Yankee dugout to be sobbing and questioning their role in the universe.

CUBS vs. METS:

I have no ill will towards either franchise, but I WOULD like to see the Mets finish above .500 this year. Plus I like R. A. Dickey and would like to see him get to double digits in wins. I hope the Mets take 2 out of 3.

ORIOLES vs. RAYS:

Another duh. I want the Orioles to dig deep into their bag of pride and sweep Tampa. If the Red Sox are going to have a miraculous come back, they will need some help.

BREWERS vs. PHILLIES

I actually like this Phillies team and wouldn't mind seeing Cole Hamels get a win seeing that he was denied a few wins due to poor hitting. And I want to see Roy Halladay get to 20 wins and a win this weekend will be #18. But the Phillies losing would mean the Giants would gain ground in the Wild Card race. And I would like to see the Brewers above .500 (they are 9 under now.) I will be pulling for the Brewers to win 2 of 3, but Halladay getting the win on Saturday.

NATIONALS vs. PIRATES

First of all, there had better be a give away this weekend in Pittsburgh. Like Steelers tickets. Two teams thinking draft pick going head to head... what can I say? I am a sucker for the Pirates. I hope they win the series 2-1.

And oh yeah, I want Nyjer Morgan to take on the whole city of Pittsburgh.

BRAVES vs. MARLINS

I never liked the Bobby Cox Braves and I am not going to start liking them now! I'd much rather see the Phillies win the Division. The match up tonight has Kawakami vs. Miller... two pitchers with a combined 1 victory. I want a Marlins sweep and have the Phillies inch closer.

RANGERS vs TWINS

A.K.A. the ALCS from Ratings Hell. Normally I would be pulling for 3 well played games and let the winner fall where it might. But because I am rooting for the Red Sox to sweep the White Sox, I need the Rangers to sweep the Twins to let Chicago keep pace.

REDS vs. CARDINALS

The Reds can essentially sweep the Cardinals playoff hopes away. A Reds sweep would give them an 11 game lead with 28 to play. And I WANT the Reds to win the Division. But they are going to anyway. So I want Cincy to win tonight and have Arroyo get his 15th win. And then I want the Cardinals to win the next two and get Carpenter HIS 15th win and Wainwright to get his 18th.

TIGERS vs. ROYALS

I hope the Royals win tonight... I'd like to see Zack Greinke get a few more W's. I'd like to see Armando Gallaraga get a perfect game on Sunday. As for Saturday? I want 28 innings.

ASTROS vs. DIAMONDBACKS

I literally couldn't care less about the outcome of this series that will not affect the pennant race in the slightest. So I want each game to go 30 innings, each team to hit a game tying home run down to their last strike and I want an outfielder to leap over the fence, catch a ball and land in the pool.

ANGELS vs. A's

Even when they aren't contenders, I don't like the Angels. Plus I'd like to see the A's get to .500 and Trevor Cahill get to 15 wins. I want an Oakland sweep.

ROCKIES vs. PADRES

No offense, San Diego. You have a lovely city and your team is a great story. But I want the Giants to win the Division and a nice big ole sweep by the Rockies will go a long long way for that.

MARINERS vs. INDIANS

I hope they get a Time Machine and go back to 1995 when this would have been a great match up. I hope Felix Hernandez gets a "W" and each other game is decided by a leaping catch into the stands.

GIANTS vs. DODGERS
Some day a Dodgers/Giants series will bring around a lot of tension in my house as I have one son who claims to be a Dodgers fan and another who calls the Giants his own. For now, they seem more interested in watching Toy Story. So to my son Matty, who likes the Dodgers, I'm sorry pal... I want the Giants to sweep them!

So let's see what I can get in terms of my wish list.
And let the great Red Sox comeback begin NOW!

King Felix looked like a Cy Young winner tonight

Oh well... my dream of a healthy Red Sox rotation lasted, what? 90 minutes?

Dice-K is down for the count and heading back to the DL probably. Oh well... who were the Mariners throwing up there.

AHHHH. King Felix.
Man alive, it never rains but it pours. The only hope the Sox had for the nightcap was to knock the ace out of the game in the 8th. When they did it, suddenly it looked like a sweep was on tap. AND with the Rays and Yankees losing, I began calculating how much closer the Sox would be and how big the up coming series with the Rays could be.

And then... they couldn't get the runs in.

Ugh. An opportunity lost and once again the need to SWEEP series is shown.

Sadly, let's update the tally.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 44

April 4 - 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 - 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 - 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 - 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 - 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk's 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 - 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre's bases loaded walk.)

April 24 - 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)
April 26 - 13-12 win at Toronto. (The Sox blow an early 5-0 lead but hang on for dear life in a slugfest.)
April 27 - 2-1 win at Toronto. (Buchholz holds the Jays down for 8 but it takes a bases loaded walk in the 8th to go ahead.)
April 28 - 2-0 win at Toronto. (Daniel Bard wiggles out of trouble in the 8th to help Lester shut down the Blue Jays and finish the sweep.)
May 4 - 5-1 win against the Angels. (Juan Rivera misplays Jeremy Hermedia's 2 out flyball into a 3 run game winning double)
May 5 - 3-1 win against the Angels. (Papi and Beltre homer and the Sox hang on despite squandering many potential rallies.)
May 6 - 11-6 win against the Angels. (Dice-K puts the Red Sox in a 4-0 hole before they even bat. The Sox bats respond.)
May 10 - 7-6 win against the Blue Jays. (Sox blow an early 2-0 lead, take advantage of some errors and hang on.)
May 18 - 7-5 win in New York. (Sox climb back from a 5-1 hole. A day after hitting a walk off homer, Marcus Thames drops a fly ball to start the winning rally for the Sox.)
May 25 - 2-0 win in Tampa. (Big Papi supplies all the offense as Papelbon wiggles out of a 9th inning jam.)
May 29 - 1-0 win against Kansas City. (Zack Greinke holds the Sox to one run, but they make it stick)

June 1 - 9-4 win against Oakland. (Lackey puts the Sox in a 4-0 hole but Victor Martinez goes 5-5 and the Sox score 9 runs late.)
June 2 - 6-4 win against Oakland. (Dice-K puts the Sox in a 3-0 hole before they come to bat, but come back thanks to Papi's homer.)

June 8 - 3-2 win at Cleveland. (With Papelbon unavailable, Okajima, Ramirez and Bard hang on to make a winner out of Wakefield.)

June 19 - 5-4 win against the Dodgers. (Sox make 4 errors, blow a late lead and let Manny homer, but they win it in the bottom of the 9th on a Pedroia single.)
June 20 - 2-0 win against the Dodgers. (Dodgers blow an early bases loaded scoring opportunity and allow Buchholz to settle down for the win.)

June 24 - 13-11 win in Colorado. (The bullpen lets up 9 runs in 5 innings, but Pedroia homers 3 times including with 2 outs in the 10th to win a wild and stupid game.)
June 26 - 4-2 win in San Francisco. (An injury running the bases takes Buchholz out in the second, but the bullpen and Mike Cameron's bat and glove win the game.)
July 2 - 3-2 win against the Orioles. (Wakefield gets the win and J.D. Drew homers twice, but it is Nava's 2 out 8th inning bloop that landed between three fielders that breaks the tie.)

July 11 - 3-2 win in Toronto. (Jesse Litch took a no hitter into the 6th but back to back homers by McDonald and Big Papi win the game.)
July 17 - 3-2 win against Texas. (Youk ties the game in the 9th off of Cliff Lee and wins it in the 11th with a sacrifuce fly)
July 19 - 2-1 win at Oakland. (Beltre homers and Dice-K holds on to the win.)
July 22 - 8-6 win at Seattle. (Lackey lost a no hit bid in the 8th and the Mariners scored 5 in the 9th to tie before the Sox won in 13)
July 23 - 2-1 win at Seattle. (Bill Hall's barely fair homer gives the Sox the win on Beckett's return.)

July 26 - 6-3 win in Anaheim. (Papi homers twice and Buccholz and Papelbon each wiggle out of jams to get the win.)
July 27 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (Jed Lowrie's 2 run 7th inning double gives the Sox the lead and makes a winner out of John Lackey. )

July 28 - 7-3 win in Anaheim. (Youk ties the game in the 7th with a homer and Scutaro wins it with an 8th inning grand slam to sweep the Angels.)
July 31 - 5-4 win against Detrout. (Big Papi hits a 3 run walk off double to crush the Tigers in the 9th.)
August 1 - 4-3 win against Detroit. (Sox blow a 3 run 9th inning lead but the Tigers throw away a 9th inning sacrifice bunt to give the Sox the win.

August 3 - 3-1 win against Cleveland. (Lowell homers on his first pitch back and plays sparkling defense to preserve the win.)

August 6 - 6-3 win in Yankee Stadium. (Cervelli drops an easy pop up, setting up the winning rally for the Sox.)
August 9 - 2-1 win in Yankees Stadium. (Marcus Thames' bid for a game tying homer hits the top of the wall as Lester, Bard and Papelbon hold on for the win.)

August 10 - 7-5 win in Toronto. (The Sox blow a late lead but Mike Lowell puts them on top for good with an 8th inning homer.)
August 14 - 3-1 win in Texas. (Lester wiggles out of jams and a botched hit and run play kills a potential 9th inning Texas rally.)
August 18 - 7-5 win against the Angels. (The Sox fell behind 5-2, but came back with Beltre's homer, a wild pitch, a hit by pitch and some great Nava defense)
August 21 - 5-4 win against Toronto. (Jed Lowrie hits a walk off 11th inning homer, masking a come back rally by the Jays against Dice-K.)
August 23 - 6-3 win against Seattle. (Scuatro drives in the go ahead runs and Lackey throws a gritty 8 innings)
August 25 - 5-3 win against Seattle. (Beckett throws a shutout into the 7th and the Sox rally for 4 in the 6th in the rain and fog, including a strange RBI single off the pitcher by Beltre.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 37

April 6 - 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro's error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 - 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson's 10th inning homer)
April 9 - 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 - 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th... lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 - 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 - 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)
April 30 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (Tejada ties the game with a 2 out 8th inning homer and wins it with a bloop in the 10th)
May 1 - 12-9 loss in Baltimore. (Dice-K and Wakes get pounded, wasting 2 homers from Ortiz and an early 4-1 lead.)
May 2 - 3-2 loss in Baltimore. (Varitek is thrown at home trying to score with 2 outs in the 8th. Sox get swept in the 10th.
May 12 - 3-2 loss against the Blue Jays. (The Sox rally in the 9th comes up a run short and Kevin Gregg gets an ugly save.)
May 15 - 7-6 loss in Detroit. (The Sox blow a 6-1 lead and lose it on a 2 out bases loaded walk in the 12th.)
May 17 - 11-9 loss in New York. (The Sox come all the way back from a 5-0 first inning hole to take a 9-7 lead in the 9th... but Papelbon lets up a 2 run game tying shot to A-Rod and a 2 run walk off shot to Marcus Thames.)
May 21 - 5-1 loss in Philadelphia. (Big Papi's bid for a game tying 9th inning grand slam is caught at the warning track.)
May 27 - 4-3 loss to Kansas City. (Dice-K walks the go ahead run in and lets another score on a wild pitch as the Royals no name bullpen shut down the Hot Sox.)
May 28 - 12-5 loss to Kansas City. (Sox blow a 3-0 first inning lead to be blown out in Fenway.)
June 3 - 9-8 loss to Oakland. (Sox lose a slugfest where two Boston runners are thrown out at home.)

June 6 - 4-3 loss in Baltimore. (Sox rally to tie the game in the 9th only to lose it on a small ball rally in the 11th.)
June 10 - 8-7 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow an early 5-0 lead and then after rallying in the 9th to take the lead coughed it up with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th)
June 13 - 5-3 loss to Philadelphia. (Sox 9th inning rally comes up short)
June 22 - 2-1 loss in Colorado. (The Sox waste a solid Lester start and twice leave the bases loaded.)
June 23 - 8-6 loss in Colorado. (The Sox batter Ubaldo Jimenez around but Papelbon lets up 2 homers in the 9th to lose it.)
June 25 - 5-4 loss in San Francisco. (The Sox strand 11 runners in the last 4 innings wasting a solid Wakefield performance.)
July 5 - 6-5 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox spoil a 5-1 lead and 2 homers by Eric Patterson when Dice-K and the bullpen couldn't hold down the Rays.)
July 6 - 3-2 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox bats go dead and Kevin Youkilis goes down to injury.)
July 7 - 6-4 loss in Tampa Bay. (Matt Garza comes out of the pen, shuts down a late rally as the Rays sweep the Sox.)
July 10 - 9-5 loss in Toronto. (The Sox give Lackey an early 5-3 lead that he couldn't hold.)
July 18 - 4-2 loss to the Rangers. (Lester loses a rare game at home that included a Rangers steal of home.) July 20 - 5-4 loss in Oakland. (The Sox go up 4-0 after 2 but don't score again and lose it in the 10th)
July 21 - 6-4 loss in Oakland. (Buchholz can't hold on to an early lead as the Sox lose the series.)
July 24 - 5-1 loss in Seattle. (Lester's perfect game is foiled and the Red Sox bats die.)
July 25 - 4-2 loss in Seattle. (Okajima misplays a sacrifice bunt and the Mariners rally in the 8th to win.)
July 30 - 6-5 loss to Detroit. (Papi's grand slam makes it a 1 run game in the 9th but Cameron strikes out looking with the winning runs on base.)
August 2 - 6-5 loss to Cleveland. (Beltre drives in 5 runs by himself but the Red Sox leave the tying run on base with Big Papi on deck.)
August 12 - 6-5 loss in Toronto. (The Jays score 4 in the 9th inning to avoid the sweep.)
August 13 - 10-9 loss in Texas. (Beckett can't hold an early 8-1 lead as the Sox lose in 11.)
August 15 - 7-3 loss in Texas. (Young's homer breaks open a tight game.)
August 25 - 4-2 loss to Seattle. (The Sox knock out King Felix but can't score on the bullpen.)

+7!

A day off tomorrow... then Lester faces Price.
Dare we dream sweep?

We have no choice if we want to play in October.

Should Felix Hernandez win the Cy Young even with a losing record?

King Felix Hernandez won against the Yankees last night in dominating fashion.

He threw 8 innings of shutout ball, striking out 11.
He is second in the league with a 2.51 ERA. He had thrown more innings than anyone in the American League.

He has one of the lowest WHIPs, is second in strikeouts, and according to Baseball Reference is among the league leaders in a bunch of categories I don't understand.

First in Adjusted Pitching Runs and Adjusted Pitching Wins.
Second in Base Outs Runs Saved and Base Out Wins Saved.

I don't know what the hell those mean, but they sound impressive.

One thing stuck out at me looking at his line score:
His record in 9-10.

This brilliant season and he is still sporting a losing record. I know it isn't his FAULT. He plays for a lousy Mariners team that is on pace to go 65-97. Frankly going double digit wins for a team like that is impressive.

I think he should be a Cy Young front runner. Is he the hands down winner?
No... Cliff Lee, who LEADS a lot of those categories I didn't understand and a few others that I do, needs some consideration. (Good for him for getting out of his Mariners exile.)

David Price has had a great year. So Has C.C. Sabathia and Clay Buchholz.
Jon Lester looked lke a great candidate before the Blue Jays thumped him last night.

But King Felix should be mentioned as certainly a top 3 candidate.
And only his record might keep him from consideration.

It is similar to when Nolan Ryan led the National League in ERA and strikeouts as well as a bunch of those categories I mentioned before... but played on an Astros team with a woeful lineup.

He finished 8-16 and a distant 5th in the Cy Young voting. Steve Bedrosian won the Cy Young... but Ryan should have won it.

Look beyond the wins and losses for King Felix, Cy Young voters. Maybe learn a few new stat templates.

Even if you don't understand them, they should be impressive.

Which way should the Mariners turn?

When everyone was picking the Mariners for the AL West division title during spring training, I almost followed suit.

I figured the Angels looked a lot worse than they had in recent years and who was going to beat the 1-2 punch of Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez?

Plus they have Ichiro AND Chone Figgins setting up the table? This was going to be a wonderful year in Seattle… maybe even a pennant to help say good bye to Ken Griffey Jr.

Sure picking up Milton Bradley was a risk… but he MUST have learned his lessons, right?

But my gut told me, no… I got burned picking the A’s last year.

I decided to play it safe and go with the Angels. Well, the Halos haven't been rewarding my powers of prediction, but HO-LEE CR*P! The Mariners are a disaster.

And I literally have no idea which way they should turn.

One the one hand they are one of the worst teams in the American League. Only the Royals, Indians and lowly Orioles have worse records, and that is INCLUDING their win against the Angels on Sunday.

Milton Bradley has been a disaster. You know something didn't work out when the only positive thing about a guy's year is that he decided to seek help instead of have a career ending meltdown.

Huzzah! You can't play but at least you didn't behave like a sociopath!

The offense, including from new comer Chone Figgins, has been offensive. Hitting coach Alan Cockrell has joined all of us from The Bonnie Hunt Show in the unemployment line.

Franklin Guitierrez and Casey Kotchman lead the team with a whopping 3 homers. THREE. Not for the week, but for the whole season. Three supposed regulars are all batting under .200. I know batting average isn't always the best route to use in terms of judging a hitters worth, but YIKES!

The pitching has been OK, but even King Felix has looked awful in his last two starts.

And the clubhouse has more tension than The Hurt Locker.

Even Ken Griffey Jr, once the feel good part of this Mariners team, is a source of controversy as teammates are coming out anonymously against him and people are calling for one of the great players you and I will EVER see have their career ended by being placed on waivers.

And with Cliff Lee certainly headed off to an expensive free agency, GM Jack Zduriencik might be better off dealing Lee to see if he can get back a few players that would partially make up for Phillippe Aumont, Juan Ramirez and Tyson Gillies, the players sent to Philly for Lee.

It's a lost season.

OR IS IT?

Despite such a disastrous start, the Mariners are only 5 back of the Rangers in the loss column.

THE RANGERS! You know, the team that always starts off well but fades the minute the weather gets into the "Oh My God, is this HELL?" range!

The A's are ahead of them... and I think they are poised to steal the division... but they could just be having a nice first two months. They were projected to be a 90 loss team and they could very well be.

The Angels are a sub .500 mess as well. And even if they find a way to fix their hitting woes and their starting pitching mess... Brian Fuentes will find a way to blow the lead.

What I am saying is this is the very definition of a winnable division.
Plus they have recalled top prospect Michael Saunders who homered on mothers day.

Two more homers and he'll be tied for the team lead.

Sometimes it takes a young spark like Saunders to ignite the team and give them some new life.

It also helps that they are about to face the Orioles... and Milton Bradley is no longer on the team.

And Cliff Lee is off the DL... maybe the Mariners can get on a roll.

Or maybe they'll continue their current pace to finish the season at 62-100 with their veterans either eying free agency, seeking psychiatric or taking a snooze.

Cliff Lee's trade value will never be higher... then again the division may never be this winnable.

What should they do?
I don't envy you Jack Zduriencik.
First of all you have to constantly spell your last name out for people.
But secondly the wrong decision in 2010 could screw the team up for years!

If you go for it and the team falls apart, then you would get little to nothing back for the Chone Figgins/Cliff Lee/Milton Bradley gamble.

If you wave the white flag, you would lose fan interest for this year and it would take more than Ichiro and a bunch of people you've never heard of to get them back.

Choose wisely, Jack.

Red Sox fans... give thanks to the King

Thank you King Felix Hernandez.

It would have sucked to sweep a double header and gain NOTHING in the standings.

But the King shut down the Rangers with 7 shutout innings and next thing you know the magic number is down to 17.

Isn't it hard to believe he's already a 5 year veteran and yet is only 23 years old? Is he muscling in on the Cy Young discussion?

I'm not sure. Just glad he earned his royal title today.

Doesn't anyone want to win the AL Cy Young Award?

I mean it looks good on your mantle!

It looks good on your Hall of Fame resume!

And it is great to bring to the bargaining table!

But nobody seems like they are in any rush to win it.

And each of the main contenders have dropped games recently when they should be trying to pad their win totals.

For example...

Zack Greinke is the front runner of course leading the league in ERA and is second in the league in strikeouts while having 11 wins on a miserable Kansas City team...

But he lost his last start. Granted he didn't get ROCKED but he did let up 3 homers and allowed the White Sox to jump ahead to an early 3-0 lead that the Royals just couldn't overcome.

Cy Young winners shouldn't allow teams to jump out to early leads like that.

ESPECIALLY when one of the teams is a playoff contender.

Roy Halladay stuck around the AL after the deal to Philadelphia fell through and is putting up numbers that make a second career Cy Young Award plausible.

But he not only lost last night against the Red Sox... he got ROCKED.

He was gone after 5 innings and lost a game that I had already put in the loss column.

Justin Verlander leads the league in strikeouts and is the ace of the surprising Tigers.

And HE lost last night, allowing the defending division champion White Sox to sneak even closer.

Now granted I am being tough on Verlander. He only had one bad inning and the Tigers lost 3-1.

But hey! He's the ace of a pennant contender. The Tigers need to put a W next to ALL of his starts if they want to hold off Chicago.

That's one bad inning too many.

Josh Beckett had the chance to lead the big leagues with 15 wins the other day and the Red Sox scored 7 runs for him early. 

Instead he got hammered, letting up 7 runs and leaving the game tied 7-7.

The offense picked him up, but with so many question marks in the Red Sox rotation, they can't afford to have Beckett starts reduced to slugfests.

Now keep in mind this is the time of the year that a bad start here or there could cost you the Cy Young Award.

Look at Brandon Webb last year! He was a lock to win his second Cy Young Award last year... but he was rocked by the Dodgers in late August and early September and the Diamondbacks slipped out of contention... and Lincecum won the Cy Young Award.

People remember how you finish, and one of the 4 pitchers mentioned above will win the Cy Young with a dynamic late August and September... which means they have to start winning.

Either that or you might even see a Felix Hernandez or a CC Sabathia come in and grab the prize.

So come on! You've all put up big numbers. Now earn the hard ware!