LOS ANGELES Dodgers? What tom-foolery is THIS?!

Sooooo I guess if Justin Verlander (DOB 1983) was born five years later, an article about him winning the American League Cy Young would have been greenlit. Got it.

Hey, I was born in 89'; I STILL HAVE A CHANCE.

JosephFinn: browneye: Sooooo I guess if Justin Verlander (DOB 1983) was born five years later, an article about him winning the American League Cy Young would have been greenlit. Got it.

Quality gets ignored. NL pitching will always be lamer as long as they have to pitch against pitchers and have their stats devalued like that.


You're right. Clearly, that weak sister Kershaw wouldn't stand a chance in the American League. And since NL pitching is, as you say, lamer, then obviously National League hitting is bogus on account of facing such lame pitchers all the time.

"Born in '88. How old is that? Old enough."
/completely out of context

GavinTheAlmighty: Should have been Halladay.

Agreed, but the difference isn't stark. Cliff Lee wouldn't have upset me either.

At least it wasn't Ian Kennedy.

The Rookie of the Year awards were also sensible. Clearly, the voters will have to award the MVPs to Jose Reyes and Robinson Cano, because the voters never go a full offseason without trolling a little. (Alex Gordon for the LF Gold Glove in the AL might count.)

capngroovy: Why should it have been Halladay or Lee?

Kershaw and Halladay have almost identical IP, and similar K/9, BB/9, etc. The major difference between the two is that Kershaw had 16 starts in Dodger Stadium (a notoriously pitcher-friendly park), whereas Halladay had to make 15 starts at Citizen's Bank (a notoriously HR-friendly park). Halladay did a much better job on controlling the long ball, and once you adjust for park factors, his ERA is a touch better. Overall, you can make a case for both.

For that matter, why the push for Kennedy? The only argument I've heard from anybody was that the Phillies and Diamondbacks won their divisions. That, to me, is an argument against the other three.

Kennedy gets some talk from 900-year-old sportswriters who obsess over a pitcher's W-L record and team success. Obviously, a starter's W-L is strongly influenced by his team'shiatters, the quality of his team's fielding, the strength of the bullpen, and his manager's tendencies. All of this (plus whether or not your team wins a division) is largely beyond the influence of a lone starting pitcher.

chimp_ninja: strongly influenced by his team'shiatters

Filter pwns again!