Happy Baseball Friday: Cy Young

by Mike Izzo

National League

If someone had been asked this question back in May or June the answer would have been obvious. But over the final months of the season, Ubaldo Jimenez has fallen back down to earth, putting him on the same level as a handful of other pitchers in an incredibly NL Cy Young Race.

Expect four players to get a serious amount of votes.

Josh Johnson has been leading the major in ERA for the entire year. One cannot discount the fact that Jimenez, though faltering a big in the summer, has put up impressive numbers, especially playing in the perennial hitters park that is Coors Field.

(Johnson has an 11-6 record for the third place Marlins.)

This brings us to Roy Halladay and Adam Wainwright. Both have essentially the same numbers (Halladay: 2.45 ERA, 213 K's, and 241.2 IP vs. Wainwright: 2.53 ERA, 206 K's, 224.1 IP, as of Sept. 23). But, Halladay leads in one crucial category, wins. He has 20 wins to Wainwright's 19.

Should Wainwright's 19 ins hold until the end of the season, this should be the deciding factor in the voting. Even if he crosses the 20-win plateau, Halladay's lead in innings pitched and his final starts of the season will decide the winner. When in doubt, always take the points.

(Halladay threw a perfect game on May 29, 2010 against the Florida Marlins.)

This one goes to Doc.

Writer's Picks for 2010 Cy Young:
1. Roy Halladay, PHI
2. Adam Wainwright, STL
3. Ubaldo Jimenez, COL
4. Josh Johnson, FLA
5. Clayton Kershaw, LAD

(Clayton Kershaw, the second year stud for the LA Dodgers, has an ERA of 2.98 this season.)