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Keith Law's A.L. Cy Young Award rankings

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Dick Whitman, Aug 17, 2012.

  1. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    1. Justin Verlander
    2. Felix Hernandez
    3. Jake Peavy
    4. C.C. Sabathia
    5. Chris Sale

    I'm sorry, but this just seems absurd to me, and I probably lean more new school than most on this board. Jered Weaver not in the top five? Law says that he's 40 innings behind Verlander. Which is fair. But he also notes his .225 BABIP.

    My question: Do you take something like BABIP into account when voting on awards? Do you factor in "luck"? Or should you base your vote on results only?

    Also: No David Price?

    I like Law's stuff, particularly on prospects, but this just screams, "Look at me!"
     
  2. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Weaver has been babied a little bit. They've yanked him fairly early a few times even when he was pitching well to keep his pitch count down. But it's still a joke to not have him in the top five.

    How does he explain Sabathia? Weaver's league-leading ERA is more than a run lower than Sabathia's He has more wins and much a lower WHIP.

    Did he use an advanced stat that tries to take the team's defense out of the equation? That's the only justification I can think of because Weaver's strikeout total is fairly low, so he has relied on his defense more than those other guys.
     
  3. Rhody31

    Rhody31 Well-Known Member

    This looks like a "look how smart I am" ballot.
    The consensus top five are Verlander, Felix, Price, Weaver and Sale.
     
  4. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    So you would switch Sabathia out of fourth and put in Weaver? Maybe Weaver's sixth on his ballot? What's the big difference?
     
  5. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    I'm not sure how anybody can think including Sabathia in the top five would make them look smart. Hell, you could make an argument that he hasn't even been the most effective starting pitcher on his own team. Kuroda's record isn't as good, but he has a lower ERA and more innings pitched than Sabathia.
     
  6. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Because Sabathia hasn't even been close to Weaver's level this year. As I just pointed out, Sabathia doesn't even have the best numbers on his own team.
     
  7. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    As a White Sox looser fanboi, while I will say that Peavy has pitched better than his record indicates (because the team just isn't hitting when he pitches), I can think of no ranking system whatsoever, except chronological age, that should put him above Sale.
     
  8. Fly

    Fly Well-Known Member

    Law also has two Tigers in his Top Five for AL MVP, and neither are named Miguel Cabrera.

    :shrug:
     
  9. Zeke12

    Zeke12 Guest

    I really can't see using BABIP as a reason not to vote for someone. Maybe to break a tie, and probably not even then.

    That's a very low number for Weaver and probably indicated he won't repeat his numbers next season. But his numbers this season are what they are.
     
  10. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    http://www.freep.com/article/20120816/SPORTS02/120816060/detroit-tigers-miguel-cabrera-mvp-snub

    Now he's just being an idiot. Putting Jackson on the list and leaving off Cabrera fits into Rhody's description above, a "look how smart I am" ballot.

    I get that Cabrera is a negative at third base. But you have to look at why he is there, too. He is helping the team by playing out of position so Fielder can play first base. Cabrera's ability to shift to third and play well enough that Leyland can live with him there is a contribution.

    Plus, the contribution with his bat is kinda hard to ignore no matter how hard Law tries.
     
  11. dreunc1542

    dreunc1542 Active Member

    Spot on.
     
  12. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Maybe he doesn't like the pillows in Detroit or Anaheim and is voting accordingly, as he did with St. Louis a few years back. Makes as much sense as any of the reasons he is offering.
     
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