nice article problem is the voters will probably give it to dickey the better "feel good" story of 2012 still, let's vote for ourselves... Win total shouldn't deny Kershaw another Cy Matthew Leach By Matthew Leach | Archive 11/13/12 10:37 AM ETLet's get this out of the way up front: It's not that pitcher wins are completely useless. A pitcher with a lot of wins probably did a good job. A pitcher with a low win total most likely did a worse job. With that said, nearly any picture that can be drawn using wins can be drawn much more vividly with different information. Ask Clayton Kershaw. He learned this year, if he didn't already know, that sometimes a win total is flat-out deceiving. Kershaw fell from 21 wins to 14, but to argue that Kershaw's 2012 season was only two-thirds as good as his 2011 simply is to ignore virtually all of the available information. Look over the game logs. Look over the numbers. Then do a little experiment -- put your finger over the won-lost record and see what you see. There's not a better candidate for the National League Cy Young Award, as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The Dodgers lefty was very nearly as good in '12 as he was in '11, and he was once again the best pitcher in the National League. If his Los Angeles teammates didn't give him as much run support (and they didn't), that's scarcely his fault. "He was really the same guy as last year when he won the Cy Young," said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. "He's as good as anybody in the game." Kershaw again led the National League in ERA, this time at 2.53 -- up from his eye-popping 2.28 last year but 0.20 better than any other starter in the circuit in 2012. He led the league in WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) at 1.023 and was second in strikeouts, finishing exactly one K behind R.A. Dickey. Yes, one. He was second to Dickey in innings pitched and fifth in strikeouts per nine innings. He's developed from a dazzling thrower of raw stuff to one of the best all-around pitchers in baseball. Kershaw has harnessed his command of a devastating four-pitch arsenal while not losing a bit of the explosive power that always made him so hard to handle. "His fastball command is like night and day from when he showed up," said Rockies manager Jim Tracy. "He's developed into one of the best in the industry -- a big-game pitcher. If there's a game you have to win, you feel very good about your chances." If not for his relatively pedestrian win total, Kershaw might well be a shoo-in for a second straight Cy Young. The things that he could control, he controlled better than anyone. Instead, because the Dodgers didn't help him out nearly enough, he looks like a bit of a long shot. That's just not fair. Eight times in 2012, Kershaw pitched at least seven innings, allowed no more than two runs and received either a loss or no decision. Eight different times, he pitched beyond any reasonable standard of well enough to win, and didn't. If you're docking him for his 14 wins, it's time to reconsider. No other NL pitcher had as many games where he put up those numbers and didn't win. Next in line behind Kershaw's eight were Matt Cain, Cliff Lee and Josh Johnson, each of whom were so unfortunate on six occasions. Dickey had three such games. Gonzalez had one. When the other finalists pitched well enough to win, they won. When Kershaw did it, many times he didn't get that shiny "W" next to his name. According to STATS, Kershaw received an average 4.15 runs of support, ranking 34th among 46 qualifying NL starters. Gio Gonzalez got the second most at 6.68, while Dickey ranked 18th with 4.89. Give Kershaw that extra three-quarters of a run per game that Dickey had, never mind the boggling support Gonzalez received, and he'd have a lot more wins. Give him a lot more wins, and it would be even clearer what is already true: Kershaw should win another Cy Young Award in 2012.
Kershaw won in my eyes when he came back after that hip scare for a meaningless game and was nails. But Dickey will probably win
Kershaw was simply the best pitcher but Dickeyz iz a kucklzbalrz nd dat is crzy cas heeeee a knklr sow deeky izs clrzly daz Sty Yong.
If Kershaw loses it to Dickey, I won't complain. Dickey is the feel good story, and CK has a long time to get more awards and more importantly: rings.
I don't give a shit how long Kersh has to go and how much of a feel good story Dickey is, Kersh is the much better pitcher who had a better year not only pitching but is a better defender and hitter. If Dickey gets the award I will be disgusted.
Kershaw does deserve it, but I'm a sucker for gimmicks. A FUCKING KNUCLEBALLER!!! That's so cool, give him the CY Young.
No, it's the fact that Dickey had a better K/BB and lower SIERA. Couldn't be more irrelevant. I could say Dickey is older and has a better beard. And get ready to be disgusted because Dickey is going to win.
Not trying to be a dick with this question but it will sound like it lol. So is the SIERA the end all be all stat for pitchers?
Vogelsong should win it. The man was a 6+ ERA pitcher just a couple seasons ago on the Pirates and is now shutting out teams left and right in the regular season & postseason. Thread over.
Dickey walked less guys but gave up more HR. Kershaw led MLB in ERA, the NL in K%, WHIP, 2nd in IP, 1 behind in SO. He's just better at pitching. If they are gonna take all this sentimental BS like Dickey's age and knuckle ball into account, there is nothing wrong with pointing out all of Kersh's health issues and lack of run support. In his first 8 losses the team scored a total of 11 runs in those games. If Kershaw had that fat '20' in his line, he'd be almost unanimous. And Kerahaw looked off for a while. Slider wasn't biting, he was giving up more fly balls and HR (on that ineffective slider), and was certainly not as eye popping dominant as he was last year. And he still turned in the best bottom line performance in the league. Future hall of famer and the best pitcher this season. He should be Cy Young but won't be.
They need to make a stat that incorporates wind factor as well as sunlight and twilight. Then after that they need to make one for the burrito/taco factor because we all know that if you eat to many burrito's/taco's you're not gonna have a good time. lol just joking saberheads. I wish I knew saber more but I just don't want to take the time to learn em lol
Mitch Williams fitting right into the retard category. "You're talking about a guy" first sign you're about to say something dumb. "He throws a knuckle ball" okay...so? Idiot "20 wins. That says it all for me" wow. And u have a job? Also said it's a "slam dunk. No doubt" sorry, but trout was the only slam dunk this year. If you don't offer counter arguments and aknowledge alternatives before you come to a conclusion, I'm less inclined to listen to you Williams. RA is a fine choice but the path to your conclusion is ridiculous. Idiot. I hope you get aids because you serve no purpose.
