Zambrano is one of Neyer's Cy Young favs

[anemic offense]

From his Espn chat:

 

marcus (philly): is ben sheets one of the best pitchers in baseball? do you see him having a shot at the cy young?

 

Rob Neyer: Yes, and yes. I would say the top candidates are Oswalt, C. Zambrano, and Sheets.

 

I agree wholeheartedly, especially if Z can lower his walk totals just a little bit.

[otis89]

Not trying to take anything away from any of the pitchers he mentioned, but did he forget about this guy named Dontrelle Willis?

[Tim]

Not trying to take anything away from any of the pitchers he mentioned, but did he forget about this guy named Dontrelle Willis?

Willis isn't as good as those three, despite his results of last year. If I were going to add to the list of Cy favorites, though, it would be Prior, Peavy, Pedro, Webb and Hudson.

[nucubs]

Dontrelle should have another good season, but with what is likely to be a terrible at best Marlin offense, there's no way he'll get enough wins to be in the running for the Cy.

[otis89]

Dontrelle should have another good season, but with what is likely to be a terrible at best Marlin offense, there's no way he'll get enough wins to be in the running for the Cy.

 

That's right. I keep forgetting that wins are the most important stat. :roll:

[rawaction]

Not trying to take anything away from any of the pitchers he mentioned, but did he forget about this guy named Dontrelle Willis?

Willis isn't as good as those three, despite his results of last year. If I were going to add to the list of Cy favorites, though, it would be Prior, Peavy, Pedro, Webb and Hudson.

 

Agreed. My pick for the NL Cy Young is Peavy. ERA title, followed by strikeout title. No reason he can't do both next year, with a great defense behind him. I think Webb and Zambrano could make a legit run for it. Oswalt was the Zambrano of Houston last year. Probably was their best pitcher, but got 3rd billing. Pedro's always a threat. Strangely with Prior on that list, I question Hudson's durability most, and wouldn't count on him being a contender for the CY.

[Tim]

I've just got a feeling about Hudson this year. I think he's going to rack up a whole bunch of W's and get a lot of consideration.

[reggiemiller rules]

There is this guy in St Louis named Carp who might have something to say about the Cy Young race again.

[rawaction]

I've just got a feeling about Hudson this year. I think he's going to rack up a whole bunch of W's and get a lot of consideration.

 

I don't think Atlanta is gonna be that good. They have a lot of questions. Can Chipper play 120 games? Can Andruw carry them again? Can they keep finding lightning in a bottle with guys like Langerhans, Laroche, McCann, and Sosa? How's the pitching without Mazzone? They'll still win the division (because it's a law or something), but I don't really see them as a 90+ win team.

[soccer10k]

Calling Zambrano a Cy Young favorite isn't really a stretch. Anybody following baseball should have him as a favorite.

[Tim]

I've just got a feeling about Hudson this year. I think he's going to rack up a whole bunch of W's and get a lot of consideration.

 

I don't think Atlanta is gonna be that good. They have a lot of questions. Can Chipper play 120 games? Can Andruw carry them again? Can they keep finding lightning in a bottle with guys like Langerhans, Laroche, McCann, and Sosa? How's the pitching without Mazzone? They'll still win the division (because it's a law or something), but I don't really see them as a 90+ win team.

I really hope Chipper plays more than 120. He's a fun player to watch and one of the most consistent hitters in the game when healthy. They'll score enough and Hudson is a really, really good pitcher when he's not battling his obliques.

[stitchface]

I've just got a feeling about Hudson this year. I think he's going to rack up a whole bunch of W's and get a lot of consideration.

 

I don't think Atlanta is gonna be that good. They have a lot of questions. Can Chipper play 120 games? Can Andruw carry them again? Can they keep finding lightning in a bottle with guys like Langerhans, Laroche, McCann, and Sosa? How's the pitching without Mazzone? They'll still win the division (because it's a law or something), but I don't really see them as a 90+ win team.

I really hope Chipper plays more than 120. He's a fun player to watch and one of the most consistent hitters in the game when healthy. They'll score enough and Hudson is a really, really good pitcher when he's not battling his obliques.

 

or his control. teams that take pitches get to hudson.

[Andy]

There is this guy in St Louis named Carp who might have something to say about the Cy Young race again.

That's possible, but I think most on this board have him coming back to Earth this year. 2005 was far and away his best year ever and he had the help of an absurdly good offense which will only be above average in 2006.

[wolf stansson]

I think Webb and Zambrano could make a legit run for it.

As in Brandon Webb? No chance.

 

 

Calling Zambrano a Cy Young favorite isn't really a stretch. Anybody following baseball should have him as a favorite.

A strong candidate for sure, but not a favorite. He hasn't put together a Cy caliber year yet. Wait for him to do that before he is a preseason favorite.

 

There is this guy in St Louis named Carp who might have something to say about the Cy Young race again.

I don't see why not, and I sure hope so, but his odds of repeating last season aren't great.

[goonys evil twin]

Calling Zambrano a Cy Young favorite isn't really a stretch. Anybody following baseball should have him as a favorite.

A strong candidate for sure, but not a favorite. He hasn't put together a Cy caliber year yet. Wait for him to do that before he is a preseason favorite.

 

I don't understand this mentality that you have to wait for a guy to do something before saying he could do something.

 

Carlos has put together 3 straight fantastic seasons. The only reason he hasn't been a major candidate each year is because of depressed win totals, which is the one category the pitcher can least control. He is most definitely a favorite. He's not the only favorite, but he is a favorite, and to deny that is to admit either a bias, or a ignorance about the game.

[fulldeck]

Calling Zambrano a Cy Young favorite isn't really a stretch. Anybody following baseball should have him as a favorite.

A strong candidate for sure, but not a favorite. He hasn't put together a Cy caliber year yet. Wait for him to do that before he is a preseason favorite.

 

I don't understand this mentality that you have to wait for a guy to do something before saying he could do something.

 

Carlos has put together 3 straight fantastic seasons. The only reason he hasn't been a major candidate each year is because of depressed win totals, which is the one category the pitcher can least control. He is most definitely a favorite. He's not the only favorite, but he is a favorite, and to deny that is to admit either a bias, or a ignorance about the game.

 

Even as a Cards fan, I totally agree with this.

[Mark Priors Calves]

Who would be the favorite? Carpenter because he's the reigning champ?

[wolf stansson]

He is most definitely a favorite. He's not the only favorite, but he is a favorite, and to deny that is to admit either a bias, or a ignorance about the game.

Maybe we have two different definitions of what it means to be a favorite. I would define favorite as one of the top 2 candidates. Here is how I'd shake it out.

 

1 - Jake Peavy: Era title two years ago. Strike out title last year. Pitcher's park.

 

2 - Chris Carpenter: Incumbent. Still has good offense and defense behind him. Bull pen's performance could hurt chances. Have to wait and see how those question marks are answered.

 

3 - Roy Oswalt: Consistently dominating pitcher. Young. Racks up innings, K's, and wins.

 

4 - Carlos Zambrano - Young. Overpowering. Innings horse. High K rate. Much improved bullpen. Run support could be a problem.

 

5 - Dontrelle Willis - Team sucks. Last year unprecedented.

Dark horses:

Prior, Hudson, Sheets, Pedro, Smoltz, and Duke.

[BeerHere]

I'll take Sheets as my guess and cross my fingers that the WBC doesn't kill big Z.

 

 

Darkhorses: Prior, Hudson

[rawaction]

I think Webb and Zambrano could make a legit run for it.

As in Brandon Webb? No chance.

 

The Brandon Webb profile. Burst onto the scene in 2003 with a 2.84 ERA in 180+ innings. 2004 walked a crapload of people. 2005, in 20 more innings he walked 60 fewer men. 60! His GB/FB ratio is absolutely amazing. Went from 3.55 to 4.34 from 04-05. And as can be imagined, more of those groundballs found holes causing him BAA to go up nearly 20 points. He will be at the golden age of 27 this year.

 

If he gets luck on those ground balls this year, with the way he has completely turned things around with his control....he could very easily win an ERA title. He has a pretty good MIF defense with Hudson and Counsell. I also think he could win a ton of games. The west is wide open (and not that good), and he was 14-12 last year on a sub-.500 team.

[treebird]

He will be at the golden age of 27 this year.

 

Does the whole golden age of 27 thing really apply to pitchers? I didn't think it did.

[rawaction]

He will be at the golden age of 27 this year.

 

Does the whole golden age of 27 thing really apply to pitchers? I didn't think it did.

 

No, but it helped my argument. :D

[UK1679666180]

I'm predicting Oswalt.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

2006 Cy Young voting results:

 

1) Z

2) Prior

3) Wood

4) Dempster

5) Billy Chapel

[Houston_Cub_Fan]

Having watched Oswalt up close for the past couple years, I would definitely say he will be a prime candidate. The WS gave him more national exposure to writers and he's put together some great years. We'll see how Houston's offense is, but with Lidge in the bullpen, Oswalt doesn't have to worry much about late leads being blown.

 

Zambrano is a candidate, but like Lee last year the Cubs may have to do something as a team for him to get the credit he deserves. Offense could hurt, but the improved bullpen is a plus.

 

Carpenter has to be included in this list.

 

Sheets, scares me because he could be the lynch-pin in a big year for the Brew-crew. We already have our hands full with the Cards and Stros. Let's see if he can put it all together.

 

Durability is the issue with Pedro, do the Mets have the arms between him and Wagner to put a game away.

 

Prior will have to prove it to me. Call me a pesemist, but the last two years have been hard to ignore. Even when healthy he's ben inconsistant. I'd love to se it, though, for obvious reasons.

 

Dark Horse Candidate: Duke - Probably too young, but he sure looked good last year. If they can give him any run support, could be interesting. We'll see what he can do with a full season.