NL Cy Young

For the record, the Jets are my Thursday night football pick.  If anyone cares.  I know, I suck this season.  I'll reveal the rest of them on Saturday, giving you plenty of time to take the other team in each game.
We've got another baseball award to discuss, so that's going to be the topic today.  (And I'm 5-for-5 so far in baseball award predictions.)  The NL Cy Young Award will be given out on Thursday, and, while I don't think it's as clear-cut as Justin Verlander's obvious selection in the AL, there is a clear favorite and I'll be very surprised if he doesn't win.

I'm of course talking about Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who, like Verlander, won the pitching Triple Crown this season.  He tied for the NL lead with 21 wins while also recording 248 strikeouts and a 2.28 ERA.  He also had a WHIP of 0.98 and won a Gold Glove.  Sadly, a lot of that went unnoticed because of the mess that was the 2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season.  And because that guy roaming center field (the likely NL MVP) took most of the good headlines. 

But, whether you were aware of what he was doing or not, his numbers speak for themselves.  He's just the eighth National League pitcher since 1956 to win the Triple Crown, and each of the previous seven won the Cy Young.  Kershaw won eight straight to end the season, and the Dodgers did play significantly better down the stretch.  And if they can give the AL Cy Young to a .500 pitcher on a last-place team last season, the Dodgers' relatively pedestrian 82-79 record shouldn't be held against Kershaw.  In fact, the Dodgers' record might actually help him.  If you think about it, he was responsible for a quarter of their wins.

But Kershaw wasn't anywhere near as dominant as Verlander, which is why I expect the NL vote to be slightly closer.  Let's start with the guy who matched him for the league lead in wins, former Yankees flameout turned Diamondbacks ace Ian Kennedy.  Kennedy went 21-4 with a 2.88 ERA for a surprising Arizona team that won the NL West.  He was one of the main reasons why.

Then there's the Phillies' trio of aces.  Roy Hallady was the unanimous winner last season, his first in the National League.  Halladay was just as good this season, going 19-6 with a Major League-leading eight complete games as Philadelphia ran away with the NL East once again.  He also finished second behind Kershaw in ERA (2.35) and third in the league in strikeouts (220).  Prize free agent signee Cliff Lee also had a solid season.  He finished second in the NL in strikeouts (238) and third in ERA (2.40) while going 17-4.  Cole Hamels didn't have the numbers of Halladay and Lee, but he was easily the best No. 3 starter in baseball.  Hamels went 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA, and he held opponents to a .214 batting average.

I also think there are a couple of closers worthy of at least being in the discussion for fourth- or fifth-place votes.  The first is the Brewers' John Axford.  Axford has an outstanding Fu Manchu mustache, so let's just get that out of the way right now.  (He also gets bouns points for having attended the same college as me.)  But he was also one of the big reasons why Milwaukee won its division for the first time in 29 years.  Axford went 46-for-48 in save opportunities while notching a 1.95 ERA and holding opposing hitters to a .212 average.  He also struck out 86 in just 73.2 innings. 

Braves closer Craig Kimbrel, who already won the Rookie of the Year, may pick up some Cy Young votes, as well.  Kimbrel pitched in 79 games and set a rookie record with 46 saves.  He also had that incredible scoreless-innings streak in the middle of the season and struck out a ridiculous 127 hitters in 77 innings.  That entire Braves bullpen was great all year, but Kimbrel was the best of that bunch.  Yes, he wasn't that good in September, but as I said the other day, that's mainly because Fredi Gonzalez overused him.  Kimbrel's season wasn't at the same level as Kershaw's or Kennedy's, but his name is still a worthwhile one to throw out there, even though he's not going to win.  Besides, Kimbrel has already gotten one piece of hardware this week, and no Rookie of the Year has ever won the Cy Young in the same season.

My vote: Clayton Kershaw-Again, I don't think there's that much of a debate.  I don't expect it to be unanimous, but Kershaw was simply too good this season.  There's a reason why no pitcher that's won the pitching Triple Crown was ever denied the Cy Young that season.  As for the rest of my ballot, it goes: 2-Kennedy, 3-Halladay, 4-Lee, 5-Axford.