Matthew Cerrone

News: Santana is Pitcher of Month for Sept.
By Matthew Cerrone - Sep 30, 2008 11:58 am

Johan Santana has been named the National League’s Pitcher of the Month for September, during which he was 4–0 with a 1.83 ERA.

He had a 2.09 ERA in his last 17 starts.

The way I see it, Santana should win the Cy Young award because no other pitcher in the league was on the mound longer and no other pitcher had a lower ERA over the course of the entire season – and to me, that’s what it’s all about.

However, C.C. Sabathia pitched on three days during each of final three starts of the year, during which he let up just three runs, dragging Milwaukee in to the post-season, while going 11–2 with a 1.65 ERA in 17 starts for the Brewers after being acquired in July, which is why he’ll probably win it instead.

35 Responses to “News: Santana is Pitcher of Month for Sept.”

  1. yukonj88 says:

    Tim Lincecum

  2. Tina says:

    He should win it. What Sabathia has done is extraordinary.

    We were thrilled (rightly) with Santana being such a stud on Saturday on 3 days rest. Sabathia did it repeatedly. And a 1.65 ERA in his NL starts.

  3. BIGpelfcyyoung says:

    If CC wins the cy young then Manny has to win the MVP.. I don’t think this should happen, just saying. I think Santana should win the cy young but voters will look at webb’s 22 wins and probably give him the nod. Should lincecum win the award I won’t be too upset but if webb wins it, that’s a joke.

  4. beltran the warrior says:

    umm cc pitched in the nl half a year. that’s a no-go. matt, how could you even entertain that?

  5. HitTheSinkerBall says:

    Hey what do you guys think of this. It is being reported that this offseason the D-Backs are going to be looking to trade Eric Byrnes. He has 2 years left on his contract for a combined 22 million. They have a young OF and don’t seem to have a place for him.

    It is being reported they would look to dump his contract for another contract that can help them.

    Luis for Eric has been mentioned. The D-backs need a 2nd baseman since hudson is not coming back.

    I think that would be a great trade for the Mets. Byrnes is the type of player the Mets need. Tuff, gritty, firery type of guy. Right hand bat to play left felid for a year or two until F-Mart is ready. Great club house guy. I think he would be a great fit for this team. What do you guys think?

    • ravi3 says:

      I was interested in Byrnes after his ‘07 season, but looking at his career resume, there really isn’t anything that interests me here..However, if it were to be a trade of bad contracts, I don’t think I’d argue…He is that scrappy-doo type player that people think the Mets need. He can hit the righties, and I think would serve as a good platoon partner with the Murph, should the Mets go and bring in O-Dog to play 2nd

    • Hit The Weights Zeile says:

      love eric byrnes. he really is the perfect fit. No hes not going to hit like manny or holliday but we dont necessarily need that we need a guy who will go out and play hard every day and give us good enough production numbers, someone like jason werth for the phillies. his presence in the clubhouse is what we need, just look at the difference between the dbacks with byrnes and the dbacks w.o byrnes.

    • beltran the warrior says:

      no thanks.

  6. dsgtrane says:

    I don’t see it. He was in the NL for only half the year.

  7. BigSteinsCalzone says:

    If Lincecum played on the East Coast he’d be on Sportscenter every night. The guy is downright nasty. Close to the stuff Gooden had in his second season. If you polled the players on who they would lest likely want to face, it’s got to be hands down “The Freak”.

  8. Hit The Weights Zeile says:

    Lincecum deserves it and will likely win it. Matt you mention CC will win it but you also mention Santana winning pitcher of the month. so if santana was the best pitcher in September and CC was only on the brewers for august and september how can he win Cy Young for THE WHOLE YEAR.

  9. mookie says:

    I think lincecum is nasty, but there is something to be said how santana was clutch in meaningful games. Plus Tim was in a junky division were a team barely over .500 got in. Sorry I give it johan, but I would understand if they made the exception for C.C this year.
    oh didn’t johan defeat lincecum head to head?

  10. cver says:

    I think either for MVP or Cy, Lidge has to get some serious friggin consideration - although I know you will all let me hear it for saying so. I probably would give Lincecum, Santana or Sabathia the Cy and maybe Lidge should get MVP. We don’t need to be reminded how VALUABLE (the V in MVP) the bullpen arms are and he, probably even more than Ryan Howard, put the Phillies over the top, although 48 HR’s is nothing to sneeze at. I know we hate being the 2nd place team, but credit where credit is due.

  11. bkfitz says:

    Matt, it’s kinda sad that you don’t mention Tim Lincecum at all. I thought you were more knowledgeable than that.

  12. JamesK says:

    There are other stats out there besides ERA. Lincecum has Santana beat out. It’s close, but it’s gotta go to Lincecum. Sabathia should finish 3rd or 4th.

    1. Lincecum
    2. Santana
    3. Webb
    4. Sabathia
    5. Lidge

  13. BullpenHelp says:

    Lincecum’s ERA+ is one point higher than Santana’s. He also struck out 59 more batters in 7 fewer innings. He also won two more and lost two fewer with a much worse team. And he gave up only 11 HR to Santana’s 23. Lincecum strikes out the most per 9 IP and gives up the fewest hits per 9 IP.

    Santana was AMAZING this year, especially the second half… but Lincecum is the hands down Cy Young this year. As opposed to MVP (where intangibles come into play), it’s easier to just look at the numbers to make your choice.

  14. Comparing: Lincecum, Santana
    VORP: 72.5, 73.4
    WPA: 4.99, 4.41

    Santana pitched slightly better than the replacement while Lincecum’s ability helped his team slightly more.

    It’s a pretty well matched candidacy, if you ask me. The Cy Young award will be won on the difference among peripheral stats. Since strikeouts are more flashy and fun than innings pitched, I would personally give the award to Lincecum.

    Of course, I hope Johan wins!

    • Danny says:

      Johan’s K/BB rate is better than Lincecum.

      Johan’s ERA is better.

      Johan’s WHIP is better.

      Johan threw more innings.

      Johan threw in more important games.

      Johan pitched against better offenses.

      • I’m with you, Danny.

        Johan has grown as a pitcher and has learned how to get the out in more ways than just striking the batter out. He will put the ball in play keeping his pitch count down, which in turn lets him go deeper into games and get more outs.

        Lincecum is living on pure stuff right now and that’s why his strikeout total is so high and his SO/BB is so low. Like Joba, the only other pitchers out there with such high SO/9 are relievers.

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