Mlb Tickets - The Cy Young Battle Between King Felix And Sabathia

The season is soon coming to a close and while some pitchers have fallen out of the Cy Young discussion in recent weeks, C.C

. Sabathia and Felix Hernandez have plowed through lineups down the stretch. Here are the resumes for the two leading candidates.

C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees:

Over the past couple months, Sabathia has consistently lowered his ERA while going deep into ball games for the Yanks. Considering that the Yankees have been in a tight battle with the Rays the entire time, Sabathia's starts have been of the utmost importance. Not only is he carrying a rotation that has more than a couple question marks, but he's also saving the bullpen by piling up innings. If the Cy Young is supposed to go to the best pitcher in the American League, Sabathia has to be either 1A or 1B due to his ability to go deep into games and put up consistent starts from week to week.

While other prominent pitchers have started to fade down the stretch, like Cliff Lee and even to some extent Jon Lester, Sabathia has only gained strength. In a key stretch in August and early September, Sabathia won six consecutive starts, going seven innings or more in five of them. With the streak, Sabathia has pushed his record to an impressive 19-6 and only a gem from David Price on Sept. 14 prevented Sabathia from winning his 20th. If the pitcher's job is to put his team in a position to win, nobody has done that more than Sabathia.

Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners:

This is the second straight year that Hernandez has been a finalist in the discussion for Cy Young. Last year, he put up 19 wins and nearly edged out Zach Greinke for the award. This year, he has nowhere near the same amount of wins - just 11 - and has been victim of one of the worst offenses in the league. It's very difficult to even consider a pitcher who has lost as many games as he's won, but that's also just one more indicator of why wins and losses can be incredibly misleading.

Though Hernandez has struggled actually delivering wins, he's also been the most consistently dominant pitcher all season long in the American League. Cliff Lee may have had a few of the best overall stretches, but he's struggled down the stretch when his team needs him the most. Hernandez, on the other hand, has been nothing but rock solid and has been nearly unhittable for the last six weeks. Over one stretch, Hernandez let up just one total earned run over second starts and pitched into the seventh inning in all of them.

That stretch lowered his ERA to 2.47, which is now tops in the league. Felix is also leading the American League in innings pitched and strikeouts, further suggesting that he's been the most dominant overall pitcher this season, even if Sabathia sells more MLB tickets.

Prediction: C.C. Sabathia

The bottom line is that it's going to be hard to vote for a player who has nearly 10 less wins than another. Sabathia could even push his ERA below 3.00 and he should pick up his 20th win sometime in the next couple starts, which will make him the first in the A.L. to do that. As Hernandez has pitched on a team with limited pressure down the stretch, Sabathia has had to bring it every fifth day with the division title on the line and on a team where excellence is demanded.

While this isn't Hernandez's fault, credit will still likely be given to Sabathia because of the pressure-cooker situation he pitches in. Hernandez has been the best pitcher in the American League this season, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be the Cy Young.

by: Pat Smith

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