Week 1 Roundup

With the first week of the major league season in the record books, we can now take a look back at how our Cy Young hopefuls have fared in the first few starts.

Roy Halladay - In his first 16 innings pitched in the NL, Halladay has an ungodly .56 ERA and has struck out 17 batters. Even more impressive, in only his 2nd start of the season he had a complete game effort against the Astros, giving up only 1 run. If his first two starts of the season are any indication of what is to come for the rest of 2010m, then Phillies fans are in for a real treat!

Tim Lincecum - The two time defending NL Cy Young winner has started 2010 off the way he finished 2009. In his first start of the season Lincecum allowed 0 runs over 7 innings of work, while striking out 7. At only 25 years old, Lincecum is well on his way to become one of the most dominant pitchers of our time.

Johan Santana - The start to 2010 has been up and down for the Mets ace. His first start was solid, going 6 innings and only allowing 1 run while picking up the victory. In his second start against the Nationals, Santana surrendered 5 runs over 5 innings of work. The Mets have found themselves at 2-4 to start the season, if things continue this way then we may not be hearing much from Santana this season.

Josh Beckett - In his first 2 appearances of the season Beckett has not pitched like the ace of the Red Sox. Over 11 2/3 innings of work he has allowed 8 earned runs, while only striking out 5. If the Red Sox want to make any type of run at the AL East crown they are going to need Beckett to return to form for sure.

CC Sabathia - Opening night, Sabathia struggled with his command against the Red Sox. In his 2nd start against the Rays, he was spectacular taking a no-hitting in the 8th inning. While he will be getting plenty of offensive support this season, it was a nice sign for the Yankees to see that CC was able to return to form.

Mark Buehrle - While we do not see Buehrle as a Cy Young candidate in 2010, he may have made the best play of the season! Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX5xAUxnoPo

If the first week of the 2010 is any indication of what is to come, then we should be in for a great year!

Opening Night

Finally! Opening Night, and what a match up in the first game of the season. Beckett will be going for the Sox, looking to rebound after a injury plagued season last year. Sabathia will make the start for the defending World Champion Yankees, looking to continue his dominance over the AL East.

Increasing the story line is the looming contract negotiations between Beckett and the Red Sox. The last reported updated has the two sides close to a four year extension for close to $70 million. While some sources are already reporting the extension as done, this start could show whether or not Beckett is worth the 4 year deal.

Just hours before the first pitch there is only one thing left to say...PLAY BALL!

Lester

A complete pitcher in every sense of the word, Jon Lester is the Race's front runner for the AL Cy Young award. Featuring his signature cutter, which veers away from left-handed hitters and rides in on the hands of righties, Lester was able to focus his efforts last year on developing another pitch. Gaining more confidence in his changeup has been instrumental in his success. He has primarily been throwing it to lefties, keeping them off both his cutter and mid-90's fastball.  Oh yea, don't forget about his 12 to 6 curve ball which seemingly brings with with it every time it's thrown.

Recently Lester has polished off a solid spring, throwing seven innings of three hit ball. It should be interesting to see if he can take this momentum and run with it.

Peavy

Among many big leaguers making a comeback in 2010, Jake Peavy is one to keep an eye on. The 2007 NL Cy Young winner, may struggle a bit making the transition to the AL, but White Sox fans can rest assure that Peavy will make many quality starts this season. A former Padres workhorse, Peavy made 3 impressive starts at the end of last season, boasting a solid 1.35 era and striking out 18.

Something that may end up hurting Peavy in the end, is the intelligence of manager Ozzie Guillien. In Peavy's last spring training start he threw 112 pitches in a minor league game against the Reds. While Peavy did say he wanted the work, it makes absolutely no sense for him to throw that many pitches in a spring training game. No major league pitcher will throw more pitches in a single outing this spring.

While Peavy is by no means a lock for the Cy Young, he definitely has the stuff and presence on the mound to have a solid 2010 campaign. And if the White Sox want any chance at winning the division, they need to return to form.

To Spit or Not to Spit?

In 2008 Matt Garza had a break out season, and propelled the Rays to their first ever World Series. Last year was nothing more than a disappointment. Throughout the year he struggled with the long ball, allowing 25 on the year, which lead to a 3.95 era and an 8 and 12 record.

While Garza is a long shot for the Cy, we feel that he has the stuff to make a solid run in 2010. Featuring a fastball in the low to mid 90's, and a breaking ball that leaves hitters buckled up for a cross country trip, Garza will look to build off his solid 189k 2009 campaign. While the Rays offense may struggle to get him a win, you can look to Garza to be amongst top AL pitchers at the end of this season.

AL Cluster F*?#

It's been nearly 10 years since an AL pitcher has won back to back Cy Young awards. In a lineup heavy league it has become more and more difficult to put up Cy worthy numbers once, never the less 2 or 3 times. Guys like Lester, Beckett, Sabathia, and Garza face stacked orders 1 through 9 on a regular basis. Just think, the #7 hitter in the Yankees lineup last year hit 28 dingers and knocked in 82 runs.... ridiculous. Greinke, Lee, and Peavy will be stuck with lineups unable to produce enough runs to get the win. So the question becomes, in the cluster f*?# that is the AL, who will reign supreme?

Over the next couple of days we will be highlighting top Cy Young favorites, as well as some sleepers who we think will emerge in the 2010 season. Stay Tuned....