Nov 13, 2007 - 11:22 AM
1 shoutNEW YORK (Ticker) -- Unfortunately for Boston Red Sox ace Josh Beckett, the voting for the American League Cy Young Award took place before the playoffs started.
But as it stands now, Cleveland Indians southpaw C.C. Sabathia figures to provide a serious challenge to Beckett when the Cy Young Award winner is announced Tuesday.
Beckett was nearly unhittable this postseason, going 4-0 in four starts for the World Series champion Red Sox.
But Sabathia was outstanding in the regular season for Indians, going 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA in a league-high 34 starts and 241 innings.
Perhaps the most impressive number Sabathia put up this season was his strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.65, the best mark in the league. The hefty 26-year-old was fifth in the AL with 209 strikeouts and walked just 37 batters.
Sabathia was at his best in the second half of the season, when the Indians were pulling away from the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central Division.
Sabathia posted a 6-3 record with two complete games and a 2.28 ERA from July 24 through the end of the season, holding opposing hitters to a .229 batting average in his final 13 starts of the campaign.
The league's leader in wins, Beckett went 20-7 with a 3.27 ERA while striking out 194 and walking just 40.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim ace John Lackey figures to receive plenty of consideration as well. The 29-year-old righthander finished the season 19-9 with a league-leading 3.01 ERA.
A first-time All-Star in 2007, Lackey won his last three starts of the regular season to help the Angels lock up the AL West Division title.
Other hurlers who figure to garner votes are Cleveland righthander Fausto Carmona, Oakland Athletics righthander Dan Haren, Baltimore Orioles lefthander Erik Bedard and defending Cy Young winner Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins.
A converted reliever, Carmona went 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA, the second-best mark in the league. Finishing just behind the Indians' sinkerballer was Haren, who went 15-9 with a 3.07 ERA.
Despite missing the last month of the season with an oblique injury, Bedard went 13-5 while finishing fourth in the league in ERA (3.16) and placing third in strikeouts (221).
Santana, who won his second career Cy Young Award last year, struggled through many parts of this past campaign. The lefthander went 15-13 with a 3.33 ERA and 235 strikeouts, second only to Tampa Bay Rays lefthander Scott Kazmir (239) for the league lead.
