Tagged: Cy Young

Wainwright, Carpenter Cy Young?

I would love to start this entry with, “St. Louis Cardinals ace” but it’s not possible to pinpoint just one. Chris Carpenter has picked up his old form while Adam Wainwright has molded himself into a Cy Young candidate. Wainwright has always possessed tremendous upside and showed signs of morphing into a top of the line starter last season.Wainwright1.jpg

Wainwright, acquired from Atlanta in the J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero deal, was the key chip which the Cardinals received. Wainwright was the top pitching prospect in the Braves farm system and it was surprising they let him go when he’d never pitched higher than Double-A. The Cardinals received Ray King in the deal as well, who was a crucial part of the bullpen on their 2004 pennant-winning team.

Wainwright leads the majors in wins, picking up his 17th last night in Pittsburgh. Cruising through four innings, Wainwright gave up the big inning, allowing six runs, four of those with two outs. Pujols saved Wainwright, blasting a three-run bomb over the wall in left, putting the Cards ahead 8-6, a lead they would not relinquish.

The six earned-runs he gave up were the most he’d given up in one outing all season. He’s won five straight, and nine of his last twelve. His 198 innings-pitched is second only to the Giants’ Tim Lincecum.

Carp1.jpgStanding in Wainwright’s way of the Cy Young might be his own teammate, Chris Carpenter. A league-leading 2.28 ERA, Carpenter ranks second in the league with 15 wins. His 1.00 WHIP puts him at second in the category, behind former Cardinal, Dan Haren.

With only 157+ innings pitched, Carpenter hasn’t logged the amount of innings Wainwright has, but his 15-3 record speaks for itself. He’s won 10 straight, and hasn’t lost since the 30th of June. In those 157 innings, he’s only given 28 men free passes and has fanned 119, giving him a 4.25-1 K/BB ratio, which is incredible.

After having Tommy John Surgery, Carpenter looks just as strong, if not stronger, than he did before he went down with the injury. His effectiveness after the surgery might give him the slight advantage in the race for the Cy Young.

As the Cardinals surge down the stretch, it will be an extremely large help having those two quality arms, as well as Joel Pineiro and John Smoltz. With those strong arms, the Cardinals definitely pose a threat in a short or long series in the postseason.    

Pair Of Aces Square Off At Citi Field

Johan.jpgMets ace John Santana looks to take his eight wins sub 3.5 ERA into New York and come away with a victory against the Cardinals. Santana brings electric stuff to the table and is hands down one of the best pitchers-if not the best-in all of baseball. His fastball moves and jumps out of his hand, but it’s his change-up that does the real damage. His 97 strikeouts rank him eighth in the majors in whiffs. In his only start against the Cardinals, which came last season, he tossed a six hit gem. The nearly 17 million dollar man yielded only one run (earned) and fanned five in a complete game victory.

Opposing him is St. Louis ace, Chris Carpenter. The 6’6″ work horse goes into the new Citi Field with a lifetime 5.09 ERA against the Metropolitans. Following two trying and injury plauged seasons, Carp looks to be back to his old self, the Cy Young type pitcher that you can count on to end a losing skid or wrap up a series. The 2005 Cy Young brings his 5-1 record to New York as well as a sub 1 WHIP which is the best among all starters with at least 50 innings pitched. Through 58-2/3 innings, Carpenter has only put nine men on base via the walk, a great stat to have on your side as a starter, not to mention his 1.53 ERA.

After a trouncing from the potent Met offense, Carpenter looks to stifle the Mets and fly out of New York with a split in the four game series. Following the game tonight in Queens, Cardinals make their way back home to face Minnesota. In the finale of the Twins series, the Redbirds will face my favorite pitcher, Francisco Liriano. I look forward to the matchup.