Picking Sabathia over King Felix for the Cy Young Award is nuts - MLB

We’ve mentioned it a few times already, and a great many people in the national media have already taken their swings at it, but let us reiterate one more time: supporting CC Sabathia over Felix Hernandez for the Cy Young Award is the sort of thing that should spark a hearing over whether or not you should be made a ward of the state due to extreme mental incompetence.

The statistical case is so simple that I’m surprised that there’s any debate at all. Hernandez leads Sabathia in innings pitched, complete games, hits allowed, ERA (by a lot) and strikeouts. He’s allowed fewer hits, home runs and has walked fewer batters. Hernandez’s infield defense is worse. So is his bullpen.

While people say “hey, Hernandez pitches in the weak AL West,” (a) the weakest part of the AL West is his own team which he cannot face; (b) the strongest part of the AL East is Sabathia’s which he cannot face; and (c) Hernandez has actually started against more teams that are in contention than Sabathia has. Wanna give Sabathia points for playoff race pressure? Fine. Just make sure you even it out by giving Hernandez points for having to deal with the pressure of knowing that he must be absolutely perfect in order to win, because he’s getting zero help from his atrocious teammates.

The only advantage Sabathia has over Hernandez is the one thing that is not in a pitcher’s control: run support. That’s it. And that’s what leads to the wins that many Cy Young voters are citing as the reason for supporting Sabathia over Hernandez.

Which is strange, because last year the writers got it right and gave the Cy Young Awards in both leagues to guys who pitched the best despite having relatively lackluster win totals — Zack Greinke and Tim Lincecum. Why it appears that won’t happen again this year is a mystery.

Maybe the writers feel like going against their base instincts to reward wins once is enough. Maybe it’s just too early, the Sabathia supporters just happen to be the most vocal and once the voting occurs sanity will prevail.

All I know is that if their performances hold up for the last couple of weeks of the season and Hernandez doesn’t win the Cy Young Award the BBWAA ought to be whacked upside the head.

SEATTLE (AP) Aaron Judge homered for the third time in two games, Anthony Volpe and Greg Allen also went deep and the New York Yankees stretched their winning streak to four with a 10-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.

Judge hit a towering fly ball on the first pitch of the seventh inning from reliever Darren McCaughan that carried just enough to clear the fence in left-center field, even if it would not have been a homer at Yankee Stadium.

It was the 18th of the season for Judge, who hit a pair of homers in the series opener on Monday night.

While Judge hitting another homer will get the headlines, it was Volpe’s long ball that broke open the game. With two outs in the third inning, Seattle starter Logan Gilbert caught too much of the plate with a 1-2 slider and Volpe drove the pitch 413 feet for a three-run shot and a 6-0 lead. It was Volpe’s eighth homer of the season and snapped a 2-for-22 slide for the rookie.

Allen, filling in for injured center fielder Harrison Bader, hit his first of the season leading off the fourth inning. Isiah Kiner-Falefa also had a key two-run single in the first inning as the Yankees took advantage of an error to give starter Nestor Cortes a 3-0 advantage before he took the mound.

Kiner-Falefa had another two-run single in the ninth. New York has scored at least 10 runs in three straight games for the first time since Sept. 15-17, 2020.

Cortes (5-2) mostly cruised through five innings, allowing two runs and five hits with six strikeouts. Ty France and Teoscar Hernández had RBI doubles in the fifth inning. Judge nearly stole another hit from Hernández after robbing him of a homer on Monday, but his diving attempt at Hernández’s liner fell for a double.

Gilbert (3-3) lasted just four innings for the second time this season. The five earned runs allowed were a season-high and the four strikeouts matched a season-low.

SEE YA LATER

Seattle catcher Tom Murphy and manager Scott Servais were both ejected by plate umpire Brian Walsh in the sixth inning. Murphy was ejected after yelling toward first base umpire C.B. Bucknor following a check-swing that was called a strike. Servais argued the decision to eject Murphy and was quickly tossed by Walsh. It was the second ejection this season for Servais.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: Bader (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day IL after leaving Monday’s game in the third inning injuring his right hamstring running out an infield single. OF Franchy Cordero was recalled.

Mariners: McCaughan was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to add a long reliever to the bullpen. RHP Juan Then was optioned to Tacoma. It was Seattle’s first roster move in 24 days.

UP NEXT

Yankees: RHP Clarke Schmidt (2-5, 5.58) took the loss despite allowing only one earned run over five innings in his last start against Baltimore. Schmidt has gone at least five inning in five of his last seven starts.

Mariners: RHP George Kirby (5-4, 3.43) was knocked around for seven earned runs and four home runs allowed in his last start against Pittsburgh. Both matched career highs.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports