Two Names, 7 Letters, 15 Wins

Combine their last names, and you will get a total of 7 letters. They have 15 wins, are both undefeated, and both have been completely dominant in their respective leagues. Of course I am talking about the current favorites for the AL and NL Cy Young Award.

Brandon Webb has pitched even better than anyone has expected, which is incredible since is one of the favorites for this award coming into the season. He leads the major leagues with 9 wins and is the fifth starter since 1920 to win his first 9 starts of the season. Only one of those pitchers won their first 10. This guy has been crazy good, but there is someone who has been even better...

That man's name is Cliff Lee. On the 12th of May Lee pitched 9 shutout innings in the second game of a doubleheader, and did not factor in the decision. He lowered his ERA from 0.81 to 0.67. He has given up 4 earned runs in 53.2 innings, and 3 of those came in his only start against Seattle where he still won. His control has been impeccable. He has issued 4 walks in those 53.2 innings and has 44 strikeouts. Even Bob Gibson gave up more runs in his first 7 starts in 1968 where his ERA was an incredibly low 1.12. His K:BB ratio that season was only 4.3:1 - Lee's is at 11:1.

What a great story Josh Hamilton has been. After all of his problems that he had to deal with, and then being traded this offseason to the Texas Rangers, the slugging center fielder came into today ranked 7th in the league in batting average, tied for first in homers, and leading the majors in RBI. And he only turns 27 on Wednesday...

How bad did you think the Giants were going to be this year? Even though I had Tim Lincecum as my Cy Young in Waiting for this year, I was predicting 100+ losses. Sadly, they are currently on pace for 98 losses and that is good enough for 3rd in the division. Imagine them without Lincecum and his 5-1 record, 1.92 ERA and 63 strikeouts...