Honestly though, Papelbon, Mo, and Nathan all would have been able to do exactly the same thing if given as many save opps. as K-Rod. Angels just play A LOT of close games, so he gets tons of chances. He no doubt had a great season, but I still rank him 4th in terms of who's the best closer in the game. Has Mo even allowed a run this year in a save situation?
K-Rod for Cy Young!ope:
And what exactly has he done to earn Cy Young consideration? Is it his 21.5 VORP which is sixth best on his own team? How about his 1.27 WHIP, which is 41st among AL pitchers with at least 60 IP? Or maybe it's his 2.31 K/BB, which is 47th in the AL (min 60 IP, again)?
Saves are one of the most worthless stats in baseball and the sooner everyone realizes this, the better.
So you think he has had the best pitching season in the AL because his team was in a lot of close games in the 9th inning and he was able to do what just about any major league pitcher can do 95% of the time: get 3 outs without giving up 1/2/3 runs? I guess it sucks for Papelbon that his team just blows teams out more and for Soria that his team doesn't win nearly as many games, because, by your logic, if these teams were able to do this their respective closers would be much better pitchers.
Give me a break. K-Rod isn't even the best CLOSER in the American League, let alone best pitcher.
Cliff Lee, and only Cliff Lee, deserves the Cy Young in the AL and it's not even close.
Had to bump this thread after tonights game! Nice outing K-Rod! And also, only person has mentioned Soria, how I think is definitely among the elite closers in the game. The guy has 39 saves and a .84 WHIP for the Royals. And he's only making $426,500 this year!
