MLB Cy Young Watch: Time to Recognize John Maine

We here at the MLB FanHouse will be musing twice a month until the end of the season on who we think leads the AL and NL Cy Young award races. This is the second installment.

National League: John Maine

The Mets can thank Anna Benson. If you believe the tabloids, it was Anna's plunging Christmas dress at a team function where hubby Kris was Santa Claus for a group of children that was the last straw in trading Benson for Jorge Julio ... and a throw-in named John Maine. Maine is now 5-0 with a 1.37 ERA, and wouldn't it be funny if the Mets came up with a Cy Young award winner in 2007, the season where their starting pitching was widely thought of as just a step above kitchen grime in its usefulness. Maine, who pitches tonight against San Francisco, barely beats out Brad Penny, who after striking out 15 and walking 17 in his first six starts this season, struck out 14 and walked none on Monday night against Florida.

Also in the mix:
Brad Penny: 4-0, 1.39 ERA
Jake Peavy: 4-1, 1.75 ERA 56 K's
Rich Hill: 4-1, 1.73 ERA
Tim Hudson: 3-1, 1.70 ERA

American League: Josh Beckett

At 7-0 after last night's drubbing of the Blue Jays, Beckett is threatening to make a mockery of the Cy Young race. C.C. Sabathia is keeping pace at 5-0. But Beckett's 1.06 WHIP, .219 batting average against, and 2.72 ERA bests Sabathia significantly, and those numbers are before last night's game, where he went seven innings, giving up five hits, only one walk. (Hey, that Hanley Ramirez trade doesn't look so bad now, does it?) Beckett leads a good starting staff, with Daisuke Matsuzaka providing the hype, Curt Schilling providing the biting commentary, Tim Wakefield providing the knuckleball, and Beckett providing nothing more than solid pitching. The Blue Jays announcers tried to hate during Tuesday night's game, remarking that at some point, "this roll's gotta stop ... Beckett's not going to go 35-0". Probably not ... but winning the Cy Young award isn't going to take a 35-0 record.

Also in the mix:
C.C. Sabathia: 5-0, 61 K's
Roy Halladay: 4-1, 2 CG's, 1.06 WHIP
Gil Meche: 3-1, 2.23 ERA