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 fifth installment.I think I may be jinxing these guys. In our last installment, I put John Lackey in the lead for the A.L. Cy Young award. Since then, he's given up 15 runs (11 earned) in three starts. In our second installment, the lead went to John Maine at 5-0. Since then, he's 2-4. So let's see which career I can ruin this week:
American League: Dan Haren
Billy Beane can sure make a trade, can't he? Dan Haren was part of the haul that Beane received for Mark Mulder, and Haren has been gold this season. He's 8-2 after five wins in his last six starts, and his ERA is at ... get this: 1.64 in 104 innings. Haren goes tonight against the Reds, and if he gets bombed I'll take full responsibility.
Also in the mix:
Josh Beckett: 10-1, 3.14 ERA
John Lackey: 10-4, 2.96 ERA
Justin Verlander: 8-2, 2.90 ERA (and moving fast thanks to his no-hitter)
C.C. Sabathia: 9-2, 3.19 ERA
National League after the jump ...
National League: Jake PeavyMaybe I jinxed Jake Peavy too. I mean, I can't really jinx him that much ... he's that good. But three runs in six innings isn't Peavy-like. But that was his performance on Tuesday against Baltimore, bringing his ERA up to 1.98. That's not quite enough, however, to knock him off his perch this week. But Brad Penny, after tonight's seven inning, one run performance against Toronto, is closing the gap.
Also in the mix:
Brad Penny: 9-1, 2.12 ERA
Cole Hamels: 9-3, 108 K's
John Smoltz: 8-3, 2.84 ERA
Francisco Cordero: 26 saves
