Can CC Win the Cy Young?

It was just another day at the office for Brewers stud pitcher C.C. Sabathia. He threw a complete game, his fifth in nine starts with Milwaukee, striking out nine with a combination of filthy off-speed pitches and straight gas for the 9-3 win over the Astros. He didn’t have his best stuff, scattering 11 hits and three runs (two earned), but still got the job done convincingly. He had to get out of some tense moments all night long, and got by All-Star Lance Berkman with the sacks packed to finish the game. It tells you how high he’s set the bar when we're analyzing as good a start as that. Sabathia has been nothing short of superb since he joined the Brew Crew on July 7th.

With the win Sabathia is 8-0, and has been the single most important reason that the Brewers have evolved into a contender during the past month. Sabathia had a rough start to the season, but since May, he’s been the best pitcher in baseball. The Brewers took a risk to get him, beating out several potential suitors, and have been reaping the benefits. Ace Ben Sheets has slowed tremendously over the past month and is only 1-4 since Sabathia was acquired from the Indians. The Brewers haven’t missed a beat during Sheets’ troubles, going 23-14 over that stretch to put themselves five games up in the wildcard. You can give all the credit to Sabathia, a guarantee for the Brewers, who have had the lead or been tied at the end of each one of his starts since he got there. His arrival has been the obvious catalyst for the Brewers making up six games on St. Louis during his time.

Most of his starts have been like last night’s where the Brewers coasted to victory. At the end of all his starts, he’s been coasting, finishing up blowouts of 9-1, 7-1, and 5-0. Milwaukee has outscored their opponents 51-18, and lost only once in a game that Sabathia started. The Brewers have been a confident club each time Sabathia has taken the mound, and it’s not hard to see why. The 6-4 loss to the Cubs on July 28th, a start where Sabathia got his only no-decision, was the first of four straight losses the Brewers would have at Wrigley Field. The sweep dropped them out of a first place tie. Facing tremendous adversity with that and a very public clubhouse altercation between Manny Parra and Pricne Fielder a few days later, the Brewers bounced right back to win eight straight. Sabathia provided two sterling starts during that critical winning streak, allowing one run over 16 innings. That’s the mark of a team leader, something that’s been missing in Milwaukee.

Sabathia’s midseason lift for the Brewers is eerily reminiscent of Rick Sutcliffe in 1984. Sutcliffe was a struggling pitcher on the Cleveland Indians, and the organization unloaded him across leagues to the Cubs. His addition turned Chicago into a division winner, mostly because of his 16-1 record that led to him winning the Cy Young. Through nine starts, Sabathia has been Sutcliffe’s equivalent, flashing a gaudy record while helping his team gain six games on the Cardinals in the standings to emerge as safe wild-card leaders. Six games with the Cubs remain, so overcoming their five game deficit won’t be impossible. These symmetries should be more than enough to begin discussing Sabathia as a viable Cy Young candidate.

With over a month left in the season, Sabathia still has plenty left to show, but is halfway there. Brandon Webb will be an extremely tough obstacle, but is probably the only legitimate one in a stacked field. He leads the majors with 18 wins and has a solid 2.85 ERA, numbers that make him the favorite, especially because Arizona is in playoff contention. But, after that, Sabathia is definitely the best of the bunch. Tim Linececum, 24, and Edinson Volquez, 25, have been great all year, but each pales in comparison in the standings. They would have a much better chance against a weaker field of opponents, but with Webb and Sabathia dominating in games that mean something, Linecum and Volquez shouldn’t be in the conversation. With six games against the Cubs in their last 12, the Cy Young could be a legitimate possibility for Sabathia come September.