Pitcher Perfect: Reach for the Cy

WINS: There were no 20-game winners, but three pitchers recorded 19 wins (Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander, CC Sabathia).

SAVES: Three closers had more than 40 saves (Brian Fuentes, Joe Nathan, Mariano Rivera).

ERA: Three everyday closers kept their ERAs under 2.00 (Rivera, Jonathan Papelbon, Andrew Bailey), while three starters kept theirs under 3.00 (Zack Greinke, Roy Halladay, Hernandez).

WHIP: Three closers kept their WHIPs under 1.00 (Bailey, Rivera, Nathan), while four starters kept theirs at 1.15 or below (Greinke, Halladay, Hernandez, Sabathia)

K/9: Two closers had a K9 over 10.50 (Joakim Soria, Nathan), while three starters had a K9 of 9.50 or better (Verlander, Jon Lester, Greinke)

K/BB: Two relievers and three starters had a K/BB above 4.00 (Rivera, Halladay, Greinke, Soria, Verlander).

How do I look at these numbers? With wins, for example, I won't just hand the award to one of the 19-win pitchers, but seeing what the ceiling was in the AL this season, I would be hard-pressed to consider someone with less than 15 wins. In other words, leading in a particular category doesn't end the discussion, but it does create a range of where to look for candidates.

In terms of starters, the discussion includes Greinke (on list above 4 times), Hernandez (3), Verlander (3), Sabathia (2) and Halladay (3). The ones that were close but didn't make the cut were Josh Beckett, Joe Saunders and Jeff Weaver. Jarrod Washburn probably contends if he doesn't change teams. Pitchers like Cliff Lee that change leagues but have good years for both are unfortunate, but there's no way to bend the rules for them. And finally, let's add Scott Feldman and Scott Baker to see if they were worthy.

As for closers, it's Nathan (3) and Rivera (4). Soria was close, but I'm less likely to show sympathy for a guy with a closer with a lower save count for a bad team than a starter with a lower win count for a bad team because saves are less dependent on team strength than wins (see Heath Bell in the NL). Bailey had a great year, but he can battle it out for Rookie of the Year with Rick Porcello. As for middle relievers, the AL King Vulture was Alfredo Aceves with 10 wins for the Yankees. Meh.

So if we look at wins, here's what we have with our list above: