• Barry Bonds. His stories pretty much write themselves.
• Miguel Cabrera. Anyone who gets scolded by Ozzie Guillen for being too fat is okay in my book.
• Fausto Carmona. One of the biggest surprises of 2007.
• Daisuke Matsuzaka. Not as good as the hype, but still pretty good.
• Gil Meche. Irresponsible spending almost got the Royals out of last place.
• Jake Peavy. Bounced back from poor (by his standards) ‘06 season.
• Carlos Pena. Where did that come from?
• Alex Rodriguez. Takes abuse from everyone, but still great.
• C.C. Sabathia. Out-Santana’d Santana.
• Barry Zito. Hey, at least the Giants only have 6 years left on his deal.

Stay tuned for Jamie’s full list…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

San Diego Padres right-hander Jake Peavy has won the 2007 National League Cy Young Award. As someone who has been watching him pitch since he wore #22 for the Lake Elsinore Storm, I couldn’t be happier. Congratulations!

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Post from: Knuckle Curve

Read the full article for all the details, but here are Silver’s projected top pitchers for 2008-2013. See if you can figure out which one doesn’t belong:

1. Johan Santana, Min
2. Jake Peavy, SD
3. C.C. Sabathia, Cle
4. Erik Bedard, Bal
5. Joba Chamberlain, NYA

Hint: His last last name is the same as that of a former British prime minister.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

I’m not going to tell you which ones I think are wrong, but I will say that their names rhyme with Mimmy Mollins Ratt Rolliday and Posh Peckett. If you haven’t voted yet, please feel free to do the right thing.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

We’re getting crazy with the postseason awards polls (NL MVP, AL MVP, AL Cy Young so far). Did I say crazy? Okay, would you believe mildly enthusiastic?

My preseason pick was Houston’s Roy Oswalt. He had a nice season, but by my estimation he’s a borderline top 5 guy and has no chance whatsoever at winning the award. Still, I think he’s a good guess most years, even if San Diego’s Jake Peavy gets my vote for ‘07.

But enough about me. Who would you choose, and why?

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Jake Peavy and Josh Fogg at Coors Field. Updates throughout the evening…

[Update: Lineups have been posted. No real surprises. On the Padres' side, Scott Hairston starts in left for the injured Milton Bradley, while Brady Clark replaces Mike Cameron in center.]

[Update: Kevin Kouzmanoff bloops a single down the right field line for the game's first base hit.]

[Update: Fogg comes back from down 3-0 to get Adrian Gonzalez swinging on a pitch down and in for the final out of the inning.]

[Update: Kaz Matsui doubles to right-center on an 0-2 count to start the Rockies' first.]

[Update: Peavy walks Matt Holliday to load the bases with nobody out. Not the start he'd envisioned, I'm sure.]

[Update: Todd Helton takes Clark to the wall in dead center to drive home the game's first run.]

[Update: Peavy gives up an RBI single to Garrett Atkins but escapes without further damage. Rox up 2-0 after one.]

[Update: Fogg works another uneventful inning, giving up just a one-out single to Josh Bard.]

[Update: Yorvit Torrealba leads off the second with a homer to left on a 2-1 hanging slider. Peavy is not locating his pitches at all.]

[Update: Troy Tulowitzki is called out on strikes to end the inning. Rockies lead 3-0; Peavy has thrown 40 pitches through two.]

[Update: Padres have bases loaded, nobody out in third with 3-4-5 hitters coming up.]

[Update: With one out, Adrian Gonzalez launches a grand slam to right. Khalil Greene follows with a long single to left.]

[Update: Clark grounds to shortstop, but Geoff Blum takes out Matsui at second, who gets nothing on the throw to first. Padres avoid the double play and go up, 5-3.]

[Update: Helton homers to right with one out in the third. It's going to be one of those nights.]

[Update: Peavy works a perfect fourth. Still 5-4.]

[Update: Gonzalez leads off with a double to right. Brad Hawpe didn't get a good jump on the ball. Fogg is done for the evening.]

[Update: Taylor Buchholz replaces Fogg and retires the side in order, leaving Gonzalez stranded at second.]

[Update: Matt Holliday singles home Tulowitzki; game is tied again, 5-5. How much longer will Bud Black stick with Peavy?]

[Update: Peavy survives the fifth. He's now at 91 pitches.]

[Update: Torrealba leads off the sixth with a slow bouncer to third. He's out by plenty but for some reason dives into first base; lucky he didn't get hurt.]

[Update: Matsui drives home Seth Smith on a fly ball to center. Smith reached on a ball to center that Clark misjudged into a triple. Clark's weak arm can't get Smith at home. Clark then misplays another fly ball off the bat of Tulowitzki into a triple. The absence of Cameron is killing San Diego.]

[Update: Peavy gets Holliday swinging to end the sixth. Rox up, 6-5.]

[Update: Garrett Atkins hits a one-out double to left that Clint Hurdle argues unsuccessfully is a home run. Heath Bell replaces Peavy and, with runners at first and second, strikes out Ryan Spilborghs and Torrealba to end the inning. Still 6-5 through seven.]

[Update: With two out in the eighth and Blum on second, lefty Brian Fuentes gets Brian Giles to fly to left, but Matt Holliday misplays the ball into what is ruled a double. Blum scores to tie the game at 6-6.]

[Update: Manuel Corpas retires the Padres in order in the ninth. Rockies have 4-5-6 hitters coming up in the bottom half. Will Bell work another inning, or will Black go with closer Trevor Hoffman?]

[Update: Black stays with Bell.]

[Update: Bell issues a two-out walk to Hawpe but strikes out pinch hitter Joe Koshansky to send the game into extra innings. Colorado brings in its seventh pitcher of the night, ex-Padre Matt Herges.]

[Update: Padres put two runners on in the 10th but Giles grounds to short to end the inning. Mike Cameron, who hurt his hand in a collision with Milton Bradley last week, pinch ran for Terrmel Sledge, who walked for Clark. Apparently Cameron will play center. Interesting.]

[Update: Cameron in center, Doug Brocail on the mound for San Diego.]

[Update: Brocail retires the Rockies in order; to the 11th...]

[Update: Hairston reaches on an error by Jamey Carroll, in at third base for defensive purposes. Kouzmanoff sacrifices Hairston to second; after an intentional walk to Gonzalez, up comes Greene and his career .340/.407/.708 line at Coors Field.]

[Update: Carroll atones for his error, starting a 5-3 double play off the bat of Greene to end the inning.]

[Update: With two out in the bottom of the 11th, Brocail walks Helton and gives up a single to Carroll. Rookie left-hander Joe Thatcher will face Hawpe with the Padres' season on the line.]

[Update: Thatcher strikes out Hawpe on five straight fastballs. To the 12th...]

[Update: Padres again put a runner in scoring position with less than two out but cannot score. Herges breaks Michael Barrett's bat on a full-count pitch and gets him to ground to short for the final out. Rockies have the 7-8-9 hitters due up.]

[Update: Thatcher retires the side in order. Would you believe... the 13th?]

[Update: Jorge Julio in to pitch. Walk to Giles, two-run homer to Hairston. San Diego up, 8-6. Julio is trying to throw every pitch through a brick wall -- to little effect.]

[Update: Rookie Chase Headley lines a pinch single; Julio is done.]

[Update: No further damage against Ramon Ortiz, Colorado's ninth pitcher of the evening. Hoffman will work the bottom of the 13th and face Matsui, Tulowitzki, and Holliday.]

[Update: Matsui leads off with a double to right-center. Tying run now up at the plate.]

[Update: Tulowitzki just misses lining a double down the right field line that would have scored Matsui.]

[Update: Tulowitzki doubles to left-center. Holliday triples to deep right. Tie game. Runner at third with nobody out. Hoffman couldn't get it done in Milwaukee, and it looks like he's not going to get it done in Denver either.]

[Update: Carroll flies to shallow right, Holliday scores the winning run. Rockies play Philadelphia. Padres season is done.]

Post from: Knuckle Curve

On paper, Jake Peavy vs Josh Fogg looks lopsided in favor of the Padres. The games, however, are not played on paper. With three studs in the lineup (Matt Holliday, Todd Helton, Brad Hawpe), a strong supporting cast, and a home crowd that hasn’t seen meaningful October games in a very long time, Colorado could be a lot tougher than folks think. And if they do win today, I expect them to reach the World Series.

As a Padres fan, I hope it doesn’t go down that way…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Like everyone else, Stark has San Diego’s Jake Peavy and Arizona’s Brandon Webb in the top two slots in the National League. Nice to see Stark also recognize what Aaron Harang is accomplishing on a very bad Cincinnati team.

I still think Dodgers closer Takashi Saito belongs in the discussion. Lefties are hitting just .194/.239/.311 against him this year. They are the lucky ones: right-handers are batting — I can hardly write this — .117/.170/.160. Saito has fanned 71 batters and allowed 47 total bases. That’s not quite vintage Eric Gagne, but it’s mighty impressive.

Over in the American League, the situation remains muddy. I’m with Stark on Chien-Ming Wang; I don’t see how that guy is even in the discussion. Then again, he finished second in the voting last season despite mostly pedestrian numbers. Put Harang on the Yankees and he’d win 20, no problem.

I’m also not sure that Cleveland’s C.C. Sabathia has as decided an advantage over Boston’s Josh Beckett as Stark seems to think. Beyond the media hype that will accompany Beckett because of the team he plays for, the guy has had a fantastic season. (So has Kelvim Escobar, with much less fanfare.)

Who do I think should win? Peavy and probably Sabathia (unless something weird happens over the next couple weeks). Who do I think will win? I don’t have a lot of faith in the writers: I’ll say Webb and Beckett.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Moving to the league that isn’t afraid to let its pitchers hit…

National League

• Rockies at Phillies, 4:05 p.m. PT — Both teams are fighting for a wild card berth, although Colorado remains a long shot. Franklin Morales and his 6.23 ERA go up against Adam Eaton, MLB’s worst pitcher this year, so if too many runs aren’t enough for you, this is the game to watch.
• Padres at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. PT — If the Dodgers have any shot at reaching the post-season, they need to sweep this series. Jake Peavy makes his first start since getting shelled at Arizona last week on short rest. Several Dodgers hitters — notably Rafael Furcal (32 PA, .281/.281/.688), Luis Gonzalez (58 PA, .353/.431/.686), and Shea Hillenbrand (24 PA, .368/.500/.737) — have enjoyed success against Peavy over the years. Los Angeles counters with Esteban Loaiza, who makes his second start since coming over from the A’s.

One game? If you like offense, watch the Morales/Eaton Fireworks Display™; otherwise, go with the Padres and Dodgers. Happy watching…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Oops, sorry ’bout that; we’re congratulating the players, not mocking the system. My bad.

Peavy, who has never received a single Cy Young award vote, appears to be the National League’s leading candidate this year. No matter how you break down his numbers, there just aren’t any weaknesses. Yeah, he hasn’t made it past the seventh inning all season, but he’s made it through five in all 28 of his starts. I also love this line: .160/.210/.219. That’s what right-handed batters are hitting against Peavy this year.

Okay, I guess I won’t begrudge the guy his high-definition TV.

Post from: Knuckle Curve