On the season, Lincecum pitched 225.1 innings over 32 starts. He finished with a 2.48 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP and 261 strikeouts while allowing only 168 hits. Despite his fantastic stats, he only had a record of 15-7. His 15 wins were the least in baseball history for a Cy Young Award winner in a full length season.

Wainwright actually had the most first place votes with 12, while Carpenter finished second in the balloting. The other two pitchers to receive votes were Dan Haren of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Javier Vazquez of the Atlanta Braves.

The balloting was so close because great cases could be made for both Carpenter and Wainwright. Carpenter had a lower ERA (2.24) and more wins (17) than Lincecum. Wainwright, on the other hand, led the NL in wins with 19 and had a comparable ERA at 2.63. But when it came down to it, Carpenter and Wainwright being on the same team didn’t help and opened the door for Lincecum.

Tim Lincecum won the Cy Young Award again (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Obviously, this is potential very bad news for the San Francisco Giants. Although manager Bruce Bochy thinks that Lincecum will be ready after only a couple of days, any type of setback would likely doom the Giants’ chances in the NL Wild Card race.

As it stands, the Giants trail the Colorado Rockies by three games for a spot in the 2009 baseball playoffs. The Rockies have won five games in a row, while the Giants have lost four of their last ten ballgames.

On the season, Lincecum is 13-5 with a 2.34 ERA. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner has a chance to win that award for a second straight year if he has a strong finish to the 2009 campaign. However, this back injury will likely slow him down enough to take him out of the running. Now the Giants need to hope that the injury doesn’t take them out of the NL Wild Card running.

Tim Lincecum - San Francisco Giants (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Here are our top four MVP candidates in the National League for the 2009 season:

1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Is there any question who is at the top of the heap? Pujols has been great all season. Currently he’s hitting .324 with 36 homers, 85 runs and 97 RBIs. If he keeps it up, the NL MVP should be his.

2. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
Playing with the Marlins, Ramirez will never get a lot of notoriety. But this kid can hit. The native of the Dominican Republic is hitting an NL-leading .344 with 16 homers, 64 runs, 70 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Ramirez has already had some great seasons but this may be the best of the best.

3. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
Can the Home Run Derby champion add the MVP trophy to his mantle? He has a chance. The 25-year-old has turned into a great hitter — .302 batting average, 26 homers, 67 runs and 95 RBIs. A strong finish to the season could have him jump up the list.

4. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
Pitchers usually don’t enter into MVP talk but Lincecum can’t be ignored. He’s almost single-handedly keeping the Giants in the playoff race. Lincecum has a record of 12-3 to go along with a 2.18 ERA and a WHIP of 1.05.

Can Prince Fielder also win the 2009 NL MVP? (Image: Newscom)

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays has recently been the subject of trade rumors. Considering how talented he is, that’s of little surprise. On the season, Halladay has a 2.85 ERA, a record of 10-3 and a WHIP of 1.10. He’s on his way to winning 16 or more games for the fourth straight season.

Lincecum is the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner. In 2009, he’s threatening to win the award for the second straight year. For the San Francisco Giants, Lincecum has a 10-2 record with a 2.33 ERA and a WHIP of 1.05. Last season, Lincecum was 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA. At 25, he might be the best young pitcher in the game.

The All-Star game will be played in St. Louis on Tuesday night. Lincecum was selected as the starter by Charlie Manuel, the National League manager. Joe Maddon, the American League manager, selected Halladay.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

His final stat line was nine innings, two hits, no walks and eight strikeouts. His ERA on the season was lowered ton 2.37. In his last eight starts, he has only given up nine earned runs. Lincecum also has three complete games in his last four outings.

The Giants got one run in the top of the first inning. Although that run would have been enough, they tacked on nine more runs for a 10-0 victory. The Giants are now 41-34 and in second place in the NL West. They are 6.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and one game ahead of the Colorado Rockies.

With the loss, the Cardinals dropped to 41-37. They are one game behind he Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

When looking at Lee’s numbers, it’s difficult to keep your jaw from hitting the floor. He had a record of 22-3 to go along with a 2.54 ERA and a microscopic WHIP of 1.11. He also had 170 strikeouts and only 33 walks in 223.1 innings pitched.

The 30-year-old Lee had by far his best season in 2008. In 2007, Lee had a 6.29 ERA and a record of 5-8. In fact, in his previous four seasons, he only had one campaign with an ERA under 4.00.

Second place in the AL Cy Young Award balloting was Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Roy Halladay. Halladay, who already has a Cy Young Award to his name, finished 20-11 with a 2.78 ERA.

Lee finished with 24 first place votes, while Halladay got four. Lee joins National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.

Photo credit: Newscom

Post from: Knuckle Curve

On the season, Lincecum went 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA. He also struck out 265 batters in 227 innings pitched. Throw in a WHIP of 1.17 and it’s no wonder how Lincecum was able to win the NL Cy Young Award.

Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks finished second and Johan Santana of the New York Mets finished third, while Brad Lidge, CC Sabathia and Ryan Dempster round out the top six. Lincecum received 23 first place votes — far and away the most.

The generously listed 5-foot-11 Giants pitcher is the unquestioned ace of San Francisco’s pitching rotation and has replaced Barry Bonds as the face of the franchise.

Photo credit: Newscom

Post from: Knuckle Curve