A (non) voting interest in awards

SEATTLE, Sept. 29, 2009 -- The Baseball Writers Association of America does not allow MLB.com writers into their membership, so the only postseason award on which I get to vote is Comeback Player of the Year.

Rajai Davis, by the way, finished third on my ballot -- I'm the guy who got him on the ballot in the first place.

I have mixed feelings about not having a vote in the other biggies.

On one hand, whatever. I'm American, I'm a baseball writer, but I can't be in the BBWAA. Makes no sense, no matter who I get my paycheck from. It comes from an arm of MLB, as the BBWAA's hardcores correctly point out, but they're woefully incorrect in thinking I can't possibly be as objective as they, the righteous.

Again, whatever. I have a lot of friends in the BBWAA, and some of them I could take or leave. But I'll sleep just fine knowing my professional integrity is intact.

On the other hand, having a vote would make following the "races" for the respective BBWAA awards -- MVP, CY, Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year -- more urgent and important.

I mention this today because King Felix, Felix Hernandez of the Mariners, is on the mound this evening, and he's in what I think is a two-horse race for the American League Cy Young Award.

CC Sabathia is a strong third. What he's done under the pressure of that contract and in a pennant race is nothing short of manly. But look at CC's ERA against those of King Felix and Zack Greinke. It's not even close, and give me a tiny ERA over a fat win total any day if we're discussing who's been more dominant.

Nobody has been as dominant as Greinke, but King Felix has been awfully close. I've studied the numbers, and this is how I'd go if I had a vote: If Greinke carves again in his final start, he wins.

If he struggles and Felix gets down to within .25 of him in ERA ... Greinke still wins.

Look at his no-decisions. Look at his strikeouts. Look at his WHIP. Look at his walks-to-strikeouts. Look at his batting average against. Look at the 68-mph curve with which he follows high-90s heat with a tail.

More important, talk to the players who have faced them both. OK, that's rhetorical. Most of you can't do that. But I can, and have, and the players -- all of them -- say Greinke deserves the award. 

Will the BBWAA agree? Does it matter? Not really.

What would you do? Is it as close in your mind as it is in mine? Feel free to debate below.

And now, time for a few wind sprints around Safeco Field ...

... As my friend and colleague Joe "Guestbook" Stiglich noted today, this place looks a lot like the inside a Costco when the roof is closed. Only without the Paul Bunyan-sized bottles of liquid soap.

... Interesting contrast in styles tonight with Felix taking on Trevor Cahill. Both of them have some silly movement on their pitches, but Hernandez is more of a power guy while Cahill's craftiness is what makes him so good when he's on. Fun to watch.

... Speaking of fun to watch, I'm soaking in every bit of Ken Griffey Jr. that I can while we're here. Truly one of the all-time greats, and I refuse to miss a single batting-practice swing. Come to think of it, Junior's swing IS that giant bottle of liquid soap.

... Nasty darkness descending from the North right now. Classic Seattle weather. Great night to forget your coat back at the hotel. You'd think a decade of traveling to cover baseball games would instill some sort of checklist or routine, but here I am, shivering like Dr. Evil and Mr. Bigglesworth in the head of Bob's Big Boy.

... FOTB (friend of the blog) Doug Miller just offered me his wool gloves. I said no. But jist now I pu5t them on. Can't type worth a da.mn, in ewm, but it does fedel better.

... OK, now we're just getting silly. As they like to say a billion times before each of the million games the Red Sox and Yankees play against each other every year, the gloves are off.

... If I owned a baseball academy, I'd try to hire Mark Ellis as my director the moment he retired. There isn't a single thing he does, on or off the field, that he doesn't do the right way. He might not have the sexiest game or the most potent bat, but he's exactly the type of veteran these A's need to have around moving forward.

That's all for now, folks. Peace, pesto bowtie pasta with grilled chicken, and Stevie's "Superstition" to all ...
            
--Mychael Urban