The Return of Cy-tana

by Flip27 on Jun 25, 2007 10:15 AM EDT

Do you feel that? It's the heat of the summer. It feels good... like domination. It reminds me of summers past, of unhittableness, of bitches sat down, and of regular Cy Young runs. Yes, it is a good feeling. It makes me want to attend every home game he toes the rubber. -Because it is now the time that you might see something special.

At the beginning of the month, I remember watching Baseball Tonight. They were discussing what was "wrong" with Johan. Karl Ravage, I think, said something like "Someone is going to win a Cy Young in the American League this year, and his name won't be Santana." I chuckled.

I'm betting that Johan did too. He has done nothing but dominate over his last 4 starts. During that streach, he has thrown 29 innings and allowed a grand total of 5 earned runs. That's a 1.55 ERA. He's 3-1 in those starts, but he should be 4-0. True, he hasn't been racking up the huge strikeout numbers yet (he's K'd only 23 in those 29 innings), but everything else is vintage Johan.

Really, is this a suprise? Not to Twins fans who have watched this happen about the same time every year. It's like clockwork. Johan gets 75-80 innings under his belt, and then the world trembles in fear.

Yesterday, Baseball Tonight was talking about Johan again. They were talking about how dominant he has been lately. They were singing his praises again. Wow. What a suprise. Something tells me we'll be hearing it more and more over the next 3+ months. -And in late September they'll be talking about a probable third Cy Young Award.

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He's amazing

Bert always says the pitchers are the best athletes on the team, even when Denys Reyes is pitching. But in Santana's case, he really is the best athlete on the field. How many guys can fake a bunt, pull the bat back and hit a triple?

The difference between Miami and New York was the umpire and the hitters. That umpire called so many pitches on the corners balls early in the game that Santana had to adjust. That walk to Willingham that turned into an unearned run featured seven strikes in Gameday. Even with the worst umpiring I've seen all year, he still got 8 strikeouts.

After the Mets tried to get him early in the count with bad results, the Marlins reverted to the conventional wisdom: wait him out and hope he makes a mistake. This time of year, neither approach works too well. He gets into the heat of the summer and he just stops making mistakes.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Jun 25, 2007 11:32 AM EDT reply actions

Small Strike Zone

I remember watching that Willingham walk. I kept saying "Where was that pitch?" again and again. You're correct, the fact that Johan still dominated even when he was really getting squeezed is amazing.

The small strike zone also makes Cuddyer's and Gardy's arguments all the more compelling.

-Flip

by Flip27 on Jun 25, 2007 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah,

That pitch that he called Cuddyer out on was above the letters. It was the only time he called that pitch a strike the whole day, and with two outs and the bases loaded, it was a key call.

And why throw him out for emphatically taking off his batting gloves in the on-deck circle!? I've never seen that. I could see if Cuddyer was in he face, but he was 50 feet away from the ump when he threw him out.

I hate it when umps become the focus of the game. And it ticks me off that there's no accountability for stuff like this. He should be suspended. Since when have they ever suspended an ump?

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Jun 25, 2007 2:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Yep...

he's on pace for that sub-2.50 ERA season many of us talked about at the beginning of the year. This will be his best year yet, which is saying something.

But I will say this re: the Cy Young; Dan Haren's going to have to fall off (I expect him to, but who knows) if CyTana's gonna win it. Haren, my fellow Pepperdine Alumnus (GO WAVES!), is having one of the 5 or 6 best seasons EVER for a pitcher so far this year.

by djskilbr on Jun 25, 2007 12:54 PM EDT reply actions

Dan the Duke

The guy who does the updates for ESPN radio read off the ESPY nominees for baseball player of the year. When he got to Santana he said, "Apparently this award is not based on this year's performance." The Duke has always been a bit of a boob, but I think Santana's performances have created outsized expectations for him. That or people just look at win-loss record.

by wcooley on Jun 25, 2007 2:26 PM EDT reply actions