The case for CC

School has started as September has descended upon us.

This can only mean one thing.

The baseball races are heating up.

Teams are battling for a playoff spot, with most of the usual suspects still in contention.
(At least if you swapped the Rays with the Yankees.)

It's also a great time to start thinking about the individual awards.

Of course these things are usually won or lost in the last month as a great September can spell doom or catapult a relative unknown into the thick of the race but its still fun to consider the contenders with four weeks to go.

The MVP is the award that hinges most on a playoff appearance. Player of the year is never too difficult to figure out but the most valuable player is a whole different animal.

With that in mind lets focus on the Cy Young. In the American League the debate is just about closed. Pitching in the minors at this time last season Cleveland's Cliff Lee is going to run away with this award barring a disastrous September. A 20-2 record and a league leading 2.32 era will do that for you.

His 20 wins represent a staggering 30 percent of Cleveland's total of 67 and he is having one of the most dominant seasons of recent memory that evoke recollections of Clemens, Carlton, Gibson and Koufax.

Roy Halladay and Francisco Rodriguez deserve some consideration after Lee but even 12 complete games or 65 saves for those two respectively will not be enough to unseat the tremendous turnaround of Lee.

The National League race is full of intrigue. Much like the American League there are three main candidates. The first is Arizona's Brandon Webb.

Webb could have been the first big leaguer to reach the 20-win plateau in 2008 but scuffled mightily in his last two outings. His 19 wins are still three more than anyone else and armed with his trademark sinker already has the hardware to prove his mettle on a mantle somewhere.

The Giants Tim Lincecum has been spectacular in his first full major league campaign. His 2.60 era is the lowest on the senior circuit and his 216 strikeouts are the most of anyone in baseball. He has been about the only bright spot for a dismal San Francisco team but his win total, 15, is not yet Cy Young worthy territory.

The most unique candidate for any baseball award this season is the case for recently acquired Brewers big man CC Sabathia. In 11 starts since being traded from Cleveland mid-season CC has been practically unhittable.

The Brewers, in the middle of a pennant race have won 10 of those games as Sabathia has compiled a perfect 9-0 mark. His downright stingy 1.43 era is only dwarfed by his 6 complete games, which are two more than any other NL starter has amassed over the whole season.

If CC continues to dominate, like 13-0 or 12-1 with 8 complete games and a 1.50 era, coupled with a playoff berth for the once moribund Milwaukee franchise he will have to be seriously considered for the NL Cy Young as the catalyst for their success.