What Cy Young?

There was a time this year when Tim Hudson was in the 2010 NL Cy Young discussion... put PUL-LEASE!

Hudson has been one of the luckiest pitchers in all of baseball. Back in his second year in 2000, he posted a 4.14 ERA for the A's, but won 20 games. He finished second in the AL Cy Young voting... incredible, given third-place finisher David Wells (20-8, 4.11, 166 Ks, 229.2) arguably had better numbers. (And for those who like to talk about East Coast bias, fourth-place finisher Andy Pettitte of the Yankees was 19-9 with a 4.36 ERA... and finished behind this Hudson kid from Oakland.)

(On a side note, it must have been an awful year for pitchers in 2000, as Todd Jones--Todd Jones!!!--was fifth, followed by Clemens--13-8--and Mussina--11-15--tied for sixth.)

Anyway, this year, he is 16-9 with a 2.76 ERA in 33 starts, but don't let the numbers fool you. If the Braves miss the postseason--can you believe they were seven games up on the Phillies in August but are now battling San Diego for the wild card?--it will be all on him.

Yes yes, he was 15-5 with a 2.24 ERA on August 28th, after beating the Marlins 12-3 with 13 strikeouts. (Anyone can beat the Marlins though...)

But the right-hander choked in September, as did the Braves, as he posted a 5.35 ERA with a 1-4 record in the month. Some of the 'highlights':
*losing to a Mets team trying to get to .500;
*losing 5-0 to Pittsburgh, a team that now has a record 18 straight seasons with a sub .500 record. (Not easy to win when you're not getting that run support, huh, Tim?)
*losing 7-3 at home to the Cardinals, who were pitching Kyle Lohse with his silly 2-7 record and 7.13 ERA... and Tim had the following beautiful line: 5 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 HR;
*losing 8-3 to the pathetic Washington Nationals (HAHA!) and featuring the following numbers: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 HR... These are the NATIONALS, not the Phillies or Yankees!

So, a Cy Young contender loses to the Mets, Pirates, and Nationals. He loses to Kyle Lohse and a slumping Cardinals team. And his own team fades from contention.

It's safe to say Hudson is now out of the Cy Young talks... but you know a goofy voter or two will look at his 16 wins and give him votes.

Just like in 2000 with his silly 4.00+ ERA.