SOME CALZONE FOR DEREK

Clicking on the National League 2003 Win Shares (updated August 27), Livan has passed Gagne as the #1 pitcher in the NL: 19.39 pitching WS to 19.03.

Loaiza is still a little behind Hudson in the AL: 20.88 pitching WS for Hudson to 20.69 for Loaiza.

How amazing is that?

Last year, Livan had all of 7 WS with the Giants at the pitching paradise known as Pac Bell; Loaiza amassed a grand total of 4 WS with the Blue Jays.

Man, and who would have guessed Livan would be a stronger Cy Young candidate come September than his former teammates Schmidt (18 WS) and Ortiz (15 WS)? Not me. Not Brian Sabean.

I still think Gagne will ultimately win the award over Livan; but Loaiza is the man to beat in the AL. (Hudson can blame Foulke--incidentally, third among AL pitchers with 18 WS--for that.)

If you had told me back in April that White Sox and the Expos would each have a strong Cy Young candidate heading into September, you wouldn't have heard any arguments from me. Well, I might have argued that each team could have two of them:

Buerhle
2000 (age 21) 123 ERA+
2001 (age 22) 140 ERA+
2002 (age 23) 129 ERA+
career 133 ERA+

Colon
2000 (age 27) 130 ERA+
2001 (age 28) 111 ERA+
2002 (age 29) 148 ERA+
career 122 ERA+

Armas
2000 (age 22) 106 ERA+
2001 (age 23) 115 ERA+
2002 (age 24) 94 ERA+
career 106 ERA+

Vazquez
2000 (age 23) 114 ERA+
2001 (age 24) 134 ERA+
2002 (age 25) 106 ERA+
career 106 ERA+

Here's what Loaiza and Livan had done prior to their impressive turnarounds:

Loaiza
2000 (age 28) 111 ERA+
2001 (age 29) 95 ERA+
2002 (age 30) 78 ERA+
career 95 ERA+

Livan
2000 (age 25) 114 ERA+
2001 (age 26) 77 ERA+
2002 (age 27) 86 ERA+
career 92 ERA+

Great game, that baseball is.

Niles, what do you have to say?