Uncanny
It's uncanny, almost comical, how Brandon Webb's superlative season has been 
upstaged and undermined. When Brandon went 8-0, the talk of the town was quickpickin' Bronson Arroyo. After settling (declining, if you prefer) into the role of one of the league's two best starters, Webb took a back seat all year to Chris Carpenter, even into mid September, when Webb led Carp in Wins and Quality Starts as well as ERA and Run Support, adjusted for dramatic differences in park factor and schedule strength.
Now, the late buzz understandably follows Roy Oswalt, despite the fact Webb has pitched better(.156 BAA, 0.64 WHIP, 2.23 ERA) in September than any Cy Young contender, including the red hot Astro stalwart.
Locally, Webb quietly twirls masterpieces obscured by twin towers. One is the 
elongated shadow of Randy Johnson, who's standard none of today's NL best can match. To many Diamondbacks fans, Brandon is "no Randy Johnson". They're right - but neither is Roy Oswalt or Chris Carpenter. The other shadow is cast, not by Curt Schilling, but by Luis Gonzalez. This week, every time Gonzo approaches the plate, catches a ball on the run, or wiggles his butt, a standing ovation ensues for the enormously popular face of the franchise. This will be triply true tomorrow, on the last day of the season, slated to pay homage to 2001's departing heroes - Luis, Counsell and most likely, Miguel Batista.
So, Webb will be aiming, again, for his league leading 17th victory and ostensibly the Cy Young Award, barely noticed amidst Sunday's nostalgic love fest. And as he faces the playoff bound Padres for the fifth time this year, Bob Melvin is faced with a 
conundrum. Fifty thousand fans will fill Chase Ho Park to see Counsell and Gonzalez play one last time. Woody Williams, Sunday's starter, owns those two as much as a pitcher can possibly own a pair of veteran hitters. And Melvin wants to field his best lineup to help his unheralded ace win.
Brandon Webb's Cy Young quest, and the interests of fans and veteran heroes will be pitted against each other. Barring a miracle, someone will get shortchanged Sunday.
It's uncanny.
It's good that Webb/Roy etc aren't a Randy Johnson. Randy Johnson isn't that great of a pitcher anymore..
Webb should win the Cy.. and I'm kinda thinking he will now.. who knows.
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"Webb should win the Cy.. and I'm kinda thinking he will now..."
That's mighty sportin' of you, Thomas, and I hope you're right! I still think, however, that voters are dumb enough to pick either Carpenter or Hoffman. If Webb doesnt get it, I hope Oswalt does, because he's got the strongest case. It's not the most visible case and involves some digging and analysis(based on Quality starts and lack of run support), but I still think he and Webb are clearly the most deserving at this point. Webb's slightly better numbers are offset by Oswalt's slightly tougher context(primarly run support and visiting park effects). They're basically the same pitcher.
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