Game Day: Monday, June 22nd

Game Day is late tonight.  I've had the post written for a few hours now but I've been busy around camp and haven't went out to connect to the internet.  I figured I'd post the article when I went out tonight and since I had planned ahead to take a day off from the picks, there is no need to post in a timely fashion.  

I don't feel beholden to my audience to deliver my posts in any sort of timely way.  I did at the beginning of the season but now that I am in the throws of the season's long days, my goals are once again is to write everyday, to do my best with the picks in an effort to beat the book over the course of a long MLB season and to finish strong as my bankroll dwindles into emptiness.  

I also have a goal to hike 400 miles this summer and I haven't started.  The starting gun went off yesterday.  I am hopefully getting my bucket soon.  I plan to ruck a heavy pack and carry a five-gallon bucket with my water bottles.  The miles and the writing will fall together as long as I plan my routes well.  I should be able to complete both goals.  Three months until October baseball.  Hopefully my miles will be complete and I can enjoy the cool fall weather.  It is the best season the Midwest has to offer.  

In baseball news, Zach Wheeler, Christopher Sanchez, Paul Skenes, Chris Sale, Max Meyer and Chase Burns aced their starts over the weekend.  All six are in contention for the NL Cy Young this season.  

If the award were to be voted on today a five o'clock (PM) CDT - the Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski takes home the hardware but there is a lot of baseball to play and I count ten contenders:

1.  Jacob Misiorowski 
2.  Shohei Ohtani
3.  Zach Wheeler
4.  Yoshinobu Yamamoto
5.  Christopher Sanchez
6.  Chase Burns
7.  Paul Skenes
8.  Chris Sale
9.  Max Meyer
10.  Eduardo Rodriguez

"Arizona" E-Rod deserves to be mentioned and deserves to be included amongst the group.

We have Sentimental Favorites in Misiorowski, Ohtani and Wheeler.  We have the Underdogs in Yamamoto, Sanchez and Burns.  We have a Nemesis in Paul Skenes and we have the Outsiders in Chris Sale, Max Meyer and Eduardo Rodriguez.  

It's as good of a race as there has ever been.  Skenes and Sale are ranked 7th and 8th on my list and they have both won the award.  Max Meyer is (8-0) with a 2.80 ERA and he is the 9th ranked pitcher.  Logan Webb, Nolan McLean, Sandy Alcantara, Kyle Harrison and Jesus Luzardo are all trying to knock "Arizona" E-Rod off the 10 horse.

I'm not going to go into the numbers in this post, Misiorowski's numbers set him apart from the group, he is well ahead of the pack but this is a long race and Misiorowski could be the rabbit in this one.  

It isn't a "career" award.  The winner should deserve to win the award based on his performance in the 2026 season but if it comes down to a close vote in November, Wheeler by a nose would be a great victory.

It is interesting that both Wheeler and Ohtani have internal competition for this season's award.  Both may fall short of being the best pitcher on their own team.  Yoshinobu Yamamoto is neck and neck with Ohtani this season at the top of the Dodgers' rotation.  Christopher Sanchez has pitched the most innings of any starter in MLB and hasn't faltered this season but Wheeler is still the ace of the Phillies' pitching staff.  

It's a team game.  The goal is to win the World Series and I believe that is the earnest and honest motivation for all the hurlers in contention but it must be difficult to keep the personal scoreboard and the pressure of keeping pace with the pack of contenders for the individual accolades from taking it's toll on the mind, heart and spirit.  

The Cy Young more than any award in sports.  The Heisman Trophy is a runner up to the Cy Young.  

Truth is, all the players care about winning the award and have their sights set on the hardware. It is a great honor.  As much as baseball is a team game, players have long battled internally to be the best player on the team and to be the best player in the league.  Even as kids on a farmball team, often the comparison of who was the best hitter or who was the best pitcher was within your own dugout.  

All the professionals are motivated by the money and the accolades.  It is difficult not to be with some of the paychecks being cut these days but most of the great ones have a special love for the game that keeps them going more than anything else.

As a baseball fan, and one who likes to play the bookies game, I'm following pitchers closely all season.  I like to keep an eye on the Cy Young contest and the pitchers who may find themselves in the running when the regular season concludes.  It isn't an exact science.  It's voted on by a contingent of sportswriters.  They usually get it right.  

Last season it was Paul Skenes in the NL and Tarik Skubal in the AL.  I thought Crochet was the better pitcher last season but it was a close race.  

I'll have to address the AL contest in another post another day.  It's getting late and I have to get out for some exercise.

No pick tonight.  As I had mentioned in an earlier post, with the losses mounting up early this season, days off will be needed if I am to stretch my bankroll into August. 

I'm taking the rest of the evening off.  Stay tuned.  

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