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Tim Lincecum is 15-3 with a 2.43 E.R.A in 2008. 

  Tim Lincecum is more than a freak. He is a very special, special kid. This kid never ceases to amaze his fans.  I am going to go on a limb and say he is the best pitcher in the major leagues.  He has the best stuff, is young and throws hard and knows how to pitch.  He dominates teams everytime he takes the mound.  He is only in his second full season and at 24, he is destined for superstardom. This kid can flat out pitch and attendance automatically goes up when he takes the mound, regardless of where his team is playing at. Everyone wants to see this kid pitch. Anyways, last night, about 31,000 something fans in attendance saw another pitching gem by Lincecum and it was an exciting night for fans overall.  I was there and this game was exciting from start to finish.  It was exciting to see every one of Lincecum’s 132 pitches and exciting to see back to back home runs by Bengie Molina and rookie sensation Pablo Sandoval to give Timmy and the Giants a 2-1 lead after trailing 1-0 for 6 innings.  Sandoval has a knack for making his team better and the players around him, and he has proven that once more by his go-ahead and what was the eventual game-winner. It was also Sandoval’s first major league homer and it couldn’t have came at a better time for him and the Giants.  The Giants then added two more insurance runs in the 8th in their 4-1 victory over the Rockies.  Brian Wilson closed it out for his NL-leading 36th save.

   Lincecum dominated with 7.2IP of one-run ball and gave up only 5 hits and had 10 strikeouts to add to his major league lead in that category.  He picked up his 15th victory to futher bolster his case for Cy Young and as Webb’s case took a fall the night before when the last-place Padres shelled Brandon Webb for 9 hits and 6 runs in only 4.2IP to increase Webb’s E.R.A to 2.96 and give him his 5th loss overall.  Now comparing Webb to Lincecum,  Webb has only 3 more innings pitched than Lincecum and has 4 more wins than him, but also has two more losses than Lincecum.  However, Lincecum’s win percentage (.833) is higher than Webb’s win pct. (.792).  So here below I breakdown the rankings and totals for both Cy Young contenders:

Tim Lincecum SF: 15-3, 2.43 E.R.A 185.1I 50ER 70 BB 210 SO .221 BAA.

-Lincecum ranks 1st in Majors and NL in Strikeouts, tied for first in Majors in E.R.A with AL Cy Young Favorite Cliff Lee and ranks first in NL in E.R.A, 2nd in NL in Wins, first in NL in Win Pct and 3rd in NL in IP.   

Brandon Webb ARI: 19-5, 2.96 E.R.A 188.2IP 62ER 47 BB 157 SO .235 BAA

- Webb ranks 7th in NL in SO, 6th in NL in E.R.A,  1st in NL in wins, 2nd in NL in Win Pct., and 2nd in NL in IP

Clearly, Webb has more wins to show, but Lincecum is the Cy Young Winner for 2008. Anything else, would be a disappointment to many fans and surprising to players, and some players who have batted against Lincecum have said, including some managers, that Tim Lincecum is the best pitcher in the major leagues and his stuff is incredible. I agree and hope Cy Young voters get it right.  However, there is still a month to go and lot can change.