Kuzul

I’d like you to think back about seven years ago, remember when everyone was hailing Alex Rodriguez as the modern hero of baseball.

Having finished the 2003 season with the Texas Rangers, everything was perfect in Rodriguez’s world; he was 28, had just collected his first of seemingly many MVPs and had become the youngest player in history to hit 300 home runs.

A-Rod was presumed by everyone to be the man to sweep through the record books bringing a clear, untainted image back to America’s favourite pastime and would see him retire as “the man who cleaned up baseball.”

Well, here we are seven years later, and I think it’s safe to say a lot has changed; in a recent poll conducted by this very website, A-Rod came in ninth in a poll of the most hated people in sports, just behind national villain Michael Vick.

Rodriguez has been fairly branded a cheat and a liar and has in no way helped his image in demanding a trade to the most hated franchise in American sport. It’s pretty clear that Alex Rodriguez is the most despised man in baseball.

Now at the other end of the scale, let’s look at one of the most beloved men in baseball, Albert Pujols.

Pujols doesn’t get booed when he plays away from Busch Stadium, he simply brings a smile and some of the best hitting statistics the game has ever seen.

Pujols preaches religion and work ethic as keys to his success. The most popular athlete in St. Louis—unlike Rodriguez and New York—Pujols earned the approval of most of America by merely stating that he didn’t like hitting in Yankee stadium, and that’s before you factor in the Rookie of The Year Award, nine All-Star Appearances, three Silver Slugger Awards, three MVPs, a Gold Glove, World Series ring, clutch playoff hitting, robotic consistency and the whispers of a triple crown now becoming as familiar to August as August is to a calendar, plus when can you honestly say you last heard someone say “that Albert Pujols… I just don’t like him”.

This year has been deemed by some a down year for Pujols; however, a down year for Pujols is a career year for everyone else:

Thus far in recline, Pujols leads the NL in home runs and RBI and is 10 points short of the lead in average; not bad, huh?

Albert is well on his way to hitting .300, 30 home runs and 100 RBI for the 10th year in a row, separating himself from the great Lou Gehrig as the only man to ever achieve the feat, and all in the first 10 years of his career.

At the age of 30, Pujols is now two long balls short of 400 and is almost certain to follow A-Rod to 500, 600, and maybe 700, and even 800.

If Pujols were to break Bonds’ or Rodriguez’s home run record, he would receive extra praise, credibility and respect for reaching the milestone the correct way, giving him a huge advantage in arguments comparing him to the likes of Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Rodriguez, Mark McGwire and Manny Ramirez with no question over his numbers, no asterisk next to his name. Pujols would be a first ballot Hall of Famer, one of the three greatest hitters to have ever lived and the man who legitimately brought credibility and integrity back to the game.

And even if Pujols were to fall short in his his home run chase, people would look at him and Ken Griffey Jr. as honest, clean, yet still, great hitters with their reputations intact.

Pujols would be seen as a great all-round player with an incredible talent to hit in all forms, as opposed to his adversaries who are seen as athletes whose obsessive lust for home run power has seen them defraud the government and public.

Albert Pujols has a great opportunity to become one of the greatest and most loved players in baseball history and the indiscretions of those who’ve gone before him may only to the legacy of the greatest hitter of his generation.  

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

There are many arguments as to why a pitcher deserves to win both the Cy Young award and the MVP award, but perhaps the most important issue revolves around what a pitcher brings to a ball club.

What I mean by that is if you had to put a franchise tag on one individual on a baseball team, a majority of the time (if not all the time), that nods goes towards a starting pitcher.

There’s a reason for that, but we’ll get to that later.

Today, we’ll be debating whether or not the St. Louis Cardinals most dominant pitcher—Adam Wainwright—deserves both awards.

And with the only offensive candidates appearing to be Joey Votto, Carlos Gonzalez, or Cardinals teammate Albert Pujols, this year may be the season for a pitcher to bring home both the Cy Young and MVP hardware.

But will it be Wainwright, a pitcher who has the possibility of taking home both the wins and ERA crowns in the National League, and will it happen in 2010?

Let’s discuss five reasons why he deserves both awards come season’s end…

Begin Slideshow

As we get ever so close to the end of the 2010 MLB season, the playoff picture has begun to slowly take form. There are six teams in the American division and six teams in the National division fighting for a postseason berth, with everybody else 8 games or more away from even flirting with a wild card.

In no specific order, the Yankees, Rays, Twins, White Sox, Rangers, and Red Sox are the big six slugging it out in the American League, while the Phillies, Braves, Cardinals, Reds, Padres, and Giants are battling it out in the National League.

One of the key factors down the stretch will be whether or not the struggling pieces to each team’s puzzle will turn it around or not.

Whether it is due to injury, a slump, or just bad mechanics, there are 10 players I feel will significantly impact their respective team, in their quest for the postseason.

So let’s take a look at who needs to turn things around, before it’s too late.

Begin Slideshow

Chicks dig the long ball and so do Fantasy Owners! Power hitters make our world go ’round…we need home runs and extra-base hits to tally the stats we care about. So how can we evaluate a hitter’s power production? Say hello to Isolated Power, also known as ISO.

The most common representation of a player’s production is their slash line, which consists of batting Average, slugging Percentage, and on-base percentage. Generally, we look at the player’s slugging percentage as a measure of their ability to get extra-base hits and drive in runs. But the formula for slugging percentage uses singles, and what kind of power measure includes singles? Any MLB player can slap a ball down for a single from time to time.  We want extra-base hits because that’s what drives in runs and produces the stats that are near and dear to us.

SABR recognized this and created a complementary stat to slugging percentage, which did not account for singles. The formula they came up with was: 

ISO = (2B + 2*3B + 3*HR)/AB

For all of you math nerds out there who passed Algebra II…you may notice that the formula for ISO is slugging percentage minus batting average. The best power hitters in the game will have an ISO around .300 and anyone with an ISO over .200 is hitting for power at a good clip. An ISO below .200 indicates that a vast majority of the players hits are not going for extra bases.

When looking at the league leaders in ISO we find a who’s-who of the big bats in baseball. This year, it’s no surprise that Jose Batista is lapping the field with a .336 ISO. Trailing Batista is Adam Dunn at .300 and Miguel Cabrera at .290. This isn’t very surprising and isn’t very helpful, but that’s because we’re looking at the league leaders. We need to dig a little deeper and find some interesting players.

For example, tied with Ryan Howard and Mark Teixeira with a .236 ISO is…Colby Rasmus. Now we’ve known that Rasmus can hit for power, but it’s surprising that he hits at a comparable rate as Howard and Teixeira? If you talk to Fantasy “Experts”, they might throw Rasmus’ name around in potential 20/20 guys, but it is becoming more and more evident that Rasmus is going to have the power to hit 30 and even 40 Home Runs. Rasmus just turned 24 this month and only has 19 home runs this year, but going into next year, make a note that he has tremendous power upside.

On the flip side of ISO, take a look at Jorge Cantu. He slots into the middle of the lineup because he’s supposed to have a big bat. If you were standing next to him, you’d expect him to be a power hitter (he looks the part). But if you take a look at his ISO, and talk to his owners, he just doesn’t have the power you think he does. He’s posting a .138 ISO this year and a career .173 ISO. Sure he can drive in some runs and have nice stretches like he did this spring, but Cantu doesn’t hit for as much power as advertised. Even in 2008 when he hit 28 HR and drove in 95, he still only posted a .204 ISO.

In the end, the stat is the end all/be all. There is always room for argument.  But when you’re searching for value out there, ISO is a good reason to bump a player up or knock them down a bit. Someone like Rasmus has more value than his standard stats may suggest and that’s what we’re looking for when evaluating fantasy value…a little stat like ISO could direct you towards a championship.

Written by James Weston for theFantasyFix.com.  When James isn’t spittin’ statistics down on paper he’s hacking away at Fantasy apps at http://valuetownfantasy.com  You can also find him on Twitter @TheRealJamesA

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MLB Fantasy Baseball Post ASB Ranks: First Base

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2010 Fantasy Football’s Most Under & Overrated Running Backs

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Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

NOTE: team and player statistics updated through Monday morning, August 16, 11:00 AM CT
 
1. New York Yankees (72-45)
37-20 home record and 617 total runs scored both top the American League.

2. Tampa Bay Rays (71-46)
35-22 road record (best in the majors). Also they have the AL’s best pitching staff, giving up only 449 runs this year.

3. San Diego Padres (69-47)
33-25 road record (best in the National League). They are also the only team in the majors to give up less than less than 400 runs.

4. Minnesota Twins (68-50)
Hottest team in the majors. No other team has won at least eight of their last ten.

5. Texas Rangers (67-49)
Seven of the Rangers’ next 11 games are against teams with a .575 winning percentage or higher. The other four are against the Orioles, who swept the Rangers in Arlington last time the two teams met.

6. Atlanta Braves (67-49)
41-16 home record (best in the majors).

7. St. Louis Cardinals (65-51)
The Cards are having an interesting time with their division rivals these days. They gained the division lead against the Reds but then lost it again while playing the Cubs.

8. Cincinnati Reds (67-51)
576 total runs scored this season (best in the National League).

9. San Francisco Giants (67-52)
By trading for Jose Guillen, the Giants probably did more harm than good. Guillen’s past three years on offense have been bad (.256/.307/.419), and he’s a liability on defense

10. Boston Red Sox (67-52)
The Red Sox continue to hang around the AL Wild Card race, but the loss of Jacoby Ellsbury makes the climb a slippery one on the Wild Card mountain.

11. Philadelphia Phillies (66-51)
The Phillies starters have a 1.53 ERA and 27-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio in their last five games. No surprise they are tied for the NL wild-card lead.

12. Chicago White Sox (65-53)
Since stringing together 27 scoreless appearances, J.J. Putz has allowed eight runs over his last 6 1/3 innings, including back-to-back blown saves. Regression is a harsh mistress.

13. Colorado Rockies (61-56)
My surprise MVP candidate of the year is no doubt Carlos Gonzalez (.321 average, 140 hits, 25 home runs, 79 RBIs).

14. Toronto Blue Jays (62-55)
The Blue Jays have faced the fewest left-handed starters in the majors—going 9-15—but will face three straight against the A’s beginning Monday.

15. Oakland Athletics (57-59)
The A’s scored 11 runs and hit .209 with 41 strikeouts during their recent 1-5 road trip.

16. New York Mets (58-59)
The Mets go back on the road after going 3-3 in Flushing, scoring nine runs and hitting .088 with RISP on their six-game homestand.

17. Florida Marlins (57-59)
Rookie Mike Stanton, now hitting fifth in the Marlins’ lineup, is batting .583 (14-for-24) with five doubles, four homers and eight RBIs on Florida’s current road trip

18. Los Angeles Dodgers (60-58)
Since holding the best record in the NL on June 9, the Dodgers are 24-34 and have lost 11 games in the standings to the Padres (35-23).

19. Los Angeles Angels (60-59)
Dan Haren, who has made five starts for the Angels, is now 1-7 in his last 12 outings overall.

20. Detroit Tigers (57-60)
Miguel Cabrera leads the majors in on-base percentage (.433) and OPS (1.063); the way AL clubs have been pitching him lately, he might lead both leagues in intentional walks before long. There’s no way that he shouldn’t be the AL MVP to this point (.341 average, 141 hits, 27 home runs, 95 RBIs).

21. Washington Nationals (51-67)
It’s been a tale of two halves for Josh Willingham, who had a .913 OPS before the break and has a .640 OPS since.

22. Milwaukee Brewers (55-64)
Led by Ryan Braun (.458 BA, 1.051 OPS), the Brewers are tied with Houston for the most runs scored in August (78).

23. Chicago Cubs (50-68)
27-32 home record (worst in the National League).

24. Cleveland Indians (49-69)
As the Indians go into extended audition mode, Michael Brantley is hitting .333 in August as the new leadoff man.

25. Houston Astros (51-65)
Rookie of the year rumblings in Houston. Chris Johnson leads the NL in batting average (.420) and RBIs (26) since the All-Star break and is second in OPS (1.125).

26. Arizona Diamondbacks (47-72)
648 total runs given up this season (worst in the majors).

27. Seattle Mariners (46-72)
The only team in the majors that has yet to score 400 runs (383 to be exact).

28. Kansas City Royals (49-69)
The Royals scored just 17 runs on the week, but still managed to split a four-game set with the Yankees thanks to Bryan Bullington, who picked up his first career win by throwing eight shutout innings Sunday.

29. Baltimore Orioles (41-77)
A 24-34 home record and a 13-43 road record both rank in the bottom two in the majors.

30. Pittsburgh Pirates (39-78)
13-48 road record and 401 total runs scored are both in the bottom two in the majors.

Carter’s MLB Award Races:
National League MVP Award Race:
1. Albert Pujols (STL): .315 avg., 137 hits, 30 HR, 86 RBI
2. Carlos Gonzalez (COL): .321 avg., 140 hits, 25 HR, 79 RBI
3. Joey Votto (CIN): .322 avg., 130 hits, 28 HR, 79 RBI
4. Dan Uggla (FLA): .286 avg., 122 hits, 27 HR, 74 RBI
5. Adam Dunn (WSH): .271 avg., 115 hits, 31 HR, 78 RBI
6. Ryan Howard (PHI): .292 avg., 119 hits, 23 HR, 81 RBI
7. Rickie Weeks (MIL): .278 avg., 135 hits, 23 HR, 72 RBI
8. Ryan Zimmerman (WSH): .303 avg., 119 hits, 24 HR, 68 RBI
9. Mark Reynolds (ARZ): .214 avg., 83 hits, 26 HR, 70 RBI
10. Prince Fielder (MIL): .268 avg., 115 hits, 25 HR, 61 RBI

American League MVP Award Race:
1. Miguel Cabrera (DET): .341 avg., 141 hits, 27 HR, 95 RBI
2. Josh Hamilton (TEX): .362 avg., 160 hits, 26 HR, 80 RBI
3. Jose Bautista (TOR): .258 avg., 106 hits, 36 HR, 88 RBI
4. Paul Konerko (CHW): .302 avg., 123 hits, 29 HR, 80 RBI
5. Adrian Beltre (BOS): .328 avg., 146 hits, 22 HR, 80 RBI
6. Mark Teixeira (NYY): .256 avg., 114 hits, 26 HR, 86 RBI
7. David Ortiz (BOS): .261 avg., 97 hits, 26 HR, 77 RBI
8. Nick Swisher (NYY): .294 avg., 126 hits, 22 HR, 67 RBI
9. Carlos Quentin (CHW): .233 avg., 81 hits, 24 HR, 77 RBI
10. Carlos Pena (TB): .212 avg., 75 hits, 23 HR, 68 RBI

National League Cy Young Award Race:
1. Adam Wainwright (STL): 17-6, 1.99 ERA, 158 strikeouts
2. Ubaldo Jimenez (COL): 17-3, 2.59 ERA, 153 strikeouts
3. Josh Johnson (FLA): 10-5, 2.27 ERA, 156 strikeouts
4. Roy Halladay (PHI): 15-8, 2.24 ERA, 175 strikeouts
5. Tim Hudson (ATL): 14-5, 2.13 ERA, 89 strikeouts
6. Mat Latos (SD): 12-5, 2.32 ERA, 134 strikeouts
7. Chris Carpenter (STL): 13-4, 2.95 ERA, 139 strikeouts
8. Yovani Gallardo (MIL): 11-5, 2.97 ERA, 154 strikeouts
9. Jaime Garcia (STL): 10-5, 2.71 ERA, 99 strikeouts
10. Johan Santana (WSH): 10-6, 2.89 ERA, 121 strikeouts

American League Cy Young Award Race:
1. Cliff Lee (TEX): 10-5, 2.57 ERA, 137 strikeouts
2. Clay Buchholz (BOS): 13-5, 2.49 ERA, 86 strikeouts
3. Felix Hernandez (SEA): 8-10, 2.62 ERA, 172 strikeouts
4. Jon Lester (BOS): 13-7, 2.80 ERA, 165 strikeouts
5. Jeff Niemann (TB): 10-3, 3.12 ERA 102 strikeouts
6. Trevor Cahill (OAK): 12-5, 2.50 ERA, 81 strikeouts
7. Jered Weaver (LAA): 11-7, 2.87 ERA, 182 strikeouts
8. C.C. Sabathia (NYY): 15-5, 3.14 ERA, 134 strikeouts
9. David Price (TB): 15-5, 2.84 ERA, 133 strikeouts
10. Jason Vargas (SEA): 9-5, 3.15 ERA, 92 strikeouts
 
National League Rookie of the Year Race:
1. Jaime Garcia (STL): 10-5, 2.71 ERA, 99 strikeouts
2. Gaby Sanchez (FLA): .289 avg., 121 hits, 12 HR, 53 RBI
3. Starlin Castro (CHC): .314 avg., 101 hits, 3 HR, 37 RBI
4. Ian Desmond (WSH): .266 avg., 97 hits, 9 HR, 49 RBI
5. Alcides Escobar (MIL): .251 avg., 97 hits, 3 HR, 33 RBI

American League Rookie of the Year Race:
1. Austin Jackson (DET): .303 avg., 132 hits, 1 HR, 25 RBI
2. Neftali Feliz (TEX): 3-3, 3.48 ERA, 53 strikeouts, 29 saves
3. Brennan Boesch (DET): .274 avg., 96 hits, 14 HR, 55 RBI
4. John Jaso (TB): .270 avg., 65 hits, 3 HR, 36 RBI
5. Reid Brignac (TB): .259 avg., 64 hits, 6 HR, 36 RBI

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

A very eventful week around the majors. A brawl ensued in the Queen City after Reds 2B Brandon Phillips used some not-so-kind words to describe the rival Cardinals.

The pushing match that landed a seven game suspension for Johnny Cueto and a shouting match between both managers was pretty interesting considering  there are six former Reds on the Cards and five former Cards on the Reds.

And how would you like to be the Reds newly acquired OF Jim Edmonds? It’s the second game with your new team and you are asked to fight ex-teammates of yours that you’ve know for years. In the end the Cardinals bats awoke from a deep slumber as they swept the Reds on their home turf.

The Twins grabbed ahold of first place in the AL Central after taking two from the White Sox in Chicago.

The Padres showed why they have been in first all year as they dispatched the Giants two times in three days in their big weekend series.

All of these are small battles. The war has not been won.

Stats are a huge part of baseball and we have reached the point in the season when they really start to mean something. Players that got off to red-hot starts have cooled off and slow starters have regained form.

This week we’ll look at stats that can explain why your team is either doing well or looking forward to next year.

Begin Slideshow

With the 2010 class recently inducted, we can look forward to the 2011 class. 

There are really only two surefire locks to be inducted in 2011, and one tossup first ballot.

Here is a list of candidates who will appear on the ballot and whether or not they will get inducted in 2011. 

This is not indicative of whether or not they’ll get in at all, JUST in 2011.

Begin Slideshow

On Friday, St. Louis Cardinal pitcher, Chris Carpenter was asked by an Associated Press journalist to share his thoughts on the fine he was handed by the commissioner’s office for Tuesday nights, now infamous, donnybrook in Cincinnati.

Proving Brandon Phillips’ comments correct for at least one Cardinal player, instead of addressing the question he took the opportunity to whine more about Reds pitcher, Johnny Cueto.

Carpenter says, “If you did that on the street, he would end up being…That’s serious stuff.”

Really Chrissy? 

Did you learn this growing up on the tough streets of Exeter, New Hampshire?  Playing ball in a small town where the median family income is over $63 thousand?  Wow, Chrissy, you must’ve had a rough childhood.

You should share those experiences with the world and take some of your down time to write songs for a gangsta rapper.

The fight can easily be broken into two separate campaigns. 

Campaign I, being with the initial Brandon Phillips and Yadier Molina face-to-face that was quickly broken up before fuses were seriously ignited.

The more serious Campaign II being where you, Chrissy, went after the major peacemaker from Campaign I, Scott Rolen. 

Cueto ended up pinned against a wall and the net that protects fans from sharply hit foul balls, with about 50 grown men, including yourself, converging on him. He did what any sensible man would do—protect himself…Any way possible.

Chrissy, your street smart mentality obviously knows this. Why would you say this:

“All the yelling, the talking, the pushing, the fighting and everything else, there was nobody throwing punches, there was nobody doing that stuff.

“I don’t care how scared you are or what the deal is. Whatever excuse you have, you don’t start doing that.

“He can say whatever he wants. He came in there with intent to do something from the back side.”

Chrissy, let’s say you are at a concert and an inadvertent stampede of people begins, would you not do anything to free some space between yourself and the crowd?

Bingo, got it man. That’s not proper street fighting etiquette down in the streets of the “03833.”

And, dude, it’s so cool the way you are showing off your battle scars.

Chrissy sure hope you set your catcher straight and taught him how to act street tough, Exeter-style, yo.

You must have been so ashamed when, “(Jason) LaRue smiled and declined comment when asked about his Cueto’s suspension.”

Maybe LaRue, was still suffering the affects of the concussion which has landed him on the 15-day DL.

And anyone who critiques your saying, “I come home and try to explain to my son ‘Why is Scott Rolen attacking me? Why is everybody pushing you into the net,”’ has stepped foot in New Hampshire, much less the violent town of Exeter.

Explaining that to your seven-year old son must have been…There are no words, bro.

No one from outside of Exeter would understand.

Chrissy, like anybody who knows those tough streets in small town New Hampshire, we are all down with you.

You know the Exeter rules. Don’t you dare cut those finger nails before the Labor Day weekend series against Cueto and the Reds. 

Keep it real dawg!

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

In the pre-season it was Roy Halladay.  For the first three months of the year it was Ubaldo Jimenez.  Josh Johnson took over for a little while, but as of now there can be no doubt.

The St. Louis Cardinals‘ Adam Wainwright is now your front-runner for the National League Cy Young Award.

Remember just under two months ago, when Jimenez won his 14th start of the season to run his record to 13-1 with a 1.15 ERA?

We were talking about Bob Gibson’s 1.12 ERA and Denny McLain’s 31 wins and it looked like Ubaldo might be able to match both of those marks.

Nine starts later, Ubaldo has gone 4-2 with a 5.17 ERA in 54.0 innings pitched and his Cy Young hopes are all but over.

Johnson got off to a rough start to the season and had a 4.09 ERA after four starts, but he threw it into cruise control in May and his ERA has been under 2.00 since June 10th.

Johnson went a spectacular 13 starts without allowing more than two earned runs and allowing two runs only once. 

On July 17th he was 10-3 with a 1.62 ERA and looked to be in the driver’s seat for the Cy Young.

Unfortunately for Johnson, he hasn’t won a game in four starts, and wins still count in the Cy Young race, as much as they probably shouldn’t.  Not to mention the fact that his ERA has “ballooned” (I use the word loosely) to 1.97.  

Get this: he has allowed more earned runs in his last three starts (10) than he had in his previous 13 starts combined.  

Halladay got off to a great start to the season, and is still having a great season. Despite a hard-luck season which has been devoid of run-support, Halladay has a respectable 14-8 record and a league-leading 168 strikeouts.

He also leads the league with eight complete games, three shutouts, 185 innings pitched and 735 batters faced.

More importantly, Halladay has given up only 22 walks this season and leads the NL in both walks allowed per nine innings (1.1) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (an astonishing 7.64).

Nevertheless, Halladay’s 2.34 ERA, while great, isn’t elite by “Year of the Pitcher” standards, and his 8.2 hits allowed per nine innings and 14 home runs allowed overall are both kind of mundane.

At this point, neither Ubaldo, Johnson, nor Halladay is putting it all together the way Wainwright is:

 – On June 17th Ubaldo was 13-1 while Wainwright was 9-4; both pitchers now have 17 wins;

 – On June 24th, Johnson had a 1.80 ERA and Wainwright had a 2.47 ERA; Johnson now leads 1.97 to 1.99;

 – While Halladay leads the NL in strikeouts, Wainwright is neck-and-neck with Halladay in K/9IP (8.2 vs. 8.1) and despite Halladay’s paucity of bases on balls Wainwright actually has a far better WHIP (1.032 vs. 0.970) which leads the league.

And finally, in a “What have you done for me lately?” league, Wainwright is the hottest pitcher in the NL right now, having gone 7-1 with a 1.14 ERA in his last nine starts.

Compare that to Jimenez (above), Johnson (3-2, 2.14) and Halladay (6-2, 2.19), and a picture of a pitcher pitching above an incredible class emerges.

Now, Wainwright is not without marks against him.  

Chiefly, the complaint against Wainwright is that he is a hometown hero.  

This is true: he has gone a remarkable 11-0 with a 1.22 ERA in St. Louis this season, while only going 6-6 with a 2.76 ERA away from home.

There are two responses to this, however.  

First, take the numbers as they are: those home numbers are not just “better at home”; they are unbelievable.  Plus, it isn’t as though a 2.76 ERA on the road is bad.

And second, Wainwright isn’t the only hometown hero in this group. Compare:

Wainwright: home (11-0, 1.22) road (6-6, 2.76)

Johnson: home (7-2, 1.48) road (3-2, 2.81)

Halladay: home (9-4, 1.95) road (5-4, 2.91)

Ubaldo: home (8-0, 3.06) road (9-3, 2.16)

Frankly, Wainwright is better on the road than both Halladay and Johnson, so the fact that he is great at home doesn’t exactly hold water.

As between Wainwright and Ubaldo, well, obviously there is no comparison between pitching home games at Coors Field and pitching anywhere else in the National League.

Nevertheless, as Ubaldo returned to earth in July and August, he has done so both at home and on the road.  

Ubaldo’s bad starts have included allowed six runs in Colorado, four runs in San Diego, seven runs in Colorado, six runs in Florida, and six runs in Philadelphia.

It would be disingenuous to assume that Ubaldo is only pitching poorly at home in 2010, just as it would be disingenuous to assume that Wainwright’s 2010 season has been purely a product of his home field.

So there you have it: on Friday, August 13, 2010, the National League officially has its fourth Cy Young Award front-runner of the season.

Will the lead change hands one more time before the season ends?  

Will Ubaldo, Josh Johnson, or Roy Halladay be able to wrestle the lead back from Wainwright?  

Will a new front-runner emerge from the pack?

Stay tuned.

Asher B. Chancey lives in Philadelphia and is a co-founder of BaseballEvolution.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The planets are back in alignment.

After two grand slams, a benches-clearing brawl, a rain delay, and a series to remember, the St. Louis Cardinals have returned to their usual perch atop the National League Central.

For all that was exciting outside the field of play, the on-field action was rather passé. The Cardinals finished a resounding three-game sweep by upending the Cincinnati Reds, who entered the series with a two game division lead, 6-1, on the strength of a Colby Rasmus grand slam and seven shutout innings by Adam Wainwright, who picked up his league-leading 17th win of the season.

The Reds never really threatened, as Wainwright shackled them to only two hits and no walks. Only once did a Red reach second base.

“We won three games against a team that was in first place, at their park,” Wainwright said. “It’s good to get three wins against anybody, but against a team like the Reds, a good quality team with possibly a Hall of Fame manager over there, they’re playing hard, they’re playing good all year. It’s good to get the series win.”

With Wainwright on the hill, the Cardinals got the very little offense they needed off of Rasmus’s slam in the fifth. After toughing out a long at-bat against veteran Bronson Arroyo, Rasmus deposited a full-count changeup to straightaway center, giving the Redbirds the lead for good.

“Everybody knew he had to come over the plate at that time, because you don’t want to walk in a run,” said Reds manager Dusty Baker. “Bronson, other than that one inning, threw the ball pretty well.”

The emphatic win was St. Louis’s third of the series, and pushed the Cardinals to 4-1 on the road trip.

That’s not to say the series was without drama.

Tempers flared early, starting with Brandon Phillips running his mouth before Monday’s game.

“I’d play against these guys with one leg. We have to beat these guys. I hate the Cardinals. All they do is [expletive] and moan about everything, all of them, they’re little [expletive], all of ‘em. I really hate the Cardinals. Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear: I hate the Cardinals.”

The Cardinals gave Phillips no reason to change his sentiments, holding him 2-14 for the series.

Phillips is a .255 career hitter versus the Cardinals.

“It certainly added fuel to our fire when you’ve got guys opening their mouth, saying stupid stuff,” said Adam Wainwright (17-6), who pitched seven shutout innings and gave up two hits, both singles. “But we only used that in a positive way. It’s very unprofessional to fire back.”

Phillips also neglected that current Reds Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Miguel Cairo, and Russ Springer, along with GM Walt Jocketty, are all former Cardinals.

“It doesn’t do anybody any good,” said Jocketty on Tuesday afternoon. “I just wish he wouldn’t have said it. I haven’t seen him but I will [talk to him].”

In the first inning of Tuesday’s contest, Phillips continued his usual habit of tapping the catcher and umpire on the shin guards. St. Louis backstop Yadier Molina would have no part of it.

“I was ready to start the game, and he touched me,” Molina said. “The comments that he made yesterday, that he’s got no friends over here, why are you touching me then? You are not my friend. So don’t touch me. “

While Molina and Phillips began jawing at each other, both managers came out. In the end, both benches erupted into a fracas that caused managerial ejections and a concussion sustained by Cardinals catcher Jason LaRue, after he was kicked in the head by starting pitcher Johnny Cueto. LaRue will need stitches.

The Cardinals won that day, 8-4, tying Cincinnati for the division lead and setting up Wednesday’s battle.

Whiners? Make that division leaders.

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