Asking others whom they consider to be the best pitcher in the National League is like asking them their favorite fruit: It changes every few minutes, you can't really argue with them because they're all so good and as soon as they mention one you hadn't thought of, you find yourself nodding and convincing yourself that the newest name is the right answer. I like blueberries and Cole Hamels, you like strawberries and Chris Carpenter; potato−potahto. There are at least four or five good choices, some better in the first half (first bite of a good peach), some better towards the end (last bite of a good banana), and some good the whole season (Grapes. Are these ever out of season?).
Enough with the fruit. Let's kick off the discussion with the reigning Cy Young winner, and "ace" of the Philadelphia Phillies. Ace is debatable purely because of the quality of the other pitchers on the staff, not because of his ability. Many consider Roy Halladay to be the gold standard of modern−day pitchers for his durability, consistency and amount of sweat that drips off his nose. He's brought home baseball's premier pitching award twice in his career and led the league in wins, innings and complete games last year. Not one team in baseball would be disappointed to have Halladay headline its rotation.
His partner in crime on the Phillies recently finagled a contract more than twice as large as Halladay's, despite a slightly shorter track record. Cliff Lee might be the coolest 32−year−old around these days, after taking October by storm for the second year in a row. The dude walked 18 batters in 212 innings last year. Eighteen in 212! That's like walking through Tufts and only 18 of the 212 people you see are unhappy NQR was canceled. You know it should be more than that.
Tim Lincecum? Somehow the San Francisco Giants' No. 1 starting pitcher has managed to accumulate two Cy Young awards, 18 inches of hair, zero percent body fat and one misdemeanor for smoking weed in the past three years. "The Freak" plays with the best of them, leading the league in strikeouts since the start of 2008 and holding pole position on looking most like a 16−year−old. Underestimate him at your own risk; he's the best chance you have at seeing a 300−strikeout season this year.
The St. Louis Cardinals have a long history of good pitchers, notably Bob Gibson's '68 season, but Adam Wainwright is their most recent incarnation of dominance exemplified. Yes, he just had Tommy John surgery, yes he'll be back better than ever in 2012 and yes he will maintain his top spot among awkward ESPN.com player card pictures. Over the past two years, he ranked third in innings and second in ERA, showing that his strikeout of Carlos Beltran in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS was not a fluke.
The list stretches on, moving to Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Johnson, Yovani Gallardo, Matt Cain; trying to name all the good pitchers is like trying to name all the bad (good?) Samuel L. Jackson movies: You just have to realize you're going to miss a few unless you look them up. Many of these guys are young, still evolving and we haven't yet seen their best years.
But my pick for the 2011 Cy Young? He's 22, fearless and inspires visions of Sandy Koufax. Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers, with a curveball dubbed by Vin Scully to be "Public Enemy No. 1," will take home the hardware at the end of the year. As for my favorite fruit? Clementines. Catch them at their best, like Kershaw on the mound, and they can't be beat.
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