Get to know your Rockies

Back in December, I praised the Rockies for signing Troy Tulowitzki to a long term contract, avoiding a free agent nightmare, and making sure that fans throughout this decade in Denver will know who will be at short.

And now with a grand total of one full season in the majors, Carlos Gonzalez will be a Rockie for the next seven years, once again side stepping a free agent bidding war.

No doubt a lot of people (like The Bleacher Report) will kill both of these trades, saying they will be albatrosses on the payroll.

But I like them for two reasons:

First of all, as I said before, I like signing players that the fan base can get attached to. Baseball has such a reputation of being a sport where the stars all leave the smaller revenue teams. Why not have Tulo or Carlos stick around for a while and give the team an identity?

Secondly, how do we know that the salaries won't escalate even more? This could be a bargain by the time 2020 comes around!

I remember the Pirates at one point could have resigned Barry Bonds for four years at $16 million... TOTAL.

They balked and later he went to the Giants for five years and $25 million. (Remember when that was a lot of money? Granted, I'll take it now.)

If the Pirates had ponied up a little money in 1991, they may have had a contender for a few more years instead of blowing the team up after the 1992 NLCS.

Either way, Rockies fans you should be happy. You had one superstar, Todd Helton, play the entire 2000s with your team and will have two other stars, Tulowitzki and Gonzalez play the 2010s at Coors.

Stars you can identify with?
Stars who have already played in the post season?
Stars who are sticking around?
Fans who can attach some emotion to their favorite players?

WHAT A CONCEPT!

Give the Rockies credit... they give their fans players to cling to

You are going to hear a lot of mixed opinions about Troy Tulowitzki's long term contract extension with the Rockies.

Jeff Passan has already chimed in on Yahoo. The panel on MLB Network is split on it. (John Hart pointed out what a no brainer Grady Sizemore's super stardom looked like.) And more will come down the pike.

And yes people are pointing to the Rockies rotten contracts for Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle, but those are disingenuous comparisons. They overpaid for them to lure some pitching into Denver and as it turned out, they were both bad fits. (Although Hampton liked the schools and Neagle liked the women in his car.)

You will hear Todd Helton's name being thrown around as a lousy contract as well. And I suppose technically it wasn't a great one. It was an albatross for a bunch of years and by 2006, they would have dealt Helton for flat Diet Sprite.

But a very cool thing happened the next year.
The Rockies went on their amazing run and stunned everyone on the planet Earth by sweeping Arizona and storming into the World Series.

And the last out was recorded by Helton.

The Rockies had a bunch of players most fans had never heard of. But they had Helton, who might not have been the superstar he was when he signed his bear of a contract. But he was the steady player whom any baseball fan knew and could relate to Colorado.

And that is something that all the stat heads in the world will NEVER understand. Sometimes for a fan base, it is GOOD to have a steady reliable player that the fan base can point to and say "That's my guy!"

Helton was that guy on the 2007 Rockies. Who knows? If the Blue Jays make the playoffs, Vernon Wells and HIS brontosaurus of a contract might have a similar reaction to Helton in the '07 ALCS.

It is why I totally understood the Ryan Howard contract. Lots of people killed it, but I got it. Sometimes you need to put OPS+, VORP, WAR and everything else and put it on the shelf.

Howard the Phillies fan's guy. He delivered for them with those towering homers in the 2008 World Series and as the 2009 NLCS MVP. He was a World Champion and an MVP for the Phillies... and you don't have to worry about him going to New York or Chicago or Boston. The long term contract gave the fans license to get attached to him as a Phillie.

And besides, how do you know if an Adrian Gonzalez or whomever else would be able to produce in Philadelphia or be as loved by the fans.

Sometimes to build up a fan base, regular fans need to have fan favorites to root for. Not everyone is watching the game with a calculator in hand. Some people (and brace yourself here) root for the PLAYERS. Some people like having a player to cheer for through thick and thin, and not drop them from their Fantasy Team because their Base Out Win percentage dropped.

Yes it involves emotion, but not all baseball fans are Vulcans!
Some fans have been stung by departing players and want to know if this is a long term relationship or just a fling.

I wonder if the Marlins would have a bigger fan base if some of their World Champions were able to stick around. I wonder if Padres fans would have shown up at the park this year if they felt like the stars they were cheering for would actually come back in 2011.

So guess what Rockies fans... you can buy a Tulowitzki jersey and know it will be good for a while. In the age of free agency, spending 10 seasons in a smaller market is really all you can ask for.

Todd Helton has given Colorado fans 13+ seasons.
Tulowitzki could spend 14+ seasons in Denver if the contract runs through all of its options.

Either way there will be many Rockie fans who could point to Todd and Troy and say "They were MY GUYS."

Go for 20, Ubaldo

Remember when Ubaldo Jimenez was 15-1 at the All Star break? It looked like not only was he a lock for the Cy Young Award but had a legit shot at 30 wins.

He got his 15th win on July 8th.

If I told you that in the second half, the Rockies would have a 10 game winning streak and Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez would enter the MVP race, you'd think he'd have AT LEAST 25 wins going into the last weekend.

But here we are... in his last start of the season, still searching for win #20.

And like I said about Jon Lester, 20 wins is still a cool milestone no matter what the sabermetric people tell me.

Being a 20 game winner with a sub 3.00 ERA should be a Cy Young contender every year... and as a member of the Rockies should put him #2 or #3 in the voting.

There is something frustrating about 19 wins too. You got THAT close to 20 wins but didn't get it.

It's kind of like Jerry Seinfeld's "Silver Medal" bit. If you won 18 games... that's great. If you won 19 games, you can't help but think "How close did you get to 20? Did you lose a tight game?"

So let's go Ubaldo... win that 20th game. Be the first 20 game winner in Rockies history... and do NOT give announcers the line "He looked like he had a shot at 30 but didn't even win 20."

And enjoy Seinfeld at his best.

The National League Cy Young Race just got a little clearer

I think it is safe to remove Ubaldo Jimenez from the Cy Young front runner list.

He's had a terrific year. I'll go out and say it was the best year a Rockies pitcher ever had. He threw a memorable no hitter, had a mind boggling first half and can still wind up as the first 20 game winner in Rockies history if he can win one more game over the next 2 weeks.

But stats wise, he no longer is keeping pace with Adam Wainwright nor Roy Halladay. And last night, in a game where his team NEEDED him to post a win and keep pace with San Diego, he laid an egg.

Big time aces keep their team in the race.

Brandon Webb's failures against Los Angeles in 2008 probably cost him a Cy Young Award.

So my hat is tipped to Ubaldo... he had a terrific year.
But he is no longer on the Cadillac board.

NL West race is going to top ROCKY II

It is appropriate that one of the teams involved in the NL West race are called The Rockies, because I am reminded of one of the Rocky films when I look at how the division is winding down.

Each team, the Rockies, Giants and Padres, get a breather today.

That’s bad news for the Rockies (who have an extra day to mull how they blew a 6 run lead and a chance to force a 3 way tie in the loss column.)

That’s good news for the Padres (who could use a day to regroup after a lousy series in St. Louis.

And indifferent for San Francisco (who probably wouldn’t mind another calendar day in first place.)

Then back to slugging it out… which is what reminds me of Rocky II.

(Spoiler for those of you who haven’t seen a 31 year old movie.)

That was the one where Apollo and Rocky were fighting and in what looks like the 438th round, they both took a punch (like you do in a boxing match) and both fell to the ground.

So both guys fell down and both were scrambling to stand up… holding onto the ropes in the process.

The heavyweight title was going to go to whomever managed to stand up. It had nothing to do with records, training, how they fought up until that point…

Just stand up and you’ll win.

We’re at this point with the NL West. It doesn’t matter who is on the roster… how well you played… if you had slumped or gone on a tear… it doesn’t matter how well the GM made trades or who is in the farm… it doesn’t matter who has the higher payroll.

There is about a dozen games left. Great teams can have a lousy 12 some odd games. Terrible teams can have a terrific 12 some odd games.

It is all thrown out the window.

The NL West will go to whomever is left standing.

And this race will be even better because there are THREE. It would be like Clubber Lang jumping into the ring at the last minute.

Grab the ropes, Giants.

I don’t want my dad to yell like Apollo.
Go catch that chicken and win that Division!

(If you needed to have that reference explained, then you haven’t seen Rocky II!)

Is it worth 52 seconds to get a call right?

In the 11th inning of yesterday's Dodgers/Rockies game, Rafael Furcal grounded into what looked like a double play but was called safe.

Jim Tracy came out to argue and less than a minute after the play was made, the instant replay showed that Furcal was indeed out.

It was 52 seconds.
All the people screaming "it will slow down the game" need to answer to this.

Less than a minute later we saw the call was blown.
Furcal came around to scoring the game winning run.

The Rockies are now 1 game back in the loss column for the NL West lead and every game counts.

Now granted, if the Rockies REALLY want to blame someone, blame themselves for not holding onto a 6-0 lead against a dormant Dodgers team.

That being said... we're going to have the playoffs starting soon and more and more we are seeing that we have the technology to GET CALLS RIGHT for all time.

Once again, the need to instant replay shows itself.

I think 52 seconds is a fair amount of time to spend to make sure the right team wins the game.

Suck it up, Giants fans... this is your friend now

Remember how crappy it felt, Giants fans, when the Hum Babies lost a game despite letting up only one hit this week?

Remember how you ground your teeth to the gums knowing the Giants couldn't get a run off of Clayton Kershaw?

Well guess what? He's your best friend in the world now. Turn off all instincts of rooting against Los Angeles and supress any memories you have of the 1 hit loss.

Kershaw is following up his complete game shut out tomorrow with a game against Colorado... a team that is a more destructive freight train than anything Leonardo DiCaprio could subconsciously conjure in Inception.

The Giants need to be rooting with all of their heart for Kershaw to shut down the Rockies and to see the Dodgers show ANYTHING resembling heart.

It's time to be a Dodger fan, Giants fans... it may taste bad, but so does playing golf on October 5.

HOORAY! WE GET TO PLAY THE DODGERS AGAIN!

Laugh it up, Rockies. You are playing the Dodgers... a team that can't even be bothered to turn on "Auto Pilot."

They aren't phoning or mailing it in. Heck they aren't even Tweeting it in.
The Dodgers are playing the intensity of a cashier at Burger King right now and it wouldn't surprise me if Joe Torre just skedaddles to Hawaii and lets Don Mattingly get a head on his managerial career.

Either way, if the Giants (or Padres for that matter) think they are getting any help from Los Angeles, take a look at today's pathetic excuse for a ballgame.

The team is already sucking down Pina Coladas. And I don't mean in their mind. I am convinced they are drinking them during the game... on the field.

Never Cry Wolf

OK, Giants fans, that kind of sucked.

Yeah the magic number went down because the Padres are continuing their Wile E. Coyote impersonation and the Reds also lost...

And you have to tip your cap to Randy Wolf and the Brewers for a well pitched complete game shut out...

But there are only 15 games left. There's not a lot of time for cap tipping.

And guess what? The Rockies won again. The Dodgers clearly aren't going to be much of a help for the Giants in terms of beating contenders. This team is mailing it in and wondering who else is going out the door with Joe Torre.

1 game in the loss column separates the Giants, Padres and Rockies.

Lincecum takes the mound tomorrow.
Keep your cap on your head and let other teams tip THEIRS!

It's your move, Giants

In a very twisted way, I felt the Padres victory over the Rockies last night was the best thing to happen to the Giants.

Hear me out.

The Rockies were on fire on their 10 game winning streak and closing in on both the Giants and the Padres for the NL West.

Now of course if the Rockies had won, the Giants would be in first place by themselves going into tonight's game with Los Angeles.

I am less concerned with where the Giants are on September 14th than where they will be on October 3rd.

And I would rather have the Giants going toe to toe with a wobbly Padres team than a confident "remembering 2007 and 2009" Rockies team. Call me crazy.

I also want that last weekend between the Giants and Padres to be for all the tuna fish.
I don't want any scoreboard watching or have BOTH teams fall short.

So the Padres won last night.
The Giants are playing the Dodgers for the last 3 times of the season.

Focus on winning... and know there is also a series head to head with Colorado as well.

Worst case scenario if you win? You'll be a game out in the loss column.

Earn your money, Zito.

Giants passed a lot of tests

Well, both Cliff Lee and Tim Lincecum passed their tests today with flying colors... and both former Cy Young winners gave their team the right to have visions of pennants dancing in their heads.

But man oh man did the Giants as a team show the NL West they are for real this weekend.

They were 2 back (3 in the loss column) when they showed up at Petco.
They leave tied (1 back in the loss.)

Remember when their starting pitching went AWOL?
Here's how they did this weekend.

Matt Cain - 8 innings. 8 ks. 1 walk. 5 hits. 3 earned runs.
Jonathan Sanchez - 5 innings. 4 Ks. 7 walks. 1 hit. 0 earned runs.
Madison Bumgarner - 7 innings. 4 Ks. 0 walks. 3 hits. 1 earned run.
Tim Lincecum - 7 innings. 9 Ks. 1 walk. 7 hits. 1 earned run.

That means the average start this weekend was...
6 2/3 innings. 6.25 ks. 2.25 walks. 4 hits. 1.25 runs.

And that run total includes a garbage time home run in the 9th that Cain let up to Ryan Ludwick.

The Padres are stumbling against any team not called the Dodgers and are about to face a freight train called the Rockies.

And the Giants are going to host the "dead from the neck up" Dodgers.

The Padres could be in third place by the time they leave Denver.

Keep this up Giants.
There are other tests coming up and none of them are written exams.

I have an idea for the Rockies next year

When next season starts, hire a hypnotist to convince the team that it is already September.

And when April ends, tell them May is September.

If they can play all year the way they've played in September 3 of the last 4 years, they would make the 1927 Yankees look like chumps.

They might clinch the Division by the Fourth of July.
Or as they would call it "The Fourth of September."

10 in a row?
Folks they are 2 games back in the loss column of San Diego... and the Padres come into Colorado tomorrow.

They might not lose again. It IS September.

Carlos Gonzalez could win the Triple Crown!

Am I the only one who didn't know that?

I mean I knew he was having a terrific year... and I knew that with the Rockies doing their typical late season charge that he had inserted himself into the MVP discussion.

But I was about to write a post about Joey Votto and how his walk off homer yesterday may have been the walk off moment for the MVP. And I was going to list how his stats are so dominating and he has led the Reds back to the playoffs.

Then I looked at the Stats and in the name of Yaz, Gonzalez's is having just as good a year.

And his stats will please ANY kind of fan.

You like batting average? His is the best.

More of a W.A.R. guy? He is #9

Hits? He leads the league

Total bases? He leads the league

Slugging? He leads the league

OPS? He's in third.

And down the stretch while the Rockies have gone on this incredible streak?

He's batted .439 with an OPS of 1.245 in September.

And as the leading hitter, he is 2 RBI behind Pujols for the league lead and 5 homers behind Pujols for the home run lead.

(I guess Pujols isn't going away either.)

But is it possible that a player could sneak undetected into a Triple Crown season?

Now yes... I know he is playing in Denver which, while no longer the zero gravity joke it was in the 1990s, is still a hitters paradise.

And yes, his OPS is .359 points higher at home as compared to his road hitting... and yes I think that should be considered in the MVP vote. (Then again, Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati isn't exactly a pitchers park either.)

Either way, one thing is certain... when the Rockies had to deal Matt Holliday for contract reasons, they got Gonzalez and Huston Street from Oakland.

Now THAT is how you get value in a deal.

I refuse to call him CarGo. That nickname is lame... we need to work on another one. A Triple Crown contender deserves a good nickname.

How I want the National League races to end

With the season winding down, the playoff picture in the American League seems pretty clear. Unless the Twins and Rangers simply collapse and give the White Sox and A’s some life, then we can be pretty sure that the Yankees, Rays, Rangers and Twins will be playing in October.

But there is a chance that the National League could be right down to the wire.

I want there to be total anarchy by the end… nobody sure who is in and who is out.

Now with the Red Sox out of it, I am rooting for the Giants to win it all. But the rest of the National League could be in chaos if the following scenarios take place.


The GIANTS go on a mad 15-5 dash to capture the NL West title and finish the season 95-67.



The PADRES right their ship and go 15-7 to and finish the season 94-68.



The ROCKIES continue their late surge with a 17-4 streak and also finish the season 94-68.



The PHILLIES go 11-9 the rest of the way and finish the season 93-69.



The BRAVES pick up the pace and go 12-8 over the last few weeks and end with a 93-69 mark.


The REDS stumble to an 7-14 record the rest of the way and finish 87-75.



The CARDINALS, led by Pujols, Wainwright and Carpenter, go 14-9 and also finish 87-75.

So what would be the end result?

The Giants would be the Western Division Champs and have Home Field Advantage in every round of the playoffs, including the World Series.

My dad will be thrilled to see that the Championship will have to come through McCovey Cove.

And the rest of the National League playoffs would be up for grabs forcing three… count em… THREE win or go home one game playoffs on the same day!

The Padres and Rockies would play a one game playoff for the Wild Card (2007 rematch anyone?)

The Braves and the Phillies would play for the NL East title. (The two time NL Champs vs. Bobby Cox’s last stand.)

And the Reds and Cardinals, two of the classic franchises in baseball, will square off for the NL Central crown. (And no doubt some bad blood between LaRussa and Baker.)

And if these games would be as exciting as the one game playoffs played each of the last three seasons, they will be three heart stopping down to the last pitch thrillers.

We’ve never had more than one to end a season. (If the Mets won one more game we would have had two in 2007!)

Tell me that wouldn’t be the most exciting baseball day you could imagine.

So… just have those 7 scenarios take place.
I’ve always wanted a season to end with anarchy… maybe I’ll get my wish this year.

Cue the Rockies wild dash for the playoffs...

You can't blame Nick Masset. He looked more confused than a tourist trying to read a subway map when Chris Nelson made the single ballsiest play of the year.



The game was tied, runners on the corners and Nelson made a break for home. Obviously someone yelled "HE'S RUNNING" and he looked to second.



Obviously nobody was trying to steal HOME! Except Nelson did.



That play doesn't work in LITTLE LEAGUE!



Now the Reds are showing that not only are they probably going to be a 3 games and out playoff team, but if they keep losing like this, they may miss the playoffs altogether.



But here we are with the Rockies again. They haven't lost in more than a week. They drove the Padres batty and swept through the Reds.



It's 2007 all over again. OK, maybe not THAT good, but they made the playoffs in 1995, 2007 and 2009 and each year their Septembers were terrific.



Their combined September record over those 3 years?

58-30... a .659 clip.

This year they are 7-2 so far.



Oh and keep this in mind.

Let's say the Padres and Giants split their 4 game series that they are playing now.

And let's also say the Rockies sweep Arizona (not that hard to do.)



The Padres would be 81-61.

The Giants would be 80-64.

The Rockies would be 79-64.



3 games in the loss column separating three teams in the NL West... with the Padres going into Colorado.



Oooo man. It IS 2007 all over again.

Welcome to Colorado, Manny Delcarmen

It's a cruel place, Coors Field.
Old friend Manny Delcarmen, whom I paid tribute to the other day, let up a game tying homer to Jayson Werth in his first appearance as a Colorado Rockie.

The thin air stinks sometimes.

Bear down Manny... you still have a friend in Sully.

Most 20 game winners in 90 years? It’s possible

In 2006, when 16 wins was good enough to lead the National League, it seemed like the 20 game winner was going the way of the Dodo and the Liberal Republican.

But win #20 is making a comeback in 2010... or at least it COULD be.

Now, of course, I know the win total isn't the end all and be all of a pitcher's greatness.
I've been advocating Felix Hernandez to win the Cy Young Award even though his only has a 10-10 record.

And in my plea to put Bert Blyleven in the Hall of Fame I criticized the emphasis on wins when evaluating his career.

That being said, "20 Game Winner" still has a nice ring to it.

It is kind of like "Oscar Winning Director." Now is Ron Howard, who won the Oscar, a better director than Alfred Hitchcock, who never won it? Of course not. But it still looks and sounds cool.

And with September now starting, there are a few legit candidates to win 20 and a few long shots.

And if they ALL come through, then we will see the most 20 game winners since 1920.

With about 30 games left, each of these pitchers will get about 5 or 6 more starts. Some will have to run the table... which is unlikely, but you never know...

Let's break it down and see who is close.


2 More Wins - Currently at 18 wins... would be STUNNED if he falls short.

C. C. Sabathia







3 More Wins - Currently at 17 wins... One more good streak and you've got it.

Ubaldo Jimenez





Adam Wainwright





4 More Wins - Currently at 16 wins... Keep pitching well and hope the bullpen doesn't blow one or two.

Roy Halladay





Phil Hughes






5 More Wins - Currently at 15 wins... May be a reach, but a dazzling September could send them into the Cy Young stratosphere. NOTHING can go wrong.

Clay Buchholz





Tim Hudson





Carl Pavano





David Price





6 More Wins - Currently at 14... OK, damn near impossible. But if they go on a winning streak and maybe the manager gives them an extra start down the stretch... maybe?

Ricky Nolasco





Bronson Arroyo





Justin Verlander





C. J. Wilson





Trevor Cahill





Ervin Santana





Chris Carpenter





Jon Lester





That is 17 potential 20 game winners (some MUCH more likely than others.)

Now there were no 20 game winners last year.
Since the leagues expanded to 3 divisions in 1994, most teams have 5 man rotations, pitch counts and bullpen specialization that cuts down on the big win totals.

Going backwards from last year, here are the number of 20 game winners for each year back to 1994.


2009 – 0
2008 – 4 (Cliff Lee, Brandon Webb, Mike Mussina, Roy Halladay)
2007 – 1 (Josh Beckett)
2006 – 0
2005 – 4 (Dontrelle Willis, Bartolo Colon, Chris Carpenter, Roy Oswalt)
2004 – 3 (Curt Schilling, Roy Oswalt, Johan Santana)
2003 – 5 (Roy Halladay, Russ Ortiz, Esteban Loaiza, Andy Pettitte, Jamie Moyer)
2002 – 6 (Randy Johnson, Barry Zito, Curt Schilling, Derek Lowe, Pedro Martinez, Bartolo Colon)
2001 – 7 (Curt Schilling, Matt Morris, Mark Mulder, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Jamie Moyer, Jon Lieber)
2000 – 4 (Tom Glavine, Tim Hudson, David Wells, Darryl Kile)
1999 – 3 (Pedro Martinez, Mike Hampton, Jose Lima)
1998 – 4 (Roger Clemens, David Cone, Rick Helling, Tom Glavine)
1997 – 4 (Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Denny Neagle, Brad Radke)
1996 – 3 (John Smoltz, Andy Pettitte, Pat Hentgen)
1995 – 0
1994 – 0


1994 and 1995 were shortened seasons due to the labor strife (although Greg Maddux and Mike Mussina won 19 in '95... all the more impressive that it was a 144 game season.)

But there were some seasons with quite a few 20 game winners... topping out at 7 in 2001.

Going back even further, here are the last time there were higher numbers of 20 game winners in a season.

Last time with 8 twenty game winners– 1978
(Ron Guidry, Mike Caldwell, Jim Palmer, Gaylord Perry, Dennis Leonard, Ed Figueroa, Ross Grimsley, Dennis Eckersley)

Last time with 9 twenty game winners – 1977
(Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Jim Palmer, Rick Reuschel, Bob Forsch, John Candelaria, Tommy John, Dave Goltz, Dennis Leonard)

Last time with 11 twenty game winners– 1974
(Catfish Hunter, Fergie Jenkins, Nolan Ryan, Luis Tiant, Mike Cuellar, Steve Busby, Jim Kaat, Gaylord Perry, Andy Messersmith, Wilber Wood, Phil Niekro)

Last time with 13 twenty game winners– 1973
(Ron Bryant, Wilber Wood, Joe Coleman, Jim Palmer, Catfish Hunter, Ken Holtzman, Nolan Ryan, Bill Singer, Paul Splittorff, Bert Blyleven, Vida Blue, Luis Tiant, Jim Colborn)

Last time with 14 twenty game winners– 1971
(Mickey Lolich, Vida Blue, Fergie Jenkins, Wilbur Wood, Catfish Hunter, Dave McNally, Andy Messersmith, Jom Palmer, Steve Carlton, Pat Dobson, Al Downing, Joe Coleman, Tom Seaver, Mike Cuellar)

Last time with 15 twenty game winners– 1969
(Tom Seaver, Denny McLain, Mike Cuellar, Phil Niekro, Juan Marichal, Fergie Jenkins, Dave Boswell, Mel Stottlemyre, Larry Dierker, Claude Osteen, Bill Singer, Jim Perry, Bill Hands, Dave McNally, Bob Gibson)

Last time with 17 twenty game winners– 1920
(Grover Cleveland Alexander, Wilbur Cooper, Burleigh Grimes, Art Nehf, Fred Toney, Jesse Barnes, Spittin’ Bill Doak, Jim Bagby, Carl Mays, Stan Coveleski, Red Faber, Lefty Williams, Eddie Cicotte, Dickey Kerr, Ray Caldwell, Bob Shawkey, Urban Shocker)

You read those names right... two of the condemned 1919 Black Sox were on the list the last time there were 17 twenty game winners!

1920, back when Babe Ruth was a NEW acquisition for the Yankees.

Now are all 17 going to come through.
Probably not... but with pitching taking center stage again, I wouldn't mind seeing a few 20 game winners, even if it isn't the barometer of greatness it used to be.