MLB Midseason Awards: A.L. Cy Young Award

Now that we are at the midway point (or a little past it), I will post my choices as midseason leader for Cy Young and MVP in both leagues at the All-Star Break.

The perennial choices for AL Cy Young are either Justin Verlander or Felix Hernandez, who have consistently been two of the game's top pitchers over the last several years.

A couple of other guys like David Price (last year's winner) or Jered Weaver are usually in the discussion as well, along with a surprise or two that pop up every year.  Last year, Chris Sale was the guy who emerged, and was the favorite to win the award heading into the second half of last season.

This year, Bartolo Colon makes a strong case at 12-3 with an ERA of 2.70, currently third in the AL.  Colon's connection with PEDs, however, may be what largely accounts for his return to the dominance of his prime at the age of 40.  Nonetheless, he has not yet been suspended, and has a legitimate claim to the midseason AL Cy Young award.

I'm going to go another way, though.  Max Scherzer, who is not even the best pitcher on his own team, is leading the pack at the midway point.  With an ERA just a shade over three (3.19 at the moment), Scherzer is an incredible 13-1 in 19 starts.  He is averaging more than a strikeout per inning (10.55 K/9), and has a WHIP under one (0.98).

I'll take Scherzer for my midseason AL Cy Young award winner/leader.

[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]

A's sign Bartolo Colon to a one-year deal

The Oakland A's have agreed to a one-year deal with pitcher Bartolo Colon, according to ESPN's Jayson Stark.

Colon finished last season with a record of 8-10 and an ERA of 4.00, but he started the season much better than he finished it.

Here are his splits of first three and second three months:

• April-June: 5-3, 3.10 ERA, 8.27 K/9
• July-September: 3-7, 4.81 ERA, 6.59 K/9

While he may fade toward the end of the season again and he loses the run support provided by the Yankees, Colon moves to a more favorable stadium.

Last year, A's pitchers more than a full run differential when comparing their ERA at home (3.18) vs. on the road (4.26).

Yankees place Phil Hughes on DL, Bartolo Colon to take spot in rotation

The New York Yankees have placed pitcher Phil Hughes on the 15-day disabled list with a "dead" arm, per Marc Craig of the Newark Star-Ledger.

Through three starts, Hughes is averaging only 89.3 miles per hour on his fastball (via FanGraphs.com). He averaged 93.8 and 92.6 mph in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

"It's difficult to go through," Hughes said (via Craig). "I didn't really anticipate this happening."

In his three starts, Hughes has pitched a total of 10.1 innings and the deepest he's gone was 4 1/3 innings. He's allowed five-plus earned runs in all of his starts and has only struck out three batters this season.

The Yankees have called up pitcher Lance Pendleton from Triple-A and Bartolo Colon will move into the rotation.

Twins pound White Sox 20-1

Calling the Twins' 20-1 win over the White Sox today is a gross understatement.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire decided to "mix things up a little bit" by batting catcher Joe Mauer second in the lineup. And he certainly responded with six runs batted in and a grand slam.

White Sox pitcher Bartolo Colon allowed seven hits and eight runs in two innings. However, only one of the eight runs was earned.

Today's loss matches the biggest loss in White Sox history. The White Sox lost to the Angels 19-0 on May 10th, 2002.

It's been a rough day for the White Sox as Jake Peavy also vetoed a trade today that would have sent him to Chicago.