Why Not?

My good pal Danny D, one of my few credible Yankee fan friends gave me some real lip service the other day after my column on Jeter’s MVP candidacy being a joke.

He agreed that Jeter’s stats alone were not enough to make him an MVP, but that there was something else, something that we all know as baseball fans but that all Yankee fans truly know, watching the captain play every day.

To Danny D, Jeter is a legitimate candidate for one of baseball’s biggest honors.

At Shea, we have a very similar player. You could argue that this player is the face of the Mets. His calm but pleasant demeanor makes him a consummate teammate. Season after season his consistency is almost unquestionable but it is this year that he is truly emerged, truly grown into the player that he is today.

Which is why today, we here at Y2K, your every day place for Mets adoration and intense Yankee bashing, begin our own little campaign. A campaign with as much if not more validity as the Jeter for MVP campaign.

Steve Trachsel for CY YOUNG.

That’s right I said it.

One more time, that’s Steve Trachsel for Cy Young.

With last night’s stellar 5IP, 6 ER performance, Trachsel notched win No. 13 under the belt. His 13 wins tie him for first in the National League, while his 13-5 record again ties him with fellow Cy Young candidates Brandon Webb and Carlos Zambrano atop the senior circuit.

The obvious stats are there: the wins, the record.

But it is some of Trachsel’s other stats that really separate him from the pack.

1. Innings per start.

Trachsel’s 5.6 innings per start are fewest among the National League’s elite. This proves Trachsel’s efficiency on the mound, his ability to go out there and get a win quickly. Why pitch 7, and tire out your arm, when you can throw into the 6th and get the win?

This not only demonstrates Trachsel’s precision but also a superior intelligence to Zambrano who pitches well into the 7th.

2. K's/9.

Trachsel averages an insanely low 2.9 k’s/9 innings pitched. Some might frown upon this. Not us. In an era when pitchers aim for strikeouts to get on SportsCenter, Trachsel goes right after the batter. I’ll throw it, you just try to get a piece of it. Which leads to my next point.

3. Batting average against.

Trachsel’s opponents are hitting .286 against him, roughly the same # that our MVP candidate Carlos Beltran is putting up for the Mets.

This number once again shows Trachsel’s commitment to the team. By allowing runners to get on base, he is keeping his defense sharp and ready. In a season where the Mets' D has improved significantly, a lot of that can be attributed to Trachsel, who keeps the ball in play. Our defense wants to play for him.

Said Jose Reyes on Trachsel: “What can I say, I am happy to be here.”

I hear you blood.

4. The rest.

The rest of the stats are there. The 1.57 WHIP, the 94 pitches per game, the 5.00 ERA. These stats all lead to one bigger idea. A gutsy performer, Trachsel just knows how to win.

Trachsel has that something that Jeter has. Something inside of him that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet but that all of his teammates are aware of.

So what if he is the 4th best pitcher in the rotation?

So what if he faces opponents' 4th or 5th starter on a nightly basis?

This guy just has it. He knows how to win. Baseball fans have thought of it, but Mets fans know it.

Which leads me to one final point, or what I like to call, the icing on the cake.

5. The longest-tenured Met.

This often gets brushed under the rug, but Stevey Trachsel has been a New Met since they were super old. Trachsel has been in Queens since 2001, making this his sixth season at Shea.

Like Jeter, Trachsel has put up gaudy numbers in the past.

He posted a 3.37 ERA in 2002.

He was 16-10 in 2003.

But in neither of those years did Trachsel get the praise that he deserved. We all know how great he was, but baseball did not recognize it. Which is why Trachsel’s CY Young award in 2006 makes so much sense.

In a season where the Mets have overcome all the obstacles to become the best team in the NL and after years of being dismissed as a real Cy Young candidate, Trachsel has earned his due.

Many in the Bronx are calling this the Yankees' most impressive run. They have only been playing with $180 million dollars worth of superstar this season, with Sheffield and Matsui shelved on the DL. All of which makes Jeter’s candidacy so intriguing.

In the same sense, this is the Mets most impressive season maybe in our lifetime. Why shouldn’t the best pitcher on the best team be the CY Young?

So it all adds up my friends. Having both incredible numbers and a team-first attitude as well as having been pushed aside for so many years, Steve Trachsel is finally ready to make the jump.

Alert the press, tell your friends and spread the word.

Let's get this campaign alive and kicking.

Trachs! Trachs! Trachs! Trachs!

Magic number is 24.

Vaya con dios,

Sip