20 wins used to mean a lot in this business. It was almost a single-handed guarantee that the Cy Young was yours for the taking. You lead the league in wins, you take home the hardware. Simple as that.

Then Zack Greinke happened, taking the award home in with a measily 16 wins in 2009 and all hell broke loose. The sabermetricians came out with their picket and their torches and demanded that the best pitcher in the game be given the award, regardless of his team's success, hence dictating his win total. As if to drive it home, they gave Tim Lincecum his second award in 2009 as well, despite having just 15 wins. Then they took their opinion to the polls, granting Felix Hernandez the Cy Young in 2010 with just 13 wins to his name.

The world had gone all topsy-turvy.

So how does this new era in award voting affect the 2012 Cy Young vote? Well, we have two 20-game winners in Jered Weaver and David Price, both of whom have a rightful claim to the award

David Price

Jered Weaver

In terms of straight statistics, both men represent themselves as a solid candidate. They share the league-lead in victories with 20. However, while Weaver has the league-lead in WHIP and a no-hitter under his belt in 2012, Price has the lower ERA, more starts, more innings pitched, a better ERA+, and a huge advantage in strke-outs.

So the 2012 American League Cy Young award should go to David Price correct?

But wait a second, the aforementioned sabermetricians come over the hill, banging their WAR drums and stumping for a third candidate; Justin Verlander.

The fact that Verlander has not gotten more publicity is ludicrous. After all, this is the man that not only won the Cy Young in 2011, but also took home the league MVP trophy as well. That said, it can be tough to follow that kind of performance up, but Verlander has done admirably in 2012.

Justin Verlander

So Verlander asserts himself with some other solid stats. His ERA sits comfortably between those of Price and Weaver. He's also got a solid advantage in complete games, inning pitched, strike-outs, and ERA+. But since we were talking about sabermetrics and WAR (wins above replacement) in particular, we can compare them in that category. And because no one can truly agree on how to calculate WAR, we'll use both Baseball-Reference and  Fangraphs for this analysis.

Baseball-Reference

Price - 6.5

Weaver - 3.9

Verlander - 7.6

FanGraphs

Price - 5.1

Weaver - 3.0

Verlander - 6.8

So, in retrospect, both sites agree on two points. First, while still a solid pitcher, Weaver is simply pedestrian in comparison to either Price or Verlander. Second, Verlander is significantly higher valued pitcher to have, despite the lower win total.

And if the sabermetricians are right, then the Cy Young award for 2012 stays puts.

Justin Verlander is your winner.

For five seasons, Homer Bailey has been trying to solve the riddle, "How do I make the jump from phenom prospect to major league contributor?".

For five seasons, Bailey has struggled to answer that question, instead allowing others like Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake to make the jump ahead of him.

But in his sixth season, at the age of 26, Bailey has finally put it all together and taken a giant step forward in his development as a pitcher. Under the weight of a career high 32 starts and 204 innings pitched, Bailey has authored a season that has seen him produce a 13-10 record, a 3.75 ERA, and a 2.7 WAR. His ERA is likely a tick below where it should be, as his FIP (Fielder Independent Pitching) is sitting at 4.06, but it isn't far out of line.

Homer Bailey has finally arrived.

And what better way to blow the trumpet and declare your arrival that to close out your best season by firing  a no-hitter?!

Bailey spun a gem of a game on Friday night against the flailing Pittsburgh Pirates, facing just 29 hitters in the process. Aside from a a third inning error by Scott Rolen, a booted short hopper off the bat of Clint Barmes, and a walk to Andrew McCutchen in the seventh, Bailey was perfect for the night. Bailey would add 10 strike-outs in the game.

The no-hitter was the 15th in club history, but the first since Tom Browning's perfect game against the Dodgers in 1988. It was also the seventh in Major League Baseball in 2012, adding Bailey to a class that includes the following:

4/21/12 - Philip Humber - Perfect Game

5/2/12 - Jered Weaver

6/1/12 - Johan Santana

6/8/12 - Kevin Millwood, Brandon League, Tom Wilhelmsen, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge

6/13/12 - Matt Cain - Perfect Game

8/15/12 - Felix Hernandez - Perfect Game

9/28/12 - Homer Bailey

The Reds needed every bit of Bailey's mastery too, as the his Pirate counterpart, A.J. Burnett, was right on his game as well, throwing 8 innings of 7-hit ball, allowing just the one run and striking out 5. The loss drops the Pirates to 81 losses on the season, two away from their 20th consecutive losing season.

You cannot say that baseball does not have its emotional stories. I mean, how many true fans do not well up when they hear Lou Gehrig step up to the microphone and proclaim himself "the luckiest man on the face of the Earth"?

The problem with baseball, and sports in general, is that we get inundated with stories of wrongdoings, mistakes, and general stupidity. Negativity sells newspapers, err...gets the page views.

However, every once in a while, a good story pops up that gets attention, and deservedly so. In that case, I present to you the news out of Miami in regards to Adam Greenberg.

Greenberg was a one-time Cubs prospect who in 2005 got his first and only call-up to the majors at the age of 24. Greenberg made quite the impression, accruing the enviable stats line below:

That's right, Greenberg got into exactly one game and got a single plate appearance. That is because on the very first pitch he saw, a 92-mile-per-hour fastball from Valerio De Los Santos, he was struck in the back of the head.

The immediate result was a mild concussion. However, over the years, Greenberg has had lingering issues with vertigo and other visual impairments. He's tried to resume his career, both in the minor leagues, and then in independent baseball, but he's never been able to put it together again.

However, after many stories about his cause and then an appearance on Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers, not to mention a tireless effort by filmmaker Matt Liston, Greenberg is going to get his second chance.

The Miami Marlins have announced that they will sign Greenberg to a one-day contract in order for him to get his official at-bat. Greenberg will make his appearance on Tuesday, when the Marlins are set to face the New York Mets. Scheduled to be on the mound that day will be R.A. Dickey, another man who knows a little about perseverance.

Greenberg's reaction to Miami's decision to make his dream come true:

"From the bottom of my heart, I'll be ready for it," Greenberg said.

So will the rest of us Adam. Hit one out for the rest of us!

10 games, that is all that remains of 2012 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. 10 games stand before them, straddling the line between forgotten success and continued infamy. 

The Pirates, once upstarts but now stalled, were 10 games above .500 on July 16th, standing just a single game behind the Cincinnati Reds for first place in the National League Central. Since that day, these Pirates have played baseball 12 games below .500 and now sit at 75-77 on the season and have already watched the Reds hoist the Central division title, a cool 16.5 games ahead of the now fourth place Pirates.

This year was supposed to be different. Despite a similar flirtation and failure in 2011, baseball fans everywhere were getting behind this edition of the Pirates. They had a legitimate MVP candidate in Andrew McCutchen. They had a young, confident pitching staff behind James McDonald and gelling with the addition of A.J. Burnett. This year was different.

Well, perhaps the bandwagon got too full because the ship suddenly got too heavy to move under all that weight. 

Now Pittsburgh has just the aforementioned 10 games in which to make the unbelievable happen. They have to make up 6.5 games in the Wild Card race, jumping 5 other teams in the process. It is not a very likely goal, especially considering that the Pirates lack even a single game against a single opponent that stands above them in the standings. 

No, that ship sailed long ago.

Still, there is at least one realistic goal still within reach and it bears as much significance to this team as a playoff appearance; a winning season. That's right, with their last winning season coming in 1992, the Pirates have the longest active streak of consecutive seasons with a losing record. By finishing the season just 7-5, Pittsburgh can put that piece of infamy behind them. 

The first of those steps comes in the shape of a 4-game set with the lowly New York Mets. After that, it is all home cooking, with 3 games against each the division champion Reds and the eventual Wild Card winner Atlanta Braves. The Reds are apt to be resting players after having already clinched the division title. The Braves enter the week with a magic number of 2 to claim the first Wild Card slot in the National League. By the time Pittsburgh sees them, they too could be in rest mode.

That puts the ball in Pittsburgh's hand heading into the final week. They control their own fate and have a legitimate chance to become a winning franchise again. By putting the losing behind them, the Pirates can look to 2013 with a new attitude. They can approach a pennant race knowing what it takes to be a winner, a closer, instead of expecting impending doom.

It's all about the baby steps Bob. Baby steps to a winning record. Baby steps to a MVP award. Baby steps to the playoffs. Baby steps to a World Series...