The View From Wisconsin

The gentlemen over at The Hardball Times have brought forth their mid-year NL Cy Young Candidates. I don't have much dispute over their five choices, but there are two guys who are just as deserving of the nod.

The problem? They play for a team that has no TV contract to speak of, and not many people are paying attention to them.

I'm talking about Livan Hernandez (10-4, 3.01 ERA, 101 K in 104.2 IP, 1.18 Ratio) and Chad Cordero (2-1, 24 Saves, 0.97 ERA, 1.03 Ratio) of the Washington Nationals. Yeah, that's right - the Washington Nationals.

Quietly, those two have been a big reason why the Nats are three and a half games ahead of the Braves for the NL East lead. They're cruising to a 95-win season (something the franchise hasn't seen since 1979 - and the city of Washington hasn't seen since 1933).