Sadly Tim Lincecum had a better argument

Now that qualifying is over, I will look at those June observations and re-evaluate how those teams performed down the stretch.All observations are old New comments are in bold italics. Big Qualification Flops (From June 16, 2009) Poland (Did Not Qualify) -Third in Group Three of UEFA (three points behind Northern Ireland and five points behind Slovakia) -Finished fifth in the group, above only San Marino -Lost 3-2 to Northern Ireland, 2-1 to Slovakia, and tied Slovenia 1-1 -Made the two previous World Cups -Remaining games: Northern Ireland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia -Lost three of the four, tying Northern Ireland for their only point after June Czech Republic (Did Not Qualify) -Fourth in Group Three of UEFA (five points behind Northern Ireland and seven points behind Slovakia) -Finished third in the group, four points behind Slovenia -Lost 2-1 to both Poland and Slovakia, tied 0-0 with both Slovenia and Northern Ireland -Made 2006 World Cup and sported one of the Cup's youngest rosters -Remaining games: Slovakia, San Marino, Poland, Northern Ireland -Tied two and won two, leaving them with 16 points after having only eight through June Portugal (Qualified) -Third in Group One of UEFA (four points behind Hungary and seven points behind Denmark) -Finished second in the group, leaving them with a playoff against Bosnia-Herzegovina -Lost 3-2 to Denmark, tied 0-0 with Sweden twice and Albania once -Made the two previous World Cups and took fourth place in 2006 -Remaining games: Denmark, Hungary, Hungary, Malta -Beat Hungary both times, defeated Malta, and drew with Denmark -Beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 on aggregate to qualify Sweden (Did Not Qualify) -Third in Group One of UEFA (four points behind Hungary and seven points behind Denmark) -Finished third in the group, one point behind Portugal -Lost 1-0 to Denmark, tied 0-0 with Portugal twice and Albania once -Made the two previous World Cups and made the Round of 16 in 2006 -Remaining games: Hungary, Malta, Denmark, Albania -Won three of four, losing only to Denmark. Finished with 18 points, nine more than they had in June Mexico (Qualified) -Fourth in CONCACAF (one point behind Honduras) -Finished second in CONCACAF with 19 points -Lost to Honduras 3-1 and to El Salvador 2-1 -Made the four previous World Cups and made the Round of 16 in 2006 -Remaining games: USA, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, and Trinidad and Tobago -Won four of five, tying only Trinidad and Tobago Since June, two more teams expected to make the World Cup stumbled. In four games after June, Croatia only lost to England, but could not finish with more points than Ukraine for second place.Russia lost 2-2 on aggregate on the "away goals rule" to Slovenia in their playoff.Costa Rica lost 2-1 on aggregate to Uruguay in the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff.France was a near miss, but defeated Ireland in overtime to qualify. Big Qualification SurprisesChile (Qualified) -Second in CONMEBOL (one point behind Brazil) -Finished in the exact same position -1-0 win over Argentina -Hasn't made a bid since 1998 -Remaining games: Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador -Tied Venezuela and lost to Brazil, but won their final two matches Honduras (Qualified) -Third in CONCACAF (five points behind Costa Rica) -Finished third in CONCACAF -3-1 win over Mexico -Hasn't made a bid since 1982 -Remaining games: Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, USA, El Salvador -Won three of the five, losing to Mexico and USA North Korea (Qualified) -Second in AFC Group B (four points behind South Korea) -Finished second in AFC Group B -1-0 win over Saudi Arabia -Hasn't made a bid since 1978 -Remaining game: Saudi Arabia -Tied Saudi Arabia to qualify -Ranked 106th in the world by FIFA/Coca-Cola -Now ranked 91st in the world by FIFA/Coca-Cola Hungary (Did Not Qualify) -Second in Group One of UEFA (three points behind Denmark) -Finished fourth in the group, above only Albania and Malta -0-0 tie with Denmark -Hasn't made a bid since 1986 -Remaining games: Sweden, Portugal x2, Denmark -Won only their last game of the four Slovakia (Qualified) -First in Group Three of UEFA -Won their group with 22 points -2-1 wins over Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, and Poland -Has never made a bid -Remaining games: Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Slovenia, Poland -Went 2-1-1 to finish qualification Northern Ireland (Did Not Qualify) -Second in Group Three of UEFA (two points behind Slovakia) -Finished fourth in the group, five points from playoff qualification -3-2 win over Poland, 0-0 tie with Czech Republic -Hasn't made a bid since 1986 -Remaining games: Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic -Tied two and lost one. Finished with 15 points Besides thesesurprise qualifiers, a few other teams surprised us by making it to the 2010 World Cup Finals.Slovenia beat Russia 2-2 on aggregate by the "away goals rule" to qualify for only the nation's second time.Algeria beat Egypt 1-0 in atie-breaking game to earn their third trip ever to the World Cup Finals.While favorites like Portugal, France, and Argentina snuck into the Finals at what seemed like the last minute, there were still some surprise qualifications and misses.2010 will again provide sometitillating soccer and thrilling controversy I surely can't wait, and I'm fairly certain I'm not alone.. Furthermore, I've been saying that since the last month of the season, and I looked at the race up, down, and sideways.Finally, true conviction in Tiny Tim's merit set in when fellow Bleacher Report writer PJ Ross pointed out that no pitcher has ever won a Cy Young in either league while throwing fewer than 200 innings during a non-strike-shortened season.The 2009 Major League Baseball campaign saw no strike no stoppages of any kind yet Lincecum's stiffest competition (St. Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter) failed to hit the 200 innings pitched barrier.Needless to say, given the likelihood of a photo finish, that little nugget sealed the deal in my eyes.Nevertheless, both Carpenter and the Redbirds' other ace, Adam Wainwright, had strong arguments for the award, so the matter was in substantial doubt.In many other years, Wano's final line would've taken the trophy win/loss record is a seriously flawed reflection of a pitcher's true filthiness, but an NL-leading 19 wins is still nothing at which tosneeze.

Nor are his 233 innings pitched (also led the NL), 212 strikeouts, 2.63 earned run average, and 1.21 WHIP.A lot of Wainwright supporters are righteously pissed at the moment, and who can blame them Their guy had a good argument as evidenced by the fact that he received the most first place votes of anyone.Sadly, Tim Lincecum had a better argument.Likewise, Carpenter had a phenomenal year while coming back from Tommy John surgery something that earns him bonus points out the wazoo.The crafty veteran pitches to contact, so his whiff total and rates can't match those belonging to his running mate and el Gigante. However, the 2005 NL Cy Young made up for those "deficiencies" with a stellar mark of 17-4 while leading the NL with a 2.24 earned run average and a 1.01 WHIP (second to Arizona Diamondback Dan Haren).Additionally, neither Lincecum nor Wainwright can hope to match the control of the trio's elder statesman.Ultimately, though, the defending and still reigning champ had Carp edged out, too. Lincecum had a small but obvious winning margin, so it would've taken every iota of restraint to pen a flattering piece had the voters blown it.Thankfully, they did not.For the second straight year, the voters wisely overlooked Lincecum's deficit in wins and instead focused on his overall dominance. In the process, the fireballer replaced this year's American League winner (Kansas City Royal Zack Greinke) as the player with the fewest wins ever to yank down a Cy Young.The dominating right-hander blew the field away in punch-outs with 261 (23 more than his closest rival, Atlanta Brave Javier Vazquez), posted a microscopic 2.48 earned run average and 1.05 WHIP, led both Wainwright and Carpenter in opponents' batting average and slugging percentage, and did it all while being the unquestioned leader of the Giant staff that absolutely carried the organization to contention in 2009.When you place all three bodies of work next to each other, the excellence is almost blinding. But adjusting for the glare, you can see Lincecum's shines just a little brighter.All this in his second full year tossing to Big Leaguers.That's right, folks Tim Lincecum has pitched two full years in the Show, and he's been named the best pitcher in his league twice.After making 24 starts in 2007, the franchise broke out in 2008 and won his first Cy Young while throwing in front of one of the worst teams in all of baseball.

As an encore, one of the game's most electric arms went out and grabbed another Cy Young this time while hurling in front of one of the worst offenses in the game.Kinda makes you wonder what Tim Lincecum will do for a third act.One thing's for sure: The Bay Area can't wait to see.Apparently, neither can the rest of baseball . I just have to vent here.Over the past two weeks, all that is talked about in regards to Notre Dame is the future of Charlie Weis and who will replace him. I can see something is broken and a change of some kind needs to be made.Whether that change involves bringing in a new head coach or bringing in new defensive coaches, that is Jack Swarbrick's decision and I know he will make the decision that is best for Notre Dame.My point is that the players should be held accountable for their part too Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate have had a magical year. If Michael Floyd had stayed healthy, he would have been part of it too. Missed tackles were the result. That is why Te'o replaced him. Toryan Smith isn't the only defender guilty of this.The guy I am most disappointed in on that defense is Robert Blanton.

After showing so much promise late in his freshman year and following it with a great spring game, I really expected Blanton to be the man in the secondary. Instead it seems the only time we hear his name called is when he gets beat.On special teams, where is Mike Anello Last season he was simply the man on the kicking teams. This year I think I have heard his name called twice.The punting has been a disaster lately. Kicking has been better but Navy would never know.With two games left, these players need to look at themselves in the mirror and ask if this is what they want their legacy to be It is not about what coach will be there next year. It is about how they want to be remembered at Notre Dame.Weis will likely be out. John Tenuta will probably be gone too. Certainly they deserve their share of the blame. However, every player in that locker room should consider it a failure on their part to get these guys fired.With Connecticut on the slate for Saturday, it is time for the players to take this back Just two weeks ago we were talking about BCS. While that is out of the picture, a Gator Bowl would definitely be an upgrade from the Hawaii Bowl.