SOUTH GRAND — If the National League Cy Young Award was a litmus test on what voters believe is the most valuable measure of a pitcher’s performance — or most valuable blend of measures — today’s American League Cy Young Award is a similar contest of roles, writ a bit smaller as a clash between starting and closing.

There is a clear favorite. There is a clear underdog.

And there is the unclear chances of a record-setting reliever.

With a Comeback Player award already in his pocket, Cleveland Indian starter Cliff Lee, a year removed from being returned to the minors, is the favorite to win the award with his AL-best ERA 2.54 ERA and a remarkable 22-3 record. Toronto’s Roy Halladay, an annual contender for the Cy, is the obvious underdog, bolstered by more than 240 innings pitched, 20 victories, two shutouts and 206 strikeouts. All the third candidate for the award did was topple an 18-year-old record for most saves. Francisco Rodriguez had 62, bettering Bobby Thigpen’s record of 57.

There is an argument that Rodriguez’s 62 saves in the Los Angeles Angels’ 100 victories make him a better MVP candidate than Cy Young Award contender. History supports that notion. The last reliever in the AL to win the Cy Young was Dennis Eckersley in 1992, and in his record-setting season of 1990, Thigpen finished fourth in the Cy Young voting and fifth in the MVP voting.

ESPN calculates throughout the season a Cy Predictor, and it thinks more highly of Rodriguez. According to the metric worked out by Bill James and Rob Neyer, Lee is the most likely winner. But Rodriguez is closer than many seem to think.

That doesn’t matter here. What you think does.

-30-