EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

For 19 sportswriters, yesterday was an embarrassing day.

It was the day it was announced that Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia, not Boston ace Josh Beckett, was voted the American League's top pitcher.

Arguments could be made for both pitchers:

* Beckett was the only pitcher in baseball who hit the magic No. 20 in wins.

* Sabathia, whose win-loss-ERA numbers were neck-and-neck with Beckett's, had 411/3 more innings pitched, which means something in this era of babying pitchers.

But the postseason exposed Sabathia, who received 19 first-place votes to Beckett's eight while Angels starter John Lackey got the other first-place vote.

The sportswriters' excuse will be that the postseason doesn't matter. And it doesn't for the Cy Young voting, which is done prior to the playoffs.

Beckett's 4-0 record and the fact that he won the first game of all three series (Angels, Indians and Rockies) and then saved the Sox from elimination in Game 5 in Cleveland was after the fact.

The irony is that Beckett, who had a run unlike any other pitcher in Red Sox history, won't be winning any 2007 awards.

As crazy as that sounds, especially with people now comparing him favorably to all-time greats like Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax, it's the truth. Mike Lowell was named World Series MVP.

Other than an "atta-boy," no hardware will hang over his fireplace (that's where Roger Clemens has his seven Cy Young Awards).

Is it a travesty that Beckett didn't win? No.

It was close between him and Sabathia. They were No. 1 and No. 1A by the time the season ended.

Lackey, who finished third, was not in their league. His division, with the A's, Mariners and Rangers was second-rate compared to the AL Central and AL East.

Was it the right decision that Beckett didn't win? No.

I believe Beckett deserved the honor for two reasons:

1. He was the only starter in baseball to win 20 games, which means more now than ever. Lackey, New York's Chien-Ming Wang and Cleveland's Fausto Carmona and Sabathia were tied for second in the AL with 19 wins.

2. His September, which saw him face and beat three of the best starters in the American League (Toronto's Roy Halladay, Tampa Bay's Scott Kazmir and Wang) when Boston's AL East championship hopes were still not settled.

Sabathia also had a good September, going 4-0 to Beckett's 4-1 record. But two of his wins were against pitchers under .500 and two of the five starts were against the Kansas City Royals.

That being said, Sabathia is a worthy award winner.

But Beckett was the best. Sabathia knows it. All of the 28 voting sportswriters know it.

As crazy as this sounds, the meaningless game Beckett lost on Sept. 27, against the Twins, 5-4, may have cost him the award. He would have finished 21-6, which looks a lot better than 20-7.

This result is not a bad thing going forward.

Beckett matured exponentially last season and as much as he denies it, he is a "legacy" guy. He cares about being the best. That means something to him, just like it meant something to Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens.

Not that he needs motivation, the fact that he has yet to be officially named "the best pitcher in the AL" might make him a little more focused in June and July, when even the fiercest players take a mental break or two.

Red Sox players have won numerous individual honors, including batting, RBI and home run titles the last half-century. Heck, Pedro and Clemens won a combined five Cy Young Awards as members of the Red Sox and each got semi-robbed another time.

In 1990, Clemens was 21-6 with a 1.93 ERA, a full run lower than winner Bob Welch (27-6, 2.95 ERA). And in 2002, Pedro was 20-4 and a half-run lower ERA than winner Barry Zito (2.26 vs. 2.75).

As Yankee captain Derek Jeter once said, "The most important award is championships. I'll take them every time."

Two in four years, one with Beckett's signature emblazoned on it, isn't a bad consolation prize.

E-mail Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.