Carpenter had a streak similar to a streak Bob Gibson had in '68. Clemens had a season similar to the season Gibson had in '68. Carpenter had a great year - better than many Cy Yong award winners - but Clemens had a historic year that was obscured by the fact his team didn't score runs for him.
The fact is Clemens' accomplishments shouldn't have been obscured - in fact they weren't really obscured - they were ignored by people who make their living analyzing and writing about baseball and who should have known better.
If you want the Cy Young award to go to the best pitcher, give it to the best pitcher, be it Roger Clemens or Addie Joss. (Context is important too - Addie Joss' 1.89 ERA is a bit less impressive when you consider the league ERA during his career was 2.72.)
I will say that the Addie Joss argument did change my thinking some - maybe it does make sense to give a little more weight to wins than otherwise warranted just because the award is named after someone whose main claim to fame is 511 wins.
I'll quit complaining about Clemens not winning if you'll at least let me continue to whine about Johan losing out to fatboy Colon
That's OK. I might have voted for Rivera! :-)
I think what worked against Santana is that he won--and deservedly so--last year, but this year he wasn't quite as good, so voters looked elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Bartolo "Semi" Colon has had a bunch of very good seasons (including one that was split between leagues but which if in one league was CY-worthy). So, like with the Oscars, if the guy has had a very good career but not yet won, and he has a good performance in a relatively weak field, he wins.
While I don't normally consider a reliever, if no one starter jumps out, and a reliver has a phenomenal year--and especially when you're talking a HOF-career guy like Rivera who has never won--then I give him strong consideration.
Santana should have other opportunities. If the Twins can keep him, he's your All-Star ace for the next 5-7 seasons at least.