Results tagged ‘ Awards ’
Pedroia Provides A Life Lesson
- Dustin Pedroia wins AL MVP:
You could argue for days whether Dustin Pedroia should have won the MVP based on
objectivity and numbers; there was legitimate support for Justin Morneau; Joe Mauer; and my choice, Kevin Youkilis; but all that aside, Pedroia’s ascendance to 2007 Rookie of the Year and world champion, to 2008 MVP is an example to anyone who has their dreams stepped on by someone who wouldn’t have the courage or abilities to make their own goals a reality, so they have to cut down others to have company in their misery.
Pedroia is listed at 5’9″, which means he’s probably closer to 5’7″; he went to Arizona State University, where there were probably thirty other second basemen with “tools” far superior to Pedroia’s; he joined a team that has designs on contending every year in the highly pressurized (and inherently negative) environment of Boston and has jumped through every hoop, wall, trap and 
bit of adversity to become a superstar.
If nothing else, Pedroia—-with his Pete Rose desire, performance
and attitude—-should serve as an inspiration for those who have a clear-cut vision of where they want to end up (and this doesn’t have to be sports related, they could be goals to do anything) and have naysayers give them nine zillion reasons why they can’t achieve them, but ignore such nonsense and keep trying. Even if someone has limited ability, that doesn’t mean they can’t outwork others who take their gifts for granted and eventually surpass them.
Much is said about the cocky way in which Pedroia carries himself, but I think that cockiness and under-the-surface anger is a way of taunting those that doubted him and he
has a right to do that with all he’s made of himself. The saying that 90% of succeeding is just showing up is accurate. A guy with Pedroia’s size is probably one in a million to make it as far as he has, but if that one guy gives up because everyone’s telling him he can’t do it, then that one shot is reduced to zero. Ignorance is bliss especially when coming from someone whose own bitterness is like a disease trying to infect others. If Pedroia listened to those that counseled him (with their own negative agendas) into being “realistic”, who knows what he’d be doing now? Probably coaching somewhere and wondering what might have happened if he’d just kept trying. Luckily, he ignored them and he’s collecting post-season hardware like an industrial strength vacuum cleaner; if he wants to strut about it, everyone should just get out of his way and let him strut, because he’s earned it.
- Cubs re-sign Ryan Dempster:
I would normally question the wisdom of the Cubs giving Ryan Dempster a four-year, $52 
million contract off of his career year, but in looking at several factors, it’s actually a smart move. Dempster’s 2008 season was probably the best season he’ll ever have, but in three years with Florida, he was a similar pitcher; he wasn’t this good and his stats were bloated by a few games in which he got shelled and was left out there way too long, but if he’s healthy, he can be counted on to give his 210 innings and win 13-16 games. Had the Cubs let him leave, they would’ve had to overpay to replace him via free agency or trade and an average of $13 million a year is pretty fair for a guy who probably could’ve squeezed another year and another $20 million or so from someone out on the open market.
Look at it this way, Jeff Suppan is making $12.75 million a year; Carlos Silva is making
$11 million a year. If Dempster shows up to spring training 2009 in the excellent shape he did for 2008, then he should stay healthy and at least be a 200-inning guy; and most importantly, the Cubs would’ve had to shell out far more to replace him. They’re going to need his innings with Rich Harden’s injury history, so this is actually a good move.
- Mariners to name Don Wakamatsu as their new manager—-ESPN Story:
I know very little about Wakamatsu other than that he’s managed in 
the minors and coached under Buck Showalter with the Rangers and Bob Geren with the Athletics last season. Working under Showalter can only help someone learn about X and O strategy, so the Mariners have to hope that it translated to Wakamatsu. Supposedly, Rangers GM Jon Daniels wanted to hire Wakamatsu to manage the Rangers after Showalter was fired and was overruled by owner Tom Hicks, who hired Ron Washington. This is probably a signal that Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is going to start clearing out some highly paid veterans; we’ll see if it works.
- Reason # 2,000,000 why some guys are experts in their own minds:
A caller posed a hypothetical trade to Mike Francesa yesterday on his radio show and it went like this: the Yankees should send Robinson Cano and Phil Hughes to the Pirates for
center fielder Nate McLouth. Francesa enthusiastically agreed, continuing on with his ill-in
formed man-crush on a player like McLouth, for whom he has scant knowledge other than that his…*
*Hey, I just looked at McLouth’s stats and he was born on October 28th, just like me.
…first season as an everyday player was solid. Not great, solid. And he won a Gold Glove award which—-according to those who follow the metrics of fielding—-he didn’t even come close to deserving since he’s been called below average as a center fielder; 
not just average, below average.
I’ve seen McLouth and he’s an okay player; I don’t know if he’s ever going to be more than that. He’ll hit his 20 or so homers and steal a base here or there, but if anyone suggested this absurd trade to Brian Cashman in a serious manner, he might attack them. For all of Cano’s faults (the slow starts; the ambivalent play; the arrogance), not long ago, he was linked with being sent to the Dodgers for Matt Kemp, who has MVP potential, just like Cano. Does Nate McLouth have MVP potential? In a word, no.
Having seen McLouth far more than the two or three times Francesa’s seen him (not that Francesa would know what he’s looking at anyway), he’s a very similar player to Nick Swisher and the Yankees certainly don’t need two of those. I have to believe that unless there are off-field issues that we don’t know about with Cano, he’s going to recover and return to the player he was in 2006 and 2007.
Making matters worse, Francesa’s got them throwing in Phil Hughes as well. I don’t know what’s
going on with Hughes and why everyone’s all of a sudden dumping on him, but it’s not like he went out and performed atrociously and behaved worse like Ian Kennedy did (and I wouldn’t automatically give up on Kennedy either); Hughes was hurt. This could be a case of the Yankees deliberately trying to reduce the pressure on Hughes by diminishing expectations. He’s still got the potential to be a 15-game winner in the big leagues and he’s only 22; dumping him as an additive on what’s a stupid trade to begin with would be a huge error. They’re better off signing Jim Edmonds or waiting to see if Mike Cameron or even Ichiro comes available than going after McLouth to play center field, especially for Cano and Hughes.
- Coco Crisp traded to the Royals:
Rotoworld.com is reporting that the Red Sox have traded Coco Crisp to the Royals for Ramon Ramirez. What the Royals need with Crisp is beyond me to start, but to also 
trade a valuable bullpen arm like Ramirez is ridiculous. This is a steal
for Theo Epstein and the Red Sox if it goes through. Maybe I was wrong about Dayton Moore; I’m having trouble finding new ways to defend him if this is the way he’s going to build his team. Journeyman outfielders like Crisp, you can find; 26-year-old relief pitchers with 146 strikeouts in 156 career innings in the big leagues, you can’t; and this is after trading another useful reliever, Leo Nunez, for another player you can find in Mike Jacobs. If this is Moore’s version of improving his team, the Royals are in trouble.
Pujols Stands Alone
In thirty or so years, people are going to look at Albert Pujols’s stats and ask, “was this
guy really that good?” Then will come the questions about PEDs and whether Pujols stood alone as a clean player in a dirty era and some buffoons will wonder whether he’d just found a better drug or blocking agent to continue doing what others couldn’t. After that, people might look at his numbers in comparison to the players who were either created or enhanced by the use of PEDs and in comparison to the hitters he had surrounding him and realize how historic a baseball figure Pujols really was. Here are the reasons why Pujols is going to go down as perhaps the greatest right-handed hitter in baseball history, if he isn’t there already:
- The numbers go up year-after-year:
On Baseball-Reference.com, in addition to a player’s stats, if you scroll down there are lists of players with similar statistics. In looking at Pujols’s similar players for his career up to 
now, only a few stand out like Hank Greenberg and Lance Berkman; but when looking at the list of players through age 28 (Pujols’s listed age, which is the only dubious thing about him), the names are almost all baseball royalty—-Joe DiMaggio; Mickey Mantle; Frank Robinson; Hank Aaron; Jimmie Foxx.
Pujols’s numbers rarely deviate from one season to the next; they’re always at or beyond his career averages and in today’s game with the declining totals of almost every player due to the drug testing and attempted abolition of amphetamines, he’s still putting up the same numbers.
- He’s alone in the Cardinals lineup and rarely strikes out:
Over the course of a game, how many hittable pitches does Pujols see? With the way the
Cardinals in recent years have been penny-pinching and using players surrounding Pujols that no one’s going to be frightened of, he’s lucky if he sees two pitches that he can do anything with. Just look at the names he’s had around him “protecting” him in the lineup: Troy Glaus; Rick Ankiel; Ryan Ludwick; Chris Duncan; Scott Rolen; Jim Edmonds; Reggie Sanders—-is there a Manny Ramirez/David Ortiz combination anywhere there?
Granted, when Edmonds and Rolen were healthy and in their primes, Pujols’s numbers were slightly more gaudy in the power department because there were other hitters with whom the opposition had to be at least vigilant. Ryan Ludwick had a big year with 37 homers, but that may have been more of a function of teams not wanting Pujols to beat them, and Pujols still hit .357; he still hit 37 
homers; he still only struck out 54 times.
Look at the other MVP candidates and who they had surrounding them. Ryan Howard had Chase Utley in front of him and Pat Burrell behind him; he’s also hitting in a ballpark where a long fly ball to the opposite field goes carrying out of the ballpark. Ryan Braun had Prince Fielder protecting him. What did Pujols have? What would his numbers look like if he were in the Red Sox or Yankees lineup for one year? When there was no choice but to pitch to him and try to get him out?
- He played this entire season requiring elbow surgery:
It’s easy to forget now—-since the Cardinals overachieved their way to 86 wins and almost
seasonlong contention—-that there were numerous calls in spring training for Pujols to get elbow surgery immediately and not waste his time and skills trying to lead a hopeless cause like the Cardinals to respectability. Pujols chose to take his chances that the entire elbow ligament wasn’t going to tear; play and hope he could get through the season. He got through the season alright and came very close to carrying a team to the playoffs that by all rights (and without Pujols and manager Tony La Russa) would have ended up close to last place with 67 wins.
- He has virtually no weaknesses at the plate:
Throw him a 95-mph fastball up and in? He’s quick enough to turn on it and hook it around the left field foul pole. Throw him a perfect fastball on the outside corner? He’ll line it the 
opposite way. Throw him a wicked breaking ball? He’ll either let it go by, or with two strikes will foul it off. Make a mistake anywhere near the strike zone? He’ll rocket it over the center field fence. There’s no place to pitch to him to get him out consistently because he’s such a student of the game; of what a pitcher’s trying to do; and he’s always adjusting.
One of the main differences between a big leaguer and a guy who can’t get past Triple A is what they do with mistakes. A big league player takes a pitcher’s mistakes and makes him pay for them, but even the consistent big league, everyday player misses a fair number of hittable pitches; Pujols gets so few of them, but hits them anyway. He doesn’t miss.
- Albert Pujols, perhaps the greatest right-handed hitter in history, was a 13th round draft pick:
I doubt there’s a baseball executive alive who expects a 13th round pick to even have a viable big league career, let alone become what Pujols has become. A 13th round pick is a guy that a scout liked for some reason and has potential to be either a useful player on the
bench or an “organizational player”. For those who are unfamiliar with the term “organizational player”, it’s a guy they use to fill out a minor league rost
er, most likely at Triple A.
- And one more thing:
He’s a great fielder too.
Another Domino Falls On The Road Leading K-Rod To The Mets
- The trade between the Cubs and Marlins has ramifications in all sorts of
directions:
With the Cubs acquiring Kevin Gregg from the Marlins, they’re intending to move Carlos Marmol into the closer’s spot (where he’ll be far better than Kerry Wood and a possible Mariano Rivera-like, lights-out closer—-in the regular season, anyway); this led to the announcement that they’re not going to attempt to re-sign Kerry Wood. Without intent, this will eliminate another team—-the only team—-that might have met Francisco Rodriguez’s asking price of $75 
million over five years.
Kerry Wood isn’t going to be out of work for long. The Rangers need a closer; Wood is from Texas; Rangers president Nolan Ryan likes guys who throw hard and has a loyalty to Texas; and he won’t cost as much money or years as some of the other available closers will. The Rangers have overpaid for free agents before and there was every possibility that they’d panic and throw a load of money at K-Rod, but with the availability of Wood and the hometown appeal, along with the fact that he’s actually a pretty good closer will send Wood to the Rangers and eliminate another card for K-Rod and his agent to play as they try to salvage as much money and years
from their original demands as possible.
Who does this leave as possible players for K-Rod? The Angels have pretty much declared themselves out, but they could change their minds if the numbers are reasonable enough for them to bring him back. The Indians don’t have the money, nor the willingness to pay for big name closers; the Cardinals would’ve been a possibility two years ago, but they’re going to cheap route as well; the Tigers are slashing payroll and appear to be in slight disarray; so who’s left? Four words: the New York Mets.
It’s becoming clearer and clearer that both sides need one another. K-Rod wants to be on the big stage; the Mets need a closer; K-Rod’s not going to get the money he initially thought his 62 saves would bring him; the Mets don’t want to spend another chunk of cash on a new closer while they’re paying Billy Wagner to recover from elbow surgery. It’s going to happen, and it might be sooner rather than later at terms that aren’t outrageous to the Mets, nor embarrassing to K-Rod.
- Everyone’s jumping in with their awards predictions and I’m being ignored because I wrote mine right after the season ended:
I had Brad Lidge as the NL Cy Young Award winner, but the other guys in order of
where they finished right behind him. Geovany Soto as NL Rookie of the Year; Lou Piniella as Manager of the Year; and Albert Pujols as MVP—-Link, Blog 9/29.
In the American League, I had Cliff Lee winning the CYA; Evan Longoria winning ROY; Joe Maddon winning AL Manager of the Year; and Kevin Youkilis as the MVP—-Link, Blog 10/1.
- Let’s play Six Degrees of Mark Teixeira:
For those unfamiliar with the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, the concept is simple:
you name an actor and have to connect him with Kevin Bacon within six shots. For example, if someone said, “Sylvester Stallone”, you could say, “Sylvester Stallone was in Cliffhanger with John Lithgow, who was in Footloose with Kevin Bacon.” There are dozens of ways to do it; and with the frequency of travel during the relatively short career of Mark Teixeira up to this point, he’s a perfect candidate for a baseball version of this game.
Here’s an example off the top of my head: Dwight Gooden. Dwight Gooden was on the Yankees with Derek Jeter; Jeter was on the Yankees with Alfonso
Soriano; Soriano was on the Rangers with Mark Teixeira. The fun never ends!!!
So here’s the first name if anyone wants to waste some serious time playing this game: A.J. Pierzynski.
Connect the dots…
An Open Note To Chris Lincecum
Judging from the number of websearch/blog hits I’m getting seeking mechanical and exercise advice since your son Tim just won the Cy Young Award, my advice is to strike now and write a detailed book about your specially designed workout/stretching program for your son. Even in this economy, there’s a heavy demand for it. (I’ll ghostwrite it with you if you want for a nominal fee.)
American League Post-Season Award Winners
- American League MVP—-Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox:
Youkilis’s value to the Red Sox was imperative to the Red Sox getting through the turmoil
and lost production from Manny Ramirez’s departure. He hit in the clutch; never failed to get his uniform dirty; drove in runs; hit homers; and played excellent defense at two different positions.
Other candidates in order: 2) Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox; 3) Carlos Quentin, Chicago White Sox; 4) Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers; 5) Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
- American League Cy Young Award—-Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians:
Lee was excellent from start to finish for the entire season; even in games in which he 
didn’t have his best stuff, he battled his way through and his 22-3 record is amazing considering how bad the Indians bullpen was all season.
Other candidates in order: 2) Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays; 3) Gavin Floyd, Chicago White Sox; 4) Francisco Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels; 5) Mike Mussina, New York Yankees
- American League Rookie of the Year—-Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays:
It took a lot for people to forget that Longoria’s name was strangely close to a starlet on
Desperate Housewives, but he managed it with his quick bat and stunning leadership skills for a rookie on an up-and-coming team. Players who receive the raves that Longoria did before the season started often don’t live up to the hype, but Longoria did.
Other candidates in order: 2) Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox; 3) Mike Aviles, Kansas City Royals; 4) Jose Arredondo, Los Angeles Angels; 5) Chris Davis, Texas Rangers
- Manager of the Year—-Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays:
I’ve been saying all year long that Twins manager Ron Gardenhire should win it based on 
his work this season and his unappreciated body of work over the years as their manager, but in the end, they didn’t make the playoffs despite being in great position to do so after losing two of three games to the Royals over the weekend and the one-game-playoff to the White Sox; Maddon’s team increased their win total by 31 games and are heading to the playoffs for the first time, so he deserves the recognition for a job well-done.
Other candidates in order: 2) Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins; 3) Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels; 4) Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox; 5) Ozzie Guillen, Chicago White Sox
National League Post-Season Award Winners
*The American League selections will have to wait until the AL Central is decided. What if the
Twins and White Sox have to play a one-game playoff and Justin Morneau hits three homers? How would that affect the voting?
- National League MVP—-Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals:
Pujols was almost completely alone in that lineup aside from Ryan Ludwick and Troy Glaus and some occasional contributions from Rick Ankiel; but Pujols probably only sees one or two good pitches to hit in a 
game and still puts up numbers like in PlayStation. He was at or near the top in every major category and the Cardinals would’ve won maybe 72 games without him.
Other candidates in order: 2) Brad Lidge, Philadelphia Phillies; 3) Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies; 4) Jose Reyes, New York Mets; 5) C.C. Sabathia, Milwaukee Brewers; 6) Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers
- National League Cy Young Award—-Brad Lidge, Philadelphia
Phillies:
The Phillies would have been in third place in the NL East without Lidge, period.
Other candidates in order: 2) Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants; 3) Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks; 4) Johan Santana, New York Mets; 5) C.C. Sabathia, Milwaukee Brewers
- National League Rookie of the Year—-Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs:
Handling the pitching staff and a difficult manager while hitting in the clutch and with power, 
Soto showed a maturity far beyond a 25-year-old rookie.
Other candidates: 2) Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta Braves; 3) Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds; 4) Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds; 5) Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies
- National League Manager of the Year: Lou Piniella, Chicago Cubs:
Dealing with a neophyte closer; a rookie catcher; several question marks in the starting rotation and the up-the-middle defense; getting the most out of players who’d been released
like Jim Edmonds and Reed Johnson and coaxing a career year out of a pretty good, but not this good player in Mark DeRosa; and dealing with the injuries to key pitchers like Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden, Piniella should finally get some recognition for being as great a manager as he is.
Other candidates: 2) Joe Torre, Los Angeles Dodgers; 3) Tony La Russa, St. Louis Cardinals; 4) Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia Phillies; 5) Fredi Gonzalez, Florida Marlins; 6) Cecil Cooper, Houston Astros
Mid-Season Award Winners
Here are my picks for the mid-season award winners:
- AL MVP: Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers
I shook my head in confusion after seeing that Jayson Stark had selected Kinsler as his MVP considering the massive numbers that both Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley have put
up, but in looking at the numbers, it’s bizarre. Like previous Rangers players (Mark Teixeira, Hank Blalock), both Hamilton and Bradley have huge numbers at home and solid enough (but nowhere close to MVP) numbers on the road. Kinsler has far better power numbers on the road than at home; his batting average is .376 at home and .299 on the road. He’s obviously benefiting from the cozy confines of Arlington and by having Bradley, Hamilton and Michael Young in the same lineup, but his production can’t be denied especially since it’s been so consistent at home and on the road.
- AL Cy Young Award: Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians
Lee has been unappreciated for several years as a solid and consistent winner, but this year his fastball appeared to have picked up some life; combined with his control, he’s been dominating on a struggling team with a shaky bullpen. He’s been brilliant across the board, throwing strikes, not allowing homers and racking up wins.
- AL Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
Longoria has 84 hits and 40 are for extra bases. An All Star as a rookie, a very good fielder and an emerging voice in his clubhouse simply by the professional way he carries himself.
- AL Manager of the Year: Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins
Before the seven game losing streak to end the first half, it would have been Rays manager Joe Maddon, but a team with an eye on 
making the playoffs cannot get swept in a four-game series by an Indians team that has pretty much thrown in the towel on the season. Because the Twins aren’t in a playoff position and they’re more of an under-the-radar story, many miss the fact that their roster is weaker and in many ways, less established than that of the Rays. Gardenhire is nursing a very young pitching staff to an over .500 record when they were expected to have a rebuilding year. This is also a body-of-work award because Gardenhire has been such an unappreciated top-tier manager for so long without recognition; Maddon is in his third year, let him pay some dues.
- NL MVP: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Pujols is almost alone in that lineup which accounts for his league-leading (by a lot) 22 intentional walks. To be able to put up the numbers Pujols puts up while seeing maybe one or two pitches to hit a game is indicative of how great he is. Chase Utley was an early favorite, but has petered out in the past couple of months and if Pujols were in the Phillies lineup, he’d win the Triple Crown.
- NL Cy Young Award: Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds
Many are picking Tim Lincecum because of his quirky personality 
and motion; his diminutive size and interesting story, but Volquez has been better across the board. He’s given up fewer hits, runs and homers (pitching in a far easier home park to hit in than Lincecum), has a lower ERA and a better strikeout/innings pitched ratio. If the Reds were in contention and Volquez hadn’t had those extra few days in the big leagues while with the Rangers, he’s have an argument for being the Cy Young winner, Rookie of the Year and the MVP.
- NL Rookie of the Year: Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs
Cubs manager Lou Piniella is rough on his catchers and to have a rookie come in and
perform as well as Soto has at and behind the plate is very difficult and implies a mental toughness that portends a great career.
- NL Manager of the Year: Lou Piniella, Chicago Cubs
Tony La Russa is the obvious choice because of his ability to do a lot with limited talent, but that thinking can distract from a manager 
whose team also had question marks coming into the season. Piniella has the Cubs in first place with a rookie catcher (Soto); a closer in training (Kerry Wood); and a scrapheap pickup as his center fielder (Jim Edmonds); he’s also been without Alfonso Soriano for a big chunk of the season and still managed to drag the Cubs into first place by sheer force of will just as he did last year. Managers are often rewarded not for winning, but for having their teams play above their heads with what was perceived to be a lack of talent. Results are what they are and Piniella has the results so far this year to get the nod over La Russa.
*Note: I do not care about the home run derby; I do not want to
know about the home run derby; I think the home run derby is a colossal
waste of time.
princeofny
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