Hello everyone and welcome to my last blog of the year. 2010 was the first full year of Pat's Baseball Blog, and I think it's been a good one. Also, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, whatever you celebrate, and that you continue to have good fortune into 2011. There are certainly some MLB teams that will see some good fortune come their way. Some teams will hit their way to the top, while others will pitch themselves to the playoffs. Who has the best rotation in the game though? Well that is something we are going to discuss right this very minute.
First it should be mentioned that there has been a definite draw of talent away from the American League and into the National League. In the past decade the NL has lured away the likes of Chris Carpenter, Roy Halladay, Barry Zito, Johan Santana, and Cliff Lee, twice. There are a few contributing factors to this. One huge point is that the National League does not have a DH or designated hitter. It means a National League pitcher has to face one less potent bat each time through the lineup, reducing potentially inflated statistical numbers. But it's not all about the stats. Some pitchers honestly prefer to hit as well, and only the NL allows them to do that. And an argument could be made that the NL is slowly taking over as the more dominant league in baseball, but that is a much larger argument for another time. The main point being though, is that most of the rotations we are about to discuss are not in the AL.
But lest we forget about the American League entirely, let's begin our discussion of rotations by focusing on perhaps the best one, the Boston Red Sox. Beantown is littered with talented pitchers at the moment. They have Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz and John Lackey as a consistent starting four. I fear mentioning Daisuke Matsuzaka only because he's been hurt quite often over the past few years. Beckett too, has seen some injury time and if both should fall this year, then maybe this rotation won't be playoff bound, as it was doomed to miss out on October baseball this past year. However, if all cylinders are clicking, then this squad is extremely dangerous.
Lester is perhaps the best young lefty in the game, and at age 26, still has tons of time to improve and develop pitches. That's a scary thought, because his 2010 campaign saw him win a career-high 19 games while posting a 3.25 ERA and striking out 225 guys, exactly the same amount he struck out in 2009. Clay Buchholz may have even one-upped Lester by winning 17, but pitching a infinitesimally small 2.33. Clay is not the K-tallier that Lester is, but these two young studs(Clay is only 25) are the future of this organization. If Beckett stays healthy, and if Lackey bounces back from a somewhat Lack-luster (get it?!) year, then this rotation might just be the best in the game.
In addition, the Sox certainly have the offensive prowess to give any guy pitching a mental boost. And while this conversation is reserved mostly for rotations, it must be mentioned that Boston has accumulated one of the best bullpens around as well, making wins even easier to hold on to. But when all is said and done, the bullpen and the offense are going to help Boston win just as much, if not more than the rotation. So can they really be called dominant, and/or the best in the game? As of this moment, I don't think so.
Let's head over to the National League, where great rotations are falling off of trees. In St. Louis, the Cardinals have two legitimate aces in Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Carpenter has bounced back from missing almost two full years ('07, '08) and regained his ace form. He won 17 games last year, with a 2.24 ERA and finished 2nd to Tim Lincecum in Cy Young voting. This year he added another 16 wins to his resume, and he isn't even the best pitcher on the team. That honor would probably have to go to Wainwright, who is tremendously overlooked in this game. 2009 looked like this for Adam; 19-8, 2.63 ERA, 233 IP, 212 K. 2010 was even better; 20-11, 2.42 ERA, 230 IP, 213 K, and he lowered his hits allowed, homeruns allowed, and walks. Wainwright is merely 28 as well, and has a very bright career ahead of him.
To add to this dynamic duo, the Cards also have Jaime Garcia, who at age 23 posted a fantastic rookie season, going 13-8 with a 2.70 ERA. Although he isn't a strikeout guy, and walked 3.5 batter per 9 innings, Garcia was able to stay away from the long ball that hurts many pitchers. He only gave up 9 homers all season. If Garcia can improve on his walks, and if he can prove he can handle the wear and tear of full MLB seasons, then he should had a crucial element to the Cardinals rotation for 2011 and going forward. Do Garcia, Wainwright and Carpenter make up the best rotation in baseball though? I can't say yes to that, as much as I would like to, for two reasons. Carpenter will be 36 next year and as he did miss two full years, has some injury risk involved. Meanwhile, Garcia is still slightly unproven as last year could have been a fluke, and he hasn't pitched 32 starts back to back yet. However, this team definitely has the potential to win and even dominate the National League Central.
Suddenly there is another competitive rotation in the NL Central, though. The Milwaukee Brewers, not a team known for pitching, has thrown their hat into the mix by picking up Shaun Marcum and Zach Greinke this off-season. They will help Yovani Gallardo transform the Brew Crew from a bash first team, to one that might pitch its way into October. Marcum has been touted for the past several years in Toronto, but has never fulled lived up to the hype. 2010 was sort of a break out year as he started over 30 games for the first time in his career, while putting up a 13-8 record, a 3.64 ERA and a great 3.84 K/BB ratio. Playing in Toronto didn't help his 24 homeruns allowed or his win total, so perhaps a change of scenery will make this work in progress a fully fledged star. Greinke, on the other hand, was obtained from the Kansas City Royals via trade on December 19th and gives the Brewers a second ace pitcher. He won the Cy Young in 2009, but struggled to repeat that performance in 2010 and ended up with a losing record and an ERA over four.
Greinke wants to win now though, and Kansas City is still a ways off from that, so as with Marcum, this change of scenery might be the best thing for Greinke, who can dominate batters with both his fastball and breaking pitches. His noted anxiety issues are in the past, but must remain in the back of any owner's mind, and Greinke needs to prove that 2009 was no accident. A new league should help that. Throw both Marcum and Greinke in back of Gallardo, who not only can control a game with his pitching, but can contribute with his bat, and this rotation is looking strong. Milwaukee's rotation has potentially the most swing room out of any team. They could all click together, and be outstanding, or they could stumble and force the offense to carry the team again. The good news is that this rotation isn't costly, so in the event that the Brewers lose power-hitting Prince Fielder after 2011, they can use the money they would have spent on him to add another guy or two to the rotation. If they don't win now, watch out for the Brewers in the very near future.
Then there are the mighty Philadelphia Phillies. By adding Cliff Lee, the Phillies have a rotation of four absolute aces, which will cost roughly $57 million in 2011. But the Phils should get their moneys worth. Lee is a pinpoint strike thrower, Roy Halladay, the defending NL Cy Young winner, never throws a straight ball for a batter to hit, Oswalt still has dominate stuff, and Hamels has a handcuffing changeup. When you add to this that the Phils have potentially the best offense in baseball behind these guys, it's hard to imagine any of these guys not winning at least 13-15 games. And in all actuality, we could see this squad have multiple 20-game winners on it. It's pretty much redundant for me to continue to mention the accolades of this rotation, because I've done in it in past blogs already, and it's been covered in the news ad nauseam.
The crucial aspect to consider for this discussion though; Is this the best rotation in baseball? As I have mentioned before, there is risk involved here because of age. Oswalt, Lee and Halladay are all 33 or over, and many position players are starting to age as well. This team, while most likely heading for another playoff journey, could trip up. The rotation itself, though, has a strong advantage over the other rotations mentioned simply in magnitude and in quality. So they rightfully are most people's pick for the best rotation in baseball. But there is one last rotation to consider, and you might know who they are.
The 2010 World Series Champions did not win with pitching alone, but had the pitching not held up as well as it did, then the Giants probably weren't even going to make the playoffs, let alone go as far as they did. That is due in large part to the expert play of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez. Lincecum, well, what else can I say about the guy. He's probably my favorite pitcher in the game right now, and he backs up his wacky attitude with good ol' fashioned ace stuff. He's won two Cy Young awards already, and was absolutely fantastic in the playoffs. He personifies 'ace'. Matt Cain is no second-banana though, as he is one of the more consistent pitchers in the league. He can strike guys out, and has improved his BB/9 ratio for five years straight. Cain hasn't had a breakout year statistically yet, but he's due. Sanchez is a bit of a loose cannon with his volatile personality, but he delivers on the mound. He won 13 games and had the lowest ERA of the three this past year. He strikes out hitters with almost the same regularity as Lincecum and many analysts say Sanchez has the best stuff on the team. He tends to walk guys, which keeps his numbers high sometimes, but he is definitely a stud.
Madison Bumgarner is the wild card however. He started 2010 in the rotation and faltered, so he spent some time in the minors before coming back up late. Over 18 starts, he posted a 3.00 ERA and ran a 3.31 K/BB ratio. These numbers are pretty good, but are too small of a sample to generate what he will do over a full year. But at a mere 20, the sky is the limit for this hard-throwing young man. And many reports say that he could become the best pitcher on this staff, which is saying something pretty remarkable. If Bumgarner, and the other three all have good seasons, then this may be the best rotation in baseball.
At a fraction of the price of the Phantastic Phour, the Giants appear to be a much better value right now. But in the end, this discussion must factor in opinion. Arguments can be made for or against all of these rotations being the best. The Phils and Giants are probably my favorites, but you may say otherwise. If you want to share what you think about my analysis, or wish to add some of your own, please feel free.
This post about pitching wouldn't be complete without mentioning the passing of a Hall of Fame legend. Bob Feller was a great pitcher from 1936 until 1956, winning 20-games or more 6 times and was elected to the All-Star team 8 times. A humble and kind-hearted mid-westerner, the career Cleveland Indian began his career at the tender age of 17 with hype that puts Stephen Strasburg-mania to shame. And the young man delivered. But of all his statistical feats over his illustrious career, there is one thing that stands above all else. At 22 and during the prime of his career, Bob Feller volunteered for military service on December 8th, 1941, one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was the first of many baseball players to give up an easy life of fame and money to serve a greater cause. He proved himself not a hero in the sports sense, but a real hero whose sacrifices proved his mettle. Rest in peace Mr. Feller. You certainly deserve to.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee
Does anybody remember that Cosby Show episode where Claire and her friend sing 'Mr. Lee' by The Bobbettes? It was a great episode, as the Cosby Show often did cool, theatrical stuff like that. But we are not here to discuss music history, or even television history. We are here to talk about baseball, and that's what I intend to do. So without further ado, let's broach the topic of the famous Cliff Lee.
It seemed like the entire off-season became one big Cliff Lee update reel. Every day or two, sports blog around the country were saying that the New York Yankees were the favorites to sign the lefty, or that the Texas Rangers still had a legitimate shot at wrangling in their prized mid-season acquisition. Only occasionally did one here talk of a mystery team popping into the picture. There were rumors of the Angels, or the Nationals, but not once did I hear anything about the Philadelphia Phillies showing interest in the star that they traded away. So it was to my surprise that on Tuesday, December 14th, I heard that the Phillies had not only entered discussions, but had actually signed Mr. Lee.
Whhaaaaaa?! Are these the same Phillies that traded Clifford away just one year ago? The same team that could have had both Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee in the same rotation but chose not to? Surely you can't be serious? I am serious, and don't call me Shirley. Yeah, the Philadelphia Phillies apparently felt they made an egregious error in letting Mr. Lee slip away last year, and felt they had to correct the situation. I mean they still had Halladay, and Hamels, not to mention they picked up a pretty good starter in Roy Oswalt mid-season. But the team managed to miss out on a third-straight World Series visit. I guess the Philly front-office believes Cliff Lee is the missing piece.
An expensive missing piece he is, too. Cliff Lee signed a 5-year, $120 million deal, meaning Cliff will make an estimated $24 million dollars per season, which makes him the most well paid pitcher ever. But Lee actually passed on more overall money from both the Yankees who offered $148 million over seven years, and Texas who offered $161 million over the same span. So then why did Lee chose Philly instead? There are several rumored reasons. One is that he loved Philly while he was there for a brief stint in 2009, and never wanted to be traded away in the first place. And another is that during the 2010 ALCS, Yankees fans actually booed, spit and poured beer on Cliff's wife while she was in the stands. Whether that is true is still debatable, but it may have been enough to make Lee turn his nose to the Evil Empire. As for the Rangers, I guess Lee just didn't think they had as good of a shot to repeat as the Phillies.
So now the Phils have a rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, and Joe Blanton, although Blanton is likely to be traded soon. From name recognition alone, this is a formidable group, and they have already been called the Phatastic Phour, and the Phearsome Phoursome around the internet. While this group certainly have the ability to get the Phils back to the World Series, they are definitely a pricey lot. The Phillies will have in 2011, three players making $20 million or more in Halladay, Lee and Ryan Howard. Throw in Oswalt's $16 million, Chase Utley's $15.3 million and three other contracts worth a combined $34.7 million, plus everyone else on the team, and this squad is right up there with Boston and the Yankees in terms of spending.
But there is also risk involved here as 3/5 of the starting rotation will be 33 or older, and every starting day position player will be 30 or over except in right-field which will probably be played by young stud Dominic Brown. So this team has incredible incentive to win and win now. If they don't, and things go downhill over the next two years due to lack of ability or injuries or whatever, then the Phils will be stuck with some seriously debilitating contracts. If all goes well though, this could be one of the most dominate teams ever assembled.
Enough about Mr. Lee and his millions upon millions of dollars. Another Phillie made news recently, former General Manager Pat Gillick. The former Blue Jays (1978-1994), Orioles (1996-1998), Mariners (2000-2003), and Phillies (2006-2008) GM was elected to the Hall of Fame recently. As Baseball-Reference.com puts it, "He is considered by many to be the chief architect who transformed the club from an expansion franchise to a team that won back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993." While his other stints were much shorter, they all proved successful, and most recently he helped the Phillies win the 2008 World Series by bringing in such talent as Brad Lidge and the ageless Jamie Moyer. Congratulations to Mr. Gillick.
And finally, a bit of sad news as long-time Chicago Cubs icon, Ron Santo passed away on December 2nd. Mr. Santo was well before my time, but he was a dominate third-baseman in the 1960s. His run-producing power helped transform the position from one of pure defense to one of offense as well. He did all this while playing with diabetes, which eventually took its toll in the amputation of both of his legs below the knees. He remained active in the Chicago community, helping to fight juvenile diabetes, and called the Cubs' radio broadcast since 1990. In his impressive career, "He was a nine-time All-Star,... a five-time Gold Glove winner...finished in the top five in the MVP voting twice, led the league in walks four times, led the league in on-base percentage twice, and was in the top ten in slugging five times." (Baseball-reference.com) It seems as though everybody who knew him loved him, and the fans of Chicago baseball, and indeed baseball everywhere will miss him.
That's all for now, but stay tuned as there are still some very talented free-agents left on the board, and there is lots and lots of baseball debating to do. I hope everyone enjoys their holiday season!
It seemed like the entire off-season became one big Cliff Lee update reel. Every day or two, sports blog around the country were saying that the New York Yankees were the favorites to sign the lefty, or that the Texas Rangers still had a legitimate shot at wrangling in their prized mid-season acquisition. Only occasionally did one here talk of a mystery team popping into the picture. There were rumors of the Angels, or the Nationals, but not once did I hear anything about the Philadelphia Phillies showing interest in the star that they traded away. So it was to my surprise that on Tuesday, December 14th, I heard that the Phillies had not only entered discussions, but had actually signed Mr. Lee.
Whhaaaaaa?! Are these the same Phillies that traded Clifford away just one year ago? The same team that could have had both Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee in the same rotation but chose not to? Surely you can't be serious? I am serious, and don't call me Shirley. Yeah, the Philadelphia Phillies apparently felt they made an egregious error in letting Mr. Lee slip away last year, and felt they had to correct the situation. I mean they still had Halladay, and Hamels, not to mention they picked up a pretty good starter in Roy Oswalt mid-season. But the team managed to miss out on a third-straight World Series visit. I guess the Philly front-office believes Cliff Lee is the missing piece.
An expensive missing piece he is, too. Cliff Lee signed a 5-year, $120 million deal, meaning Cliff will make an estimated $24 million dollars per season, which makes him the most well paid pitcher ever. But Lee actually passed on more overall money from both the Yankees who offered $148 million over seven years, and Texas who offered $161 million over the same span. So then why did Lee chose Philly instead? There are several rumored reasons. One is that he loved Philly while he was there for a brief stint in 2009, and never wanted to be traded away in the first place. And another is that during the 2010 ALCS, Yankees fans actually booed, spit and poured beer on Cliff's wife while she was in the stands. Whether that is true is still debatable, but it may have been enough to make Lee turn his nose to the Evil Empire. As for the Rangers, I guess Lee just didn't think they had as good of a shot to repeat as the Phillies.
So now the Phils have a rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, and Joe Blanton, although Blanton is likely to be traded soon. From name recognition alone, this is a formidable group, and they have already been called the Phatastic Phour, and the Phearsome Phoursome around the internet. While this group certainly have the ability to get the Phils back to the World Series, they are definitely a pricey lot. The Phillies will have in 2011, three players making $20 million or more in Halladay, Lee and Ryan Howard. Throw in Oswalt's $16 million, Chase Utley's $15.3 million and three other contracts worth a combined $34.7 million, plus everyone else on the team, and this squad is right up there with Boston and the Yankees in terms of spending.
But there is also risk involved here as 3/5 of the starting rotation will be 33 or older, and every starting day position player will be 30 or over except in right-field which will probably be played by young stud Dominic Brown. So this team has incredible incentive to win and win now. If they don't, and things go downhill over the next two years due to lack of ability or injuries or whatever, then the Phils will be stuck with some seriously debilitating contracts. If all goes well though, this could be one of the most dominate teams ever assembled.
Enough about Mr. Lee and his millions upon millions of dollars. Another Phillie made news recently, former General Manager Pat Gillick. The former Blue Jays (1978-1994), Orioles (1996-1998), Mariners (2000-2003), and Phillies (2006-2008) GM was elected to the Hall of Fame recently. As Baseball-Reference.com puts it, "He is considered by many to be the chief architect who transformed the club from an expansion franchise to a team that won back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993." While his other stints were much shorter, they all proved successful, and most recently he helped the Phillies win the 2008 World Series by bringing in such talent as Brad Lidge and the ageless Jamie Moyer. Congratulations to Mr. Gillick.
And finally, a bit of sad news as long-time Chicago Cubs icon, Ron Santo passed away on December 2nd. Mr. Santo was well before my time, but he was a dominate third-baseman in the 1960s. His run-producing power helped transform the position from one of pure defense to one of offense as well. He did all this while playing with diabetes, which eventually took its toll in the amputation of both of his legs below the knees. He remained active in the Chicago community, helping to fight juvenile diabetes, and called the Cubs' radio broadcast since 1990. In his impressive career, "He was a nine-time All-Star,... a five-time Gold Glove winner...finished in the top five in the MVP voting twice, led the league in walks four times, led the league in on-base percentage twice, and was in the top ten in slugging five times." (Baseball-reference.com) It seems as though everybody who knew him loved him, and the fans of Chicago baseball, and indeed baseball everywhere will miss him.
That's all for now, but stay tuned as there are still some very talented free-agents left on the board, and there is lots and lots of baseball debating to do. I hope everyone enjoys their holiday season!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Bust a Move
Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings have come and gone, and lots of free-agents now have new homes. Some even returned to old ones. And while Cliff Lee, possibly the biggest free-agent of the off-season is still without a team, other major players have been rerouted to new uniforms in new colors. While we won't be able to cover every transaction of the past two months, I will certainly try and take care of the impact moves. Some were great, while others were...shall we say, busts?
First off, let's take a second to congratulate some new members of the coaching persuasion. John Farrell became the skipper of the Toronto Blue Jays, Clint Hurdle took over with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Terry Collins is now heading things up in New York for the Metropolitans. The first two new-hires went off without much begrudging, but Collins became a talking-point, mainly due to his past issues with player management. However, while leading up to his hiring he seemed like ever analysts' favorite for the job. Once he actually got the nod though, things seemed to change and everyone questioned whether he was the right guy, which just goes to show how fickle and scrutinizing the New York press can be.
The off-season started off quick with the Florida Marlins making some moves, which we have discussed already. The deal to send Dan Uggla to the division rival Braves may still be one of the worst moves thus far in my opinion. Then the Los Angeles Dodgers got into the act by resigning Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda, then adding Jon Garland and World Series Champion utility player Juan Uribe. Things started to get really interesting as the first 'big name' free agent came off the board; catcher Victor Martinez. He was courted by several teams including his most recent one, the Boston Red Sox, but in the end, the Detroit Tigers were able to lure him away due to the massive amount of money that had coming off the books this year. So now Martinez will be making at least $12 million for the next four years while catching, playing a little 1B and maybe even DHing from time to time.
Shortly thereafter, all hell broke loose. The Colorado Rockies, a small market team that rarely throws money around, signed shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to a seven-year extension, on top of his current deal that keeps him with the team until 2014. The deal is worth $119 million dollars and will keep with the team for the next ten years. These kinds of deals don't usually happen with players who are already under contract, but I suppose the Rockies wanted to lock up the stud player early, before the open market had a chance to take him away. But it comes at a huge cost. Tulo is a stellar player, but one serious injury and his career could be severely hampered, if not over. However, that is a risk when considering any long-term contract. And long-term contracts are becoming plentiful.
Simply ask Jayson Werth, who received from the Washington Nationals a massive 7-year deal of his own worth an estimated $126 million, and was for about a week the third-largest contract ever for an outfielder. Is Jayson Werth even one of the three best outfielders in the game? Most people I know would say no, and while he has proven himself a very adept all-around baseball player, he will turn 32 early next season, and he collected a vast amount of his homeruns in Philadelphia's Citizen Bank Park, which is small to say the least. None of this bodes well for Jayson living up to this contract. He is a tremendous compliment player and if the Nats help build around him and Ryan Zimmerman with young talent coming through their farm teams, then this eventually might not be so bad. But this contract now handcuffs the Nats to help the team build in other crucial areas, such as starting and relief pitching. This looks to be a critical signing for years to come. Seven at least.
Former National Adam Dunn also got a new deal, but from an American League team, the Chicago White Sox. But before Adam could get his first-baseman's glove ready, the Pale Hose re-upped on long-time 1B Paul Konerko. They also resigned catcher A.J. Pierzinski while they were at it. So now it looks like Dunn will be doing the one thing he didn't want to do, and that's DHing. Meanwhile, on the North Side of Chicago, the Cubs signed Carlos Pena to play first for $10 million a year. Seeing as how he hit under .200 last year, I'd say this was yet another unwise signing by the Cubbies, who have been signing bad deal after bad deal for the past couple of years. However, Pena does bring a power bat and some great defensive work with him, so maybe he won't work out as badly as Milton Bradley.
In other news, the Yankees resigned both closer Mariano Rivera and shortstop Derek Jeter. Neither move was really a shock. The Rivera deal went almost unnoticed as the drama swiveled around Jeter's closely-cropped head. During the press conference following his new contract, Jeter was visibly and audibly annoyed by the things that had been said about him in the press. To be fair, I even questioned Jeter's motivations during the whole episode, but that is what professional athletes put themselves through when their demands are high. The Yankees probably came out looking worse when all was said and done, as the Yankee captain was definitely upset by the free-agent process. Maybe they will have to go through this all again in about three or four years. But we'll deal with that when the time comes.
In St. Louis I was a bit surprised to see the Cardinals sign Lance Berkman. Aaron Harang, the man who holds the record for starts on Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds will now be throwing from the mound in San Diego. The Giants signed Miguel Tejada instead of reinvesting in the aforementioned Uribe or luring World Series MVP Edgar Renteria away from potential retirement. And homer-mashing, strikeout king, the Wizard of Wiff, Mark Reynolds traded in his Diamondback boots for some Oriole wings. Other, smaller moves were and still are happening just about every day, but these are most often complimentary players that don't make or break teams. Adrian Gonzalez, on the other hand, is a star.
That star will be rising over Boston next year and for years to come most likely. The San Diego All-Star 1B had been rumored for a move to Beantown for at least three years now. When San Diego came one game away from making the playoffs last year though, it looked like the Padres were going to seriously consider keeping Gonzalez on the books. But apparently the Friars couldn't say no to a deal from Boston that sent zero major league players back, in exchange for the dynamic, two-time Gold Glover. The Padres got some potential talent in the trade, especially highly touted pitcher Casey Kelley, but for the kind of player Adrian is, the Padres should have been able to get more. They instead sold themselves short, and will most likely pay the price in both on-field performance, and in attendance revenue, as Gonzalez was a beloved home-grown hero, and will be sorely missed by the fanbase.
The Red Sox weren't done mixing things up though. Just when everyone calmed down from saying how great it was for Boston to get Gonzalez, G.M. Theo Epstein dropped another bombshell and swooped in front of the Los Angeles Angels and signed outfielder Carl Crawford at 7-years, $142 million. Boston now has the two largest outfielder contracts of all-time. (The other was Manny Ramirez signing for 8-years, $160 million in 2001.) Crawford adds a huge element of speed, average, and athleticism to the already good lineup that was in Boston last year. With the addition of Adrian Gonzalez, who with the help of the short porch in right-field, could hit 40+ homers, and the speed of Carl Crawford at the top of the lineup, the Red Sox stand an excellent chance of making it back to the playoffs. Hell, they will probably be the best team in baseball!
The off-season is funny. Crawford probably never would have been offered such a monstrous deal had Jayson Werth not been given his. You see, in the baseball world there are many, many tiers of players. Crawford was widely regarded as a better outfielder than Werth, so whatever Werth signed to, Crawford could ask for more. That's why the top-ranked free agents usually sign first, to set the market for other players in the league. But this year it got screwed up, thus causing market rates to jump. And unfortunately it will cause prices to rise even higher for next year and the year after. This is due mainly to high-end agents like Scott Boras, and unless baseball comes up with something better than a luxury tax to curb salaries, then next year we might be talking about Albert Pujols getting $25-30 million a year.
To call any of the moves thus far a bust is a little too critical. Troy Tulowitzki's deal irritated a lot of people, but he's a fantastic young player and if consistently healthy, could make his extension look reasonable in later years. Werth's deal looks a little worse considering his age and the team who signed him, but maybe he'll play his heart out and become a beloved icon in Washington the way he started to in Philly. Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez could mark the start of another dynasty-type run for Boston. Or maybe a deal that was too small to mention at the time, could end up determining the future of a franchise. That's the beauty of baseball. Everything matters. Even the little things. And especially the busts.
First off, let's take a second to congratulate some new members of the coaching persuasion. John Farrell became the skipper of the Toronto Blue Jays, Clint Hurdle took over with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Terry Collins is now heading things up in New York for the Metropolitans. The first two new-hires went off without much begrudging, but Collins became a talking-point, mainly due to his past issues with player management. However, while leading up to his hiring he seemed like ever analysts' favorite for the job. Once he actually got the nod though, things seemed to change and everyone questioned whether he was the right guy, which just goes to show how fickle and scrutinizing the New York press can be.
The off-season started off quick with the Florida Marlins making some moves, which we have discussed already. The deal to send Dan Uggla to the division rival Braves may still be one of the worst moves thus far in my opinion. Then the Los Angeles Dodgers got into the act by resigning Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda, then adding Jon Garland and World Series Champion utility player Juan Uribe. Things started to get really interesting as the first 'big name' free agent came off the board; catcher Victor Martinez. He was courted by several teams including his most recent one, the Boston Red Sox, but in the end, the Detroit Tigers were able to lure him away due to the massive amount of money that had coming off the books this year. So now Martinez will be making at least $12 million for the next four years while catching, playing a little 1B and maybe even DHing from time to time.
Shortly thereafter, all hell broke loose. The Colorado Rockies, a small market team that rarely throws money around, signed shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to a seven-year extension, on top of his current deal that keeps him with the team until 2014. The deal is worth $119 million dollars and will keep with the team for the next ten years. These kinds of deals don't usually happen with players who are already under contract, but I suppose the Rockies wanted to lock up the stud player early, before the open market had a chance to take him away. But it comes at a huge cost. Tulo is a stellar player, but one serious injury and his career could be severely hampered, if not over. However, that is a risk when considering any long-term contract. And long-term contracts are becoming plentiful.
Simply ask Jayson Werth, who received from the Washington Nationals a massive 7-year deal of his own worth an estimated $126 million, and was for about a week the third-largest contract ever for an outfielder. Is Jayson Werth even one of the three best outfielders in the game? Most people I know would say no, and while he has proven himself a very adept all-around baseball player, he will turn 32 early next season, and he collected a vast amount of his homeruns in Philadelphia's Citizen Bank Park, which is small to say the least. None of this bodes well for Jayson living up to this contract. He is a tremendous compliment player and if the Nats help build around him and Ryan Zimmerman with young talent coming through their farm teams, then this eventually might not be so bad. But this contract now handcuffs the Nats to help the team build in other crucial areas, such as starting and relief pitching. This looks to be a critical signing for years to come. Seven at least.
Former National Adam Dunn also got a new deal, but from an American League team, the Chicago White Sox. But before Adam could get his first-baseman's glove ready, the Pale Hose re-upped on long-time 1B Paul Konerko. They also resigned catcher A.J. Pierzinski while they were at it. So now it looks like Dunn will be doing the one thing he didn't want to do, and that's DHing. Meanwhile, on the North Side of Chicago, the Cubs signed Carlos Pena to play first for $10 million a year. Seeing as how he hit under .200 last year, I'd say this was yet another unwise signing by the Cubbies, who have been signing bad deal after bad deal for the past couple of years. However, Pena does bring a power bat and some great defensive work with him, so maybe he won't work out as badly as Milton Bradley.
In other news, the Yankees resigned both closer Mariano Rivera and shortstop Derek Jeter. Neither move was really a shock. The Rivera deal went almost unnoticed as the drama swiveled around Jeter's closely-cropped head. During the press conference following his new contract, Jeter was visibly and audibly annoyed by the things that had been said about him in the press. To be fair, I even questioned Jeter's motivations during the whole episode, but that is what professional athletes put themselves through when their demands are high. The Yankees probably came out looking worse when all was said and done, as the Yankee captain was definitely upset by the free-agent process. Maybe they will have to go through this all again in about three or four years. But we'll deal with that when the time comes.
In St. Louis I was a bit surprised to see the Cardinals sign Lance Berkman. Aaron Harang, the man who holds the record for starts on Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds will now be throwing from the mound in San Diego. The Giants signed Miguel Tejada instead of reinvesting in the aforementioned Uribe or luring World Series MVP Edgar Renteria away from potential retirement. And homer-mashing, strikeout king, the Wizard of Wiff, Mark Reynolds traded in his Diamondback boots for some Oriole wings. Other, smaller moves were and still are happening just about every day, but these are most often complimentary players that don't make or break teams. Adrian Gonzalez, on the other hand, is a star.
That star will be rising over Boston next year and for years to come most likely. The San Diego All-Star 1B had been rumored for a move to Beantown for at least three years now. When San Diego came one game away from making the playoffs last year though, it looked like the Padres were going to seriously consider keeping Gonzalez on the books. But apparently the Friars couldn't say no to a deal from Boston that sent zero major league players back, in exchange for the dynamic, two-time Gold Glover. The Padres got some potential talent in the trade, especially highly touted pitcher Casey Kelley, but for the kind of player Adrian is, the Padres should have been able to get more. They instead sold themselves short, and will most likely pay the price in both on-field performance, and in attendance revenue, as Gonzalez was a beloved home-grown hero, and will be sorely missed by the fanbase.
The Red Sox weren't done mixing things up though. Just when everyone calmed down from saying how great it was for Boston to get Gonzalez, G.M. Theo Epstein dropped another bombshell and swooped in front of the Los Angeles Angels and signed outfielder Carl Crawford at 7-years, $142 million. Boston now has the two largest outfielder contracts of all-time. (The other was Manny Ramirez signing for 8-years, $160 million in 2001.) Crawford adds a huge element of speed, average, and athleticism to the already good lineup that was in Boston last year. With the addition of Adrian Gonzalez, who with the help of the short porch in right-field, could hit 40+ homers, and the speed of Carl Crawford at the top of the lineup, the Red Sox stand an excellent chance of making it back to the playoffs. Hell, they will probably be the best team in baseball!
The off-season is funny. Crawford probably never would have been offered such a monstrous deal had Jayson Werth not been given his. You see, in the baseball world there are many, many tiers of players. Crawford was widely regarded as a better outfielder than Werth, so whatever Werth signed to, Crawford could ask for more. That's why the top-ranked free agents usually sign first, to set the market for other players in the league. But this year it got screwed up, thus causing market rates to jump. And unfortunately it will cause prices to rise even higher for next year and the year after. This is due mainly to high-end agents like Scott Boras, and unless baseball comes up with something better than a luxury tax to curb salaries, then next year we might be talking about Albert Pujols getting $25-30 million a year.
To call any of the moves thus far a bust is a little too critical. Troy Tulowitzki's deal irritated a lot of people, but he's a fantastic young player and if consistently healthy, could make his extension look reasonable in later years. Werth's deal looks a little worse considering his age and the team who signed him, but maybe he'll play his heart out and become a beloved icon in Washington the way he started to in Philly. Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez could mark the start of another dynasty-type run for Boston. Or maybe a deal that was too small to mention at the time, could end up determining the future of a franchise. That's the beauty of baseball. Everything matters. Even the little things. And especially the busts.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Most Valuable
There are some players that are valuable to a team. Whether it's a lefty specialist coming in from the bullpen. Or perhaps it's a guy off the bench who can play a variety of positions. To be named the Most Valuable Player of the year, however, the guy needs to be something extra special. He needs to be the caliber of player that can vault his team from being a mere contender, to a potential championship bidder. And in 2010, both the American League and National League had those kinds of players.
We start first with the American League where Texas Rangers' All-Star center-fielder, and Batting Title Champion, Josh Hamilton, took home the coveted Most Valuable Player award. The first sentence alone is enough to put Hamilton into contention for the MVP prize. That doesn't tell the whole story though, because he is also a tremendous fielder. He may not have pulled in a Gold Glove yet, but he is certainly capable of snatching one each year he patrols the outskirts. He has speed enough to run down the deep drives, and is athletic and daring enough to make tremendously difficult and sometimes dangerous grabs. In fact he quite often pays the price physically for his acrobatic maneuvers out in Arlington's center-field. So he is a stellar fielder and any contending team needs a solid presence in center.
Oh, but Josh is so much more than just a good defender. The man can rake! He set a career-high in average with a league-leading .359. He also had a career-best on-base percentage and slugging percentage, and tied his best home-run total with 32 for the season. His at-bats were so astoundingly good, that from the beginning of June until the end of July, he had 90 hits in 216 plate-appearances. That's an average of .416. Most guys are considered on a 'hot streak if they hit .400 for a week. To due so for two entire months is simply ridiculous! Unfortunately Hamilton missed all but two days in September due to injury, so just imagine what he could have done with another month of playing time.
The other men high on the voting list certainly deserve recognition as well. Miguel Cabrera especially should have probably received more votes than he did. Cabrera is one of the best hitters in the game, but somehow is probably still underrated. He mashed a career-high 38 homers to go with his career-high 126 RBI, all on a team where he was the lone big-bat in the lineup, and in a pitching-friendly ballpark. He hit a fantastic .328, with an equally fantastic .420 OBP. While we're touting him, throw in 45 doubles and 111 runs for good measure, too. For his career, he has never hit less than 100 RBI in a season, and has hit below .320 only twice in 7 full years. The Lumber Menace is simply a ferocious hitter, but the fact that he did not drive his team into the playoffs with his gaudy numbers, probably kept him off of many people's top spot. But his day will come. Oh, his day shall come.
Robinson Cano finished third, despite some lofty numbers of his own. 'Don't cha know', Rob Cano set career-highs in 2010 in HR, RBI, OBP, SLG, OPS+, TB, and just about every other abbreviations know to mankind. He is a phenomenal second-baseman as well, having won the A.L. Gold Glove. He also was an All-Star and a Silver Slugger. Had he won the MVP, it would have been the second year in a row that a player was an MVP, All-Star, Gold Glover and Silver Slugger, as Joe Mauer did it in 2009. As far as I can tell, this special accolade surprisingly does not have a snazzy name to go with it. I mean four strikeouts in a game is a 'golden sombrero', so four major honors in one season should have a clever nickname too, right? Let me know if this special circumstance actually does have a name or not, or whether you can think of one.
Over in the National League, the story was quite similar. Lots of talented players vying to be the Most Valuable Player. A case could have been made for each of the top three finishers, but ultimately Cincinnati Reds 1B Joey Votto took home the trophy. He did so by leading the National League in OBP and SLG, both were career-highs. He was second in the N.L. in average with .324, third in RBI with 113, and third in homeruns with 37, and each category was a career-best for Votto. He was consistently great all year long and most importantly, helped catapult Cincinnati back into the playoffs.
Albert Pujols beat Votto in many statistical categories in 2010. Fat Albert had more runs, hits, doubles, homeruns, runs-batted-in, total bases, and walks. He had won the last two MVP awards and had won three overall in his illustrious career. In fact, since Pujols entered the league, he has never finished outside of the top ten in MVP voting, and has finished in the top three 8 times. Even Carlos Gonzalez, the multi-talented outfielder from Colorado, despite his lopsided splits of home and away stats, beat out Votto in average, RBI, total bases, steals, runs, and hits. So right now some of you might be scratching your head, asking 'How did Votto win?'
Because neither Pujols nor Gonzalez guided their team to the playoffs, that's how. The theory goes like this; If a MVP-type player were not on his team, would that team still have made it to the playoffs? In Cincinnati's case, no they could not have made it without Joey Votto. Therefore, he is worthy of winning the Most Valuable Player honors. If the Cardinals had been able to possibly squeak into the Wild Card, though, I don't know if Votto would've won. However, since the Reds took the division from the once dominant St. Louis, all bets were off.
It's very important to the voting writers that the winning player come from a playoff team. Unless a player's stats are so vastly superior to a competitor, a guy from a non-playoff team usually can't count on getting too many first-place votes. And that's why Votto walked away with the MVP award and a near-unanimous decision. Not that he didn't deserve it, mind you. It's just that when you look at the stats alone, it's a little tough to see Votto beating out both Gonzalez and Pujols. But the game isn't simply played for statistical purposes, it's played to win games and make it to the World Series. Cincinnati got closer than St. Louis and the Rockies, and there's your outcome. Some may say that's not fair, but it's the way they vote.
While we are talking about Most Valuable Players, there is one player in particular I would like to discuss, and his name is Derek Jeter. Jeter has been possibly the most consistently valuable member of the New York Yankees over the past 16 years, and one of the greatest Yankees of all-time. He leads the franchise in hits, he will eclipse 3000 hits for his career sometime next year, he is certain to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and stands a very good chance of having his number retired by the Yankees once his career is finally over. Having said all that, Jeter or his agent representatives apparently think the New York Yankees franchise now owes him more than he is worth as a baseball player. They collectively believe he is to be rewarded as an icon, and this really ticks me off.
I honestly do appreciate everything Derek Jeter has done over the years as a player. He is dynamic presence on the field, the ideal of sportsmanship, and a true team captain. But he is just one of many players in the Yankees franchise and in baseball in general that have come and gone. Despite all his great qualities, he is not an anomaly that will never come again, and when offered a very reasonable contract offer of 3 yrs/$45 million, the Jeter camp scoffed. They supposedly counter offered with a demand of somewhere around 6 years at roughly $20-$23 million a season. If these numbers are an accurate representation of what Jeter and his agents want, these people are close to being out of their minds'.
Jeter's abilities are declining. As I've said in a previous post, he won a Gold Glove this year by mistake, and he just had the worst statistical year of his entire career. But then again, in 2009 he batted .334, so maybe 2010 was just an off year for Jeter. Perhaps in 2011 Derek will see a return to greatness, but regardless of what occurs Jeter is being offered $15 million to play his position for the next three years, at which point he will be 39. Even Yankee fans must see that as a very reasonable deal.
Apparently Jeter, and many other players in baseball and other sports, keep thinking that they are owed something. I know this is the beginning of a much larger rant, so I will try to keep this focused. Jeter is being offered $15 million a year, he wants $20-something a year. At some point, professional athletes need to realize that while they deserve some monetary reward for having finely tuned talent and being forced to deal with public scrutiny, they are being paid an absurd amount of money to play a child's game. To bicker over two or three million dollars while most people are struggling to make ends meet is sickening. And while I don't mean to just pick on Jeter, this case does especially annoy me. The reason is not because Jeter has made a stupid amount of money from his contracts, and endorsements over the years. It annoys me because of this question I must ask: Does he believe that because he has been the face of the franchise for years now, he deserves more than he is worth as a player?
That is the crux of my annoyance. While players bicker over contracts, they often use the leverage of being a very talented player. 'I'll do this for you, so pay me this.' In Jeter's case, though, he's already done it. He's not going to get better. He's been paid extremely well for being extremely good, and now he's being offered a very nice sum to remain with the team. But now ego, or envy, or entitlement, or some perverse combination is being mixed into the scenario and a player is demanding reward for past deeds that he's already been rewarded for. It's the ultimate exclamation of, 'It's not enough!' and I would have expected better from such a strong character.
Perhaps Jeter is being influenced by his agents or maybe he has nothing to do with this affair apart from his name being used. Or maybe age does funny things to people who see talent slipping away. After all, Brett Favre used to have some dignity. I'm just furious that it gets to this point with some people. Aubrey Huff just won a World Series Championship with the S.F. Giants and was rewarded nicely with a 2 year/$22 million deal. He seems perfectly content. Apparently that's a rarity. Must we now have to put up with athletes who get paid millions upon millions and still proclaim that they aren't getting a fair shake? I don't know if I'll be able to put up with it. Can you?
We start first with the American League where Texas Rangers' All-Star center-fielder, and Batting Title Champion, Josh Hamilton, took home the coveted Most Valuable Player award. The first sentence alone is enough to put Hamilton into contention for the MVP prize. That doesn't tell the whole story though, because he is also a tremendous fielder. He may not have pulled in a Gold Glove yet, but he is certainly capable of snatching one each year he patrols the outskirts. He has speed enough to run down the deep drives, and is athletic and daring enough to make tremendously difficult and sometimes dangerous grabs. In fact he quite often pays the price physically for his acrobatic maneuvers out in Arlington's center-field. So he is a stellar fielder and any contending team needs a solid presence in center.
Oh, but Josh is so much more than just a good defender. The man can rake! He set a career-high in average with a league-leading .359. He also had a career-best on-base percentage and slugging percentage, and tied his best home-run total with 32 for the season. His at-bats were so astoundingly good, that from the beginning of June until the end of July, he had 90 hits in 216 plate-appearances. That's an average of .416. Most guys are considered on a 'hot streak if they hit .400 for a week. To due so for two entire months is simply ridiculous! Unfortunately Hamilton missed all but two days in September due to injury, so just imagine what he could have done with another month of playing time.
The other men high on the voting list certainly deserve recognition as well. Miguel Cabrera especially should have probably received more votes than he did. Cabrera is one of the best hitters in the game, but somehow is probably still underrated. He mashed a career-high 38 homers to go with his career-high 126 RBI, all on a team where he was the lone big-bat in the lineup, and in a pitching-friendly ballpark. He hit a fantastic .328, with an equally fantastic .420 OBP. While we're touting him, throw in 45 doubles and 111 runs for good measure, too. For his career, he has never hit less than 100 RBI in a season, and has hit below .320 only twice in 7 full years. The Lumber Menace is simply a ferocious hitter, but the fact that he did not drive his team into the playoffs with his gaudy numbers, probably kept him off of many people's top spot. But his day will come. Oh, his day shall come.
Robinson Cano finished third, despite some lofty numbers of his own. 'Don't cha know', Rob Cano set career-highs in 2010 in HR, RBI, OBP, SLG, OPS+, TB, and just about every other abbreviations know to mankind. He is a phenomenal second-baseman as well, having won the A.L. Gold Glove. He also was an All-Star and a Silver Slugger. Had he won the MVP, it would have been the second year in a row that a player was an MVP, All-Star, Gold Glover and Silver Slugger, as Joe Mauer did it in 2009. As far as I can tell, this special accolade surprisingly does not have a snazzy name to go with it. I mean four strikeouts in a game is a 'golden sombrero', so four major honors in one season should have a clever nickname too, right? Let me know if this special circumstance actually does have a name or not, or whether you can think of one.
Over in the National League, the story was quite similar. Lots of talented players vying to be the Most Valuable Player. A case could have been made for each of the top three finishers, but ultimately Cincinnati Reds 1B Joey Votto took home the trophy. He did so by leading the National League in OBP and SLG, both were career-highs. He was second in the N.L. in average with .324, third in RBI with 113, and third in homeruns with 37, and each category was a career-best for Votto. He was consistently great all year long and most importantly, helped catapult Cincinnati back into the playoffs.
Albert Pujols beat Votto in many statistical categories in 2010. Fat Albert had more runs, hits, doubles, homeruns, runs-batted-in, total bases, and walks. He had won the last two MVP awards and had won three overall in his illustrious career. In fact, since Pujols entered the league, he has never finished outside of the top ten in MVP voting, and has finished in the top three 8 times. Even Carlos Gonzalez, the multi-talented outfielder from Colorado, despite his lopsided splits of home and away stats, beat out Votto in average, RBI, total bases, steals, runs, and hits. So right now some of you might be scratching your head, asking 'How did Votto win?'
Because neither Pujols nor Gonzalez guided their team to the playoffs, that's how. The theory goes like this; If a MVP-type player were not on his team, would that team still have made it to the playoffs? In Cincinnati's case, no they could not have made it without Joey Votto. Therefore, he is worthy of winning the Most Valuable Player honors. If the Cardinals had been able to possibly squeak into the Wild Card, though, I don't know if Votto would've won. However, since the Reds took the division from the once dominant St. Louis, all bets were off.
It's very important to the voting writers that the winning player come from a playoff team. Unless a player's stats are so vastly superior to a competitor, a guy from a non-playoff team usually can't count on getting too many first-place votes. And that's why Votto walked away with the MVP award and a near-unanimous decision. Not that he didn't deserve it, mind you. It's just that when you look at the stats alone, it's a little tough to see Votto beating out both Gonzalez and Pujols. But the game isn't simply played for statistical purposes, it's played to win games and make it to the World Series. Cincinnati got closer than St. Louis and the Rockies, and there's your outcome. Some may say that's not fair, but it's the way they vote.
While we are talking about Most Valuable Players, there is one player in particular I would like to discuss, and his name is Derek Jeter. Jeter has been possibly the most consistently valuable member of the New York Yankees over the past 16 years, and one of the greatest Yankees of all-time. He leads the franchise in hits, he will eclipse 3000 hits for his career sometime next year, he is certain to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and stands a very good chance of having his number retired by the Yankees once his career is finally over. Having said all that, Jeter or his agent representatives apparently think the New York Yankees franchise now owes him more than he is worth as a baseball player. They collectively believe he is to be rewarded as an icon, and this really ticks me off.
I honestly do appreciate everything Derek Jeter has done over the years as a player. He is dynamic presence on the field, the ideal of sportsmanship, and a true team captain. But he is just one of many players in the Yankees franchise and in baseball in general that have come and gone. Despite all his great qualities, he is not an anomaly that will never come again, and when offered a very reasonable contract offer of 3 yrs/$45 million, the Jeter camp scoffed. They supposedly counter offered with a demand of somewhere around 6 years at roughly $20-$23 million a season. If these numbers are an accurate representation of what Jeter and his agents want, these people are close to being out of their minds'.
Jeter's abilities are declining. As I've said in a previous post, he won a Gold Glove this year by mistake, and he just had the worst statistical year of his entire career. But then again, in 2009 he batted .334, so maybe 2010 was just an off year for Jeter. Perhaps in 2011 Derek will see a return to greatness, but regardless of what occurs Jeter is being offered $15 million to play his position for the next three years, at which point he will be 39. Even Yankee fans must see that as a very reasonable deal.
Apparently Jeter, and many other players in baseball and other sports, keep thinking that they are owed something. I know this is the beginning of a much larger rant, so I will try to keep this focused. Jeter is being offered $15 million a year, he wants $20-something a year. At some point, professional athletes need to realize that while they deserve some monetary reward for having finely tuned talent and being forced to deal with public scrutiny, they are being paid an absurd amount of money to play a child's game. To bicker over two or three million dollars while most people are struggling to make ends meet is sickening. And while I don't mean to just pick on Jeter, this case does especially annoy me. The reason is not because Jeter has made a stupid amount of money from his contracts, and endorsements over the years. It annoys me because of this question I must ask: Does he believe that because he has been the face of the franchise for years now, he deserves more than he is worth as a player?
That is the crux of my annoyance. While players bicker over contracts, they often use the leverage of being a very talented player. 'I'll do this for you, so pay me this.' In Jeter's case, though, he's already done it. He's not going to get better. He's been paid extremely well for being extremely good, and now he's being offered a very nice sum to remain with the team. But now ego, or envy, or entitlement, or some perverse combination is being mixed into the scenario and a player is demanding reward for past deeds that he's already been rewarded for. It's the ultimate exclamation of, 'It's not enough!' and I would have expected better from such a strong character.
Perhaps Jeter is being influenced by his agents or maybe he has nothing to do with this affair apart from his name being used. Or maybe age does funny things to people who see talent slipping away. After all, Brett Favre used to have some dignity. I'm just furious that it gets to this point with some people. Aubrey Huff just won a World Series Championship with the S.F. Giants and was rewarded nicely with a 2 year/$22 million deal. He seems perfectly content. Apparently that's a rarity. Must we now have to put up with athletes who get paid millions upon millions and still proclaim that they aren't getting a fair shake? I don't know if I'll be able to put up with it. Can you?
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Big Brother
Recently my older brother sent me a link to a New York Times Op-Ed piece that contained two separate arguments. The first argument, by John Rosenthal, stated that instant replay should be expanded to more on-the-field calls. The second part was written by Kirk Victor and proclaimed that umpires need more accountability, and therefore should have reviews of their performance made public. Both articles were short, to-the-point, and obviously based upon opinion as they were in the Op-Ed section. Today, I will examine these crucial arguments, in addition to throwing my hat into the conversation taking place about expanding the Wild Card playoff system. A lot of what I write will be opinionated, so if you don't agree, please feel free to comment.
Let's take the first issue raised by Mr. Rosenthal, which states that "Baseball should install an additional umpire in the broadcast booth, one with the authority and respect of his colleagues to use instant replay to review (and overturn) calls." He goes on to say, "The process would take far less time than an umpire meeting, and it would greatly reduce the number of bad calls." The author lays down parameters by saying the only calls the booth official could influence are "calls on catches, tags and safe or out plays." He claims this would go faster than the current system of umpires getting together to make the call. Rosenthal seems somewhat enraged by the Armando Gallaraga missed perfect game as he makes mention of it twice in his article. While I agree that what happened to Gallaraga was a travesty, these claims by Rosenthal are unfounded.
Quite frankly, I think Mr. Rosenthal is denying reality. He states this instant replay process would take much less time than an umpire meeting. Yet I am constantly watching baseball, and rarely (perhaps once a game) do I see umpires meeting on a bad call, let alone it taking more than two to three minutes. The umpires have even made it a point of late to cut short manager arguments once a controversial call is made. There is no doubt that there are still incidents where a bad call and the subsequent tirades by managers slows the game somewhat, but it is so infrequent that it often times livens up the crowd, especially if the end result is a manager being thrown from a game. This is a characteristic of baseball that separates it from other sports that use instant replay.
Instant replay in other sports, specifically football, often slows that game to a crawl. The rules are specific, and while it is rare, the potential is there for the head coaches to impact the game with complaint 6 times. Each time the official has to meet with the coach and discover the complaint, then watch what is supposed to be no more than 60 seconds of video (but which often times is two to three minutes), then discuss the final call, make the call, and adjust the ruling on the field. This process at best takes four minutes and at worst possibly 10. I have seen, quite often, crowds boo in frustration before a ruling is even made because the officials and coaches are taking too much time away from the game itself. And this is supposed to help the methodical pace of baseball?
Rosenthal's other point that this process would reduce the number of bad calls is also unfounded, because there has been no specific study done to show how instant replay has benefited or hurt other sports. Many football coaches have of late called for a removal of the instant replay system because it fails to properly remedy the situation. And ultimately, there are going to be complaints from the side that doesn't win, and there always will be a losing party. In the current baseball system, it is simplified. The umpires are the final authority, human error and all. They make a call, meet if necessary if it seems as though a mistake could have been made, and whatever they agree on as they saw it from multiple angles is the call. Game on. The only reason instant replay has even entered the picture is because homerun calls take place far away from the view of umpires, and the many configurations of fields today with their yellow lines, padded walls, and railings make it difficult for officials to see where a ball landed or bounced off of. It's for boundary calls only. As far as baseball is concerned, instant replay should stay there, and end there.
The other article in this Op-Ed piece called for more accountability for the umpires. He states, "At the heart of the problem is this: umpires are rarely held accountable for their poor calls." Tell that to Jim Joyce. Now this is not a factual statement, but baseball umpires are probably one of the most hated figures in all of sports, and that is due in large part to the human element. Where other sports are being taken over by instant replay and other technologies, in baseball the man behind the mask is the law. This allows people to point more blame at the individual himself, then perhaps at a flawed technology or a bad camera angle would. To make any work review public who simply incite commentators, sports writers and the common fan into a foaming frenzy. Let's not forget, Mr. Joyce actually received death threats for his bad call that kept Gallaraga from his perfect game.
In his article, Victor writes "After every game, Major League Baseball provides each umpire with an analysis of his performance, including which calls he got right and which ones he got wrong." He states this system doesn't work because it gives the umpires no incentive to improve. Does he suggest an incentive to improve would be to not receive death threats? If an umpire has a great review, how many nice letters from fans do you think he'll receive? Probably not many and likely zero. If he has a bad review, particularly during a playoff game, how many psychotics do you think will send that man a death threat or a hate letter? Probably lots more. The fact is, people take their sports too seriously. They 'bleed' the team colors, and start fights over who has the better star player. Do we really need to point out to the fan-base and say 'Hey, that's the guy, let's go get him because he made a mistake!' A man died in Latin America over a soccer game because of this kind of behavior.
Perhaps more actual incentives could be used to help support the umpire reviews. Maybe if Major League Baseball gave bonuses to umpires that got a certain percentage of calls right. Fines probably wouldn't work as well, because countless sociological studies have proven that incentives work much better than punishment. Umpires wouldn't have to think twice about trying to make the right call for money or not, because they wouldn't find out if it was correct or not until after the game anyway. So Victor makes a decent point about how to try and improve the accountability of umpires. He just goes about trying to solve it in a very ridiculous way.
The third and final issue that is currently being discussed in many baseball circles is the potential to expand the playoffs. The Wild Card playoff system started in 1994 but due to the players' strike that cut the season short, wasn't actually implemented until 1995. The expansion was necessary because MLB grew in size, and was reorganized into three divisions per league. Three playoff teams per league would have been uneven, so a Wild Card playoff team was added. It made everything nice and level and has given us some incredible baseball moments in the past 15 years. The new rule would be quite different however.
As stated in an article by Overthemonster.com, "this would entail adding a second wild card team to each league, and having the two wild cards play a best-of-three series for the playoff spot. The division winners would all get a short first round bye." I highly recommend looking at the full article here http://www.overthemonster.com/2010/11/16/1817522/should-the-mlb-expand-the-playoffs-the-argument-for-a-second-wild-card. A lot of people seem to be in favor of this, mainly because it opens the door to the playoffs for teams that reside in more competitive divisions. In past years, a second or third place team in a great division may have missed out on the playoffs, while a mediocre team cruised to a division win simply because they play with weaker teams. But this fails to account for the fact that, for the most part, there is parity in baseball. Certain teams will always have more money to spend, but division powers shift and reassemble all the time. In a matter of two or three year one division can go from being everyone's punching bag, to being the dominant division for playoff contenders. Just look at the San Diego Padres of this year. This solution is a temporary fix for teams that complain that they were good, just not good enough to make it in. And it instead presents the major probably of adding a bye into the baseball schedule, something that has never been done before.
Now if this three game series happened immediately following the season, and if perhaps the regular season was compacted with more double-headers, then perhaps this system would work. However, you and I both know that this won't happen because advertisement and money drive the sports world. This new series will take place a couple of days after the regular season, so Nike and Coke, and others can probably spend money, and the division winners will have to sit, losing precious momentum from the end of the season. Players already complain about how much time it take to play in October, with days off before the regular season to the playoffs and days off between series. Hell, even travel days aren't absolutely necessary. Why there is a constant push to have the playoffs invade November makes no sense to me. This system will be great for somebody's pocket, and we may even get some great baseball out of it, but in the end, I think it will hurt the final product, which is the game itself. But when it comes to money and the playoffs, maybe the game doesn't matter as much anymore. Afterall, two great teams made it to the World Series this year, but because the teams didn't have flashy big payrolls and huge names for advertisers to sell, the ratings suffered.
I know I'm a little old-fashioned when it comes to some things in baseball, but I truly believe these three ideas really represent something hurtful to the game. Progress and change are wonderful things, but too often people want change to suit their own means. In my humble opinion, none of these potentialities would benefit the game of baseball in much of a way, but all three could possibly hurt it. That is what I worry about. The game is so great as it is, and if we recklessly add and subtract elements, without proper review and patience, then we might end up killing what we love. I know baseball will survive, and maybe these rules will come into effect and be great for the league. If that is the case, then I will be the first to say I was wrong. I guess we'll have to wait and see what the ones in power decide.
Let's take the first issue raised by Mr. Rosenthal, which states that "Baseball should install an additional umpire in the broadcast booth, one with the authority and respect of his colleagues to use instant replay to review (and overturn) calls." He goes on to say, "The process would take far less time than an umpire meeting, and it would greatly reduce the number of bad calls." The author lays down parameters by saying the only calls the booth official could influence are "calls on catches, tags and safe or out plays." He claims this would go faster than the current system of umpires getting together to make the call. Rosenthal seems somewhat enraged by the Armando Gallaraga missed perfect game as he makes mention of it twice in his article. While I agree that what happened to Gallaraga was a travesty, these claims by Rosenthal are unfounded.
Quite frankly, I think Mr. Rosenthal is denying reality. He states this instant replay process would take much less time than an umpire meeting. Yet I am constantly watching baseball, and rarely (perhaps once a game) do I see umpires meeting on a bad call, let alone it taking more than two to three minutes. The umpires have even made it a point of late to cut short manager arguments once a controversial call is made. There is no doubt that there are still incidents where a bad call and the subsequent tirades by managers slows the game somewhat, but it is so infrequent that it often times livens up the crowd, especially if the end result is a manager being thrown from a game. This is a characteristic of baseball that separates it from other sports that use instant replay.
Instant replay in other sports, specifically football, often slows that game to a crawl. The rules are specific, and while it is rare, the potential is there for the head coaches to impact the game with complaint 6 times. Each time the official has to meet with the coach and discover the complaint, then watch what is supposed to be no more than 60 seconds of video (but which often times is two to three minutes), then discuss the final call, make the call, and adjust the ruling on the field. This process at best takes four minutes and at worst possibly 10. I have seen, quite often, crowds boo in frustration before a ruling is even made because the officials and coaches are taking too much time away from the game itself. And this is supposed to help the methodical pace of baseball?
Rosenthal's other point that this process would reduce the number of bad calls is also unfounded, because there has been no specific study done to show how instant replay has benefited or hurt other sports. Many football coaches have of late called for a removal of the instant replay system because it fails to properly remedy the situation. And ultimately, there are going to be complaints from the side that doesn't win, and there always will be a losing party. In the current baseball system, it is simplified. The umpires are the final authority, human error and all. They make a call, meet if necessary if it seems as though a mistake could have been made, and whatever they agree on as they saw it from multiple angles is the call. Game on. The only reason instant replay has even entered the picture is because homerun calls take place far away from the view of umpires, and the many configurations of fields today with their yellow lines, padded walls, and railings make it difficult for officials to see where a ball landed or bounced off of. It's for boundary calls only. As far as baseball is concerned, instant replay should stay there, and end there.
The other article in this Op-Ed piece called for more accountability for the umpires. He states, "At the heart of the problem is this: umpires are rarely held accountable for their poor calls." Tell that to Jim Joyce. Now this is not a factual statement, but baseball umpires are probably one of the most hated figures in all of sports, and that is due in large part to the human element. Where other sports are being taken over by instant replay and other technologies, in baseball the man behind the mask is the law. This allows people to point more blame at the individual himself, then perhaps at a flawed technology or a bad camera angle would. To make any work review public who simply incite commentators, sports writers and the common fan into a foaming frenzy. Let's not forget, Mr. Joyce actually received death threats for his bad call that kept Gallaraga from his perfect game.
In his article, Victor writes "After every game, Major League Baseball provides each umpire with an analysis of his performance, including which calls he got right and which ones he got wrong." He states this system doesn't work because it gives the umpires no incentive to improve. Does he suggest an incentive to improve would be to not receive death threats? If an umpire has a great review, how many nice letters from fans do you think he'll receive? Probably not many and likely zero. If he has a bad review, particularly during a playoff game, how many psychotics do you think will send that man a death threat or a hate letter? Probably lots more. The fact is, people take their sports too seriously. They 'bleed' the team colors, and start fights over who has the better star player. Do we really need to point out to the fan-base and say 'Hey, that's the guy, let's go get him because he made a mistake!' A man died in Latin America over a soccer game because of this kind of behavior.
Perhaps more actual incentives could be used to help support the umpire reviews. Maybe if Major League Baseball gave bonuses to umpires that got a certain percentage of calls right. Fines probably wouldn't work as well, because countless sociological studies have proven that incentives work much better than punishment. Umpires wouldn't have to think twice about trying to make the right call for money or not, because they wouldn't find out if it was correct or not until after the game anyway. So Victor makes a decent point about how to try and improve the accountability of umpires. He just goes about trying to solve it in a very ridiculous way.
The third and final issue that is currently being discussed in many baseball circles is the potential to expand the playoffs. The Wild Card playoff system started in 1994 but due to the players' strike that cut the season short, wasn't actually implemented until 1995. The expansion was necessary because MLB grew in size, and was reorganized into three divisions per league. Three playoff teams per league would have been uneven, so a Wild Card playoff team was added. It made everything nice and level and has given us some incredible baseball moments in the past 15 years. The new rule would be quite different however.
As stated in an article by Overthemonster.com, "this would entail adding a second wild card team to each league, and having the two wild cards play a best-of-three series for the playoff spot. The division winners would all get a short first round bye." I highly recommend looking at the full article here http://www.overthemonster.com/2010/11/16/1817522/should-the-mlb-expand-the-playoffs-the-argument-for-a-second-wild-card. A lot of people seem to be in favor of this, mainly because it opens the door to the playoffs for teams that reside in more competitive divisions. In past years, a second or third place team in a great division may have missed out on the playoffs, while a mediocre team cruised to a division win simply because they play with weaker teams. But this fails to account for the fact that, for the most part, there is parity in baseball. Certain teams will always have more money to spend, but division powers shift and reassemble all the time. In a matter of two or three year one division can go from being everyone's punching bag, to being the dominant division for playoff contenders. Just look at the San Diego Padres of this year. This solution is a temporary fix for teams that complain that they were good, just not good enough to make it in. And it instead presents the major probably of adding a bye into the baseball schedule, something that has never been done before.
Now if this three game series happened immediately following the season, and if perhaps the regular season was compacted with more double-headers, then perhaps this system would work. However, you and I both know that this won't happen because advertisement and money drive the sports world. This new series will take place a couple of days after the regular season, so Nike and Coke, and others can probably spend money, and the division winners will have to sit, losing precious momentum from the end of the season. Players already complain about how much time it take to play in October, with days off before the regular season to the playoffs and days off between series. Hell, even travel days aren't absolutely necessary. Why there is a constant push to have the playoffs invade November makes no sense to me. This system will be great for somebody's pocket, and we may even get some great baseball out of it, but in the end, I think it will hurt the final product, which is the game itself. But when it comes to money and the playoffs, maybe the game doesn't matter as much anymore. Afterall, two great teams made it to the World Series this year, but because the teams didn't have flashy big payrolls and huge names for advertisers to sell, the ratings suffered.
I know I'm a little old-fashioned when it comes to some things in baseball, but I truly believe these three ideas really represent something hurtful to the game. Progress and change are wonderful things, but too often people want change to suit their own means. In my humble opinion, none of these potentialities would benefit the game of baseball in much of a way, but all three could possibly hurt it. That is what I worry about. The game is so great as it is, and if we recklessly add and subtract elements, without proper review and patience, then we might end up killing what we love. I know baseball will survive, and maybe these rules will come into effect and be great for the league. If that is the case, then I will be the first to say I was wrong. I guess we'll have to wait and see what the ones in power decide.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The King and the Good Doctor
First off, before we even begin to discuss the Rookie of the Year awards that I skipped over last time, or the Manager of the Year winners, or even the coveted Cy Young awards, I would just like to state my annoyance at how Roy Halladay's nickname is Doc, as in John Henry "Doc" Holliday. It bothers me, because while the nickname does not suite Matt Holliday of the St. Louis Cardinals, it still makes more sense because the names are actually the same. It's really quite petty, and so stupid that it irritates even myself for bringing it up. I love Roy Halladay and think the Good Doctor is a fantastic nickname, but still, it's aggravating to some extent. Anyway, off we go to some more awards!
I know, the Rookie of the Year winners were out when I wrote my last post, but I didn't have enough space to congratulate them properly. To be honest, I have all the space I want for these posts, but I try to keep them at a reasonable length for you, the fine readership. So let's start with the young lads, shall we? First up is American League Rookie of the Year Neftali Feliz. Neftali is such a cool name, and this kid is as cool as they come. In his first full year in the big leagues, the young fireball pitcher saved a rookie-record 40 games. He did so in style, striking out more than a batter per inning while walking only 18 all year. Those are superb numbers. Second in A.L. voting was Detroit Tigers center-fielder Austin Jackson, who had a wonderful season batting leadoff, but when stacked up against Neftali's numbers, Mr. Jackson (if you're nasty) just had to settle for number two.
Over in the National League, the other R.O.Y. winner was catcher Buster Posey, and this baby-faced dude had a little bit more of a fight on his hands for the honors. Posey was matched up against Jason Heyward, the right-fielder from Atlanta who caught the baseball world by storm during Spring Training. Heyward had a great first couple of months, but a subsequent hand injury kept his second half numbers down. And then came Posey. The World Series battery played 34 less games than the J-Hey Kid, but tied him in homers, had a higher batting average and slugging percentage, and had just 7 less RBI and 20 less hits. It was a close race, but I think what pushed Posey over the edge was that he was able to come in and not only handle a bat pretty well, but also a young pitching staff, with poise and maturity. Both were deserving, but Buster was better.
On to the Manager of the Year awards. Both leagues had tremendously talented men competing for the accolades this year. In the National League, Dusty Baker brought the Cincinnati Reds back to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. But there was also Bruce Bochy, who took a rag-tag group of throw-aways and youngsters and won a World Series Championship. But ultimately Bud Black proved to win the hearts of the voting sports writers, as he lead his No-Name Friars to a 15 game win increase from the previous year. Just two years removed from a 99 loss season, Black took a team that absolutely nobody in baseball thought would win 90 games, and came achingly close to playing October baseball. The fact that the team didn't make the playoffs is almost irrelevant. All three of these men could have taken home the award, but Black is the one doing it, and boy does he deserve it.
Meanwhile, in the American League, Ron Gardenhire took a team that was supposed to be good, and made sure they won despite losing a dominant closer, and a power hitting first-baseman. The Minnesota Twins' manager definitely had severe competition however, as Ron Washington took his Rangers to the World Series, Joe Maddon scored the best record in the A.L., and Terry Francona won 89 games with a team riddled by injuries all season. Each man guided his men to a great season, but in the end, Gardenhire's patient mentoring and skilled game-management took the cake. And in thanks for his efforts, he's been granted with a two-year extension by the Twins. I'm proud of my co-worker. Oh, you didn't know? I work for the company that owns the Twins. So I'm practically a member of the team. Well no, not really. But a man can dream.
And then it came down to this, the Cy Young awards. I had speculated about this during the season, and in the end, I was only partially correct. Roy Halladay, the Good Doctor, Rapid Roy, dominated not only in Philadelphia, but all over the Senior Circuit, and blatantly exhibited that he was the pitcher to beat in 2010. With a stat-sheet that included 9 complete games, 4 shutouts, a 7.30 K/BB ratio (the best of his career by far), a perfect game during the regular season, and a no-hitter in the playoffs, no one could really compete with Halladay in 2010. He led all of baseball in innings pitched by the way too. He not only gave Philadelphia everything they ever could have expected, he helped redefine what it means to be an ace pitcher, and made history while doing it. Congrats to all the other wonderful pitchers in the National League this year. But take a seat gentlemen, because Rapid Roy deserves some hardware.
The case wasn't so cut and dry in the American League. Far from it actually. Today it was announced that Felix Hernandez won the A.L. Cy Young award for the first time in his career. First, let's talk about all the great stuff King Felix did this year. He was second to Halladay in IP by just one inning. He was second in all of baseball in strikeouts by one. He led all pitchers with an outstanding 2.27 ERA, and even threw 6 complete games for good measure. He was the lynch-pin that held the Seattle Mariners together during a dismal season. What Hernandez didn't do was win a lot of games, though. But King Felix can hardly be held accountable for that. While only recorded 13 wins to go with his 12 loses, Felix pitched an incredible 30 quality starts. For those of you unaware, a quality start in baseball is when a starting pitcher goes at least 6 innings while giving up no more than 3 earned runs. To pitch 30 out of 34 games with a quality start and walk away with only 13 wins is practically a crime. Over the course of the last two months in baseball, Hernandez gave up only 11 ERs, and dropped his ERA by 0.57. Now it hurts me a little inside that somebody can take home a Cy Young award while only collecting 13 wins. However, the award is supposed to honor the best pitcher in the game, not the pitcher on the best team, or with the best lineup scoring runs for him. While there is something to be said for winning games over having a lot of strikeouts or a low ERA, Hernandez did everything he possibly could to ensure those wins. More often than not though, he was let down by the other 8 guys on the field. So while I don't 100% agree that Hernandez should be given the 2010 A.L. Cy Young, I have to honor the man for the tremendous year he was able to compile. He certainly helped make the Year of the Pitcher a reality.
The only remaining major award left is for the Most Valuable Player. I was right with one Cy Young. Let's see if I'll be close with the MVPs this year. Once the awards have been completed, I'm going to start in on some Hot Stove discussions, and hopefully even bring back some individual analysis that I began over a year ago now. It's been a great year for me personally. I hope you've enjoyed it too, and you keep enjoying it as long as I can type these little explosions of mine. Until next time folks.
I know, the Rookie of the Year winners were out when I wrote my last post, but I didn't have enough space to congratulate them properly. To be honest, I have all the space I want for these posts, but I try to keep them at a reasonable length for you, the fine readership. So let's start with the young lads, shall we? First up is American League Rookie of the Year Neftali Feliz. Neftali is such a cool name, and this kid is as cool as they come. In his first full year in the big leagues, the young fireball pitcher saved a rookie-record 40 games. He did so in style, striking out more than a batter per inning while walking only 18 all year. Those are superb numbers. Second in A.L. voting was Detroit Tigers center-fielder Austin Jackson, who had a wonderful season batting leadoff, but when stacked up against Neftali's numbers, Mr. Jackson (if you're nasty) just had to settle for number two.
Over in the National League, the other R.O.Y. winner was catcher Buster Posey, and this baby-faced dude had a little bit more of a fight on his hands for the honors. Posey was matched up against Jason Heyward, the right-fielder from Atlanta who caught the baseball world by storm during Spring Training. Heyward had a great first couple of months, but a subsequent hand injury kept his second half numbers down. And then came Posey. The World Series battery played 34 less games than the J-Hey Kid, but tied him in homers, had a higher batting average and slugging percentage, and had just 7 less RBI and 20 less hits. It was a close race, but I think what pushed Posey over the edge was that he was able to come in and not only handle a bat pretty well, but also a young pitching staff, with poise and maturity. Both were deserving, but Buster was better.
On to the Manager of the Year awards. Both leagues had tremendously talented men competing for the accolades this year. In the National League, Dusty Baker brought the Cincinnati Reds back to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. But there was also Bruce Bochy, who took a rag-tag group of throw-aways and youngsters and won a World Series Championship. But ultimately Bud Black proved to win the hearts of the voting sports writers, as he lead his No-Name Friars to a 15 game win increase from the previous year. Just two years removed from a 99 loss season, Black took a team that absolutely nobody in baseball thought would win 90 games, and came achingly close to playing October baseball. The fact that the team didn't make the playoffs is almost irrelevant. All three of these men could have taken home the award, but Black is the one doing it, and boy does he deserve it.
Meanwhile, in the American League, Ron Gardenhire took a team that was supposed to be good, and made sure they won despite losing a dominant closer, and a power hitting first-baseman. The Minnesota Twins' manager definitely had severe competition however, as Ron Washington took his Rangers to the World Series, Joe Maddon scored the best record in the A.L., and Terry Francona won 89 games with a team riddled by injuries all season. Each man guided his men to a great season, but in the end, Gardenhire's patient mentoring and skilled game-management took the cake. And in thanks for his efforts, he's been granted with a two-year extension by the Twins. I'm proud of my co-worker. Oh, you didn't know? I work for the company that owns the Twins. So I'm practically a member of the team. Well no, not really. But a man can dream.
And then it came down to this, the Cy Young awards. I had speculated about this during the season, and in the end, I was only partially correct. Roy Halladay, the Good Doctor, Rapid Roy, dominated not only in Philadelphia, but all over the Senior Circuit, and blatantly exhibited that he was the pitcher to beat in 2010. With a stat-sheet that included 9 complete games, 4 shutouts, a 7.30 K/BB ratio (the best of his career by far), a perfect game during the regular season, and a no-hitter in the playoffs, no one could really compete with Halladay in 2010. He led all of baseball in innings pitched by the way too. He not only gave Philadelphia everything they ever could have expected, he helped redefine what it means to be an ace pitcher, and made history while doing it. Congrats to all the other wonderful pitchers in the National League this year. But take a seat gentlemen, because Rapid Roy deserves some hardware.
The case wasn't so cut and dry in the American League. Far from it actually. Today it was announced that Felix Hernandez won the A.L. Cy Young award for the first time in his career. First, let's talk about all the great stuff King Felix did this year. He was second to Halladay in IP by just one inning. He was second in all of baseball in strikeouts by one. He led all pitchers with an outstanding 2.27 ERA, and even threw 6 complete games for good measure. He was the lynch-pin that held the Seattle Mariners together during a dismal season. What Hernandez didn't do was win a lot of games, though. But King Felix can hardly be held accountable for that. While only recorded 13 wins to go with his 12 loses, Felix pitched an incredible 30 quality starts. For those of you unaware, a quality start in baseball is when a starting pitcher goes at least 6 innings while giving up no more than 3 earned runs. To pitch 30 out of 34 games with a quality start and walk away with only 13 wins is practically a crime. Over the course of the last two months in baseball, Hernandez gave up only 11 ERs, and dropped his ERA by 0.57. Now it hurts me a little inside that somebody can take home a Cy Young award while only collecting 13 wins. However, the award is supposed to honor the best pitcher in the game, not the pitcher on the best team, or with the best lineup scoring runs for him. While there is something to be said for winning games over having a lot of strikeouts or a low ERA, Hernandez did everything he possibly could to ensure those wins. More often than not though, he was let down by the other 8 guys on the field. So while I don't 100% agree that Hernandez should be given the 2010 A.L. Cy Young, I have to honor the man for the tremendous year he was able to compile. He certainly helped make the Year of the Pitcher a reality.
The only remaining major award left is for the Most Valuable Player. I was right with one Cy Young. Let's see if I'll be close with the MVPs this year. Once the awards have been completed, I'm going to start in on some Hot Stove discussions, and hopefully even bring back some individual analysis that I began over a year ago now. It's been a great year for me personally. I hope you've enjoyed it too, and you keep enjoying it as long as I can type these little explosions of mine. Until next time folks.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
And the Winner Is...
It's award season and lots of players are looking forward to hearing their names called for specific awards. A few major ones have already been handed out, but a few crucial honors are still on the shelf. And in other baseball news, the Hot Stove is starting to heat up. We're going to go over all of this, and say some goodbyes too. So let's hit it, shall we?
Let's go over some awards for starters. The American League and National League Silver Sluggers have come out, and there weren't too many surprises. In the A.L. the winners were C Joe Mauer, 1B Miguel Cabrera, 2B Robinson Cano, 3B Adrian Beltre, SS Alexei Ramirez, OFs Jose Bautista, Carl Crawford, and Josh Hamilton, and DH Vladimir Guerrero. The only surprise here may have been Chicago White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who hasn't been much of a slugger in his career. But in 2010, Ramirez finished among all A.L. shortstops; first in homeruns, first in average, third in hits, and third in RBI. So by all accounts he deserved the award, he just wasn't on too many people's radar, including mine.
Over in the National League, the winners were C Brian McCann, 1B Albert Pujols, 2B Dan Uggla, 3B Ryan Zimmerman, SS Troy Tulowitzki, OFs Ryan Braun, Carlos Gonzalez, and Matt Holliday, and pitcher Yovani Gallardo. I agree with almost every single selection, except maybe Ryan Zimmerman. Now I know most of you will call me a homer because of this, but I think Mets' third-baseman David Wright may have been passed over here. Wright beat Zimmerman in hits (166-161), homeruns (29-25) RBI (106-85), runs (87-85) and stolen bases (19-4). Even Casey McGehee of the Milwaukee Brewers had more hits and more doubles than Zimmerman. True, Wright had 24 points less average than Zimmerman and nearly 70 more strikeouts, but this does not construe a runaway victory. The case can be made that Zimmerman was a bit more consistent than his two nearest competitors, but there is a case also to be made against his selection. That's all I'm saying.
The Gold Gloves awards were similar in that I had only minor grievances with the selections. In the American League the Yankees almost made a clean sweep of the infield. The honorees include C Joe Mauer, 1B Mark Texiera, 2B Robinson Cano, 3B Evan Longoria, SS Derek Jeter, OFs Carl Crawford, Ichiro Suzuki, and Franklin Gutierrez, and P Mark Buehrle. Again, I only had one problem and that is with the selection of shortstop Derek Jeter. Everyone keeps saying that he isn't the defensive player he used to be, and that he might potentially have to move to another position one day. But then he goes and wins a Gold Glove? Either everyone is wrong in their assumptions, or something isn't right with this choice, and I think it's the latter.
True, Jeter is a fine defensive SS still, and he only had 6 errors and a field percentage of .989. Those are wonderful statistics. However, he had 74 less potential outs than Yuniesky Betancourt of the Royals, and 135 less assists than Alexei Ramirez. What this means is that while Jeter still fields quite well, he isn't getting to the ball nearly as much as he used to. His range is severely restricted, and yet he is awarded for it. I love Derek Jeter, but this doesn't make sense. I personally would have liked to see the award to one of the younger, more agile shortstops, like Ramirez, or Elvis Andrus. But I don't get to vote.
In the National League, C Yadier Molina, 1B Albert Pujols, 2B Brandon Phillips, 3B Scott Rolen, SS Troy Tulowitzki, OFs Michael Bourn, Carlos Gonzalez and Shane Victorino, and P Bronson Arroyo all won. I have to say, I agree with every choice in the N.L. I'd also like to give an extra-special congratulations to the fine gentlemen who won both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger this year. It is a difficult feat to accomplish, and it means you are the best at your position in just about every aspect. Congrats also to Ichiro Suzuki who won his 10th consecutive Gold Glove, one for every year he has been in the league. That is just incredible! One can only imagine the records he might have broken had he started in America earlier.
There is other baseball news to be told, however. The Florida Marlins are making an early splash, pardon the pun. They tried to sign their Silver Slugger second-baseman Dan Uggla to a substantial contract worth $48 million over 4 years. The second-baseman declined the offer, though. Now I know most of you will take umbrage at a baseball players scoffing at $48 million, but as one MLB Network commentator put it, you have to put it in perspective. Now the perspective is skewed for sure, but if you go by the numbers, Uggla had his best statistical year ever in 2010. His potential ceiling could be even higher, and he is proving to be possibly one of the best hitting second-basemen of all-time. Does that mean he needs to make more than $12 million? I have no idea. But it appears that it is more than the Marlins are willing to spend, because I just found out while writing this segment that the Atlanta Braves just acquired Dan Uggla by trading Omar Infante and lefty reliever Mike Dunn. This seems awfully lopsided toward the Braves advantage, but I don't know much about Mike Dunn, and the report I just read doesn't say much about him. The coming days should shed some light on this deal. But as of right now, the Marlins really screwed up this deal, and the deals that shipped Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller out of town aren't looking too bright either.
Finally, a sad farewell to two of baseball's finest. Seattle play-by-play man Dave Niehaus and ultimate-utility man Ed Fitzpatrick both passed away this week. Fitzpatrick played from '62-'77 for the Angels, Royals, Pirates, Rangers, and Brewers and did just about everything on the field. He played catcher, outfielder and first-baseman. He even played 2B and 3B a couple of times. He was the kind of guy you wanted on your team, because he gave it all at whatever you asked him to do. Likewise, Dave Niehaus gave everything he could to the fans of Seattle baseball. In 2008 he was honored with the Ford C. Frick award for excellence in baseball broadcasting. He was the first person to call Alex Rodriguez A-Rod, and constantly told the Seattle faithful to "Get out the rye bread and mustard, Grandma, it is grand salami time!" whenever a grand slam occurred. Both of these men will be missed by much of the baseball world. But we should also be thankful for what they gave us while they were here. Thanks guys. And thank you for reading. More awards are coming out in the next few days, so stay tuned folks.
Let's go over some awards for starters. The American League and National League Silver Sluggers have come out, and there weren't too many surprises. In the A.L. the winners were C Joe Mauer, 1B Miguel Cabrera, 2B Robinson Cano, 3B Adrian Beltre, SS Alexei Ramirez, OFs Jose Bautista, Carl Crawford, and Josh Hamilton, and DH Vladimir Guerrero. The only surprise here may have been Chicago White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who hasn't been much of a slugger in his career. But in 2010, Ramirez finished among all A.L. shortstops; first in homeruns, first in average, third in hits, and third in RBI. So by all accounts he deserved the award, he just wasn't on too many people's radar, including mine.
Over in the National League, the winners were C Brian McCann, 1B Albert Pujols, 2B Dan Uggla, 3B Ryan Zimmerman, SS Troy Tulowitzki, OFs Ryan Braun, Carlos Gonzalez, and Matt Holliday, and pitcher Yovani Gallardo. I agree with almost every single selection, except maybe Ryan Zimmerman. Now I know most of you will call me a homer because of this, but I think Mets' third-baseman David Wright may have been passed over here. Wright beat Zimmerman in hits (166-161), homeruns (29-25) RBI (106-85), runs (87-85) and stolen bases (19-4). Even Casey McGehee of the Milwaukee Brewers had more hits and more doubles than Zimmerman. True, Wright had 24 points less average than Zimmerman and nearly 70 more strikeouts, but this does not construe a runaway victory. The case can be made that Zimmerman was a bit more consistent than his two nearest competitors, but there is a case also to be made against his selection. That's all I'm saying.
The Gold Gloves awards were similar in that I had only minor grievances with the selections. In the American League the Yankees almost made a clean sweep of the infield. The honorees include C Joe Mauer, 1B Mark Texiera, 2B Robinson Cano, 3B Evan Longoria, SS Derek Jeter, OFs Carl Crawford, Ichiro Suzuki, and Franklin Gutierrez, and P Mark Buehrle. Again, I only had one problem and that is with the selection of shortstop Derek Jeter. Everyone keeps saying that he isn't the defensive player he used to be, and that he might potentially have to move to another position one day. But then he goes and wins a Gold Glove? Either everyone is wrong in their assumptions, or something isn't right with this choice, and I think it's the latter.
True, Jeter is a fine defensive SS still, and he only had 6 errors and a field percentage of .989. Those are wonderful statistics. However, he had 74 less potential outs than Yuniesky Betancourt of the Royals, and 135 less assists than Alexei Ramirez. What this means is that while Jeter still fields quite well, he isn't getting to the ball nearly as much as he used to. His range is severely restricted, and yet he is awarded for it. I love Derek Jeter, but this doesn't make sense. I personally would have liked to see the award to one of the younger, more agile shortstops, like Ramirez, or Elvis Andrus. But I don't get to vote.
In the National League, C Yadier Molina, 1B Albert Pujols, 2B Brandon Phillips, 3B Scott Rolen, SS Troy Tulowitzki, OFs Michael Bourn, Carlos Gonzalez and Shane Victorino, and P Bronson Arroyo all won. I have to say, I agree with every choice in the N.L. I'd also like to give an extra-special congratulations to the fine gentlemen who won both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger this year. It is a difficult feat to accomplish, and it means you are the best at your position in just about every aspect. Congrats also to Ichiro Suzuki who won his 10th consecutive Gold Glove, one for every year he has been in the league. That is just incredible! One can only imagine the records he might have broken had he started in America earlier.
There is other baseball news to be told, however. The Florida Marlins are making an early splash, pardon the pun. They tried to sign their Silver Slugger second-baseman Dan Uggla to a substantial contract worth $48 million over 4 years. The second-baseman declined the offer, though. Now I know most of you will take umbrage at a baseball players scoffing at $48 million, but as one MLB Network commentator put it, you have to put it in perspective. Now the perspective is skewed for sure, but if you go by the numbers, Uggla had his best statistical year ever in 2010. His potential ceiling could be even higher, and he is proving to be possibly one of the best hitting second-basemen of all-time. Does that mean he needs to make more than $12 million? I have no idea. But it appears that it is more than the Marlins are willing to spend, because I just found out while writing this segment that the Atlanta Braves just acquired Dan Uggla by trading Omar Infante and lefty reliever Mike Dunn. This seems awfully lopsided toward the Braves advantage, but I don't know much about Mike Dunn, and the report I just read doesn't say much about him. The coming days should shed some light on this deal. But as of right now, the Marlins really screwed up this deal, and the deals that shipped Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller out of town aren't looking too bright either.
Finally, a sad farewell to two of baseball's finest. Seattle play-by-play man Dave Niehaus and ultimate-utility man Ed Fitzpatrick both passed away this week. Fitzpatrick played from '62-'77 for the Angels, Royals, Pirates, Rangers, and Brewers and did just about everything on the field. He played catcher, outfielder and first-baseman. He even played 2B and 3B a couple of times. He was the kind of guy you wanted on your team, because he gave it all at whatever you asked him to do. Likewise, Dave Niehaus gave everything he could to the fans of Seattle baseball. In 2008 he was honored with the Ford C. Frick award for excellence in baseball broadcasting. He was the first person to call Alex Rodriguez A-Rod, and constantly told the Seattle faithful to "Get out the rye bread and mustard, Grandma, it is grand salami time!" whenever a grand slam occurred. Both of these men will be missed by much of the baseball world. But we should also be thankful for what they gave us while they were here. Thanks guys. And thank you for reading. More awards are coming out in the next few days, so stay tuned folks.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Off-Season Begins
I said it already, but I think it bares repeating. Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for pulling off an incredible World Series win. And what was even more incredible was how many people showed up to personally congratulate the team on the streets of the San Fran. Crowd estimates were somewhere between 200,000 and 1 million people on Market Street and the surrounding avenues. This was a party for the ages, and the Giants and their Bay area fans definitely deserved it. But now we must move on, for the off-season has already begun for the other 29 teams.
There are lots of openings in baseball. Some manager positions have already filled up. The Marlins, Cubs, and Diamondbacks have all retained their interim managers for at least one full year. The Milwaukee Brewers appeared to have chosen Ron Roenicke, former Angels bench coach, to take the reigns in the dugout. The Pirates job is still open, but apparently Clint Hurdle is the running favorite. And my beloved Mets are closer to have their stuff together now that Sandy Alderson has been named General Manager. A skipper is still proving allusive, however.
Rest assured that their are also some ridiculously talented players that as of yet, do not have a home ballpark to go to. Some of the bigger names you'll obviously know. The Yankees have three huge free agents this year in Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte. It's assumed that all three will be back with the Yankees, since only Pettitte played for a short time with another team. But at what cost? Jeter can't troll shortstop forever, and how much will it take to keep the legend in pinstripes, even as just a symbol of bygone legacy? Rivera can still get it done, but should they sign him for 3-4 years? The same goes for Mr. Pettitte. The fact that the Yankees couldn't get it done this year marks a peculiar time for them. Their Hall of Fame stars are getting older, and they might not have the space to keep them around, and put together a World Series team. It's a tough position for G.M. Brian Cashman. I'm sure the Steinbrenner family with throw bags of money around to make it a little easier, though.
Not all big free agents are in, or are bound for New York. Cliff Lee might be, though. But then he might stay in Texas, or maybe go to the Angels, or maybe even Detroit. There are just a few teams who can afford to give Lee the $100 million contract he is looking for. But we've seen surprise teams poke their heads into the money pot several times over the past couple of years. Could the Orioles or Nationals make a unexpected play for the Cy Young winner? It's anybody's guess right now.
There are also some big name hitters on everyone's radar. Jayson Werth of the Philadelphia Phillies might be patrolling right field for a new team next year. But he got his shot in Philly, and he's absolutely adored by the public there, so there is a strong possibility he's not going anywhere. Plus the Phils need a right-handed bat in their lineup, so why let a known guy leave, for an unknown newcomer. The Phils do have some young talent in the outfield with Ben Francisco and Dominic Brown. Should they get a chance to start everyday?
Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena are both probably going to leave Tampa Bay, as that team tries to cut payroll. Maybe they wouldn't have to if people would actually go to their freaking games! But I digress. Pena had a miserable year, having almost as many strikeouts (158) as points in his average (.196). He will most likely only get a one-year deal wherever he goes, just to prove himself. Crawford on the other hand had a great year, doing his normal thing with a great average and tons of steals, while adding some power to his resume. He will get a long-term deal to play, and will probably love getting off of that artificial turf in Tropicana Field. There are tons of contenders for these talented outfielders, since besides Werth and Crawford, the next biggest name is Manny Ramirez. Something tells me not many teams will actually want him in the field next year.
There are many, many others who will hit free-agency in the coming days. Some big names who had an option with their 2010 team, but either turned it down, or were turned down include; Adrian Beltre, Vladimir Guerrero, pitchers Brandon Webb, Chris Young and Jeff Francis. Guerrero especially might return to Texas, but he has never been clutch in the playoffs, so maybe they might go a different route. In addition, the World Series Champion Giants stand to potentially lose Aubrey Huff, Edgar Renteria, Juan Uribe, Pat Burrell, and Jose Guillen. I think Aubrey will get a new deal, but the others, although Renteria and Uribe were instrumental in winning the W.S., might not be back for a repeat run. We'll see.
Paul Konerko had a comeback year with the White Sox. Will he be with them in 2011? There are other 1B options for many teams including the aforementioned Pena, Adam Dunn, Derek Lee and Lance Berkman. Jim Thome and David Ortiz are potentially open for D.H. assignment as well. Victor Martinez wants to catch, but he can play first. And fellow catcher A.J. Pierzynski is also a new free-agent. Solid starters and relievers are also to be had in the likes of Carl Pavano, Ted Lilly, Joe Beimel, Arthur Rhodes, Jon Rauch, Joaquin Benoit, Kerry Wood, Brian Fuentes, Rafael Soriano, and potentially (depending on whether teams pick up their options) Bronson Arroyo, Matt Thornton, Darren Oliver, Jon Garland, and Aaron Harang.
This off-season isn't the strongest in recent memory. There are plenty of opportunities to make teams better, though. Whether with a giant splash, or with precision deals and value pickups that could mean the difference between playing baseball in October, or going fishing. I love the hot stove time of year, so I'm looking forward to this with great anticipation. And don't forget, the awards start coming out in the next week or so. Keep an eye out to see if I was right about anything or not.
As we wrap up this particular post, there are two things I would like to say. First, best of luck to George Lee "Sparky" Anderson, the phenomenal manager of the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers starting in 1970, all the way up until 1995. This three-time World Series Champion, the first man to ever man a W.S. team in both leagues, is in failing health. The 76-year-old was one of my first memories of baseball. I had several Sparky Anderson cards growing up, and while reading his baseball card I first realized that players weren't always called by their first names, and my love affair with nicknames was born. The Hall of Fame Manager is a dynamic personality, who was beloved by players and fans alike. I wish him and his family the best while coping with this terrible disease.
And on a somewhat lighter note, I would like to say that I can't stand Joe Buck. I think he is a terrible play-by-play commentator and I wish Fox had the good sense to get rid of him. However, Fox has no good sense, as evidenced by the scandalous slap-fight they had with Cablevision which kept me, and several other millions from being able to see the N.L.C.S., or most of the W.S. I hate Fox in every possible way. And while I don't hate Mr. Buck, I think he sucks. He's the Michael Bay of baseball commentators. He tries to over-dramatize every possibly outcome as if he is trying to replicate great announcers of the past. It isn't working Joe. And learn how to read. You misread a blurb about the new Harry Potter movie, calling it the Deadly Hallows. You get paid how much to be bad at your job? I might be terrible at writing blogs, but I don't get paid, so suck it. Anyway, have a good day people.
There are lots of openings in baseball. Some manager positions have already filled up. The Marlins, Cubs, and Diamondbacks have all retained their interim managers for at least one full year. The Milwaukee Brewers appeared to have chosen Ron Roenicke, former Angels bench coach, to take the reigns in the dugout. The Pirates job is still open, but apparently Clint Hurdle is the running favorite. And my beloved Mets are closer to have their stuff together now that Sandy Alderson has been named General Manager. A skipper is still proving allusive, however.
Rest assured that their are also some ridiculously talented players that as of yet, do not have a home ballpark to go to. Some of the bigger names you'll obviously know. The Yankees have three huge free agents this year in Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte. It's assumed that all three will be back with the Yankees, since only Pettitte played for a short time with another team. But at what cost? Jeter can't troll shortstop forever, and how much will it take to keep the legend in pinstripes, even as just a symbol of bygone legacy? Rivera can still get it done, but should they sign him for 3-4 years? The same goes for Mr. Pettitte. The fact that the Yankees couldn't get it done this year marks a peculiar time for them. Their Hall of Fame stars are getting older, and they might not have the space to keep them around, and put together a World Series team. It's a tough position for G.M. Brian Cashman. I'm sure the Steinbrenner family with throw bags of money around to make it a little easier, though.
Not all big free agents are in, or are bound for New York. Cliff Lee might be, though. But then he might stay in Texas, or maybe go to the Angels, or maybe even Detroit. There are just a few teams who can afford to give Lee the $100 million contract he is looking for. But we've seen surprise teams poke their heads into the money pot several times over the past couple of years. Could the Orioles or Nationals make a unexpected play for the Cy Young winner? It's anybody's guess right now.
There are also some big name hitters on everyone's radar. Jayson Werth of the Philadelphia Phillies might be patrolling right field for a new team next year. But he got his shot in Philly, and he's absolutely adored by the public there, so there is a strong possibility he's not going anywhere. Plus the Phils need a right-handed bat in their lineup, so why let a known guy leave, for an unknown newcomer. The Phils do have some young talent in the outfield with Ben Francisco and Dominic Brown. Should they get a chance to start everyday?
Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena are both probably going to leave Tampa Bay, as that team tries to cut payroll. Maybe they wouldn't have to if people would actually go to their freaking games! But I digress. Pena had a miserable year, having almost as many strikeouts (158) as points in his average (.196). He will most likely only get a one-year deal wherever he goes, just to prove himself. Crawford on the other hand had a great year, doing his normal thing with a great average and tons of steals, while adding some power to his resume. He will get a long-term deal to play, and will probably love getting off of that artificial turf in Tropicana Field. There are tons of contenders for these talented outfielders, since besides Werth and Crawford, the next biggest name is Manny Ramirez. Something tells me not many teams will actually want him in the field next year.
There are many, many others who will hit free-agency in the coming days. Some big names who had an option with their 2010 team, but either turned it down, or were turned down include; Adrian Beltre, Vladimir Guerrero, pitchers Brandon Webb, Chris Young and Jeff Francis. Guerrero especially might return to Texas, but he has never been clutch in the playoffs, so maybe they might go a different route. In addition, the World Series Champion Giants stand to potentially lose Aubrey Huff, Edgar Renteria, Juan Uribe, Pat Burrell, and Jose Guillen. I think Aubrey will get a new deal, but the others, although Renteria and Uribe were instrumental in winning the W.S., might not be back for a repeat run. We'll see.
Paul Konerko had a comeback year with the White Sox. Will he be with them in 2011? There are other 1B options for many teams including the aforementioned Pena, Adam Dunn, Derek Lee and Lance Berkman. Jim Thome and David Ortiz are potentially open for D.H. assignment as well. Victor Martinez wants to catch, but he can play first. And fellow catcher A.J. Pierzynski is also a new free-agent. Solid starters and relievers are also to be had in the likes of Carl Pavano, Ted Lilly, Joe Beimel, Arthur Rhodes, Jon Rauch, Joaquin Benoit, Kerry Wood, Brian Fuentes, Rafael Soriano, and potentially (depending on whether teams pick up their options) Bronson Arroyo, Matt Thornton, Darren Oliver, Jon Garland, and Aaron Harang.
This off-season isn't the strongest in recent memory. There are plenty of opportunities to make teams better, though. Whether with a giant splash, or with precision deals and value pickups that could mean the difference between playing baseball in October, or going fishing. I love the hot stove time of year, so I'm looking forward to this with great anticipation. And don't forget, the awards start coming out in the next week or so. Keep an eye out to see if I was right about anything or not.
As we wrap up this particular post, there are two things I would like to say. First, best of luck to George Lee "Sparky" Anderson, the phenomenal manager of the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers starting in 1970, all the way up until 1995. This three-time World Series Champion, the first man to ever man a W.S. team in both leagues, is in failing health. The 76-year-old was one of my first memories of baseball. I had several Sparky Anderson cards growing up, and while reading his baseball card I first realized that players weren't always called by their first names, and my love affair with nicknames was born. The Hall of Fame Manager is a dynamic personality, who was beloved by players and fans alike. I wish him and his family the best while coping with this terrible disease.
And on a somewhat lighter note, I would like to say that I can't stand Joe Buck. I think he is a terrible play-by-play commentator and I wish Fox had the good sense to get rid of him. However, Fox has no good sense, as evidenced by the scandalous slap-fight they had with Cablevision which kept me, and several other millions from being able to see the N.L.C.S., or most of the W.S. I hate Fox in every possible way. And while I don't hate Mr. Buck, I think he sucks. He's the Michael Bay of baseball commentators. He tries to over-dramatize every possibly outcome as if he is trying to replicate great announcers of the past. It isn't working Joe. And learn how to read. You misread a blurb about the new Harry Potter movie, calling it the Deadly Hallows. You get paid how much to be bad at your job? I might be terrible at writing blogs, but I don't get paid, so suck it. Anyway, have a good day people.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
They Might Be Giants
First I'd like to apologize for almost three full weeks of no blogs. I was knee-deep into a fantastic theatrical show that I was directing, and barely had time to crash into bed, let alone make coherent baseball comments. But I'm back now! Just in time for the season to be over. (Sad face) But that doesn't mean we can't wrap-up what was missed. So here we go ladies and germs.
The San Francisco Giants made their way past the seemingly much better Philadelphia Phillies. How was this accomplished? With dynamite pitching, that's how. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and even rookie Madison Bumgarner all pitched well enough to slide past the defending National League Champions. Lincecum bested the suddenly mortal Roy Halladay to take Game 1, Cain made the Phils look silly in Game 3, Roy Oswalt couldn't prevent a walk-off victory in Game 4, and Game 6 saw very little Philly offense at all. In truth, that was the reason the Phils lost. Their vaulted, and expensive offense just couldn't figure out the San Fran pitching staff. So while this series originally looked lopsided to the Phillies' advantage, it turned out to be controlled mostly by stud starting pitchers, and clutch hitting by the Giants.
Over in the American League, however, it was pure domination of the Texas Rangers over the defending World Series Champion New York Yankees. The Yanks managed to take Game 1, but that was due to an inept Ranger pen. And if C.C. Sabathia had not pitched a solid Game 5, even though the Rangers outhit the Yanks 13-9 that day, then the series would have been over even sooner. Because like it or not, the Rangers pretty much owned New York. They outhit the champs on a regular basis, and in both Game 3 and 6, Cliff Lee and Colby Lewis made the Yankees look like a junior varsity team. Sadly, Mark Texiera went out with a hamstring injury, but in all honesty, that didn't make much of a difference to the Yanks, as he wasn't hitting squat and Lance Berkman was a decent defensive replacement. Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz were instead the stars of this series, belting homers and driving in runs. And thus the World Series match-up was set.
At the start, it looked like the Rangers were another fierce offensive power that the Giants were going to have to overcome. But just as the Giants were able to get past Philadelphia, Texas soon realized just how good the Giants young hurlers are. Game 1 of the Fall Classic saw neither Lincecum, nor Lee looking particularly good, though. Lincecum was able to hang on to get a victory after pitching 5 and 2/3, but Lee didn't really have any pitches working for him that day, and his streak of 7-0 in the playoffs came crashing to an end. Besides, who would suspect the Giants would put up 11 runs on 14 hits!? The game was somewhat tainted by ugly play though, as the Rangers had four errors, two by returning right-fielder Vladimir Guerrero, and the Gints had two themselves. So Game 2 would be much more of a pitchers duel, right?
Uh, think again. Matt Cain pitched 7 and 2/3 of stellar baseball, allowing only four hits and continuing his postseason of not allowing a run. The Giants totaled 9 runs in this stomp-fest, though. I don't think the Giants had scored 20 runs in a week during the regular season, and here they were pounding the juggernaut Rangers' offense into dust. By the Way, Cain ended up pitching 21.1 innings in the postseason and only allowed one unearned run. That's just disgustingly good. So while the Rangers bats showed up a little late in Game 1, they completely called in sick for Game 2. Would Game 3 show a glimmer of hope for fans in Arlington?
Eh, kinda. Josh Hamilton finally got on the board by blasting a homer, but it wasn't game determining, and other than that, his entire series was pretty dreadful. But the Rangers got the win, and Texas fans starting to think that this series might not be as dull as it started out. And maybe even fans outside of Texas and California would start paying attention. But then Game 4 happened, and the audiences that actually did pay attention were introduced to Madison Bumgarner. Da Bum threw 8 absolutely dominate innings, struck out 6, walked only 2 and allowed a mere 3 hits, all as a rookie in the postseason. Madison pitched so well that he made the Rangers look like...well, the Yankees. So while I and other baseball fans love this rookie sensation throwing a wonderful game, it doesn't make for wide audience appeal, and by the time Game 5 rolled around, I don't think many people were watching. In fact, Dancing with the Stars received higher ratings than Game 5 did. And it's unfortunate, because those non-viewers missed a hell of a pitching performance by Mr. Hash, aka, Tim Lincecum. He also tossed 8 great innings, allowing only a homerun to Nelson Cruz. But that homerun paled in comparison to Edgar Renteria's three-run blast at the top of the 7th. Brian Wilson was his usual eccentric, but shut-down self, and the game and series were over.
And while I give my sincerest congratulations to the deserving San Francisco Giants, I must admit, I was a little disappointed in this contest. The Rangers had the potential to come out and challenge the Giants hitters, but instead most of them looked lost throughout the series. Middle-of-the-order hitters Josh Hamilton and Vlad Guerrero batted .100 and .071 respectively. In fact, only two Rangers batted above .200; Michael Young who batted exactly .250, and 1B Mitch Moreland who batted a ridiculous .462.
On the other hand, the Giants seemed to get hitting from somebody new every night. Lead-off hitter Andres Torres set the table night after night and made the Rangers' pitchers respect his speed. Juan Uribe had some big RBIs. And eventual MVP Edgar Renteria hit .412, including the series deciding homerun. This San Francisco hodge-podge of castaway characters like Cody Ross, Uribe, Pat Burrell and Aubrey Huff came together to support a sublime pitching staff and bring San Francisco its first baseball championship. It's the kind of team that nobody thought at the beginning of the year could go all the way. And if they start again next year with the exact same roster, no one will pick them to repeat. But that is why they are so deserving. They came together when it mattered. Hunkered down and got big hits when it mattered. And most importantly, pitched some outstanding games when it mattered. So congratulations to a scrappy team who had what it took to beat up the All-Stars. And here's to a wonderful 2010 season of baseball. May 2011 be even better.
And to my readership, thanks so much for sticking with me this year. There have been ups and downs. Lovely pictures, and stupefying grammatical errors. But you kept coming back, and for that, I can't thank you enough. And one last final note. A few days ago a gentleman emailed me and asked me to refer his website. Well I took a look at it, and it is something I think is worth sharing. So when you are done reading this, head on over to www.bestcollegesonline.net/blog/2010/10-unforgettable-world-series-moments. I might have picked #2 as my number #1, but it's a great list nonetheless. I'll be back soon with off-season rumors, trades, signings and general musings. Only 103 days until pitchers and catcher report!!! That's for you Vinny.
The San Francisco Giants made their way past the seemingly much better Philadelphia Phillies. How was this accomplished? With dynamite pitching, that's how. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and even rookie Madison Bumgarner all pitched well enough to slide past the defending National League Champions. Lincecum bested the suddenly mortal Roy Halladay to take Game 1, Cain made the Phils look silly in Game 3, Roy Oswalt couldn't prevent a walk-off victory in Game 4, and Game 6 saw very little Philly offense at all. In truth, that was the reason the Phils lost. Their vaulted, and expensive offense just couldn't figure out the San Fran pitching staff. So while this series originally looked lopsided to the Phillies' advantage, it turned out to be controlled mostly by stud starting pitchers, and clutch hitting by the Giants.
Over in the American League, however, it was pure domination of the Texas Rangers over the defending World Series Champion New York Yankees. The Yanks managed to take Game 1, but that was due to an inept Ranger pen. And if C.C. Sabathia had not pitched a solid Game 5, even though the Rangers outhit the Yanks 13-9 that day, then the series would have been over even sooner. Because like it or not, the Rangers pretty much owned New York. They outhit the champs on a regular basis, and in both Game 3 and 6, Cliff Lee and Colby Lewis made the Yankees look like a junior varsity team. Sadly, Mark Texiera went out with a hamstring injury, but in all honesty, that didn't make much of a difference to the Yanks, as he wasn't hitting squat and Lance Berkman was a decent defensive replacement. Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz were instead the stars of this series, belting homers and driving in runs. And thus the World Series match-up was set.
At the start, it looked like the Rangers were another fierce offensive power that the Giants were going to have to overcome. But just as the Giants were able to get past Philadelphia, Texas soon realized just how good the Giants young hurlers are. Game 1 of the Fall Classic saw neither Lincecum, nor Lee looking particularly good, though. Lincecum was able to hang on to get a victory after pitching 5 and 2/3, but Lee didn't really have any pitches working for him that day, and his streak of 7-0 in the playoffs came crashing to an end. Besides, who would suspect the Giants would put up 11 runs on 14 hits!? The game was somewhat tainted by ugly play though, as the Rangers had four errors, two by returning right-fielder Vladimir Guerrero, and the Gints had two themselves. So Game 2 would be much more of a pitchers duel, right?
Uh, think again. Matt Cain pitched 7 and 2/3 of stellar baseball, allowing only four hits and continuing his postseason of not allowing a run. The Giants totaled 9 runs in this stomp-fest, though. I don't think the Giants had scored 20 runs in a week during the regular season, and here they were pounding the juggernaut Rangers' offense into dust. By the Way, Cain ended up pitching 21.1 innings in the postseason and only allowed one unearned run. That's just disgustingly good. So while the Rangers bats showed up a little late in Game 1, they completely called in sick for Game 2. Would Game 3 show a glimmer of hope for fans in Arlington?
Eh, kinda. Josh Hamilton finally got on the board by blasting a homer, but it wasn't game determining, and other than that, his entire series was pretty dreadful. But the Rangers got the win, and Texas fans starting to think that this series might not be as dull as it started out. And maybe even fans outside of Texas and California would start paying attention. But then Game 4 happened, and the audiences that actually did pay attention were introduced to Madison Bumgarner. Da Bum threw 8 absolutely dominate innings, struck out 6, walked only 2 and allowed a mere 3 hits, all as a rookie in the postseason. Madison pitched so well that he made the Rangers look like...well, the Yankees. So while I and other baseball fans love this rookie sensation throwing a wonderful game, it doesn't make for wide audience appeal, and by the time Game 5 rolled around, I don't think many people were watching. In fact, Dancing with the Stars received higher ratings than Game 5 did. And it's unfortunate, because those non-viewers missed a hell of a pitching performance by Mr. Hash, aka, Tim Lincecum. He also tossed 8 great innings, allowing only a homerun to Nelson Cruz. But that homerun paled in comparison to Edgar Renteria's three-run blast at the top of the 7th. Brian Wilson was his usual eccentric, but shut-down self, and the game and series were over.
And while I give my sincerest congratulations to the deserving San Francisco Giants, I must admit, I was a little disappointed in this contest. The Rangers had the potential to come out and challenge the Giants hitters, but instead most of them looked lost throughout the series. Middle-of-the-order hitters Josh Hamilton and Vlad Guerrero batted .100 and .071 respectively. In fact, only two Rangers batted above .200; Michael Young who batted exactly .250, and 1B Mitch Moreland who batted a ridiculous .462.
On the other hand, the Giants seemed to get hitting from somebody new every night. Lead-off hitter Andres Torres set the table night after night and made the Rangers' pitchers respect his speed. Juan Uribe had some big RBIs. And eventual MVP Edgar Renteria hit .412, including the series deciding homerun. This San Francisco hodge-podge of castaway characters like Cody Ross, Uribe, Pat Burrell and Aubrey Huff came together to support a sublime pitching staff and bring San Francisco its first baseball championship. It's the kind of team that nobody thought at the beginning of the year could go all the way. And if they start again next year with the exact same roster, no one will pick them to repeat. But that is why they are so deserving. They came together when it mattered. Hunkered down and got big hits when it mattered. And most importantly, pitched some outstanding games when it mattered. So congratulations to a scrappy team who had what it took to beat up the All-Stars. And here's to a wonderful 2010 season of baseball. May 2011 be even better.
And to my readership, thanks so much for sticking with me this year. There have been ups and downs. Lovely pictures, and stupefying grammatical errors. But you kept coming back, and for that, I can't thank you enough. And one last final note. A few days ago a gentleman emailed me and asked me to refer his website. Well I took a look at it, and it is something I think is worth sharing. So when you are done reading this, head on over to www.bestcollegesonline.net/blog/2010/10-unforgettable-world-series-moments. I might have picked #2 as my number #1, but it's a great list nonetheless. I'll be back soon with off-season rumors, trades, signings and general musings. Only 103 days until pitchers and catcher report!!! That's for you Vinny.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Expect the Unexpected
The four Division Series are almost over and one thing is most certain about the playoffs; the dominant pitching from the regular season has certainly stuck around so far. The pitching might even be called, unexpectedly good. After all, the postseason is reserved for only the strongest teams, and strong teams usually have outstanding offenses. But so far the playoffs have been pitching heavy.
To see where I'm coming from you need look no further than Game 1 between the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds. When the Reds finished the regular season they were the top National League offensive team. When pitted against Roy Halladay, however, they might as well have been swinging toothpicks. The Good Doctor was dealing some fierce medicine during Game 1, throwing 9 no-hit innings and one mere walk away from dealing his second perfect game of the season and only the second perfect game in playoff history. As it stands, Halladay will have to be satisfied with only joining Don Larsen as having the second ever no-hitter in the postseason. While Larsen pitched a perfect game in the 1956 World Series, few times has a pitcher ever been more dominant than Rapid Roy was during Game 1. The ball danced down, in, and away from hitters all night, reducing All-Stars to shadows of themselves. This feat is almost unheard of. To accomplish it during the regular season, potentially against a weak team is one thing. To do it during the playoffs, after a tiring year of pitching, against an extremely volatile lineup, is just... amazing.
And the Phillies weren't done there. The other Roy was not nearly as sharp, but Oswalt still kept the Phils in the game long enough for their offense to come around. Then Cole Hamels took over in Game 3 and decided enough was enough from the Reds for the year. Hamels threw a shutout of his own, completing a sweep of the Reds, allowing only five hits all nights, striking out 9, (one more than Halladay) and continuing an awesome streak of pitching that he started over a month ago. Since August 24, Cole has allowed 2 runs or more only twice, has struck out 58 batters, and given up only 12. This man is on some kind of pace. With the potent Phillies offense behind them, it appears as though these three gentlemen can hurl the Philthies past just about anybody. But that remains to be seen just yet.
The City of Brotherly Love wasn't the only place where great pitching resides. In Game 1 of the series between the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays, Cliff Lee pitched 7 stellar innings, allowing only one run, while sending 10 men back to the bench with a K. In Game 2, C.J. Wilson replicated Cliff Lee's tactics, and pitched six great innings of his own, striking out seven and giving up just two hits, before relinquishing control to the fantastic Ranger bullpen. The tides quickly turned however. In Games 3 and 4 the Rays enjoyed some quality pitching from both starters and relievers, and provided just enough offense to even the series at two games a piece. Tomorrow marks the conclusion of this series and again two great pitchers match up, in Cliff Lee and David Price. It should be a titillating game for the eyes to behold.
Meanwhile, the New York Spankees did just what their humorous nickname says, and took it to the Minnesota Twins yet again, sweeping two cities at once. None of the Yankee starters were sublime, apart from maybe Phil Hughes, but the pitching was good enough to get to the strong bullpen, which gave up only one run to Minnesota over the course of the series. Probably the most anticipated series of the playoffs turned out to be a dud, marked with little drama, and the same ending as previous years. It looks like the only way the Twins will ever make it past the Divisional Series is to face someone besides the Yankees. Sad, but true.
However, whatever drama the Yankees/Twins series lacked, it was more than made up for by the Braves and Giants. Game 1 saw Tim Lincecum going all Rick James on everyone and becoming a 'Super-Freak' as MLB.com puts it. In addition to Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels, Lincecum gave one of the finest playoff pitching performances in recent years. Lincecum not only fanned 14 batters, a San Francisco Giants playoff record, but pitching a shutout as well, showing outstanding control by giving up only one walk, and surrendering just two hits to the Atlanta Braves. After a year of ups and down, The Freak showed that he is still a young phenomenon worthy of tremendous notice. The Atlanta starter, Derek Lowe, was no slouch. He just couldn't compete with Tim's numbers. In Game 2, Matt Cain did his workman-like best and kept the Braves down for nearly seven innings. But some shoddy bullpen pitching by the Giants, and some late-inning heroics from former pitcher Rick Ankiel brought home another playoff win for Bobby Cox and the Bravos. Jonathan Sanchez did his best Lincecum impersonation and struck out 11 batters in Game 3, the second-highest playoff total ever by a Giants pitcher. He was aided by some unfortunately misplays by Brooks Conrad, the suddenly second-baseman for Atlanta, and San Fran now leads the series 2-1. After the game, Conrad took full responsibility for his three errors, and expressed his disappointment and resolve by being contrite and straightforward. After a tough game like that, many men would shirk the limelight, but it takes a brave man (no pun intended) to face up to your critics. You earned a lot of respect last night Mr. Conrad.
So the playoffs have indeed been pretty stupendous so far. There has already been lots of record-breaking pitching, and there promises to be more drama in the coming League Championship Series, so stay tuned folks. If you miss these upcoming games, you might miss history in the making. And before I leave you, there is a question I want to ask. Rick Ankiel's late-game homerun in Game 2 marked just the second time a person has pitching in a playoff game, and in a later game hit a homerun as a position player. Can you name that other player?
To see where I'm coming from you need look no further than Game 1 between the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds. When the Reds finished the regular season they were the top National League offensive team. When pitted against Roy Halladay, however, they might as well have been swinging toothpicks. The Good Doctor was dealing some fierce medicine during Game 1, throwing 9 no-hit innings and one mere walk away from dealing his second perfect game of the season and only the second perfect game in playoff history. As it stands, Halladay will have to be satisfied with only joining Don Larsen as having the second ever no-hitter in the postseason. While Larsen pitched a perfect game in the 1956 World Series, few times has a pitcher ever been more dominant than Rapid Roy was during Game 1. The ball danced down, in, and away from hitters all night, reducing All-Stars to shadows of themselves. This feat is almost unheard of. To accomplish it during the regular season, potentially against a weak team is one thing. To do it during the playoffs, after a tiring year of pitching, against an extremely volatile lineup, is just... amazing.
And the Phillies weren't done there. The other Roy was not nearly as sharp, but Oswalt still kept the Phils in the game long enough for their offense to come around. Then Cole Hamels took over in Game 3 and decided enough was enough from the Reds for the year. Hamels threw a shutout of his own, completing a sweep of the Reds, allowing only five hits all nights, striking out 9, (one more than Halladay) and continuing an awesome streak of pitching that he started over a month ago. Since August 24, Cole has allowed 2 runs or more only twice, has struck out 58 batters, and given up only 12. This man is on some kind of pace. With the potent Phillies offense behind them, it appears as though these three gentlemen can hurl the Philthies past just about anybody. But that remains to be seen just yet.
The City of Brotherly Love wasn't the only place where great pitching resides. In Game 1 of the series between the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays, Cliff Lee pitched 7 stellar innings, allowing only one run, while sending 10 men back to the bench with a K. In Game 2, C.J. Wilson replicated Cliff Lee's tactics, and pitched six great innings of his own, striking out seven and giving up just two hits, before relinquishing control to the fantastic Ranger bullpen. The tides quickly turned however. In Games 3 and 4 the Rays enjoyed some quality pitching from both starters and relievers, and provided just enough offense to even the series at two games a piece. Tomorrow marks the conclusion of this series and again two great pitchers match up, in Cliff Lee and David Price. It should be a titillating game for the eyes to behold.
Meanwhile, the New York Spankees did just what their humorous nickname says, and took it to the Minnesota Twins yet again, sweeping two cities at once. None of the Yankee starters were sublime, apart from maybe Phil Hughes, but the pitching was good enough to get to the strong bullpen, which gave up only one run to Minnesota over the course of the series. Probably the most anticipated series of the playoffs turned out to be a dud, marked with little drama, and the same ending as previous years. It looks like the only way the Twins will ever make it past the Divisional Series is to face someone besides the Yankees. Sad, but true.
However, whatever drama the Yankees/Twins series lacked, it was more than made up for by the Braves and Giants. Game 1 saw Tim Lincecum going all Rick James on everyone and becoming a 'Super-Freak' as MLB.com puts it. In addition to Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels, Lincecum gave one of the finest playoff pitching performances in recent years. Lincecum not only fanned 14 batters, a San Francisco Giants playoff record, but pitching a shutout as well, showing outstanding control by giving up only one walk, and surrendering just two hits to the Atlanta Braves. After a year of ups and down, The Freak showed that he is still a young phenomenon worthy of tremendous notice. The Atlanta starter, Derek Lowe, was no slouch. He just couldn't compete with Tim's numbers. In Game 2, Matt Cain did his workman-like best and kept the Braves down for nearly seven innings. But some shoddy bullpen pitching by the Giants, and some late-inning heroics from former pitcher Rick Ankiel brought home another playoff win for Bobby Cox and the Bravos. Jonathan Sanchez did his best Lincecum impersonation and struck out 11 batters in Game 3, the second-highest playoff total ever by a Giants pitcher. He was aided by some unfortunately misplays by Brooks Conrad, the suddenly second-baseman for Atlanta, and San Fran now leads the series 2-1. After the game, Conrad took full responsibility for his three errors, and expressed his disappointment and resolve by being contrite and straightforward. After a tough game like that, many men would shirk the limelight, but it takes a brave man (no pun intended) to face up to your critics. You earned a lot of respect last night Mr. Conrad.
So the playoffs have indeed been pretty stupendous so far. There has already been lots of record-breaking pitching, and there promises to be more drama in the coming League Championship Series, so stay tuned folks. If you miss these upcoming games, you might miss history in the making. And before I leave you, there is a question I want to ask. Rick Ankiel's late-game homerun in Game 2 marked just the second time a person has pitching in a playoff game, and in a later game hit a homerun as a position player. Can you name that other player?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Post-Season
The regular season has come and gone, folks. There has been some excellent baseball played up until now. There were extraordinary catches, dramatic homeruns, and of course, fantastic pitching all over baseball. And the season ended on such a great note, with the San Francisco Giants completing their come-from-behind story to beat out the San Diego Padres on the last day of the season for the National League West Division. To see that crowd go nuts as closer Brian Wilson struck out the last batter, was a thing of beauty. I can't say enough about how much I've enjoyed this 2010 MLB season so far, and I hope you have too.
But all of that was just the beginning. Now comes the post-season, where all the hard-work and determination of spring training and the regular season pays off for 8 teams. Those playoff teams, in case you have missed it, in the American League are the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees (Wild Card), Minnesota Twins and the Texas Rangers. Over in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, S.F. Giants, and the Atlanta Braves (Wild Card) will all be playing in the Divisional Championship Series starting tomorrow on TBS. And the match-ups are looking intense. The Rangers are facing off against the Rays in Tampa, while the Twins play host to the visiting Yanks. Unfortunately for the Twins, former A.L. MVP and stellar 1B Justin Morneau will have to sit out the entire playoffs due to a concussion he suffered late in the season. But Minnesota has proven that they can overcome adversity and aren't about to roll over for the defending champs, no matter how potent of a lineup the Yankees put up. Over in Florida, the battle between speed, power and pitching prowess will be on display as both the Rays and Rangers have been known to dominate an opponent in 2010. The Rays won the regular season series between these teams, 4-2. If Tampa catches a red-hot Texas lineup though, the Rays' pitching may not be able to contain Cruz, Vladdy, Young, Kinsler and the newly healthy Josh Hamilton. Both of these series promise to be drawn-out and intense affairs.
Over in the National League, it's a slightly different story. The Giants provided some late-season drama, but aside from that, the playoff race in the N.L. was a little lackluster. The Reds had long-since clinched a spot in the postseason, so they were playing uninspired baseball. The Braves, who had stumbled mightily against division nemesis Philly, as well as everyone else, barely squeaked into the playoffs ahead of San Diego. And the Phillies, who having crushed Atlanta's hopes of a N.L. East Division Championship, were soaring high and refused to rest, so that they might win the best record in the league honors, which they did. So you had one team dominating everyone in their path, one team making a great run at the end, and two kind of mediocre teams falling ass-over-head into October. And frankly, the upcoming series don't hold as much promise as the A.L. series do.
Philly is looking pretty confident going into a series at home, versus the Reds. Cincinnati, while having a very potent offense, doesn't quite match well with the three stud pitchers the Phils are going to throw at them. So unless Joey Votto, Scott Rolen and the rest of the Reds can bring some serious bat strength, these games might turn out to be blowouts in favor of the two-time defending National League Champions. Over in San Fran, the Giants have probably the best starting three pitchers outside of Philadelphia, but their bats are a question mark. Third-baseman Pablo Sandoval has been picking up his average of late, but his season has been an abject disappointment compared to 2009. If San Fransisco is going to get past the Braves and stand a chance at making the World Series, then Aubrey Huff, possible Rookie of the Year Buster Posey, and others must continue to put up timely runs when it matters most. The Braves do have the pitching to compete with the Giants or anyone else, but their bats have been streaky at best. So unless Atlanta puts everything together, and soon, this might not be the wonderful last hoorah for manager Bobby Cox that everyone has envisioned just a few months ago.
Of course, I don't mean to sound like a bummer. For as much as I think the American League Division Series will be a bit better than the National League, I'm going to try and watch every single playoff game with excitement and anticipation. Maybe the Reds will surprise the Phils. Maybe the Yankees will make a strong repeat run. Who knows, maybe even the Atlanta Braves will find the magic touch and destroy everyone in their path. That's the beauty of the postseason. Everyone is back to zero. What each guy did in the regular season may have been great, but unless that same player continues the success that got him to the playoffs, then all those regular season stats are for nothing. The postseason is a time of potential rebirth. A stumbling September team can become an October juggernaut. It's why I love baseball. It's why I love the playoffs. And it's why, I hope, you will be watching too.
But all of that was just the beginning. Now comes the post-season, where all the hard-work and determination of spring training and the regular season pays off for 8 teams. Those playoff teams, in case you have missed it, in the American League are the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees (Wild Card), Minnesota Twins and the Texas Rangers. Over in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, S.F. Giants, and the Atlanta Braves (Wild Card) will all be playing in the Divisional Championship Series starting tomorrow on TBS. And the match-ups are looking intense. The Rangers are facing off against the Rays in Tampa, while the Twins play host to the visiting Yanks. Unfortunately for the Twins, former A.L. MVP and stellar 1B Justin Morneau will have to sit out the entire playoffs due to a concussion he suffered late in the season. But Minnesota has proven that they can overcome adversity and aren't about to roll over for the defending champs, no matter how potent of a lineup the Yankees put up. Over in Florida, the battle between speed, power and pitching prowess will be on display as both the Rays and Rangers have been known to dominate an opponent in 2010. The Rays won the regular season series between these teams, 4-2. If Tampa catches a red-hot Texas lineup though, the Rays' pitching may not be able to contain Cruz, Vladdy, Young, Kinsler and the newly healthy Josh Hamilton. Both of these series promise to be drawn-out and intense affairs.
Over in the National League, it's a slightly different story. The Giants provided some late-season drama, but aside from that, the playoff race in the N.L. was a little lackluster. The Reds had long-since clinched a spot in the postseason, so they were playing uninspired baseball. The Braves, who had stumbled mightily against division nemesis Philly, as well as everyone else, barely squeaked into the playoffs ahead of San Diego. And the Phillies, who having crushed Atlanta's hopes of a N.L. East Division Championship, were soaring high and refused to rest, so that they might win the best record in the league honors, which they did. So you had one team dominating everyone in their path, one team making a great run at the end, and two kind of mediocre teams falling ass-over-head into October. And frankly, the upcoming series don't hold as much promise as the A.L. series do.
Philly is looking pretty confident going into a series at home, versus the Reds. Cincinnati, while having a very potent offense, doesn't quite match well with the three stud pitchers the Phils are going to throw at them. So unless Joey Votto, Scott Rolen and the rest of the Reds can bring some serious bat strength, these games might turn out to be blowouts in favor of the two-time defending National League Champions. Over in San Fran, the Giants have probably the best starting three pitchers outside of Philadelphia, but their bats are a question mark. Third-baseman Pablo Sandoval has been picking up his average of late, but his season has been an abject disappointment compared to 2009. If San Fransisco is going to get past the Braves and stand a chance at making the World Series, then Aubrey Huff, possible Rookie of the Year Buster Posey, and others must continue to put up timely runs when it matters most. The Braves do have the pitching to compete with the Giants or anyone else, but their bats have been streaky at best. So unless Atlanta puts everything together, and soon, this might not be the wonderful last hoorah for manager Bobby Cox that everyone has envisioned just a few months ago.
Of course, I don't mean to sound like a bummer. For as much as I think the American League Division Series will be a bit better than the National League, I'm going to try and watch every single playoff game with excitement and anticipation. Maybe the Reds will surprise the Phils. Maybe the Yankees will make a strong repeat run. Who knows, maybe even the Atlanta Braves will find the magic touch and destroy everyone in their path. That's the beauty of the postseason. Everyone is back to zero. What each guy did in the regular season may have been great, but unless that same player continues the success that got him to the playoffs, then all those regular season stats are for nothing. The postseason is a time of potential rebirth. A stumbling September team can become an October juggernaut. It's why I love baseball. It's why I love the playoffs. And it's why, I hope, you will be watching too.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Hot and Cold
Every player, whether he is a fresh-faced rookie or a steely-eyed veteran, goes through both periods of unbridled excellence, and abject misery. It's part of the game. The fact is, that if you are a great hitter, you still failed 7 out of 10 times. So there are lots of opportunities for a player to falter, and pick themselves back up. But what makes individuals and teams special is the ability to perform this task when it is most crucial. And there are few times less crucial then in September.
With just a few short weeks left for teams to make playoff pushes, now is the time to show stamina and composure. It is often hard for entire teams to exude this all at once, but there are special cases when this happens. For instance, the Colorado Rockies of 2007 won 21 of their last 22 games going down the stretch run to make the playoffs and eventually go to the World Series that year. The 2010 Rockies are trying to duplicate just that. So far this month, they are 11-4, with 10 of those wins being in a row. They are just 2.5 games back in the National League West as well as for the Wild Card spot. While this is due in large part to the performance of the team as a whole, one player doing much of the damage is SS Troy Tulowitzski. In his last ten games, Tulo has collected 15 hits, 9 homeruns, a staggering 21 RBI and scored 12 runs, while batting .375. Seven of those RBI, and two of those homeruns came against the then first-place San Diego Padres on Wednesday. To sum up, few people in all of baseball are hitting hotter than Troy Tulowitzski right now. And if things continue this way, Tulo may just be leading his team to another incredible September finish, and a possible playoff berth. But there are 14 games left for the Rocks to play, and anything can happen.
Another player smashing the ball right now is David Murphy of the Texas Rangers. This gentleman is doing his best Josh Hamilton impersonation, as one commentator pointed out a few nights ago. Since Josh Hamilton's injury a couple of weeks ago, Murphy has stepped up, and has a 13-game hitting streak to show for it. He's hitting .357 in his past 10 games and is providing the kind of awesome bench play that separates good teams from great ones. With guys like David Murphy coming off the bench, the Texas Rangers have enjoyed a solid month of September, having won their last 7.
Batters aren't the only ones having fun though. Pitcher Wade Davis has won his last 7 decisions for the surging Tampa Bay Rays. Davis has had a couple of hiccups in that stretch, still walking more batters than he should and letting up 7 homeruns since his July 8th start. However, since the All-Star break, and a short stint on the Disabled List, Davis has been solid for the Rays, and helped them take over first from the struggling New York Yankees.
But before we discuss the Yankees' woes, let's highlight one last player who is on an incredibly hot streak, albeit not for a contending team. Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs has won his last five starts and six out of his last seven starts. Since being promoted back to the starting rotation on August 9th, Big Z has not allowed an opposing team to earn more than 2 runs off of him, which has helped drop his ERA by 1.71. While the Cubs are far out of contention this year, this resurgence is a welcome sign for the hot-headed Zambrano who earned administrative ire earlier in this season by blowing his top in an argument with 1B Derek Lee. If Zambrano can ever learn to control that anger permanently, he could return to All-Star form. However, Zambrano recently reiterated a prior claim that once his current contract is completed in 2012, he will retire from baseball. We'll see though. After all, Roy Oswalt once said he wanted to finish his career in Houston. The potential for rings and money make players do funny things sometimes.
Now on to some teams and players that are more on the cold side of things. The aforementioned Yankees have lost 8 out of their last 10. Reasons why include an incredibly inconsistent and ineffective A.J. Burnett, the averages of Posada(.154, Granderson(.188), Jeter(.209), and Texeira(.179) in the last ten games, and injuries to left-fielder Brett Gardner and right-fielder Nick Swisher. Despite all this though, the Yankees are still an incredibly deep, well put together team that still is tied for the second-best record in baseball with the Minnesota Twins, and is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs this year. But a cold September is not what the doctor ordered for October success. Hot teams prevail come playoff time, so if the Yankees continue to struggle for the remainder of the season, a repeat championship might not be in the picture.
Other teams failing to make the grade right now are two playoff contenders. The Chicago White Sox just wrapped up a crucial three-game set versus the previous-mentioned Minnesota Twins in which they had to win at least two out of three, if not sweep the Twins in order to make up precious grown in the American League Central. Instead, the South Siders were swept, and a playoff bid is all but gone. In the other league, the Atlanta Braves are doing everything they can to give the East Division to the Philadephia Phillies for a fourth year in a row. The Bravos are 6-9 in September and travel to New York this weekend where the not-so-stinky-right-now Mets await them. If the Braves should lose two out of three to the Metropolitans, and then travel to Philly and fail to take that series, then their playoff hopes will be all but dashed. The Phillies are also another team I could have hightlighted in the "hot" section, as they have one of the best records in baseball since the All-Star break. However, I honestly forgot to include them, and I'm not about to go back and edit them in, because I don't like them very much. So screw it. They are a hot team, 'nuff said.
So the playoff picture is rounding into shape. The A.L. West is a two team race that will have both teams playing in October. All that is left to be decided there is who will take the division and possibly home-field advantage. The N.L. East is slowing coming into focus, unless Atlanta can turn things around quickly. The only real question, and the best playoff race going is the National League West. Just 2.5 games separate three teams. The Giants play both the Padres and the Rockies once more before the end of the season, so a lot is riding on this weekend and the following couple series. Are you as excited as I am? Probably not, but you freakin' should be!
P.S. This blog was written on Friday, so some statistics are two days out-of-date. My apologies.
With just a few short weeks left for teams to make playoff pushes, now is the time to show stamina and composure. It is often hard for entire teams to exude this all at once, but there are special cases when this happens. For instance, the Colorado Rockies of 2007 won 21 of their last 22 games going down the stretch run to make the playoffs and eventually go to the World Series that year. The 2010 Rockies are trying to duplicate just that. So far this month, they are 11-4, with 10 of those wins being in a row. They are just 2.5 games back in the National League West as well as for the Wild Card spot. While this is due in large part to the performance of the team as a whole, one player doing much of the damage is SS Troy Tulowitzski. In his last ten games, Tulo has collected 15 hits, 9 homeruns, a staggering 21 RBI and scored 12 runs, while batting .375. Seven of those RBI, and two of those homeruns came against the then first-place San Diego Padres on Wednesday. To sum up, few people in all of baseball are hitting hotter than Troy Tulowitzski right now. And if things continue this way, Tulo may just be leading his team to another incredible September finish, and a possible playoff berth. But there are 14 games left for the Rocks to play, and anything can happen.
Another player smashing the ball right now is David Murphy of the Texas Rangers. This gentleman is doing his best Josh Hamilton impersonation, as one commentator pointed out a few nights ago. Since Josh Hamilton's injury a couple of weeks ago, Murphy has stepped up, and has a 13-game hitting streak to show for it. He's hitting .357 in his past 10 games and is providing the kind of awesome bench play that separates good teams from great ones. With guys like David Murphy coming off the bench, the Texas Rangers have enjoyed a solid month of September, having won their last 7.
Batters aren't the only ones having fun though. Pitcher Wade Davis has won his last 7 decisions for the surging Tampa Bay Rays. Davis has had a couple of hiccups in that stretch, still walking more batters than he should and letting up 7 homeruns since his July 8th start. However, since the All-Star break, and a short stint on the Disabled List, Davis has been solid for the Rays, and helped them take over first from the struggling New York Yankees.
But before we discuss the Yankees' woes, let's highlight one last player who is on an incredibly hot streak, albeit not for a contending team. Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs has won his last five starts and six out of his last seven starts. Since being promoted back to the starting rotation on August 9th, Big Z has not allowed an opposing team to earn more than 2 runs off of him, which has helped drop his ERA by 1.71. While the Cubs are far out of contention this year, this resurgence is a welcome sign for the hot-headed Zambrano who earned administrative ire earlier in this season by blowing his top in an argument with 1B Derek Lee. If Zambrano can ever learn to control that anger permanently, he could return to All-Star form. However, Zambrano recently reiterated a prior claim that once his current contract is completed in 2012, he will retire from baseball. We'll see though. After all, Roy Oswalt once said he wanted to finish his career in Houston. The potential for rings and money make players do funny things sometimes.
Now on to some teams and players that are more on the cold side of things. The aforementioned Yankees have lost 8 out of their last 10. Reasons why include an incredibly inconsistent and ineffective A.J. Burnett, the averages of Posada(.154, Granderson(.188), Jeter(.209), and Texeira(.179) in the last ten games, and injuries to left-fielder Brett Gardner and right-fielder Nick Swisher. Despite all this though, the Yankees are still an incredibly deep, well put together team that still is tied for the second-best record in baseball with the Minnesota Twins, and is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs this year. But a cold September is not what the doctor ordered for October success. Hot teams prevail come playoff time, so if the Yankees continue to struggle for the remainder of the season, a repeat championship might not be in the picture.
Other teams failing to make the grade right now are two playoff contenders. The Chicago White Sox just wrapped up a crucial three-game set versus the previous-mentioned Minnesota Twins in which they had to win at least two out of three, if not sweep the Twins in order to make up precious grown in the American League Central. Instead, the South Siders were swept, and a playoff bid is all but gone. In the other league, the Atlanta Braves are doing everything they can to give the East Division to the Philadephia Phillies for a fourth year in a row. The Bravos are 6-9 in September and travel to New York this weekend where the not-so-stinky-right-now Mets await them. If the Braves should lose two out of three to the Metropolitans, and then travel to Philly and fail to take that series, then their playoff hopes will be all but dashed. The Phillies are also another team I could have hightlighted in the "hot" section, as they have one of the best records in baseball since the All-Star break. However, I honestly forgot to include them, and I'm not about to go back and edit them in, because I don't like them very much. So screw it. They are a hot team, 'nuff said.
So the playoff picture is rounding into shape. The A.L. West is a two team race that will have both teams playing in October. All that is left to be decided there is who will take the division and possibly home-field advantage. The N.L. East is slowing coming into focus, unless Atlanta can turn things around quickly. The only real question, and the best playoff race going is the National League West. Just 2.5 games separate three teams. The Giants play both the Padres and the Rockies once more before the end of the season, so a lot is riding on this weekend and the following couple series. Are you as excited as I am? Probably not, but you freakin' should be!
P.S. This blog was written on Friday, so some statistics are two days out-of-date. My apologies.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Cy Lame Duck
I bet your looking at the title of this blog, and going 'Huh?' I shall explain. This is both a combination of ideas, and an extremely corny play on words. A lame duck, as most of you probably already know, is according to www.dictionary.com "a person finishing a term of employment after a replacement has been chosen", usually a politician. The Cy in the title refers to the Cy Young award, which is given to the best pitcher in the American and National Leagues. Now what ties these ideas together is the play on words. Sigh Duck is a character from Pokemon, a children's card game from Japan. He was a little yellow duck that always had a headache, and therefore would sigh constantly. I was not into Pokemon as a child, but I saw the cartoon show a handful of times and for some reason Sigh Duck was always in it, and he cracked me up something fierce. But to further explain the title, I will have to go into more detail.
Today, we are going to discuss potential winners of the Cy Young award in 2010. The reason I combined the Cy Young award with the lame duck term is because neither Tim Lincecum of the S.F. Giants, nor the Kansas City Royals' Zach Greinke are going to repeat as Cy Young winners this year. So does everyone see why the title kind of makes sense? Good. Now why won't Lincecum or Greinke win? While neither pitcher has had a terrible year, there are just far too many other pitchers in both leagues that are outperforming these two.
Greinke will pitch over 200 innings, start at least 30 games, most likely keep his ERA under 4.00 and strikeout somewhere in the neighborhood of 180 batters this year. Unfortunately for Zach, the Royals, as we've mentioned in a previous blog, didn't have the power in the lineup to provide enough run support during his games. And to be honest, Zach just hasn't pitch that great this year. Lincecum has also run into occasional trouble, getting roughed up in several stretches throughout this season. However Tim still has a winning record, going 13-9 with a 3.69 ERA, and he will strikeout over 200 while throwing 200 innings. Quality stuff, but not nearly enough to compete for the Cy Young this year.
Who will unseat these gentleman this year? Let's start in the American League, where there are some great pitchers competing for the spotlight. 'King' Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners is leading the A.L. in both innings pitched (225.2), and ERA (2.39) but with an 11-11 record, there is little chance that he'll take the Cy Young when voting time comes. Felix can hardly be blamed by his offense not backing him up, but dems da breaks. Similarly, Jered Weaver of the Angels is having a great year, but 11-11 just doesn't cut it. There's Justin Verlander, who's 15-8, with a 3.53 ERA and 179Ks for Detroit. Not bad. L.A. Angel Ervin Santana is 16-9, but a 4.00 ERA is a little high. The Twins' Carl Pavano is 16-11 and has served as an ace for Minnesota. And there's the big teddy bear, C.C. Sabathia of the Yanks who is currently 19-6 with a 3.14 and 170Ks. All these men are extremely fine candidates.
There are some fellas mixed in that you wouldn't expect also. Take for instance C.J. Wilson of the Texas Rangers. In his first full season as a starting pitcher, C.J. has excelled, going 14-6 with a quality 3.25 ERA. He's kept pace with some of the best pitchers in the batter-happy American League. And while we are in the A.L. West, we have to discuss Trevor Cahill. In just his second season, the Oakland SP is 16-6 with a ridiculously low 2.61 ERA. While he doesn't strikeout a lot of guys, he manages to pitch to his strengths and that of the ballpark in order to pile up the wins. Cahill's rotation partner Gio Gonzalez has also been outstanding, going 14-8 with a 3.16 ERA, and we should mention he's won his last four games. And then there's David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays. In his first year as the true ace of the pitching staff, Price has shined, going 17-6 with a 2.87 ERA thus far. The guy can throw 98-mph and if anyone can give C.C. serious competition for the A.L. Cy Young this year, it's Price.
Of course two guys from Boston may have something to say about that. Jon Lester has won at least 15 games for the third year in a row to become the legitimate ace of the Red Sox's staff. His 2010 campaign has seen him pitch a 3.26 ERA to a 16-8 record, and he will strikeout another 200-plus hitters this year. Joining him atop the Boston rotation is Clay Bucholz, who for the first time in his career has a win total in the double digits. At just 25, Bucholz is having a career year, going 15-7 while tossing a minuscule 2.53 ERA. If Boston had not incurred so many injuries this year, these two guys might have been leading this team to the playoffs and potentially a World Series. But as it stands, Boston will most likely miss out on the post-season, and Lester and Bucholz might lose out on the Cy Young as a result.
If you thought the American League had all the great pitching, just check out the National League. There are plenty of veteran stars making strong runs for a Cy Young award. Roy 'Doc' Halladay is pitching his mind out in Philly, posting an 18-10 record with an outstanding 2.44 ERA and 201Ks. And to throw some extra stats into the mix, Roy has also thrown 8 complete games, one of which was a perfect game. However, Adam Wainwright is matching Roy almost step for step. While Wainwright can't claim a perfect game, he has an identical record so far, with an even better 2.38 ERA and has only 10 less strikeouts. Wainwright's fellow Cardinal, Chris Carpenter, is also having a fantastic year, going 15-6, and throwing a 3.09 ERA. Meanwhile, Tim Hudson of the Atlanta Braves has come back from injury with a bang, recording a line of 15-7 with a mere 2.41 ERA. He's had two rough outings in a row, but Hudson is still haven't a dynamite year. Do you see why this is being called the year of the pitcher?
But the talent storm doesn't stop there. Mat Latos of the San Diego Padres is leading all Major League pitchers with a 2.21 ERA, and posting a great 14-5 record to boot. There are more than a half-dozen other pitchers with a sub-3 ERA as well. They might not have the record to serious compete for the Cy Young, but we should mention them anyway. There's Josh Johnson of the Marlins (who unfortunately will sit out the rest of the season due to a back sprain), Brett 'Assault and Battery' Meyers of the Astros, Rookie of the Year candidate Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals, Roy Oswalt and his resurgence with the Phillies, Johan Santana (also out for the year with an injury) and R.A. Dickey of the Mets, and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. This is one of the best seasons of pitching in possibly a decade or more. And I haven't even mentioned Ubaldo Jimenez. Ok, that's not true, I've mentioned him a lot this year in other blogs. But the man is still probably the leading candidate for the Cy Young. Even though he's only gone 3-5 since the All-Star break, Ubaldo is still 18-6 with a 2.75 ERA and 186 strikeouts. He's also thrown the first no-hitter in Colorado Rockies' history and set a club-record in wins. This is pretty incredible year for Ubaldo, and all of these other talented starters.
So who will take home the hardware when all is said and done? While I usually don't make picks this early, you'll notice I kept my opinions quiet when it came to MVPs, but I will actually make a prediction for Cy Young. Why now, and not then. Well for starters, we are slightly closer to the end of the season. And additionally, starters play once every five or six days, whereas position players play everyday. Therefore, there is a much larger chance for a MVP candidate to falter or have a fantastic week and throw off a prediction immensely. A bad week for a pitcher usually means one bad start, and even a horrendous outing won't impede a pitcher's stats quite as much. So I feel safe in making predictions. Maybe later in the season, or even during the post-season I'll make a final MVP call. But right now, I'll put my proverbial money where my physical mouth is. The A.L. Cy Young winner will be, David Price. The N.L. Cy Young winner will be, Roy Halladay. Could I be wrong? Most definitely. You'll just have to keep watching, and reading, to find out.
Today, we are going to discuss potential winners of the Cy Young award in 2010. The reason I combined the Cy Young award with the lame duck term is because neither Tim Lincecum of the S.F. Giants, nor the Kansas City Royals' Zach Greinke are going to repeat as Cy Young winners this year. So does everyone see why the title kind of makes sense? Good. Now why won't Lincecum or Greinke win? While neither pitcher has had a terrible year, there are just far too many other pitchers in both leagues that are outperforming these two.
Greinke will pitch over 200 innings, start at least 30 games, most likely keep his ERA under 4.00 and strikeout somewhere in the neighborhood of 180 batters this year. Unfortunately for Zach, the Royals, as we've mentioned in a previous blog, didn't have the power in the lineup to provide enough run support during his games. And to be honest, Zach just hasn't pitch that great this year. Lincecum has also run into occasional trouble, getting roughed up in several stretches throughout this season. However Tim still has a winning record, going 13-9 with a 3.69 ERA, and he will strikeout over 200 while throwing 200 innings. Quality stuff, but not nearly enough to compete for the Cy Young this year.
Who will unseat these gentleman this year? Let's start in the American League, where there are some great pitchers competing for the spotlight. 'King' Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners is leading the A.L. in both innings pitched (225.2), and ERA (2.39) but with an 11-11 record, there is little chance that he'll take the Cy Young when voting time comes. Felix can hardly be blamed by his offense not backing him up, but dems da breaks. Similarly, Jered Weaver of the Angels is having a great year, but 11-11 just doesn't cut it. There's Justin Verlander, who's 15-8, with a 3.53 ERA and 179Ks for Detroit. Not bad. L.A. Angel Ervin Santana is 16-9, but a 4.00 ERA is a little high. The Twins' Carl Pavano is 16-11 and has served as an ace for Minnesota. And there's the big teddy bear, C.C. Sabathia of the Yanks who is currently 19-6 with a 3.14 and 170Ks. All these men are extremely fine candidates.
There are some fellas mixed in that you wouldn't expect also. Take for instance C.J. Wilson of the Texas Rangers. In his first full season as a starting pitcher, C.J. has excelled, going 14-6 with a quality 3.25 ERA. He's kept pace with some of the best pitchers in the batter-happy American League. And while we are in the A.L. West, we have to discuss Trevor Cahill. In just his second season, the Oakland SP is 16-6 with a ridiculously low 2.61 ERA. While he doesn't strikeout a lot of guys, he manages to pitch to his strengths and that of the ballpark in order to pile up the wins. Cahill's rotation partner Gio Gonzalez has also been outstanding, going 14-8 with a 3.16 ERA, and we should mention he's won his last four games. And then there's David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays. In his first year as the true ace of the pitching staff, Price has shined, going 17-6 with a 2.87 ERA thus far. The guy can throw 98-mph and if anyone can give C.C. serious competition for the A.L. Cy Young this year, it's Price.
Of course two guys from Boston may have something to say about that. Jon Lester has won at least 15 games for the third year in a row to become the legitimate ace of the Red Sox's staff. His 2010 campaign has seen him pitch a 3.26 ERA to a 16-8 record, and he will strikeout another 200-plus hitters this year. Joining him atop the Boston rotation is Clay Bucholz, who for the first time in his career has a win total in the double digits. At just 25, Bucholz is having a career year, going 15-7 while tossing a minuscule 2.53 ERA. If Boston had not incurred so many injuries this year, these two guys might have been leading this team to the playoffs and potentially a World Series. But as it stands, Boston will most likely miss out on the post-season, and Lester and Bucholz might lose out on the Cy Young as a result.
If you thought the American League had all the great pitching, just check out the National League. There are plenty of veteran stars making strong runs for a Cy Young award. Roy 'Doc' Halladay is pitching his mind out in Philly, posting an 18-10 record with an outstanding 2.44 ERA and 201Ks. And to throw some extra stats into the mix, Roy has also thrown 8 complete games, one of which was a perfect game. However, Adam Wainwright is matching Roy almost step for step. While Wainwright can't claim a perfect game, he has an identical record so far, with an even better 2.38 ERA and has only 10 less strikeouts. Wainwright's fellow Cardinal, Chris Carpenter, is also having a fantastic year, going 15-6, and throwing a 3.09 ERA. Meanwhile, Tim Hudson of the Atlanta Braves has come back from injury with a bang, recording a line of 15-7 with a mere 2.41 ERA. He's had two rough outings in a row, but Hudson is still haven't a dynamite year. Do you see why this is being called the year of the pitcher?
But the talent storm doesn't stop there. Mat Latos of the San Diego Padres is leading all Major League pitchers with a 2.21 ERA, and posting a great 14-5 record to boot. There are more than a half-dozen other pitchers with a sub-3 ERA as well. They might not have the record to serious compete for the Cy Young, but we should mention them anyway. There's Josh Johnson of the Marlins (who unfortunately will sit out the rest of the season due to a back sprain), Brett 'Assault and Battery' Meyers of the Astros, Rookie of the Year candidate Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals, Roy Oswalt and his resurgence with the Phillies, Johan Santana (also out for the year with an injury) and R.A. Dickey of the Mets, and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. This is one of the best seasons of pitching in possibly a decade or more. And I haven't even mentioned Ubaldo Jimenez. Ok, that's not true, I've mentioned him a lot this year in other blogs. But the man is still probably the leading candidate for the Cy Young. Even though he's only gone 3-5 since the All-Star break, Ubaldo is still 18-6 with a 2.75 ERA and 186 strikeouts. He's also thrown the first no-hitter in Colorado Rockies' history and set a club-record in wins. This is pretty incredible year for Ubaldo, and all of these other talented starters.
So who will take home the hardware when all is said and done? While I usually don't make picks this early, you'll notice I kept my opinions quiet when it came to MVPs, but I will actually make a prediction for Cy Young. Why now, and not then. Well for starters, we are slightly closer to the end of the season. And additionally, starters play once every five or six days, whereas position players play everyday. Therefore, there is a much larger chance for a MVP candidate to falter or have a fantastic week and throw off a prediction immensely. A bad week for a pitcher usually means one bad start, and even a horrendous outing won't impede a pitcher's stats quite as much. So I feel safe in making predictions. Maybe later in the season, or even during the post-season I'll make a final MVP call. But right now, I'll put my proverbial money where my physical mouth is. The A.L. Cy Young winner will be, David Price. The N.L. Cy Young winner will be, Roy Halladay. Could I be wrong? Most definitely. You'll just have to keep watching, and reading, to find out.
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