EVIL~! alkeiper

One of the interesting things that you can find on the Hardball Times website is stolen base/caught stealing data in regards to pitchers. Justin Verlander for example picked off eight runners while five were caught stealing. He allowed one stolen base the entire season! Chris Capuano was the most difficult pitcher to steal on in the NL this year, also allowing just a single steal. Chris Young and Freddy Garcia meanwhile both allowed 40+ stolen bases while they were on the mound. Basestealers have an astounding 95% success rate against Garcia. In Chris Young's case, the results are obvious given that he is a 6'10" righthander with Mike Piazza behind the plate. If Young/Piazza are the battery in the playoffs, keep an eye on the running game.

I posted my ballot in my blog.

The award balloting is occuring in the Sports forum. I figured I would list my own ballot here. NL MVP 1: Albert Pujols, StL 2: Ryan Howard, Phi 3: Carlos Beltran, NYM 4: Miguel Cabrera, Fla 5: Lance Berkman, Hou 6: Alfonso Soriano, Was 7: Jose Reyes, NYM 8: David Wright, NYM 9: Rafael Furcal, LAD 10: Chase Utley, Phi AL MVP 1. Derek Jeter, NYY 2. Joe Mauer, Min 3. Grady Sizemore, Cle 4. Justin Morneau, Min 5. David Ortiz, Bos 6. Manny Ramirez, Bos 7. Johan Santana, Min 8. Jermaine Dye, CWS 9. Jim Thome, CWS 10. Carlos Guillen, Det NL Cy Young 1. Roy Oswalt, Hou 2. Brandon Webb, Ari 3. Chris Carpenter, StL AL Cy Young 1. Johan Santana, Min 2. Roy Halladay, Tor 3. Mike Mussina, NYY NL Manager of the Year 1. Joe Girardi, Fla 2. Bruce Bochy, SD 3. Felipe Alou, SF AL Manager of the Year 1. Jim Leyland, Det 2. Ken Macha, Oak 3. Ron Gardenhire, Min NL Rookie of the Year 1. Hanley Ramirez, Fla 2. Ryan Zimmerman, Was 3. Dan Uggla, Fla AL Rookie of the Year 1. Justin Verlander, Det 2. Kenji Johjima, Sea 3. Jon Papelbon, Bos

Oy. Espn.com's expanded standings include records in one run games. You could've saved a bunch of legwork!

During the stretch run a lot of people compared the Cards to the 1964 Phils, who lost a 6.5 game lead with 7 to play. Except this Cards team survived. There's a parallel to the 1950 Phillies, who held a 7.5 game lead with 14 games to play, and a 5 game lead with just six games left. The Brooklyn Dodgers pulled to a single game back before they lost to the Phillies on the final game of the season. I would say that the Phils' near collapse is forgotten because they won, but I doubt it. I suspect it's forgotten because the next year's pennant race included the Shot Heard Round the World.

AL MVP 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. NL MVP 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. AL Cy Young 1. 2. 3. NL Cy Young 1. 2. 3. AL Manager of the Year 1. 2. 3. NL Manager of the Year 1. 2. 3. AL Rookie of the Year 1. 2. 3. NL Rookie of the Year 1. 2. 3.

I'm happy to announce that this year we will rerun the end of year baseball balloting. We tried this a couple years ago and the response was fantastic. The awards not only give you a chance to vote, but also a chance to see how the process operates. In the first post I am going to give general guidelines, and in the second post you will see the ballot. Fill out the ballot and either post it, or PM the ballot to myself. Voting will continue either for one week, or until I have not received a ballot in 36 hours. Please remember that postseason performances are not a part of the awards. All TSM members are invited to participate, including moderators and administrators. Duplicate votes from multiple accounts will be rejected. MVP] Here are the official instrucions given to MVP voters each year... Dear Voter: There is no clear-cut definition of what Most Valuable means. It is up to the individual voter to decide who was the Most Valuable Player in each league to his team. The MVP need not come from a division winner or other playoff qualifier. The rules of the voting remain the same as they were written on the first ballot in 1931: 1. Actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense. 2. Number of games played. 3. General character, disposition, loyalty and effort. 4. Former winners are eligible. 5. Members of the committee may vote for more than one member of a team. You are also urged to give serious consideration to all your selections, from one to 10. A 10th-place vote can influence the outcome of an election. You must fill in all 10 places on your ballot. Keep in mind that all players are eligible for MVP, and that includes pitchers and designated hitters. Only regular-season performances are to be taken into consideration. This is straightforward. Rule four exists because previous MVP awards (pre-1931) had allowed players to win just once in their careers. Cy Young Award Manager of the Year Self-explanatory. Rookie of the Year Criteria... Currently a player is considered to be a rookie, and thus eligible for the award, if the player has accumulated in prior major league seasons: * Fewer than 130 at bats or * Fewer than 50 innings pitched * Fewer than 45 days on the active roster, excluding time on the disabled list, in military service, or time when the rosters are expanded (currently after September 1) PM me if you're unsure about any specific case, regarding the service time requirement. The only notable player uneligible is Bobby Jenks. Thanks for your participation.

The Yankees are favories, but it is foolish to think the Tigers are going to be chump opponents. Bad teams don't win 95 games.

My day off Tuesday could not have come at a better time. A full day of uninterrupted baseball!

Also, congrats to Devern Hacsack for pitching a five inning no-hitter today. Not bad for a 28 year old journeyman making a spot start.

It's been done before actually. I'm not sure why we didn't keep it going. 2003: http://forums.thesmartmarks.com/index.php?...c=41974&hl=

I'm thinking of running an unofficial SmartMarks voting poll, with 10-9-8 scoring and such. Keep an eye out for that in the next few days.

8-7 Royals, 4-1 Twins. The Twins just might win the division!

Astros go quietly in the 9th and the Cardinals are NL Central champions!

Houston got a run across in the 7th, but they still trail 3-1.

California is too democratic for their own good.

At least this allows me to put big, fat, personal asterik next to the Astros' 2005 wild card berth. By atonishing coincidence, that makes the Phillies 2005 playoff entrants!

Shit. 2-0 Padres on a Cameron homer.

Good lord. Any other park and that would've been a season ending home run.

Ok. This has gone long enough.

Fox has picked up four games, meaning you'll get to see one crucial game and miss all the others. San Diego, Los Angeles and St. Louis can all clinch playoff berths with wins.

God damnit. Why won't the Dodgers LOSE? The only comfort is that now either LA or San Diego can slip up in order to give us a shot.

When did Burrell learn how to hit?!

So much for the late night leaving the Phils fatigued. 10-1 in the 4th. And what the heck is the point of walking the #8 hitter when you're down nine and out of the postseason race?

I think Baseball should take the opposite approach. The World Series winner gets to host the All-Star game.