MLB Awards Thread

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I looked at the Fielding Bible plus/minus lists for center field. Beltran was second behind Carlos Gomez with a +24, McLouth was last with a -40. On their 3 year chart they had Beltran first at +59 and McLouth last at -49. I guess to win the Gold Glove you have to be either the best or the worst.

I think it's because Nate McClouth has a really good arm, which tends to get very overvalued in people's analysis of outfield defense. The problem is that evaluating defense is really tricky if you aren't watching every play of every game, and the good defensive stats out there (like +/-) aren't that well known or understood yet.

 

Basically, to win a Gold Glove you have to be noticed, which in the ends up rewarding the guys who either hit the best, or make the fanciest looking plays. Neither one has much to do with defensive ability. It's a really flawed system.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Reports are that Michael Young is set to win the Gold Glove at shortstop. Yes folks, despite their brilliant Gold Glove shortstop, the Rangers allowed 967 runs.

[Guest C*Z*E*C*H]

I think those who discounted the White Sox gave them too little credit for their offseason moves, which hurt the club long term but gave them a short term boost. The perception is that Gardenhire did more with less. I gave Gardenhire the third place vote, but I do think Guillen is a fine manager.

Middle of the road. He's unremarkable as an in-game strategist, like most American League managers are by design. As for the clubhouse dynamic, he wants too much to still be one of the boys, and so he stands idly by while Nick Swisher and Toby Hall annoy the fuck out of everybody (and I think injured Jermaine Dye) with their contrived pie antics. (Though it is worth noting that Hall is already out and Swisher is next to go.) Everyone generally seems to get along well with one another (except Orlando Cabrera bitching to scorers and stealing third, again raising the ire of Dye, and again isn't coming back), but they're all veterans in there for the most part, so that's to be expected, not applauded. He takes it way too far when it comes to diverting attention from the players to himself and really grates on everyone. Luckily, he's a mid-level asswipe in a whole hierarchy of asswipes, so this aspect of his managing isn't quite as important. He's a White Sock for life, or at least Jerry Reinsdorf's life, so we'll never get to see that Ditka-with-the-Saints sort of top-shelf failure, but I'm sure that if he ever got another gig, he'd be so out of his element that he'd only last two years and be forever tarnished.

 

At any rate, I would have gone with Gardenhire, but shouldn't he have been running some sorts of drills to correct the 2008 Twins' inept fielding? I'll go with Joe Maddon.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

AMERICAN LEAGUE GOLD GLOVES

 

P- Mike Mussina

C- Joe Mauer

1st - Carlos Pena

2nd - Dustin Pedroia

3rd - Adrian Beltre

SS - Michael Young

OF - Torii Hunter, Grady Sizemore, Ichiro

 

Michalel Young? Really?

 

The three outfielders aren't egregiously bad, but I'd say that all three are below average.

[jimmy no nose 0]

I think Carl Crawford really deserved one of the outfield spots there.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The three outfielders aren't egregiously bad, but I'd say that all three are below average.

 

All three finished well in the fielding bible votes. Hunter and Ichiro received first place votes, and Sizemore finished third overall among center fielders. I think all three are perfectly fine choices.

 

I think Carl Crawford really deserved one of the outfield spots there.

 

Crawford only played 109 games this year. I can't see giving him a serious award when he missed nearly a third of the season.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

One of the major statheads over at SOSH converted all the +/- data into runs. He then ranked the outfielders based on their value above average. Here's how the list shakes up (first column is raw +/-, second converts to runs prevented):

 

1. Carl Crawford +24 / +22 runs / 150 G

2. Franklin Gutierrez +29 / +21

3. Carlos Gomez +32 / +17

4. Alex Rios +26 / +15

5. Jacoby Ellsbury +22 / +13

6. Carlos Gonzalez +10 / +11

7. Denard Span +9 / +8

8. Luke Scott +12 / +8

9. Nick Markakis +12 / +7

10. Johnny Damon +4 / +4

11. Melky Cabrera +6 / +3

12. Emil Brown +2/ +3

13. Adam Jones +3 / +3

14. Ryan Sweeney +5 / +3

15. Ichiro Suzuki +3 / +1

16. Grady Sizemore +7 / +1

17. Gabe Gross 0 / +1

18. Garret Anderson +1 / 0

19. David DeJesus 0 / 0

20. B.J. Upton -9 / -1

21. Marlon Byrd 0 / -1

22. Franklin Francisco 0 / -2

23. Xavier Nady -2 / -2

24. Coco Crisp -2 / -2

25. Torii Hunter -5 / -4

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

AL and NL Rookies of the Year announced:

 

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria and Cubs catcher Geovanny Soto were named the AL and NL rookies of the year for the 2008 season.

 

AL voting

 

Player 1st 2nd 3rd Total

Longoria, Rays 28 -- -- 140

Alexei Ramirez, White Sox -- 18 5 59

Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox -- 7 5 26

 

Others receiving votes: Mike Aviles, Royals, 9; Armando Galarraga, Tigers, 9; Joey Devine, A's, 3; Denard Span, Twins, 3; Nick Blackburn, Twins, 1; Joba Chamberlain, Yankees, 1; Brad Ziegler, A's, 1.

 

NL voting

 

Player 1st 2nd 3rd Total

Soto, Cubs 31 1 -- 158

Joey Votto, Reds 1 21 8 76

Jair Jurrjens, Braves -- 6 16 34

 

Others receiving votes: Edinson Volquez, Reds, 9; Jay Bruce, Reds, 7; Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs, 4.

 

Can't believe that Mike Aviles finished outside of the top three when he put up similar numbers to Longoria. Must be the fact that he plays in Kansas City. Also, Ellsbury finishing third is a joke. He was a major liability for the Red Sox and completely lost his spot by the end of year. I was going to say that it was his name recognition that got him votes, but that doesn't explain why Joba only got one vote. Weird stuff.

 

The NL vote looks a lot better. I'm confused as to how Edinson Volquez got nine votes when he wasn't even eligible for the award. Can someone explain that to me?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

he NL vote looks a lot better. I'm confused as to how Edinson Volquez got nine votes when he wasn't even eligible for the award. Can someone explain that to me?

 

Nine points. That could be three second place votes, or another such combination. The voters simply made a mistake. I know Lance Berkman received votes several years ago. I imagine if Volquez placed he would be disqualified. Since he finished out of the top three though, little point to it.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

he NL vote looks a lot better. I'm confused as to how Edinson Volquez got nine votes when he wasn't even eligible for the award. Can someone explain that to me?

 

Nine points. That could be three second place votes, or another such combination. The voters simply made a mistake. I know Lance Berkman received votes several years ago. I imagine if Volquez placed he would be disqualified. Since he finished out of the top three though, little point to it.

I know that it seems like something very minor, but shouldn't the voter lose his voting privileges for a year or two? How could you not know that Volquez wasn't a rookie? Their job is to cover baseball. That's a fairly egregious mistake.

[Guest Smues]

Tim Lincecum is YOUR National League Cy Young award winner.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Tim Lincecum is YOUR National League Cy Young award winner.

 

Vote totals:

 

Player Club 1st 2nd 3rd Points

Tim Lincecum San Francisco Giants 23 7 1 137

Brandon Webb Arizona Diamondbacks 4 15 8 73

Johan Santana New York Mets 4 8 11 55

Brad Lidge Philadelphia Phillies — 1 7 10

CC Sabathia Milwaukee Brewers 1 1 1 9

Ryan Dempster Chicago Cubs — — 4 4

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

No complaints there. I picked Santana, but it was close and Lincecum is absolutely a deserving winner.

[CanadianChris 0]

Wilbon and Reilly were insufferable on PTI, insisting that the writers overthought themselves and that CC and Brandon Webb should have been the frontrunners (Webb because he had 22 wins, DUH).

[jimmy no nose 0]

The only Webb really had over anyone was wins, and picking up 9 of them in his first 9 starts went a long way towards helping that. All the other candidates took him in ERA, strikeouts, and WHIP.

 

Lincecum and Santana were pretty much neck and neck to me. While everyone was watching CC's go wild with the Brewers Santana actually went on a very similar run over the same period of time. I think he closed the year 9-0 with a 2.07 ERA his final 16 starts.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Yeah, looking at gamelogs Santana earned his last loss on June 28. Since that point he went 9-0 in 17 starts with a 2.09 ERA. That's a big reason why I placed him #2 on my MVP ballot.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

EDIT: Poor reading on my part

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Yeah, looking at gamelogs Santana earned his last loss on June 28. Since that point he went 9-0 in 17 starts with a 2.09 ERA. That's a big reason why I placed him #2 on my MVP ballot.

Except that you had him #1 on your ballot.

You're confusing my MVP and Cy Young ballots.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

A few of ESPN's experts picked Joe Torre to win manager of the year. For what? I know he's respected and all, but this is a team that underachieved before Manny Ramirez arrived and drove them all the way to 84 wins.

 

Award winners are Lou Piniella and Joe Maddon. No complaints. Charlie Manuel looks like a better pick given the World Series win, but these are compiled before the Playoffs.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

AL Cy Young goes to Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians.

 

PLAYER TEAM 1st 2nd 3rd Total

Cliff Lee Cleveland Indians 24 4 — 132

Roy Halladay Toronto Blue Jays 4 15 6 71

Francisco Rodriguez Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim — 7 11 32

Daisuke Matsuzaka Boston Red Sox — 2 4 10

Mariano Rivera New York Yankees — — 3 3

Mike Mussina New York Yankees — — 2 2

Ervin Santana Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim — — 2 2

 

I'm fine with Lee winning; he really had the best season. K-Rod wasn't even the best reliever in the league, but everyone knew that saves record would get him some votes. I am shocked that Jon Lester didn't get any votes. By most metrics he was the third best pitcher in the AL.

[treble 0]

At least Halladay finished 2nd. Now I'm just pissed at the idiots who put him 3rd (and, unless I'm doing the math wrong, the 3 complete retards who left him off their ballot entirely).

[garfieldsnose 0]

I'll find it quite ironic if Pujols wins the MVP award this year. He just said that the award shouldn't go to a player whose team didn't make the playoffs. He had a point in 2006, and I agreed with him then and I agree with him now. But I doubt he'll be steamed if he wins the award.

[starvenger 0]

At least Halladay finished 2nd. Now I'm just pissed at the idiots who put him 3rd (and, unless I'm doing the math wrong, the 3 complete retards who left him off their ballot entirely).

You know how it is - plays in Canada, is very humble and thus gets no respect or recognition from the media. At least he has one Cy Young though.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Silver Sluggers

 

American League

1B – Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins

2B – Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox

3B – Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

SS – Derek Jeter, New York Yankees

OF – Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

OF – Carlos Quentin, Chicago White Sox

OF – Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians

C – Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins

DH-- Aubrey Huff, Baltimore Orioles

 

National League

1B – Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

2B – Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies

3B – David Wright, New York Mets

SS – Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins

OF – Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies

OF – Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis Cardinals

OF – Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

C – Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves

P – Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs

[KingPK 0]

I am shocked that Jon Lester didn't get any votes. By most metrics he was the third best pitcher in the AL.

 

The fact that he didn't and Matsuzaka did shows that most voters just look at the record and ERA and vote based on that.

 

[jimmy no nose 0]

I never realized how much of the offensive talent at shortstop is in the National League this year until I saw Jeter's name as AL Silver Slugger. I assumed it was another case of Jeter winning an award for being Jeter, but there really aren't many better candidates. Maybe Jhonny Peralta would have been a better choice, but there really wasn't a lot going on there.

 

Speaking of Sliver Slugger shortstops, was there a stranger looking stat line than Hanley Ramirez hitting 33 HR and having 67 RBI? I guess that's what hitting leadoff does to you.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I'll find it quite ironic if Pujols wins the MVP award this year. He just said that the award shouldn't go to a player whose team didn't make the playoffs. He had a point in 2006, and I agreed with him then and I agree with him now. But I doubt he'll be steamed if he wins the award.

Maybe if the team is terrible. But we're talking about a team that only missed the playoffs by four games. Pujols led the league in OPS with a 100 point gap between him and second place. If anyone else wins the award, the voters are thinking too hard.

[starvenger 0]

I am shocked that Jon Lester didn't get any votes. By most metrics he was the third best pitcher in the AL.

 

The fact that he didn't and Matsuzaka did shows that most voters just look at the record and ERA and vote based on that.

Well, duh. If it weren't the case wouldn't Halladay have won if you actually looked at other metrics like WHIP, Complete Games, Ks etc?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

There's really a reasonable argument for Matsuzaka. 18-3, third in the league in ERA, second in ERA+. Yeah he walked a ton of batters, but he got results.

[naiwf 0]

Pujols won the MVP by a "comfortable margin" over Howard and Braun.