Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Post-Season Hardware: A Preview, With Snark

Post-Season Hardware: A Preview, With Snark

Just over six weeks left. The battles for post-season positions are coming and the Blue Jays are right in the thick of it!

After all, they have many games to play against almost all the teams that actually have a legitimate chance to make it...

And with the end in sight, we may also divert ourselves by considering the hardware awards to come. I thought I'd give that a spin right here and now.

NL MVP
1. Albert Pujols - he still Da Man. And Den Some.
2. Lance Berkmann - he's got that whole "someone new to give the award to" thing going for him
3. Chipper Jones - still really great, but it would sure help if he didn't miss so many games. Don't say you didn't warn me. You did.

NL Cy Young
1. Brandon Webb - well, DUH
2. Tim Lincecum - hey, if the Jays offer Alex Rios in exchange for Lincecum this winter, do you think we'll have to wait very long to hear whether or not it's going to happen?
3. Johan Santana - mainly as consolation for the awful way his new bullpen has let him down. The man is probably writing letters to Joe Nathan right now that are of such touching, heart-broken content... Nathan may think he's got a stalker.

NL Rookie of the Year
1. Geovany Soto - he's eligible? Cool. Cause he's just fabulous.
2. Jair Jurrjens - I'd like to say Schuerholz pulls one last heist, and rides off into the sunset. Except this was actually the first move made by the new guy.
3. Kosuke Fukudome - okay, I guess

NL Manager of the Year
1. Fredi Gonzalez - weren't they supposed to lose, like, all of their games?
2. Ned Yost - the Brewers should win 90 games. The Brewers! My mind reels...
3. Lou Piniella - another year, another 90 wins. Only Tampa could resist his powers.

AL MVP
1. Ian Kinsler - aw, just for the hell of it. There's no chance that he'll actually win - the guy who drives him in has a much better chance.
2. Alex Rodriguez - alas, the Prancing Pony can play
3. Evan Longoria. Or J.D. Drew. Or Carlos Quentin. Or Hamilton.

AL Cy Young
1. Cliff Lee - sorry, but he's an easy pick.
2. Roy Halladay - he's been almost as good as Lee, but not quite. The fact that Lee is 16-2 for an inferior team...
3. I dunno. Joe Saunders? (K-Rod will receive many votes, but someone has to explain to me why he's a better pick than Joe Nathan.)

AL Rookie of the Year
1. Evan Longoria - again, DUH
2. David Murphy - not sure if he's actually eligible - just 127 ABs coming into the year, but he'd played in 66 games.
3. Armando Galarraga - will everyone who thought this guy would be Detroit's best pitcher please step forward? Thank you. "You are all a bunch of miserable liars."

Posted by Magpie on Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 11:40 AM EDT.

Post-Season Hardware: A Preview, With Snark | 19 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Chuck - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 11:54 AM EDT (#190531) #

No love for Dan Haren? He and Webb are virtually interchangeable, absent the W-L of course. But of course W-L does mean a whole lot to the BBWAA.

Magpie - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 12:03 PM EDT (#190533) #

It's a sympathy vote for Johan!

But Haren and Dempster are both worthy and bonafide contenders. Peavy, too - he's got Petco working for him, but the Padres working against him.

John Northey - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 01:02 PM EDT (#190534) #

No AL Manager of the Year?

Lets see, what teams are playing over their heads or were not expected to do well... oh yeah.

#1: Joe Maddon - Rays in 1st place? No way he can lose at this point
#2: Ron Gardenhire - slow start, now in 1st with a lineup avg age of 26.4 and a pitching staff age 27.8
#3: Mike Sciosia (LAA are 1st in the west), Ron Washington (Texas now over 500 in 2nd), Cito Gaston (recovery for Jays, a 'stick it to JP' vote too for those who think Cito was hired despite JP rather than by JP)

Btw, Jays Pythagorian record is now 65-54 vs LAA/Tampa both at 65-52. Jays have -5 luck and Tampa +6 and the LAA +10. Geez that sucks.

Magpie - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 01:21 PM EDT (#190536) #

No AL Manager of the Year?

Well, even I would have to vote for Maddon. And that just goes against the grain.

Mick Doherty - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 01:43 PM EDT (#190539) #

Murphy is eligible, but will be out for about a month. Too bad, he had a legitimate shot at .300/25/90 and overtaking Longoria, who is also hurt.

David Murphy is Rusty Greer.

Mike Green - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 02:42 PM EDT (#190545) #

Win Shares Above Bench suggests that the best players in the AL this year have been Kinsler, Morneau and Hamilton. The Twins have a chance to make the playoffs, but in the "all-important" Triple Crown categories, it is Hamilton who is out front. Last year, we had 5 players in the AL with 20 WSAB or more (A-Rod, Ordonez, Ortiz, Ichiro! and Vlad); it's possible that we'll have only 1 this year.

Chuck - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 02:51 PM EDT (#190546) #

but in the "all-important" Triple Crown categories, it is Hamilton who is out front.

And I imagine he's also out front thanks to the life redemption narrative in which he was featured so prominently at the All-Star festivities. I think the whole Cinderella story will be hard for the writers (both BBWAA and Hollywood) to pass up.

Jevant - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 02:58 PM EDT (#190548) #

That's a hard swallow. Every time I see this I think "Why do we always seem to be on the wrong side of Pythagoras?"

King Ryan - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 03:02 PM EDT (#190549) #

It's a weird year for AL MVP. There are no position players I am particularly thrilled about.   A-Rod is always a good choice, but he has actually lived up to his reputation a bit as his "clutch" stats are very poor, and I think that should matter when talking about MVP. I look at the big three in Texas and while all three are having great years offensively, Bradley is a DH and Kinsler & Hamilton are both poor defenders. There are no other position players really having a stellar year.   I'm sure the RBI-loving voters will give the award to someone like Morneau or Quentin, depending on whose team wins the division, but I'd be more inclined to look at the pitchers.   Cliff Lee would probably be my choice right now for both Cy and MVP, and Halladay would be second.

NL MVP is a lot easier: Pujols. But the CY is a tough one; tough to pick and choose between these guys:

IP          ERA+
169.0    158
157.7    160
157.3    154
159.0    151
161.0    144
155.3    147
138.0    153

I think I'd vote for Webb or Lincecum...

For ROY I would agree that Soto and E-Long are easy choices.   I couldn't care less about MOY.

Mike Green - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 03:15 PM EDT (#190551) #

E-Long?

A-Rod. I-Rod. E-Long. Guys, we have a problem.

Chuck - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 03:46 PM EDT (#190552) #

Guys, we have a problem.

A p-rob? Wassamata? Don't speak leet?

Ozzieball - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 04:01 PM EDT (#190554) #

Red Sox just picked up Paul Byrd for a PTBNL/cash. Does anyone know the last time a starter faced the Blue Jays for two consecutive starts? How about the last time a starter threw two consecutive CGs against the Jays?

Anders - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 04:28 PM EDT (#190556) #

Clearly Byrd was brought in to be a Jays-killer. In his last two starts against them he's 2-0, having allowed 3 ER in 17.1 innings.

92-93 - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 05:43 PM EDT (#190562) #

While I would love to see Doc win his 2nd CY, I really don't think you can consider him 2nd in the race right now. I'd guess DiceK, Saunders, Mussina, KRod, and of course Lee would all get more votes than Halladay if the voting was done today.

Any chance JP puts a claim in on Sheffield?

scottt - Tuesday, August 12 2008 @ 07:40 PM EDT (#190566) #

Any chance JP puts a claim in on Sheffield?

Probably none.

Sheffield is hitting .220 with 10 homeruns in 278. He's coming off shoulder injury. He's not happy being the DH and wants to play every day.

I'm more curious about who the Jays will bring up when the expend their roster.
They have an option on Barajas and Diaz or Thigpen could be the backup catcher next year. They need to spend on a big bat at DH.

Glevin - Wednesday, August 13 2008 @ 12:08 AM EDT (#190574) #

Is Volquez a rookie? A 2.93 ERA in that ballpark is more impressive than Soto IMO. I think Arod and Morneau have the best chances at MVP actually as Hamilton, Kinsler, and Bradley have all had incredible years. Does Sabathia have any shot at the NL Cy Young? What if he goes 13-0 with a 1.58 ERA?

Magpie - Wednesday, August 13 2008 @ 12:42 AM EDT (#190575) #

Is Volquez a rookie?

Well, I think so! But the eligibility rules don't. He had more than 50 IP coming into this season (spread out over three seasons, but still.) So technically, 2007 was his final crack at being RoY.

It's quite a bit like what happened with Vernon Wells, who also put up little bits of playing time, spread out over three seasons - and when he finally came up to stay, he was no longer eligible either.

Magpie - Wednesday, August 13 2008 @ 12:57 AM EDT (#190576) #

What [Sabathia] goes 13-0 with a 1.58 ERA?

I don't think it would be quite enough - it's going to be very hard for him to make more than 16 starts for the Brewers. It's hard to spin whatever he does in them as more impressive than Webb or Lincecum or Haren. Assuming those guys don't all fall on their faces. But if he goes 15-1, the Brewers win, and none of the other guys make it to 20 wins... maybe. It's a real long shot, I think.

There is a precedent. In 1984, Cleveland traded the man who had been their biggest winner the previous year to the NL in mid-season. Rick Sutcliffe went 16-1, 2.69 in 20 starts for the Cubs, working about 150 IP. The Cubs won the division, and Sutcliffe won the Cy Young. Unanimously. Dwight Gooden (17-9, 2.60) was the runner-up, in his rookie season; Bruce Sutter (45 SV, 1.54) was third. Next came the NL's only 20 game winner, Joaquin Andujar (20-14, 3.34).

Rob - Wednesday, August 13 2008 @ 01:07 AM EDT (#190577) #

In other news, through five and a half, it's Canada 5, China 0.

Post-Season Hardware: A Preview, With Snark | 19 comments | Create New Account

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