2010 MLB Awards

The baseball Oscars are here. During the next two weeks, baseball will hand out its 2010 hardware. But does anybody really want to hear another set of picks for the MVP and CY Young winners? Do we need another set of arguments outlining why the voters got it wrong (DEREK JETER) in handing out Gold Gloves? So, in lieu of handicapping the major awards, I have put together a list of alternative awards and award winners for 2010 so we can acknowledge some of the more unappreciated accomplishments, feats and moments of the 2010 season.

Biggest “I Told You So” Team: Seattle Mariners

After coming off an 85 win season and trading for Cliff Lee, the Seattle Mariners thought they were finally contenders again in the AL West. But despite plenty of offseason buzz, every sportswriter in the country was red flagging this team. The rotation behind Lee and Felix Hernandez was susceptible and unproven. Adrian Beltre and Russell Branyan were gone. This meant an already weak offense would be getting weaker and that was if Milton Bradley (acquired from the Cubs) could finally put it together. Needless to say, none of this worked out and Seattle will be drafting second next June.

Most Disappointing Free Agent Signing: Rich Harden.

Texas enjoyed last year’s biggest free agent bargain in Vladdy Guerrero, but the value gained in the Guerrero signing might have been cancelled out by the loss sustained in the Harden signing. Paying $6.5 million dollars for a 5.68 ERA and 5 wins is something only the Yankees can afford to do. Luckily it was only a one year contract.

Most Impressive Season Played With a Sports Hernia: Jose Bautista.

Most Surprising Team: San Diego Padres.

I still don’t completely believe that this team won 90 games this year. Now Boston fans will have to wait until July to acquire Adrian Gonzalez.

Biggest Trend That Didn’t Pan Out: Strong Defensive Teams.

Last offseason, defence was a hot commodity. Many teams (Boston and Seattle) based their free agent and trade acquisitions (Mike Cameron, Adrian Beltre, Casey Kotchman, Jack Wilson) on defensive efficiency, assuring their fans they would be competitive through run prevention. The value of defence should not be undermined, but it turns out you still need to pitch and hit. I don’t know who watched the World Series but the San Francisco Giants fielded a defence that included a shortstop that has the range of a traffic cone, a designated hitter at first base AND Pat Burrell.

Biggest “Oh Shit” Moment: Stephen Strasburg Blowing Out His Arm.

The fate of the Nationals future (and Dr. James Andrews’ career practicing sports medicine) hangs on how Strasburg’s arm will respond to Tommy John surgery.

Slowest Player to Steal a Base: Bengie Molina.

At the end of the regular season this title would have gone to Rangers catcher Matt Treanor. That said, Bengie has been far and away the slowest player in MLB since 2003, so when he swiped a bag in the playoffs with the stakes at their highest, he deservedly took the crown away from Treanor. Molina also plans to retire this year, so it’s a nice gesture to have him go out on top.

Player Who Agonizingly Still Failed to Live Up to His Potential: BJ Upton.

Instead of having a breakout campaign in 2010 Upton again seemed to be playing a personal game of “how low can my batting average go before I get platooned”. There’s an old saying in baseball that speed never takes a day off, but whoever said that hasn’t seen Upton run out a ground ball.

2010 Division Series Notes

Playoff Stats

TBS and Fox – please stop showing playoff statistics in lieu of regular season statistics during telecasts. Thank you for informing us that BJ Upton is hitting .000 but it is a seven at bat sample, and doesn’t really tell us much about him as a player. Unless you catch a player the first time through the order, you will be treated to stats like that instead of regular season numbers that more accurately reflect how a player has preformed over the past 8 months.

Doctober

Roy Halladay is the only pitcher in baseball who you can expect to throw a no hitter and your expectation would sound reasonable. Judging by his subdued no-no celebration, Doc has one thing on his mind, and that is winning the World Series. Now that he is pitching for the Phillies in the National League ( and despite being 33), Doc’s high level of conditioning and modern sports medicine means there is no reason to think he can’t pitch in the next 15 post seasons.

The Yankees and Left Handed Lineups

After two games, the Twinkies are looking awfully susceptible to left handed pitching. While the Yankees expect to throw as much LHP at the Twins as possible, it is worth remembering that the Phillies lineup is also dominated by left handed hitters. As good as their starting pitching looks, New York was able to hold the Phils lineup at bay last October and a potential rematch could bring the same problem for Philadelphia. Does the Philly Fanatic bat right?

Texas Toast

Many are suggesting the Rangers will make some noise in the AL this October and while they did make quick work of Tampa Wednesday and Thursday, I’m still not sold. They limped into the playoffs, key position players are hurt (Josh Hamilton), while others don’t understand what exactly playoffs are (Vladimir Guerrero). Their rotation behind Cliff Lee is also unproven and like many converted relievers, number two starter CJ Wilson may tire from the increased workload that comes with starting.

Rookie Showdown

If anyone wants to get acquainted with the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year, they should be watching the Giants/Braves series. If you are betting against both Buster Posey and Jason Heyward, you might as well cut off your thumb and give it to your bookie now. My vote goes to Posey (because he has to catch Tim Lincecum), but watching Heyward’s combination of speed and power in the middle of the Braves lineup makes for a good debate and an even better NLDS matchup.

The Yankees “Clutch” Players

Its pretty hard to listen to announcers canonize Yankee players for their “clutch” performance abilities. Is it really true that Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter are really that clutch? Sure they are the all time hits/saves/wins/obnoxious first pump leaders, but that has more to do with the expanded playoff format and playing for a team that continually makes the postseason. When it comes to things like batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, winning percentage and career post season ERA only Rivera is present among the top ten all time playoff performers. These Yankees aren’t just that good, they are just there that often.

The Value of the Wild Card and Other September Notes

While watching a game earlier this week, I heard the validity of the Wild Card questioned by one color commentator for a not to be named Midwestern team. In doing so, John Q. Dinosaur brought up what I thought was a dead issue. The Wild Card is great for baseball, and it only takes a passing interest in some of the series and games being played this past week to see why.


What separates baseball from other North American sports is how difficult it is to reach the playoffs. The NFL has two Wild Card teams in each Conference (10 playoff teams), and if the NBA let anymore teams (16) qualify, it would have to start taking WNBA teams. Less than twenty years ago, baseball was only giving FOUR teams a shot at the big dance. The Wild Card era realignment and playoff expansion has ensured that highly competitive teams are not left out of the playoff picture. In 2001 while the Seattle Mariners (on their way to 119 wins), had locked up the AL West in early May, the Oakland A’s, (on their way to a 96 win season), were able to remain in contention and eventually reach the playoffs. This year the Giants, Phillies, Padres, Braves and Rockies are competing for three playoff spots instead of only two. All of these teams should finish win at least 90 wins, and a winning percentage higher than over half the teams reaching the playoffs in the NHL or NBA this year.


The most common argument against the Wild Card is that it makes winning the division meaningless. Anyone who watched the Rays and Yankees series over the past two weeks can attest that this is not the case. The divisional title is still something worth playing for, especially given that it can translate into home field advantage (the Yankees home winning percentage is nearly 100 points higher). In the Rays/Yankees matchups of the past two weeks, knowing that both teams were headed to the post season no matter what the result (as was probably the case with the Braves and Phillies series) did not detract from some of the most entertaining baseball played this month.

The playoffs and stretch drive (minus sports bag giveaway day) are the most exciting time of the year for baseball and baseball fans and the Wild Card only adds to this excitement.

The Phillies Rotation
This week’s series against the Braves has proven the Phillies made the right call pulling the trigger on the Roy Oswalt trade. Not only will the Hamels/Halladay/Oswalt tandem ensure the Phillies are able to fend off Atlanta for the NL East crown, Philadelphia looks to own the best rotation of any contending team. Behind Sabathia, the Yankees are unsure what they will get from Andy Pettite (due to his injured groin) or A.J. Burnett (because he is A.J Burnett). In Tampa, the Rays rotation behind David Price is also faltering (Matt Garza and Jeff Niemans have struggled of late). The AL doesn’t get scared of its senior circuit opponents very often, but this time it has reason to be.

Felix’s Cy Young Bid
If Felix Hernandez is discounted from CY Young contention it shouldn’t be because he has pitched in fewer meaningful games or in a less competitive division – if this is really a criteria that should be taken seriously than all the awards in both leagues should be given to players on the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays.

The Debut Of Young Pitching
With Kyle Drabek’s Major League debut I want to issue a caution to fans: do not to get too high or too low on young pitching. No one should have to be reminded of this, as every baseball fan can tell you about a young pitcher that broke their heart. Whether it was someone who blew out their arm pitching for Dusty Baker (Mark Prior) or someone who just didn’t pan out (Todd Van Poppel), young pitching is one of the most unpredictable commodities in the sport. The news isn’t all bad – for every Todd Van Poppel, there is a pitcher who surprises us and puts together a nice career despite rising through the minors completely unnoticed (Jamie Moyer). In any case pitchers take time (to develop or flame out) and we need to be sensitive to this learning curve, even though it’s often longer than we’d like it to be.

Josh Johnson Is Shut Down
When your home starts consist of pitching in front of 2,000 Miami Dolphin season ticket holders and the cast of Jersey Shore, you’re probably not going to garner much attention. But to give you an idea of how good Josh Johnson is, before he was shut down last week, he had been pitching with significant shoulder problems throughout the second half. During that time, he was in so much pain, his ERA ballooned to 3.50 (he still finished the year with an ERA under 3.00). AL centric fans like myself should remember that Johnson is one of the best pitchers in baseball and his accomplishments should be celebrated even before he gets traded to the Yankees or Red Sox.

In Defense of Moneyball

Since Michael Lewis released Moneyball in 2003, the book has been met with criticisms from sports journalists, loudmouths and people within the game. Recently on Bill Simmons’ BS Report, sports writer Buzz Bissinger (author of Friday Night Lights) offered the latest set of criticisms. Given Bissinger’s attack, the announcement of the Moneyball movie (if Brad Pitt was playing one of my rivals I would be taking shots too), and the recent struggles of the Oakland A’s I feel it is important to defend why the themes of Moneyball have been and still are, relevant to major league baseball.

One criticism Bissinger posed was that Billy Beane merely got lucky. According to Bissinger, Beane was able to catch lightning in a bottle when 3 ace-caliber pitchers all developed and rose to the major leagues at the same time: Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito. Bissinger asserts (and rightly) that these three pitchers played a major and understated role in Oakland’s success. What Bissinger doesn’t acknowledge is that it was Beane’s unorthodox evaluation of pitching that allowed him to acquire these pitchers in the first place. In Moneyball, Lewis describes how many teams passed on drafting Barry Zito because of his lack of velocity. Ignoring Zito because of his 87 mph fastball was something Beane saw as an oversight. Where other teams saw nothing, Beane saw a pitcher who didn’t give up walks, something that would translate into success in the major leagues. Bissinger is right to attribute Oakland’s success to the dominance of the big three, but he is wrong if he fails to acknowledge Beane’s role in seeing value in these pitchers while others didn’t.

One of the most common criticisms of the Beane/Moneyball philosophy, (and one echoed by Bissinger) is that Beane completely ignores things like heart, player makeup and team chemistry in building a team. These critics like to paint Beane and his crew as emotionally devoid automatons that see computers and statistics as the exclusive means to winning in major league baseball. This criticism also ignores much of the approach to building a team that Lewis outlines. Beane sees makeup as a major factor in assessing players. In the book, Beane describes an experience from his own playing days of how Lenny Dykstra was able to draw on every success while letting failures roll right off his back. This was something Beane saw as crucial to the makeup of an MLB player, and something he wasn’t able to do himself during his own playing career. This focus on makeup is one of the reason’s Beane valued all around good guy Nick Swisher as highly as he did during the amateur draft while passing on other players. Lewis goes as far as to outline an entire ranking system that Beane and his scouts used to evaluate a players based on makeup and character prior to the draft. To accuse Beane of not caring about makeup is like accusing Paris Hilton of reading too much, it’s just not true.

Other shots at the A’s system include pointing out that Oakland teams did not excel at getting on base despite the value placed on OBP, or that highly touted A’s prospects like Jeremy Brown fizzled out without making an impact in the majors. While the above-mentioned things are undoubtedly true this does not mean that Oakland’s system has failed. Almost ten years after the book has been written, no one can debate the value of the statistical analysis that Beane popularized throughout baseball (although Lewis gives much credit to Sandy Alderson, Bill James and the STATS Inc. homeboys before Beane). A whole school of GM’s have begun to emulate the work of Beane (Theo Epstein, JP Ricciardi and Paul DePodesta). Baseball may be about heart, but the statistical revolution has show that it may be a little more about numbers than some people would care to admit. And yes, many of Beane’s prospects have failed to make an impact in the major leagues but so did John Ford-Griffin and Dave Parrish (look at the Yankees draft record during the same period if these names are unfamiliar).

These failures have more to do with Beane’s situation in Oakland than his lack of skill as a GM. Critics need to remember that Beane was and is working with one of the smallest payrolls in baseball. With little margin for error, it becomes about getting the best players you can within a budget, not the best players period. Would Beane have drafted players above Jeremy Brown if he had more money to sign draft picks? Of course. Would his team have a higher OBP if he could afford to sign or keep players that get on base? Definitely.

There are still many people that want to reject the lessons and ideas put forth in Moneyball. Casting Jonah Hill to play Paul DePodesta makes this increasingly clear. Ultimately, Moneyball and the work of Billy Beane in Oakland is not about on base percentage and strike throwing pitchers, it is about finding inefficiencies in the market for baseball players that allow the A’s to compete. As skills like OBP have become valued properly (i.e. other teams flush with cash want to sign players with these skills sets) Beane has been forced to find other inefficiencies. The A’s recent struggles have suggested that he may not have been able to find the next great inefficiency to exploit. However, this search for inefficiencies will always be important and valuable to fielding a winning baseball team, whether it is through exploiting statistics, signing undervalued veterans (ESPN’s Rob Nyer has suggested this may be the next market inefficiency), or using raccoon meat in concession stand hotdogs. That is why the lessons of Moneyball should not be overlooked.

2010 Trade Deadline Advice

Blue Jays: Hold Jose

With the Jays sitting one game over five hundred in the AL East this year, they are in sell mode and rightfully so. While Toronto should try to move players (John Buck, Lyle Overbay, the entire bullpen) that will bring back prospects, one player that shouldn’t be moved just yet is Jose Bautista. While it is true that Jose Bautista is in the midst of a career year and his value will never be higher, the Jays may benefit from holding onto the AL home run leader.

He plays above average defense at two different positions (3B and RF), a versatility that can be valuable to a team that could look significantly different in 2011. The Jays may finish the year with their lowest OBP in franchise history (which definitely explains why they are losing games 2-1 to Cleveland). Bautista provides reasonable on base skills (.356 OBP) for a team that is in dire need of taking every walk they can get. Bautista is arbitration eligible and due for a hefty raise this offseason given his 2010 production, but let’s remember that he is still only 29, and this year’s production may not be a fluke. If they offer arbitration, the Jays will only be on the hook for paying Bautista next year, and could even trade him at the 2011 deadline if he continues his torrid pace. If not, he could continue to get on base, play above average defense wherever they need him and hit for some power without costing a fortune long term.

Phillies: Take a Shot at It

Yes, Philly has had some offensive troubles, but they should be sorted out as players return from the DL. Everyone knows what is really keeping Philadelphia from their third straight NL pennant: pitching. How good would this team have looked with Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee? The Phillies need to add another top tier starting pitcher, and solidify their bullpen. Roy Oswalt, despite numerous roadblocks, (Houston owner Drayton McLean will probably ask for Chase Utley in return, his massive contract will need to be dealt with and Oswalt for some crazy reason, would rather finish his year in Houston than Philadelphia) would be a great fit.

Any of the Jay’s relievers (minus Kevin Gregg) would help solidify the pen. If Zack Grienke is available, he could be a more attractive option than Oswalt. If they can’t land an ace, Ted Lilly is another quality starter that is said to be available and could act as an alternative. If the Phillies want to solidify their status as an NL dynasty and hang with the big boys from the AL East, they need to hold onto Jayson Werth, and upgrade their pitching before its too late.

Angels: Add a Bat

While there will be much debate as to whether or not it was the smartest move to acquire Dan Haren with the team sitting seven games out of first place, this weekend’s trade definitely says the Angels are going all in. Given that they have declared themselves in the race, they need to do everything they can to find offensive help.

Mike Napoli is hitting well and doing a sufficient job filling in at first, but the team needs to replace the middle of the order presence left by Kendry Morales. That middle of the order bat is not Alberto Callapso. There is a reason the Adam Dunn to the Angels rumor has been circulating for years; he would be a great fit. Conspiracy theory: the Angels plan on flipping Dan Haren for a bat.

The White Sox Need to Stand Pat

Despite sitting atop the AL Central standings, the White Sox should not be aggressively pursuing players at the deadline. Kenny Williams and the Sox need remember that Jake Peavy is hurt, they are fighting with the Twins and Tigers, and would still be sitting in third place if it weren’t for one massive winning streak (right before the All-Star break). Yes the playoffs is a crapshoot where anything can happen, but even if the ChiSox sneak into the dance can anyone really see them beating the Yankees, Red Sox or Rays? The White Sox don’t need to be sellers, but given the trades they made last year (acquiring Alex Rios and Peavy), it would serve their long-term interests to not give up more prospects and hope they can win with their current team.

Happy Trails KGJ

Last Wednesday night when Ken Griffey Jr. retired, the baseball world unanimously agreed that it was sending off one of the game’s all time greats. For someone like me who grew up in the 1990s, Ken Griffey Jr. won’t just be remembered as one of baseball’s all-time greats, he will be remembered as a player who’s combination of ability and personality will leave him untouched as the greatest and most influential baseball player I will ever watch.


As a kid in the 1990s, Griffey was the obvious choice as a favorite player. It wasn’t because he was the best player in baseball (which he was), it was because he had so much fun playing baseball, and that’s why he was so easy to relate to. As focused on winning as Junior was, he exuded a love for the game that appears to be missing in most dominant athletes. When you think of superstars like Kobe Bryant, Alexander Ovechkin and Tiger Woods, these athletes convey first and foremost a love of competition and winning. Griffey, every bit as talented as the above mentioned, will be remembered for having fun: No one can forget the gigantic smile on Junior’s face when scored the winning run in the 1995 ALDS or his ear to ear grins when robbing some flabbergasted hitter of a home run. Griffey’s disassociation with the “win at all costs mentality” (coupled with his lack of interest in working out) can no doubt be one of the reasons he has left baseball as one of the only players of his era, entirely removed suspicion of performance enhancing drug use.


Not only did Griffey embody the child-like virtue of having fun, he also never lost the young person’s propensity to play the game hard. There was no wall KG wasn’t willing to crash into, and no ball he wasn’t willing to lay out for. This is what made him so exciting to watch. Sure Barry Bonds was raking, but when did he rob anyone of a home run? While Griffey’s willingness to slide, dive, or crash into anything may have lead to a few more injuries, (the catch that broke his wrist in 1995 is still one of the greatest ever) it also led to the highlight reel plays that made him so thrilling to watch.


What is not to be lost in celebrating Junior’s love for the game, was just how talented a player he was. Given the rash of injuries he suffered throughout his time in Cincinnati, last Wednesday’s announcement sparked many baseball commentators to ask “what could have been?” if Griff had stayed healthy. “What could have been?” is something that you ask high school football players, draft day phenoms, and the writers of Lost. This is not a question that should be asked in relation to Ken Griffey Jr., because of what he did do. He finished his career as the dominant all around player of his generation, one of the greatest home run hitters (5th on the all time list) and center fielders (10 consecutive Gold Gloves) of all time.


Numbers alone will illustrate that KGJ had one of the great careers in major league baseball history. Numbers aside, what makes Ken Griffey Jr. so special to me is not that he hit so many home runs, but how much he loved hitting them; not that he was a great defensive outfielder, but how hard he went after every ball. That combination of talent and love for the game won’t be matched by another player for a very long time.

What to do With a Surprising Amount of Sock

Toronto’s offence seemingly just keeps rolling. After a weekend in which the Blue Birds hit six home runs on Friday night and scored twelve runs two days later, it is safe to say that no one saw this year’s tater surge coming. Toronto is far and away out homering the rest of baseball, and it is in large part due to many pleasant surprises in the Jays lineup: Kevin Youkilis Jr. (John Buck) and Alex Gonzalez are both on pace for career highs in ding dongs. Edwin Encarnacion came off the DL to hit 5 bombs in one weekend, and Jose Bautista leads the majors in homers, no one saw this coming. While it is easy to get excited about this unexpected power surge and a 27-20 start; I am hoping that cooler heads prevail inside the Jays organization and this season is still treated as the first year of a rebuilding process.

Treating this team as one that is rebuilding means several things for the currently surging Jays. With Bautista, Encarnacion and Fred Lewis all exceeding expectations, creating playing time for Travis Snider will prove to be a challenge. Developing young players that will become cornerstones of the franchise should still be priority number one (unless we plan on singing Alex Gonzalez long term). Hopefully someone that has the potential to become an impact player like Snider doesn’t have to ride the pine because Cito wants to play the hot hand of Fred Lewis.

Despite the Jay’s impressive home run total, this offence needs to be put into perspective. Friday against Arizona the team hit six dingers and STILL lost. While the Jays may be leading the league in homers, they sit 12th in the 14 team AL in on base percentage, which is not the sign of a dominant offensive team and suggests the Jays will be fumbling to score runs if the home run fountain dries up. The Jays coaching staff needs to be preaching patience along with power if this team wants to truly develop into an offensive force.

Lastly, the surprise offensive output of so many different Blue Jay hitters should be used to do what rebuilding teams do best: trade for younger players. Many around baseball are suggesting that Jose Bautista is for real: he has made adjustments to his swing that will translate into sustained results (it is also important to note that despite his .241 average, he has a respectable OBP. Of .354). That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t sell high on players like Alex Gonzalez, Fred Lewis, and John Buck (on the pitching side of things Kevin Gregg and Jason Frasor could be attractive to contending teams). If any of these chips can be turned into productive young players, they Jays should pull the trigger.

Despite this offensive surge the Jays are still facing several challenges: they sit in third place, 7 games behind the Rays, the fourth place Red Sox are beginning to surge and Kevin Gregg is currently closing. As exciting as the team is playing, taking the long view in this situation by focusing on player development and building for the future will ensure that two years from now the are contending and not just exciting.