BBA Awards Ballot

AL Stan Musial Award:
1. Jose Bautista, TOR
2. Curtis Granderson, NYY
3. Miguel Cabrera, DET
4. Dustin Pedroia, BOS
5. Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS
6. Adrian Gonzalez, BOS
7. Evan Longoria, TB
8. Adrian Beltre, TEX
9. Robinson Cano, NYY
10. Ian Kinsler, TEX

NL Stan Musial Award:
1. Ryan Braun, MIL
2. Justin Upton, ARZ
3. Prince Fielder, MIL
4. Matt Kemp, LAD
5. Troy Tulowitzki, COL
6. Albert Pujols, STL
7. Jose Reyes, NYM
8. Andrew McCutchen, PIT
9. Joey Votto, CIN
10. Lance Berkman, STL

AL Walter Johnson Award:
1. Justin Verlander, DET
2. C. C. Sabathia, NYY
3. Dan Haren, LAA

NL Walter Johnson Award:
1. Roy Halladay, PHI
2. Cliff Lee, PHI
3. Clayton Kershaw, LAD

AL Goose Gossage Award:
1. Mariano Rivera, NYY
2. David Robertson, NYY
3. Jose Valverde, DET

NL Goose Gossage Award:
1. Craig Kimbrel, ATL
2. Sergio Romo, SFG
3. Eric O'Flaherty, ATL

AL Willie Mays Award:
1. Alexi Ogando, TEX
2. Michael Pineda, SEA
3. Ivan Nova, NYY

NL Willie Mays Award:
1. Craig Kimbrel, ATL
2. Freddie Freeman, ATL
3. Brandon Beachy, ATL

AL Connie Mack Award:
1. Joe Maddon, TB
2. Ron Washington, TEX
3. Jim Leyland, DET

NL Connie Mack Award:
1. Kirk Gibson, ARZ
2. Ron Roenicke, MIL
3. Charlie Manuel, PHI

BBA All-Star Ballot

American League:

C - Russell Martin, NYY
1B - Miguel Cabrera, DET
2B - Howie Kendrick, LAA
3B - Kevin Youkilis, BOS
SS - Alexei Ramirez, CWS
LF - Brett Gardner, NYY
CF - Curtis Granderson, NYY
RF - Jose Bautista, TOR
DH - David Ortiz, BOS

National League:

C - Miguel Montero, ARZ
1B - Prince Fielder, MIL
2B - Rickie Weeks, MIL
3B - Scott Rolen, CIN
SS - Jose Reyes, NYM
LF - Ryan Braun, MIL
CF - Matt Kemp, LAD
RF - Justin Upton, ARZ

BBA Award Ballot: Goose Gossage Award

Taking my cue from the reliever we chose to name our award after, I did not conceive of this as resembling the "Rolaids Reliever of the Year" award, which is open exclusively to closers who pile up saves.  I did give some consideration to closing prowess, as I do tend to believe that all other things being equal, the last three outs are the hardest.  However, there are of course many games when the hardest outs come earlier, with men on base and the heart of the lineup coming up.  With that in mind, these were the factors I prioritized:

1.) Overall Dominance: Generally represented by stats like ERA, WHIP, and K/9, clearly if I was going to put a pitcher on my ballot, he needed to be among the best in his league at keeping runners off the basepaths and, preferably, able, when the situation demanded it, to keep them from even putting the ball in play.

2.) Durability: Being able to strike guys out is great, but being able to get outs night after night is even better.  Therefore, relievers who piled up innings and appearances while maintaining their effectiveness got a significant boost on my ballot.  After all, during the prime of Gossage's career, from 1977 to 1985, he averaged 93 innings per season.

3.) Closing Games: Pitchers who remained in the running on the basis of the first two standards were given an added boost if they also logged a significant number of those innings at the end of games.

4.) Pressure Situations & Pennant Implications:  This was essentially my tiebreaker category.  When it came to guys who were more or less evenly matched, I tried to take into consideration how they faired in "Close & Late" type situations, with men on base, etc., and also whether they were pitching crucial innings in August and September, with their team's fate riding on every game.

So, here's my ballot for the American League:

Honorable Mentions: Daniel Bard (Red Sox), Neftali Feliz (Rangers), Andrew Bailey (Athletics), Mariano Rivera (Yankees), Matt Thornton (White Sox), Alexi Ogando (Rangers)

3.) Joakim Soria (Royals)

Pitching for the worst franchise in baseball, Soria proved that he's nonetheless among the most valuable relief pitchers.  The Royals have Soria wrapped up at rather favorable terms until 2014, so the 26-year-old may never get to show off his talents on the national stage, but over the last four years he has been one of the top five closers in all of baseball.  This season he logged 65 2/3 innings, third most among AL closers, picked up 43 saves for a 65-win team, posted a 1.78 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and an exceptional 4.44 K/BB ratio.  He finished 2nd among AL relievers in WAR at 1.7.

2.) Rafael Soriano (Rays)
1.) Joaquin Benoit (Rays)

You can easily make a case that the biggest difference between the '09 and the '10 Rays was the presence of shutdown relievers, Rafael Soriano and Joaquin Benoit.  Last year the Rays didn't establish their bullpen roles until deep into the season and ended up blowing 22 save chances and being in the middle of the pack in bullpen ERA (3.98).  This year Soriano led the league in saves, with 45, and, more importantly, alongside Joaquin Benoit, made it almost impossible for teams to put runners on base in the late innings against Tampa.  Tampa's overall bullpen ERA topped the league at 3.33.  Benoit and Soriano ranked #1 and #2 in the AL in WHIP, Opponents OPS, and Opponents Batting Average.  In 127 combined appearances, they coughed up only six leads.  It was difficult to decide which should rank higher, since Soriano had, arguably, the harder job, but in the end, Benoit's dominance was just too exceptional.

Benoit: 25 HLD (1 SV), 60 1/3 IP, 75 K, 0.68 WHIP, 1.34 ERA
Soriano: 45 SV, 62 1/3 IP, 57 K, 0.80 WHIP, 1.73 ERA

As for the senior circuit:

Honorable Mentions: Heath Bell (Padres), Matt Belisle (Rockies), Billy Wagner (Braves), Mike Adams (Padres), Jonny Venters (Braves), Sean Marshall (Cubs)

3.) Brian Wilson (Giants)

In many seasons, Wilson would be the runaway #1 on my ballot.  He led the league in saves (48), while producing a stingy ERA (1.81) and WHIP (1.18), pitching a ton of innings (74 2/3) and piling up strikeouts (93).  And, his team edged into the playoffs, highlighting how critical each of his outings was. He was particularly dominant down the stretch, when the Giants needed him most.  From August 1 to the end of the year, his ERA was 0.95.

2.) Hong-Chih Kuo (Dodgers)

You though Benoit's numbers were impressive.  While pitching almost the exact same number of innings, Kuo did him one better, compiling a 1.20 ERA, a 0.78 WHIP, an absolutely insane 403 Opponents OPS, and an 11.50 K/9.  Kuo also spent about half the season as the Dodgers closer, so he picked up 12 saves to go along with his 21 holds.  What really stands out to me, however, is the fact that over a whole season, he only allowed eight earned runs.  Single digits!

1.) Carlos Marmol (Cubs)

If you just see Marmol's solid, but not superlative ERA (2.55) and his 38 saves, you might think I'm revealing my Cubs bias with this vote.  However, Marmol's season was actually kind of historic.  Only once before in a the Division Play era has a pitcher compiled as many as 138 strikeouts as a reliever (Brad Lidge had 157 in 2004).  What gets really crazy, however, is when you look at Marmol's strikeout rate.  His 15.99 K/9 is literally the best in baseball's long history, for a player who pitched at least 40 innings.  And, really, it isn't even close.  Eric Gagne's wild 2003 season, for which he won the Cy Young, comes in at #2, a full strikeout behind Marmol (14.98).  Marmol also led all NL closers in innings (77 2/3), so this wasn't exactly a matter of small sample size.  And, he topped all relievers in WAR (3.1) by a significant margin.  Marmol's ridiculous combination of power stuff and durability has turned him into the league's premier reliever, even though he continues to struggle with wildness (6.03 BB/9).

BBA Ballot: AL Willie Mays Award

Playing time was already a sizable factor when considering the differences on the NL side of ballot between Jason Heyward and Buster Posey, and between Jaime Garcia and Jhoulys Chacin.  On the AL side, it becomes an even more crucial aspect of the conversation, as only two AL rookies got enough at-bats to qualify for a batting title, and two more qualified for the ERA title.

Honorable Mention: Austin Jackson (Tigers), John Jaso (Rays), Brian Matusz (Orioles), Brennan Boesch (Tigers)

Third Place: Wade Davis (Rays)

Davis' season did not get off to a great start.  At the All-Star Break he was 5-9 with a 4.86 ERA and rumors swirled that he might soon be replaced by the Rays phenom, Jeremy Hellickson.  Whether something or someone lit a fire under him, or Davis merely adjusted after his first tour through the AL, he solidified his job in the second half by going 7-1 with a 3.22 ERA and 1.21 WHIP.

Second Place: Danny Valencia (Twins)

Valencia didn't come to Minnesota until June, but his presence solidified a position which had been the Achilles heel for the Twins since 2005.  Valencia had the highest OPS (799) of any AL rookie who got more than 200 plate appearances.  He also led the way in batting average, by a long shot, with a .311 clip.  It is true that Austin Jackson got more than twice as many at-bats and was therefore superior to Valencia in most of the counting categories, but Jackson's extraordinary good fortune (.396 BABIP), extremely high strikeout rate (27.5%), and precipitous second-half slide (86 OPS+ in August and September) made him difficult to vote for.

First Place: Neftali Feliz (Rangers)

Andrew Bailey won the AL Rookie of the Year last season with 26 saves and a 1.84 ERA in 83 innings.  22-year-old phenom, Neftali Feliz, has not been quite as good, but on a superior ballclub, he's piled up nearly twice as many saves, setting a new rookie record with 40.  His other numbers were none too shabby either.  Feliz's triple-digit heat helped him strike out 71 in 69 innings.  His 0.88 WHIP was bested by only Mariano Rivera, Rafael Soriano, and Joaquin Benoit among AL relievers.  It's not particularly exciting to vote for a reliever, but Feliz is a pretty special pitcher, so I feel somewhat better about it.

BBA Ballot: NL Connie Mack Award

Stay tuned at the BBA for the unveiling of the winners later this week.  Here's my ballot for the senior circuit:

Honorable Mentions: Bud Black (Padres) & Bobby Cox (Braves)

I spent all season predicting both these teams to bend over like wet noodles and, in the end, I was only half right about each, so I'm here to say that their collective "overperformance" should be a feather in the cap of their managers.  That said, it was only by virtue of the fact that their late-season flounderings were synchronized with those of the Cardinals and Rockies, as well as each other, that either one of them backdoored their way into playing baseball in October.  Black worked a minor miracle with his young pitching staff, but he also gave away a few critical wins by being too loyal for too long to guys like David Eckstein, Nick Hundley, and the Hairston brothers.  Cox overcame a bevy of injuries and coaxed career years out of Omar Infante and Martin Prado, but he also worked his pitchers to the bone, especially Tim Hudson and Jair Jurrjens, both pushed too far too fast following their injuries.  It was an outstanding season for both franchises, but one that might actually have leveraged future performance for only modest immediate returns.

Third Place: Charlie Manuel (Phillies)

Eric Karabell has been making the case for Manuel for most of the past month and it's a pretty good one. His entire infield, and therefore his one through four hitters, all missed substantial time.  At one point in late July, when the attrition was particularly high, the two-time reigning NL champs fell as far as seven games back of the Braves and were only three games above .500.  Yet, somehow, even though they were never a full strength, the Phils came raging back over the last two months and finished with the best record in baseball and their best record since 1993.  Karabell is correct.  This is among Manuel's finest accomplishments.  However, he was blessed with an unflappable veteran roster, the core of which has been through this gambit for each of the last four seasons.  He is overseeing a dynasty on rival with Big Red Machine, the "We Are Family" Pirates, and the late-'60s Cardinals, the standard-bearers for National League baseball.  And, this season, he also had the best pitcher in baseball, who threw a perfect game, brought home 21 victories, and recorded more outs than anybody since Livan Hernandez in 2004.  Was there ever a chance this team would finish anywhere except atop the National League?  Probably not.

Second Place: Bruce Bochy (Giants)

In his fourth year with San Francisco, Bochy got the Giants back to the postseason for the first time since the "Bonds Years" ('00-'03).  He was blessed with an extraordinary rotation, but as has been the case in every season since his arrival, Bochy had to fret and stress for every run.  I've already covered San Francisco's dubious, but extremely entertaining "expendables" strategy at length.  It's not easy choosing between Jose Guillen, Nate Schierholtz, and Cody Ross, when that's all you have available.  It's not easy benching two likable veterans (Edgar Renteria & Aaron Rowand) who are making over $20 Million, but can't hit a lick.  It's not easy turning the left side of your infield over to two men who weigh about 250 lbs. apiece (Pablo Sandoval & Juan Uribe) when you are team built around pitching.  Bochy was faced with numerous tough decisions and almost all of them worked out perfectly.  You can give some of the credit to Brian Sabean or to luck, which may be the same thing, but you can't argue with the result.

First Place: Dusty Baker (Reds)

Cincinnati's 13 win improvement is the largest of any team in the majors between '09 and '10.  There only significant offseason acquisitions were a 20-year-old Cuban lefty who didn't make his debut until late August and a 35-year-old journeyman shortstop who finished the season at 0.4 wins above replacement.  When Baker came to Cincinnati in '08 promising to get them back to the postseason, many probably believed he would do it with a ton of veterans acquired through free agency, as he had with Chicago and San Francisco.  Quite to the contrary, this team is built on a foundation of youth and primed to compete for several years to come.  Baker clearly had a plan from the moment he joined the organization.  As usual, he gained the trust of his players.  And, as usual, he kept his promises.  It doesn't take a whole lot of stats to prove that Baker is worthy of his fourth Manager of the Year trophy, tying him with Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox for the most all time.  But there are these.  The Reds led the NL in runs, hits, homers, total bases, RBI, average, slugging percentage, and OPS.  They also tied for the fewest errors and the highest fielding percentage.  In my opinion, it's enough to make Baker deserving of his first Connie Mack award.

BBA Ballot: AL Connie Mack Award

Announcements of the second-annual BBA awards will begin later this week with the Connie Mack Award for managerial excellence.  Here's an explanation of my ballot for the American League:

American League:

Honorable Mentions: Ron Gardenhire (Twins), Ozzie Guillen (White Sox), & Joe Maddon (Rays)

Gardenhire is likely to get a lot of support this season, and much of it is deserved, but I would be remiss if I didn't point out that he was coaching the defending champion in the AL Central, a relatively weak division, and his front office blessed him with a 50% spike in payroll and brought in reinforcements like Matt Capps and Brian Fuentes for his depleted bullpen at the deadline.  Gardenhire did a pretty good job compensating for his team's defensive deficiencies and he got a lot out of his starting rotation, but I'm not sure the Twins dramatically exceeded expectations, which is arguably the best way of judging a manager.

Minnesota's rival, the White Sox, who stayed in the hunt until September, were probably a bigger surprise, as they were a losing team in 2009.  Guillen, as controversial as ever, might've won this award running away if he'd been able to mount a pennant-winning charge in the final month.  Even so, the Sox improved by nine wins, the third-biggest improvement in the AL, despite the fact that the roster had very little turnover.  I believe that Ozzie and GM Kenny Williams deserve at least a modest shout-out for that accomplishment.

It's hard to leave the winningest manager in the AL off my ballot, and I do believe Joe Maddon deserves a great deal of credit for the success the Rays have had the last three seasons.  He made some very deft moves this year.  As always, he managed his bullpen as efficiently and effectively as anybody in either league.  He was patient with his young pitchers and they rewarded him in spades.  He mixed and matched at four positions in order to keep everybody on his deep, talented bench involved.  The Rays played great defense, they got clutch hits (until recently), they held leads, and their starters pitched deep into games.  Impressive work, Joe.  It is, however, one of the most talent-laden rosters in recent memory and they went the entire season without a critical injury, so he had a pretty nice template to work from.  It would've been hard to manage this team out of the postseason.  So Maddon falls just a hair short of my ballot.

Third Place: Terry Francona (Red Sox)

Gardenhire's supporters will frequently cite the losses of closer, Joe Nathan, and All-Star first-baseman, Justin Morneau, but the Twins were the picture of health compared with Boston.  The Red Sox, who finished with just five fewer wins than Minnesota, in a significantly tougher division, suffered significant injuries to Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Victor Martinez, Josh Beckett, and Mike Cameron, yet they were still within striking distance of a playoff berth with less than a week remaining.  Francona got way more than anyone could've expected out of replacement-level journeymen like Darnell McDonald, Bill Hall, and Daniel Nava.  He continued to cobble together innings from an aging, overworked bullpen.  And he gingerly nursed the egos of his stars and they struggled with prolonged slumps, flukes, bad breaks, misdiagnoses, position battles, and quarrels, both on and off the field.  The Red Sox missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006, but one could easily argue that this was among Francona's most masterly performances.

Second Place: Cito Gaston (Blue Jays)

Last offseason, Toronto said a tearful goodbye to quite possible the greatest player in their franchise's history (only Carlos Delgado has a competitive claim), Roy Halladay.  They also gave away their most talented (and overpaid) hitter, Alex Rios.  Their two best hitters from 2009, Adam Lind and Aaron Hill, began the season mired in horrible slumps and finished with a combined drop of more than 400 pts. in OPS.  Yet, somehow, despite everything working against them, the Blue Jays improved their record by ten wins in 2010.  With no Halladay, what passed for an elder statesman on Toronto's staff was 28-year-old Shaun Marcum, who hadn't pitched in a single game during 2009, yet somehow four young Jays reached double-digit wins, and combined for a .627 winning percentage.

Gaston's much-maligned free-swinging approach helped Jose Bautista, John Buck, Fred Lewis, and Alex Gonzalez achieve career years, and former superstar Vernon Wells turned in his best season since 2006.  When the season began, this team was expected to be overwhelmed by the stiff competition of the AL East, but not only did they finish with a winning record, miles ahead of the Orioles, but they managed go 10-10 against the playoff-bound Yankees and Rays.  If you include Texas and Minnesota, Toronto was actually 23-16 against the best teams in the American League.  Gaston deserves at least some of the credit for this highly unexpected turnaround and his successor is going to have a very tough act to follow.

First Place: Ron Washington (Rangers)

Yes, I'm partial to Washington and the 2010 Rangers.  That's well-established by now.  However, the case for Washington goes well beyond his extremely high Narrative Likability Factor, buoyed in part by the adversity which marred the Rangers Spring Training and forced him into answering silly questions about cocaine.

The Rangers were not a charmed franchise this year, despite the fact that they turned in their best performance in over a decade.  For one thing, the fragile trio of Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, and Ian Kinsler remained fragile (Hamilton made 116 starts, Cruz 101, Kinsler 102).  Likewise, Rich Harden and Scott Feldman, who entered the season #1 and #2 in the rotation, made a combined total of 40 starts, compiled a record of 12-16, and an ERA upwards of 5.50.  Texas also spent a significant portion of the season without incumbent closer Frank Francisco.  There was an ongoing clusterfuck at three different positions, as highly-touted youngsters Julio Borbon, Justin Smoak, Chris Davis, and Max Ramirez were all busts.  As a result, Texas ranked near the bottom of the league in OPS from catcher (28th), first base (27th), and center field (20th).  Clearly, not every move Ron Washington (and GM Jon Daniels) made worked out perfectly, but here are some crucial ones that did:

1.) Putting Elvis Andrus in the leadoff spot and leaving him there, even after Kinsler returned.  Andrus struggled a bit with a hamstring injury down the stretch, depressing his numbers, but his excellent first half (.361 OBP, 23 SB) helped Texas take control of the division.

2.) Putting Neftali Feliz in the closer role and leaving him there, even after Francisco returned.  Feliz notably set a rookie record for saves, with 40, threw 70 innings, and was among the most dominant closers in the AL (2.73 ERA, 9.2 K/9, 0.88 WHIP).

3.) Putting Alexi Ogando in the bullpen and leaving him there.  Ogando, another rookie, had not even thrown a pitch in A-ball prior to this season.  But the Rangers rushed him through the organization and Washington had the confidence to make him a late-inning reliever almost from the moment he reached the bigs.  In 44 innings, all coming after June 15, Ogando compiled a ridiculously low 1.30 ERA.

4.) Putting Tommy Hunter in the rotation and leaving him there.  With Harden, Feldman, Derrek Holland, and others clamoring for starts in the second half, the 23-year-old Hunter was not the favorite of many in the Dallas media.  But the Hoosier responded with eight straight wins in June and July.  He finished the season 13-4 with a 3.73 ERA and will take the ball in Game 4 of the ALDS.

As you can see, Washington never made the easy decision by going with the status quo or a mediocre veteran over ayoung player.  He had the audacity to go against the conventional wisdom, even though many local sportswriters were calling for his head even before the season began.  Even on the hot seat, Washington was always the picture of calm and never threw one of his players under the bus.  And, now, largely due to his example, the Rangers are a win away from their first ever ALCS (knock on wood).

BBA Introduces Goose Gossage Award

Yesterday the BBA introduced the Goose Gossage Award, which will operate something like a Cy Young for relievers, voted on every fall by BBA membership.

It remains to be seen exactly how voters will approach the award, but one of the things I like most about naming the award after Gossage is that he was a dominating reliever who was more than just a "closer."  Gossage routinely pitched multiple innings.  During his prime, from 1975-1985, he averaged 109 innings a season.  And, although he led the league in saves three times, he regularly pitched in non-save situations as well.  In what might be his finest season, with the Pirates in 1977, Gossage threw 133 innings in relief and made 72 appearances, less than half of which came in save situations.

Unlike something like the Rolaids Relief Man Award, using Gossage as inspiration for the award allows BBA voters to look well beyond the save statistic.  Last year, for instance, Heath Bell won the NL version of the Rolaids award based mainly on his 42 saves, which paced the senior circuit.  Granted, Bell was very good.  However, Jonathan Broxton was clearly a class above, as he led Bell in nearly every other category - ERA, WHIP, W, IP, etc. - and struck out an astounding 114 hitters in 76 innings, while holding opposing batters to a .165 average, best in the majors amongst pitchers who threw 60+ innings.

In 2008 one might've argued that the most deserving recipient in the NL wasn't a closer at all, but middle reliever Hong-Chih Kuo, who led all NL relievers in ERA (1.69), WHIP (0.92), and Defense-Independent Pitching (2.04), otherwise known as DIPS.

Many thanks to the Gossage for lending his name to the award and I look forward to voting on it.

BBA Awards Ballot: MVP (NL)

There have been some nice moments in the BBA Awards so far. Voters have shown a strong inclination to look past the standings. Of the four player awards thusfar, none has gone to a player on a playoff team. Most recently, Tim Lincecum and Zack Greinke grabbed the highest honor for pitchers, despite the fact that neither won more than sixteen games.

The MVP, however, is the one award I believe should take into account team success, as well as individual numbers. This isn't to say that Ryan Braun and Adam Lind aren't legitimate candidates just because they played on losing teams, merely that when they are compared to men with similar statistics on winning teams, they fall slightly behind.

I also believe that the MVP award should go to a position player. Not that Greinke and Lincecum aren't extraordinarily "valuable," but pitcher's have their own award and there needs to be some credit given to those guys that grind it out every day, both at the plate and in the field. As such, defense is also a major factor when it comes to my MVP voting, which is why I favor stats like WAR (Wins Above Replacement), which account for fielding as well as hitting.

Unfortunately, the MVP races aren't very close this year. Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer are, deservedly, runaway favorites. I believe that, were anybody else to win, it would be a bit of a travesty, so the main question for me was how to fill out the rest of my ballot and which league provided the most interesting group of second and third tier candidates to discuss. There were some very interesting arguments to be made on both sides, but my discussion of the AL is just going to have to wait until November. Here is my NL ballot:

10. Adrian Gonzalez - 1B - San Diego Padres
.277/.407/.551, 90 R, 40 HR, 99 RBI, 1 SB, 4.3 UZR, 6.4 WAR
9. Derrek Lee - 1B - Chicago Cubs
.306/.393/.579, 91 R, 35 HR, 111 RBI, 1 SB, 3.4 UZR, 5.3 WAR
8. Ryan Zimmerman - 3B - Washington Nationals
.292/.364/.525, 110 R, 33 HR, 106 RBI, 2 SB, 17.9 UZR, 7.1 WAR

The bottom third of my ballot was reserved for players whose teams were bad, but whose seasons weren't. The Padres, Cubs, and Nats would've been much worse off without the efforts of these gentlemen. Z-pack and D-Lee both bounced back to prove they were still superstar-caliber players after mediocre, injury-plagued seasons in '08. Zimmerman deserves Gold Glove consideration for his efforts at the hot corner. Gonzo improved his power numbers for the fourth consecutive season, despite playing in spacious Petco Park (28 of his dingers came on the road). He's still just 27. The Padres have him signed through 2011 for an amazingly affordable rate ($11.25 Million total for the next two seasons). He will likely be the cream of the 2012 free agent class.

7. Matt Kemp - CF - Los Angeles Dodgers
.297/.352/.490, 97 R, 26 HR, 101 RBI, 34 SB, 3.2 UZR, 5.1 WAR
6. Troy Tulowitzki - SS - Colorado Rockies
.297/.377/.552, 101 R, 32 HR, 92 RBI, 20 SB, -0.6 UZR, 5.5 WAR
5. Pablo Sandoval - 3B - San Francisco Giants
.330/.387/.556, 79 R, 25 HR, 90 RBI, 5 SB, -4.6 UZR, 5.1 WAR

Three superb youngsters hold down the middle third of my ballot. Tulowitzki and Kemp are just 25, while Kung Fu Panda is merely 23. All three elevated their already impressive games in '09. Andre Ethier had slightly better power number and some memorable walk-off hits for the Dodgers, but Kemp was really what made their offense tick. He's probably a lock for 30/30 for the next several years and he has become one of the league's finest centerfielders. Tulowitzki defensive wizardry wasn't quite up to the standard he set in 2007, but he still made just nine errors, trailing only Jimmy Rollins. He took a major step forward on offense, however, becoming the Rockies top hitter. He joins three Rs - Rollins, Ramirez, and Reyes - among premier shortstops going into 2010. The depth of the Giants offensive problems are probably best demonstrated by the fact that Pablo Sandoval batted third in the order, got over 600 plate appearances, racked up an OPS of 943 (7th best in the NL), and still scored only 79 runs. New San Francisco mantra: "Strand-a Pand-a."

4. Hanley Ramirez - SS - Florida Marlins
.342/.410/.543, 101 R, 24 HR, 106 RBI, 27 SB, 0.3 UZR, 7.3 WAR
3. Chase Utley - 2B - Philadelphia Phillies
.282/.397/.508, 112 R, 31 HR, 93 RBI, 23 SB, 12.0 UZR, 7.7 WAR
2. Prince Fielder - 1B - Milwaukee Brewers
.299/.412/.602, 103 R, 46 HR, 141 RBI, 2 SB, 0.2 UZR, 6.7 WAR

These guys have all been in this position before and, probably, will be again, looking up at King Albert.

Ryan Howard got a lot of press this year for slimming down and playing better defense, but Prince Fielder did the exact same thing, bringing his UZR up to average from -8.5 in 2008 (which was the best of his career until this season). Howard and Fielder appear, superficially, to be very similar players, but Fielder walks more and strikes out less, perhaps contributing to his much higher averages, and he doesn't suffer the annual month-long growing pains in April. Fielder is still just 25 and is consistently underrated. In my mind, he is already a superior player to Howard, Texeira, Gonzalez, and Morneau.

1. Albert Pujols - 1B - St. Louis Cardinals
.327/.443/.658, 124 R, 47 HR, 135 RBI, 16 SB, 1.2 UZR, 8.4 WAR

What more needs be said? He's the best player in baseball, has been for about five seasons now and it doesn't look like he's becoming the least bit complacent.

Honorable Mention: Ryan Braun LF (MIL), Ryan Howard 1B (PHI), Andre Ethier LF (LAD), Jayson Werth RF (PHI), Justin Upton RF (ARZ)

AL MVP Ballot (had I swung that way): 10. Franklin Gutierrez CF (SEA), 9. Derek Jeter SS (NYY), 8. Mark Texeira 1B (NYY), 7. Kevin Youkilis 1B/3B (BOS), 6. Victor Martinez C/1B (BOS), 5. Chone Figgins 3B (LAA), 4. Ben Zobrist 2B/SS/RF (TAM), 3. Evan Longoria 3B (TAM), 2. Miguel Cabrera 1B (DET), 1. Joe Mauer C (MIN)

BBA Awards Ballot: Cy Young (AL)

Much to my surprise and glee, the BBA Rookie of the Year in the NL went to Andrew McCutchen. Check it out. The BBA voters weren't at all swayed by Chris Coghlan's high batting average or the gaudy ERA of J.A. Happ, resoundingly supporting McCutchen, who garnered twelve of the twenty first-place votes and 65 total points. Tommy Hanson finished second with 50 points and Happ third with 27 points. Let's hope the BBWAA is as thoughtful in their selections. On the AL side, the BBA went with Andrew Bailey (48 pts.), followed by Rick Porcello (36) and Elvis Andrus (28).

I've had a hard time deciding in which league to cast my Cy Young ballot. In the end, laziness got the better of me. I, like most people, believe Chris Carpenter, Tim Lincecum, and Adam Wainwright belong on the NL ballot, but deciding upon their order was going to require a parsing of hairs which frankly exceeded my patience this weekend. Instead, let's check on the AL, where things are slightly more cut and dry:

3. Justin Verlander - Detroit Tigers

19-9, 3.45 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 240 IP, 269 K/63 BB, 8.2 WAR

I wouldn't have a terrible problem with Felix Hernandez or C. C. Sabathia in this spot, but Verlander sold me on his candidacy with three excellent starts to finish the season, when the Tigers needed him most. I'm also partial to pitchers who go deep into games (see Halladay, Roy). Verlander was certainly that. He led the league in innings (and also strikeouts). Fourteen times Verlander pitched in the eighth or beyond. He threw three hundred more pitches (3931) than anybody in baseball, the highest total for a pitcher since 2005. It's worth noting that Verlander has been willing to take this kind of "abuse" despite the fact that he has yet to sign his first big deal. The Tigers Ace is still two years away from free agency. Hopefully, Jim Leyland won't destroy his arm before he gets a crack at a Sabathia-sized payday.

2. Roy Halladay - Toronto Blue Jays

17-10, 2.79 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 239 IP, 208 K/35 BB, 7.3 WAR

It will surprise exactly nobody that I'm placing Halladay higher than the average voter. He's been my favorite pitcher and one of my favorite players for years. However, this isn't exactly favoritism to the detriment of rationale. Halladay did lead all of baseball, again, in complete games (9) and shutouts (4). His K/BB ratio (5.94) also led both leagues and his pitches per plate appearance (3.52) was tied for lowest in the AL (with Nick Blackburn). He was third in the AL in ERA, second in innings pitched, tied for fourth in wins, and fifth in strikouts.

In my mind, what really separates Halladay from the other excellent American League pitchers of 2009 is the quality of his competition. The Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays finished 1, 3, and 5 in the AL in scoring this season. Roy Halladay had to make 15(!) of his 32 starts against those three teams. He went 6-7 (2.97 ERA) against them. He went 11-3 (2.62 ERA) against everybody else. The strength of his competition pushes him ahead of bigger winners like Sabathia, Verlander, and Hernandez. If he had, say, two more starts against the Royals and the A's instead of New York and Boston, he'd likely be sneaking up towards #1 on most ballots.
1. Zack Greinke - Kansas City Royals

16-8, 2.16 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 229 1/3 IP, 242 K/51 BB, 9.4 WAR

Greinke probably punched his ticket with the BBWAA when he won his sixteenth game. (Fernando Velenzuela remains the only starting pitcher to take home a Cy Young with less than sixteen wins, something Tim Lincecum fans would probably rather not hear.) In truth, Greinke should win it regardless. He had a downright dominating season, posting the best ERA in the AL since Pedro's legend-making 1999 season (18-6, 1.74). And, of course, his win total was probably considerably suppressed by playing for the Royals. Six times Greinke went seven or more innings allowing one earned run or less and didn't get a win. A dozen times he registered a quality start and ended up with a loss or no decision.

It's great to see this kind of comeback story as well. As recently as 2006 Greinke was suffering from such severe depression and social anxiety that he had to take some time off from the game and seek professional help. In an interview with the Kansas City Star he described an amazing form of psychological transference where he believed his unhappiness was the result of being a hitter trapped in a pitcher's body:

"I thought that was why I hated baseball. I thought it was because I wanted to hit...At least once a month I'd be crying to myself while I'm going to bed with a bat in my hand, just swinging it...I was waiting for a bad season. I was even hoping I'd have a bad season so I could be a hitter or be done with baseball period...As soon as I started taking the medication, I started feeling better and I really didn't have any desire to go back to being a hitter anymore."
(Kansas City Star, 2/22/07)

Talk about a ringing endorsement. Pharmaceutical companies are salivating. A baseball player hasn't sold this many pills since Rafael Palmeiro hawked Viagra (oh yes, that did happen). Seriously though, one has to applaud the Royals for their patience and support, and for having the wisdom to sign Greinke to a four year, $38 Million contract right before his breakout season.

Honorable Mentions: Felix Hernandez (SEA), C. C. Sabathia (NYY), Jon Lester (BOS)

BBA Awards Ballot: Rookie of the Year (NL)

The BBA Manager of the Year Awards were today. Check it out. And, thanks to some abbreviated Division Series, there is no baseball for a couple of days, so it's as good a time as any to post my thoughts on the NL Rookie of the Year. Several of the major media outlets, particularly ESPN, have been resoundingly supporting Chris Coghlan, who is a legitimate contender, and, moreover, have been creating the impression that there are only three good candidates: Coghlan, J.A. Happ, and Tommy Hanson. These are certainly three reasonable choices, but they are hardly the only ones. One should not treat ROY voting like MVP voting. There shouldn't be any bonus based on team performance. Coghlan, Happ, and Hanson played on winning franchises and that seems to be the only thing significantly separating them from another set of reasonable choices, including Garrett Jones, Casey McGehee, and Randy Wells.

First off, here are some statistics for the three primary hitting and pitching candidates (apologies for the crappy formatting):

STARTERS: Record ERA GS IP K/9 WHIP OOPS WAR
Tommy Hanson 11-4 2.89 21 128 8.18 1.18 660 2.6
J.A. Happ 10-4 2.99 23 144 6.36 1.26 735 1.8
Randy Wells 12-10 3.05 27 165 5.66 1.28 680 3.0

HITTERS: AVG OPS AB HR RBI SB RC/27 WAR
Chris Coglan .321 850 504 9 47 8 6.97 2.4
Garrett Jones .293 938 314 21 44 10 7.56 2.6
Casey McGehee .301 859 355 16 66 0 5.99 2.1
Andrew McCutchen .286 836 433 12 54 22 6.64 3.4

WAR or Wins Abover Replacement is a stat I will be leaning heavily on (although not exclusively) in my discussion of MVP, Cy Young, etc. because it takes into consideration defense, ballpark, run support, level of competition, and position scarcity.

3. Randy Wells - Chicago Cubs

Wells didn't get as much press as Happ and Hanson, but as you can see, he won just as many games and was very much their equal as a pitcher. He also got the most starts and threw the most innings (as a starter) of the trio, and led the way in WAR. Wells made 18 quality starts this season (66.7%) for the Cubs, but took a loss or a no decision in 7 of them. Perhaps more tragically, his teammates never bailed him out. He was 0-7 in starts that he allowed four or five earned runs (impressively, he never allowed more than five). Happ, on the other hand, made fourteen quality starts (60.9%) and lost only two of them. Three times he went less than six innings and still secured a win. He allowed four or more runs on five occasions and lost only two of them.

I don't mean to imply that Happ wasn't great this season and doesn't deserve serious consideration for Rookie of the Year, but I think Randy Wells was minutely better and got very little attention because his record was depressed by the sad status of his team.

2. Tommy Hanson - Atlanta Braves

He allowed three homers and six earned runs in his first start. After that he never allowed more than one homer and four earned runs in any of his next twenty starts. Over the course of that stretch he had an ERA of 2.59. The Braves only allowed him the throw more than 105 pitches on two occasions and yet he consistently pitched deep into ballgames (57.1 QS%) while striking out hitters in bunches (nine starts with more strikeouts than innings pitched).

Hanson stabilized the Braves rotation and was a critical factor in their late-season run (6-2, 2.56 ERA in August and September). It is possible that I'm giving him a bit of a boost because his potential is so much higher than either Wells or Happ, but the fact is, he matched or surpassed most of their numbers with less opportunities.

1. Andrew McCutchen - Pittsburgh Pirates

This makes me at least the second BBA member to support McCutchen (see the other ballot). And, like him, I may be swayed by the fact that I watched McCutchen play as much or more than any other rookie in 2009. That said, his WAR indicates that it isn't a purely subjective opinion. McCutchen put up very good offensive totals in a putrid lineup (30th in MLB!!!) and played solid defense in center field (10 A, 2 E, -0.8 UZR [I expect this will go up significantly in his first full season]). Like most rookies, he was a bit streaky. After hitting .330 with 18 RBI in his first twenty games, the league adjusted to him a bit and he went .240 with 5 RBI in his next twenty. The good news for Pirates fans is that McCutchen also demonstrated the ability to make adjustments and he finished the season on an absolute tear, hitting .354 with 17 R, 6 SB, 9 XBH, and a 962 OPS in his final 21 games.

I certainly wouldn't blame anybody for voting for Coghlan, but, like Hanson, McCutchen really exudes that unquantifiable "entertainment factor" (i.e. 4-for-6, 4 R, 3 HR, 6 RBI on 8/1 or 1-for-3, 3 R, 2B, 3 BB, 3 SB on 8/11), You are willing to watch Pirates games just to see what he does, which is lucky for Pittsburgh, because reinforcements do not appear to be on their way.

AL ROY (If I were so inclined): 3. Brett Anderson, 2. Andrew Bailey, 1. Elvis Andrus

BBA Awards Ballot: Manager of the Year (AL)

My new BBA membership has me all riled up to discuss regular season awards, so I'm going to put my playoff ranting on hold for the morning at least and address the Manager of the Year ballot in the American League. For the record, as a member without an affiliation, I will choose one league for each award.

While I'm actually more of a National League fan, I've got some strong opinions about AL manager in '09. As much as possible I am trying to distinguish between the job done by the on-field manager and that done by the GM. So, although I think Don Wakamatsu did a great job in Seattle, especially managing his pitching staff, I'm not ready to give him credit for the prioritization of defense which led to the acquisitions of Franklin Gutierrez and Jack Wilson, as well as the long-overdue ousting of Yuniesky Betancourt. I also think that Joe Girardi earned his stripes in New York this season, but, of course, he was handed a behemoth of a team and he was fairly fortunate. Despite preseason uncertainties 8 of the 9 top Yankee hitters got 500+ plate appearances (only Posada got less and he still managed well over 400). 80% of the Opening Day starting rotation made 30+ starts (with Chien-Ming Wang being the only exception). So, the argument for Girardi, I think, stems from his dealings with off-the-field pressures and his Tony LaRussa-like construction of a dominant bullpen as though from thin air (remember how bad things were out there in April and May?!?). It was an impressive job, but it still leaves him just outside my top three.

3. Terry Francona - Boston Red Sox

As the opening paragraph suggests, overcoming adversity is perhaps the quality I most admire in a manager. Only on very rare occasions do teams get exactly what the expected from every member of their opening day roster. Injuries, unexpected ineffectiveness, and chemistry problems test both the depth of an organization, the creativity of the GM, and the perceptive tenacity of the field manager. Theo Epstein is a GM extraordinaire (the V-Mart deal was a midseason coup), but to say that is sometimes to underestimate the contribution Francona has made in the Red Sox exceptional run since he took over in 2004.

This season's team looked much different than any during his tenure. No Manny. No Schilling or Pedro. Much noted declines from Varitek, Lowell, and Big Papi. The 2009 Red Sox were going to feed off of the next generation of BoSox: Pedroia, Youkilis, Ellsbury, Papelbon, and Lester. And, as might be expected, it wasn't a perfect transition. Pedroia and Lester got off to slow starts. Youkilis battled nagging physical issues and perhaps even more nagging mental ones. A rotation that was expected to be very deep faltered early and their top winner from 2008, Dice-K, made only three quality starts, all of them in September.

Francona handled everything superbly. He stuck with Big Papi through two hellish months and was rewarded with an excellent performance in the final four. He forced Youkilis into a short spell on the DL and regular days off to keep him fresh. He didn't allow Dice-K to rush back. After the acquisition of V-Mart, he managed a delicate rotation of stars (or former stars) at C, 1B, 3B, and DH. He resisted the temptation to overuse the flamethrowing rookie, Daniel Bard (perhaps he'd been watching what was happening with Carlos Marmol, who Lou Pinella tortured with long, stressful appearances in '07 and '08). He waited an extra month to bring Clay Buchholz back and got excellent results in the second half.

Francona remained always the picture of calm during the most stormy season of his managing career.

2. Mike Scioscia - Los Angeles Angels

I certainly won't argue that Scioscia doesn't get enough credit. The discussions of him in the Orange County media would make you think he was still calling games and blocking the plate, a kind of idyllic Pete Rose player-manager, with none of the baggage. He hawks refrigerators and pizzas and building supplies and second mortgages. Scioscia has proved himself again and again, and thus his legend grows. Only Bobby Cox and Tony LaRussa have more local reknown and influence over the macro- and micro- workings of their organizations.

The postseason commentary will certainly stress the unfortunate death of Nick Adenhart, as it should. What that disguises is that even before the Adenhart tragedy, Scioscia was facing a challenge that was almost entirely new. From 2001-2008, the Angels never finished lower than sixth in the AL in ERA; never above 4.28. Year after year, Scioscia put together rotations, bullpens, and defense that assured that his ballclub could stay in every game, even if they only scored three or four runs. During Spring Training, it looked like there would be more of the same. Scioscia was returning all five starters from last year's division-leading rotation and had Adenhart and former 18-game winner, Kelvim Escobar, waiting in the wings. Yet, of those front seven, only Jared Weaver and Joe Saunders made more than one start in April. Ervin Santana and John Lackey tried to rush back and combined for an 8.00 ERA in eight starts in May.

Meanwhile, despite K-Rod move to New York, Scioscia still had most of the key pieces to his great bullpens of '07 and '08: Scot Shields, Jose Arrendondo, and Justin Speier. They combined for an ERA above 6.00 in '09. The primary Angels slugger, Vladimir Guerrero, missed 35 games in April and May. There was no way this team should been anywhere near .500 after the first two month.

Yet, in the middle of May, even after getting swept by the division-leading Rangers, they were 18-18. They held on strong to that .500 record until mid-June (29-29), when they began a stretch of fifteen interleague games, of which they won twelve, and never looked back.

With his pitching in tatters, Scioscia decided he was going to have to score lots of runs. And so, whereas in the past he had resisted playing defensively-challenged power-hitters like Mike Napoli, Kendry Morales, and Juan Rivera everyday, he finally handed them starting jobs and they hit 79 HR and drove in 252 RBI. With the help of Bobby Abreu, he made slick-fielding, slap-hitting middle infielders, Erick Aybar and Maicer Izturis, into .300 hitters who were on base over 35% of the time. And he let everybody run wild, just like he always had. Six players netted double-digits in stolen bases.

Now, the reformed Angels are headed into October with some offensive thunder AND their pitching staff. Lackey racked up a 2.89 ERA in his last seven starts. Santana was at 2.84 over his last ten. Neither Shields, Speier, or Arrendondo made the postseason roster. In their places sit Kevin Jepsen (2.93 ERA, 43 IP, 42 K since July 1), Jason Bulger (2.48 ERA, 58 IP, 60 K since May 1), and Matt Palmer (2.74 ERA in 46 IP as a reliever). For most of the last decade, Scioscia has been credited with a particular "style" of AL baseball. This year he broke his own mold. That's worthy of serious consideration.

1. Ron Washington - Texas Rangers

I know, you were expecting Ron Gardenhire. And you aren't wrong, Gardenhire faced some serious adversity, went without the dominant rotation which had defined his tenure in Minnesota, and squeaked into the postseason with a lineup that included Nick Punto, Matt Tolbert, and Brendan Harris. However, Mr. Washington still had a better record (by 1/2 game) and he dealt with all of the above, but without the strong template to start from.

Let's face it, if I had told you at the beginning of the season that the 2009 Rangers were going to finish behind the Angels, the Twins, and the Blue Jays in runs scored, you would've been guessing that they won closer to 40 games than 90. Josh Hamilton was putrid, and hurt. Chris Davis was worse, though healthy. No Texas player made 145 starts. Among players with 100+ plate appearances, only Michael Young (.374), Julio Borbon (.376), and David Murphy (.338) posted OBP above the league average (.335). Four regulars posted OBP under .300. Sure, eight players had 17 or more homers, but this is in Arlington, the ballpark that made power threats out of Gary Matthews Jr. and Rusty Greer. Royce Clayton hit 14 HR there, twice!!! Much more telling is the fact that no Ranger drove in 90 and only Ian Kinsler scored more than 80.

Yet they won 87 games. The Texas Rangers were a pitching and defense team!!! Much credit will be given to Nolan Ryan and Mike Maddux for the reformations of Scott Feldman, Dustin Nippert, and Kevin Millwood. And that's probably just. However, Washington still oversaw that development and managed a staff that suffered prolonged injuries to its closer (Frank Francisco), two of its middle-of-the-rotation starters (Matt Harrison & Brandon McCarthy), and a primary set-up man (Eddie Guardado). Washington also dealt with the transition of Young to third base, he and Omar Vizquel assured that Elvis Andrus was a gold glove caliber shortstop in his very first season, and he juggled crazy platoon situations at catcher, first base, and in the outfield. He had to figure out what to do exactly with a strange roster than included five corner outfielders (Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Marlon Byrd, Murphy, and Borbon), three designated hitters (Hank Blalock, Chris Davis, and Andruw Jones), no true centerfielders, and only one backup infielder (Vizquel). As a prize for leading his division at the All-Star Break, management, dogged by financial problems, made no deadline deals and pretty much allowed the Angels to storm to another AL West title.

Washington isn't going to win this award, either from the BBA or the BBWA, but I think he's as legitimate a candidate as anybody and hopefully will be fronting the Ranger for many years to come.

Honorable Mention: Ron Gardenhire (MIN), Joe Girardi (NYY), Don Wakamatsu (SEA), Cito Gaston (TOR)

And, just for posterity, if I had voted for the NL version of the award, my ballot would've been pretty conventional: 3. Joe Torre (LAD), 2. Jim Tracy (COL), 1. Tony LaRussa (STL).