And the award goes to...
With a break before the postseason begins, here's a look at how I'd vote for baseball's major postseason awards (and one I made up).
MANAGER OF THE YEAR
AMERICAN LEAGUE
1. Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles: The Angels don’t exactly have an offense that’s going to slug an opponent to death, and six non-playoff teams had better ERAs. But the Angels won the West and 94 games thanks largely to Scioscia, who again this season validated his status as the best manager in baseball. Some of it has to do with the back end of the bullpen, but the Angels were the best among the AL playoff teams in one-run games (25-19; .568), and that’s when a manager can make his biggest mark on the outcome. Scioscia does that better than anybody.
2. Eric Wedge, Cleveland: Based on its talent, Cleveland should be in the playoffs regardless of who its manager is, but after a disappointing 2006 Wedge gets credit for getting the Tribe back on a track to continue their development. With his firm hand, they’re set up to win for a long time.
3. Terry Francona, Boston: His team’s longest win streak was just five, its longest losing streak just four – and yet it had baseball’s best record. That’s the consistency it takes to succeed in Boston.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
1. Clint Hurdle, Colorado: Not many had much hope for the Rockies at the beginning of the season – or as September started. But Hurdle effectively managed a no-name pitching staff, let his loaded lineup carry the offense, and even after losing three straight at the middle of last month, managed to rally the team into the wild card. They were 4.5 games back after Sept. 16, but by losing just once the rest of the way they caught the Padres – and earned this award for their manager.
2. Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia: Manuel engineered another comeback of his own, after righting a shaky ship in late spring, but he doesn’t get as much credit for his miraculous division title because it wouldn’t have been possible without the Mets’ collapse. Still a hell of a job by Manuel, but five months of mediocrity would’ve been meaningless without a historically bad choke job.
3. Lou Piniella, Chicago: They relaxed the strings on the budget, and brought in Sweet Lou to make sure talent turned into a playoff appearance. It did.
MOST DISAPPOINTING
AMERICAN LEAGUE
1. Vernon Wells, Toronto: After inking a huge contract in the offseason, Wells responded with career lows in average (.245), OBP (.304), OPS (.706), home runs (16) and total bases (235). Those aren’t franchise numbers.
2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle: When he spun a one-hitter at Fenway in April, everyone acknowledged his arrival. Instead, his numbers weren’t much different than they were the previous season. Still waiting, but still hopeful for his future.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
1. Jose Reyes, New York: His defense was significantly better, as was his baserunning, but amid the Mets’ collapse some of Reyes’s luster may have been lost. He finished up at only .280, hit five fewer homers, and was down about 10 percent in total bases.
2. Barry Bonds, San Francisco: It’s time to go, Barry. The Giants won’t have him back, and neither should anybody else. A six-inning pitcher is tolerable; a six-inning position player is useless.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
AMERICAN LEAGUE
1. Dustin Pedroia, Boston: The latest rumors suggest Young’s bad attitude might cost him this award, after rearing its ugly head once again just prior to Tampa’s final game, but Pedroia shouldn’t earn this honor based on Young’s temper. He should win it on the merits of his own season. After hitting .182 in April, the second baseman never hit less than .299 in any subsequent month, posting a .415 average in May as well as .346 in August. By the end of the season he was not only ninth in hitting (with his .317 mark the highest for an AL rook since Ichiro in 2001), but he had more walks (47) and extra-base hits (48) than strikeouts (42), and did it all while committing just six errors in the infield. Young may be the more dynamic player in the future, but for 2007 Pedroia is the pick.
2. Delmon Young, Tampa Bay: Although he never came anywhere close to the 30-30 totals being touted at the start of the season, Young’s first year was still very solid because of its consistency. All year he was around .300, and by finishing close to 100 RBI, he gave a glimpse of the run production he’s likely to generate as one of the leaders in baseball’s next generation.
3. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston: Not many rookies go 200 innings, or notch 200 strikeouts – and Dice-K did both.
MANAGER OF THE YEAR
1. Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles: The Angels don’t exactly have an offense that’s going to slug an opponent to death, and six non-playoff teams had better ERAs. But the Angels won the West and 94 games thanks largely to Scioscia, who again this season validated his status as the best manager in baseball. Some of it has to do with the back end of the bullpen, but the Angels were the best among the AL playoff teams in one-run games (25-19; .568), and that’s when a manager can make his biggest mark on the outcome. Scioscia does that better than anybody.
2. Eric Wedge, Cleveland: Based on its talent, Cleveland should be in the playoffs regardless of who its manager is, but after a disappointing 2006 Wedge gets credit for getting the Tribe back on a track to continue their development. With his firm hand, they’re set up to win for a long time.
3. Terry Francona, Boston: His team’s longest win streak was just five, its longest losing streak just four – and yet it had baseball’s best record. That’s the consistency it takes to succeed in Boston.
1. Clint Hurdle, Colorado: Not many had much hope for the Rockies at the beginning of the season – or as September started. But Hurdle effectively managed a no-name pitching staff, let his loaded lineup carry the offense, and even after losing three straight at the middle of last month, managed to rally the team into the wild card. They were 4.5 games back after Sept. 16, but by losing just once the rest of the way they caught the Padres – and earned this award for their manager.
2. Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia: Manuel engineered another comeback of his own, after righting a shaky ship in late spring, but he doesn’t get as much credit for his miraculous division title because it wouldn’t have been possible without the Mets’ collapse. Still a hell of a job by Manuel, but five months of mediocrity would’ve been meaningless without a historically bad choke job.
3. Lou Piniella, Chicago: They relaxed the strings on the budget, and brought in Sweet Lou to make sure talent turned into a playoff appearance. It did.
MOST DISAPPOINTING
1. Vernon Wells, Toronto: After inking a huge contract in the offseason, Wells responded with career lows in average (.245), OBP (.304), OPS (.706), home runs (16) and total bases (235). Those aren’t franchise numbers.
2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle: When he spun a one-hitter at Fenway in April, everyone acknowledged his arrival. Instead, his numbers weren’t much different than they were the previous season. Still waiting, but still hopeful for his future.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
1. Jose Reyes, New York: His defense was significantly better, as was his baserunning, but amid the Mets’ collapse some of Reyes’s luster may have been lost. He finished up at only .280, hit five fewer homers, and was down about 10 percent in total bases.
2. Barry Bonds, San Francisco: It’s time to go, Barry. The Giants won’t have him back, and neither should anybody else. A six-inning pitcher is tolerable; a six-inning position player is useless.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
1. Dustin Pedroia, Boston: The latest rumors suggest Young’s bad attitude might cost him this award, after rearing its ugly head once again just prior to Tampa’s final game, but Pedroia shouldn’t earn this honor based on Young’s temper. He should win it on the merits of his own season. After hitting .182 in April, the second baseman never hit less than .299 in any subsequent month, posting a .415 average in May as well as .346 in August. By the end of the season he was not only ninth in hitting (with his .317 mark the highest for an AL rook since Ichiro in 2001), but he had more walks (47) and extra-base hits (48) than strikeouts (42), and did it all while committing just six errors in the infield. Young may be the more dynamic player in the future, but for 2007 Pedroia is the pick.
2. Delmon Young, Tampa Bay: Although he never came anywhere close to the 30-30 totals being touted at the start of the season, Young’s first year was still very solid because of its consistency. All year he was around .300, and by finishing close to 100 RBI, he gave a glimpse of the run production he’s likely to generate as one of the leaders in baseball’s next generation.
3. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston: Not many rookies go 200 innings, or notch 200 strikeouts – and Dice-K did both.
1. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado: At the turn of the century, the hot topic when talking about the American League was trying to decide who was best between A-Rod, Nomar and Jeter, the troika of shortstops that was revolutionizing the position. And, with Tulowitzki’s arrival, the National League now has its own modern-day version. With Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez already having established themselves among the game’s elite, Tulowitzki isn’t quite at their level just yet – but he’s off to a hell of a start with his rookie year. A big part of the Rockies’ second-half push, he hit 15 of his 24 homers after the break, drove in 60 of his 98 runs over that span, and from the No. 2 spot set the table for the team’s meaty middle of the order. Without his season, Colorado doesn’t even get to game 163; rookies don’t get much more valuable than that.
2. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee: For a while, Braun seemed a shoo-in for the award – and in most years his .324, 34, 97 totals would make him a lock. But Tulowitzki gets the nod for playing a more important position (SS to 3B and for doing it all season long, since Braun arrived only in late May. Though that does make his numbers – he had a 1.004 OPS – all the more ridiculous.
3. Chris Young, Arizona: Finished three steals shy of 30-30, but don’t be surprised to see him achieve that milestone next season – and for the next 10 after that.
CY YOUNG
1. Josh Beckett, Boston: In a year with a handful of worthy candidates, but no obvious choice as the AL’s best pitcher, Beckett gets the nod for the across-the-board numbers that marked his emergence as a certified ace. He ranked among the league’s top 10 in ERA, WHIP, strikeouts and batting average against, while yielding the fewest earned runs of anyone with at least 30 starts, and becoming baseball’s only 20-game winner over the last two seasons. Ten of those triumphs came following a Red Sox loss, making him the stopper on the team that finished the regular campaign with baseball’s best record. Yet another reason why he’s just a little better than the other contenders.
2. C.C. Sabathia, Cleveland: Not sure I wouldn’t take him ahead of Beckett if forced to start a team with one of these 27-year-olds – guy is lefty and a horse – but Beckett gets the nod this year for the extra win and better BAA.
3. Johan Santana, Minnesota: Ignore the 33 home runs he allowed, and his 13 losses. He’s still the man.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
1. Jake Peavy, San Diego: As good a season as Mike Lowell has enjoyed this summer in Boston, Peavy’s campaign still managed to remind us how preposterous reports of a Lowell-for-Peavy trade were in 2006. After a “down” season, the hard-throwing righty pitched his way to the NL’s triple crown, winning the second ERA crown of his career by more than half a run, and striking out 16 more batters than his closest competition. From beginning to end, no one in baseball was better than Peavy on the bump.
2. Brandon Webb, Arizona: Last year’s winner made a heck of a midseason run at repeating, and by and large his numbers were actually better than they were in ‘06, although Peavy put himself out of reach this year. Still, the Diamondbacks are in good shape for the playoffs thanks to Webb.
3. Cole Hamels, Philadelphia: The young lefty had a better WHIP than anyone but Peavy and Chris Young, and he averaged nearly a strikeout per inning. Next year he could win this award.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
1. Alex Rodriguez, New York: As soon as the Yankees clinched a playoff spot, A-Rod may as well have started preparing his MVP acceptance speech. With a .314 average to go with 54 homers and 156 RBI, he also had 24 steals and kept the Bombers afloat when they were battling injuries throughout April and May. The soon-to-be-$30 million man will have three of these things to sell when he’s on the open market this winter.
2. David Ortiz, Boston: As good as Rodriguez’s season was, guess who was just as good. That’d be Ortiz, who matched the Yankee with an OPS of 1.07 thanks to a league-high 88 extra-base hits, and also had 117 RBI as well as a career-best .332 average. Look beyond the home runs, and you’ll realize he was as good as ever this year.
3. Vladimir Guerrero, Los Angeles
4. Magglio Ordonez, Detroit
5. Victor Martinez, Cleveland
6. Mike Lowell, Boston
7. Jorge Posada, New York
8. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle
9. Francisco Rodriguez, Los Angeles
10. Curtis Granderson, Detroit
1. Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia: After boasting that the Phillies were the best team in the NL East, Rollins delivered a division title thanks in large part to the best season of his career. His .296 average, 30 HR and 94 RBI were each the best he’s ever had, and with his blend of speed and power he was able plug any holes the Phils had throughout the lineup. He could leadoff, or hit third, and all the while was excellent at shortstop. He gets the edge over Holliday for playing a tougher position, and for doing more things to help his team win – especially after guaranteeing they would.
2. Matt Holliday, Colorado: If you didn’t know who Matt Holliday was at the start of the season, or even after his impressive show in the home run derby, you do now. With a season where he won two thirds of the triple crown – hitting .340 with 137 RBI – and finishing third in the other category – with 36 homers – Holliday emerged as one of the best hitters in baseball, and if he overtakes Rollins for this award, it will be neither unjustified nor surprising.
3. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee
4. Alfonso Soriano, Chicago
5. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia
6. Jake Peavy, San Diego
7. David Wright, New York
8. Chipper Jones, Atlanta
9. Albert Pujols, St. Louis
10. Jose Valverde, Arizona
COMING LATER TODAY: A look at the AL and NL division series.
Nice story. A couple more things to add to what you already had.
I agree with Tulowitzki over Braun, and it's mostly because of the defensive aspect of the comparison. In 112 games, Braun has 26 errors at the hot corner. Over 162 games, you're looking at 36 errors. In 155 games, Tulowitzki only had 11 errors. Those 36 errors probably ended up causing the Brew Crew a playoff spot. It's a pity the NL doesn't have a DH for guys like Braun.
I also agree Vernon Wells could have big one of the biggest disappointments of the year, but I suspect that J.P. Riccardi could have been hiding Wells' shoulder injury all year (which he just got surgery on) much like he did with Ryan and Burnett. I don't trust those Jays. I also think that the Canadian Cannonball, Jason Bay deserves some consideration. After looking like the face of the Pirates for the past 2-3 years, he finished this year with career lows of .247 BA, 21 HR, and only 4 steals. Yuck.
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