SB Nation - Adam Lind

Adam Lind Wins Edgar Martinez Award

Tom Dakers — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:04:27 -0000

Just for a momentary break from the all Roy Halladay all the time station, we will mention that Adam Lind has won the Edgar Martinez award as top DH. Congratulations Adam. Here is the press release.

Today MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL announced that ADAM LIND captured his first Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, named in 2004 in honour of the former Seattle Mariners designated hitter and 2010 Hall of Fame candidate.

LIND, 26, appeared in 95 games as a designated hitter in 2009, batting .299 with 21 home runs and 74 runs batted in. The Muncie, Indiana native posted a .539 slugging percentage and a .362 on-base percentage in addition to collecting 200 total bases, 60 runs scored and 26 doubles as a DH. Overall, the left-handed hitter appeared in 151 total games this season, batting .305 with 35 homers and setting club highs with 114 RBI and 46 doubles. His 81 extra-base hits were second best in the A.L., while his 114 total RBI placed third and his 35 homers, his 46 doubles and his 330 total bases all ranked fifth.

Aaron Hill and Adam Lind Win Silver Slugger Awards

Tom Dakers — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:47:41 -0000

The Silver Slugger awards were given out today and we had two winners. Aaron Hill won for best offensive second baseman and Adam Lind won for best DH. Both are very deserving. Congratulations both of you. The whole list of winners:

POS	PLAYER	HR	RBI	AVG
1B	M. Teixeira, Yankees	39	122	.292
2B	Aaron Hill, Blue Jays	36	108	.286
3B	Evan Longoria, Rays	33	113	.281
SS	Derek Jeter, Yankees	18	66	.334
OF	Jason Bay, Red Sox	36	119	.267
OF	Torii Hunter, Angels	22	90	.299
OF	Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners	11	46	.352
C	Joe Mauer, Twins	28	96	.365
DH	Adam Lind, Blue Jays	35	114	.305

In the NL

POS	PLAYER	HR	RBI	AVG
1B	A. Pujols, Cardinals	47	135	.327
2B	Chase Utley, Phillies	31	93	.282
3B	R. Zimmerman, Nats	33	106	.292
SS	H. Ramirez, Marlins	24	106	.342
OF	Ryan Braun, Brewers	32	114	.320
OF	Andre Ethier, Dodgers	31	106	.272
OF	Matt Kemp, Dodgers	26	101	.297
C	Brian McCann, Braves	21	94	.281
P	C. Zambrano, Cubs	4	11	.217

SB Nation Awards: 2009 American League MVP

Jesse — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:50:09 -0000

Scioscia...Andrus...Greinke...and looky looky who completes the puzzle!

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pts
1	Joe Mauer	Minnesota Twins	24	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	371
2	Ben Zobrist	Tampa Bay Rays	-	10	6	2	2	1	-	1	-	-	172
3	Mark Teixeira	New York Yankees	2	3	2	4	3	2	7	1	-	-	158
4	Derek Jeter	New York Yankees	1	5	3	4	4	2	1	1	2	1	157
5	Evan Longoria	Tampa Bay Rays	-	2	4	1	2	3	2	3	2	1	106
6	Zack Greinke	Kansas City Royals	2	3	2	1	1	-	2	-	-	-	92
7	Miguel Cabrera	Detroit Tigers	-	-	3	1	2	4	-	2	-	5	74
8	Kevin Youkilis	Boston Red Sox	-	2	-	-	1	3	1	8	1	-	69
9	Chone Figgins	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	-	3	4	1	-	1	3	1	60
10	Jason Bay	Boston Red Sox	-	1	-	4	2	-	-	1	-	2	54
11	Kendry Morales	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	4	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	39
12	Ichiro Suzuki	Seattle Mariners	-	-	1	-	2	-	1	2	2	3	37
13	Franklin Gutierrez	Seattle Mariners	-	-	-	1	1	1	3	-	1	2	34
14	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	-	-	-	2	1	1	1	-	1	1	32
15	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	3	2	-	31
16	Jason Bartlett	Tampa Bay Rays	-	-	1	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	22
17	Alex Rodriguez	New York Yankees	-	-	1	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	18
18	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-	-	16
19	Adam Lind	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	4	16
20	Dustin Pedroia	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	4	1	13
21	Bobby Abreu	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	1	-	12
22	Aaron Hill	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-	-	12
23	Mariano Rivera	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	1	9
24	Torii Hunter	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
25	Brian Roberts	Baltimore Orioles	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	7
26	CC Sabathia	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	6
27	Carl Crawford	Tampa Bay Rays	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	6
28	J.D. Drew	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
29	Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
30	Jonathan Papelbon	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
31	Robinson Cano	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
32	Victor Martinez	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
33	Michael Cuddyer	Minnesota Twins	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
34	Shin-Soo Choo	Cleveland Indians	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
35	Michael Young	Texas Rangers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	3
36	Jacoby Ellsbury	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
37	Jason Kubel	Minnesota Twins	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
38	Alex Gonzalez	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
39	Nick Markakis	Baltimore Orioles	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

YES! Clearly there were five people who weren't watching the same baseball season as everyone else, but look at that point differential between first and second place. And nobody voted Joe lower than third place, so kudos to all voting parties for that.

Having to vote for ten candidates means this is a pretty large chart with a lot of stragglers, and after Mauer I can't honestly remember who I voted for. I know I voted for one of Cuddyer and Kubel, although I can't promise full homerism by saying I voted for both. Still, I'm positive that Longoria, Cabrera, Zobrist, Jeter and Youkilis were in there somewhere.

The only two AL teams not represented on this list? Oakland and Chicago.

Poll

Who gets your vote for American League MVP?

Joe Mauer

370 votes

370 votes | Poll has closed

Prince Fielder finishes fourth in SBN NL MVP Voting

KLSnow — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:00:38 -0000

The SB Nation Most Valuable Player voting was unveiled today. Here are the NL results:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pts
1	Albert Pujols	St. Louis Cardinals	31	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	434
2	Hanley Ramirez	Florida Marlins	-	6	8	11	2	1	2	-	-	-	220
3	Chase Utley	Philadelphia Phillies	-	7	11	2	3	1	-	1	-	1	192
4	Prince Fielder	Milwaukee Brewers	-	5	4	4	7	7	1	-	-	-	186
5	Troy Tulowitzki	Colorado Rockies	-	4	1	5	2	3	3	4	1	2	134
6	Tim Lincecum	San Francisco Giants	-	4	1	-	1	2	2	3	1	-	79
7	Ryan Howard	Philadelphia Phillies	-	4	-	1	4	1	-	-	3	1	79
8	Ryan Zimmerman	Washington Nationals	-	-	1	3	3	3	3	1	-	2	79
9	Adrian Gonzalez	San Diego Padres	-	-	1	-	3	3	2	4	3	4	71
10	Pablo Sandoval	San Francisco Giants	-	-	-	1	2	2	2	3	4	3	57
11	Matt Kemp	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	1	1	1	1	5	3	-	1	56
12	Ryan Braun	Milwaukee Brewers	-	-	2	-	-	2	2	1	1	-	39
13	Chris Carpenter	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	-	2	1	1	-	1	2	25
14	Derrek Lee	Chicago Cubs	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	1	3	2	25
15	Andre Ethier	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	-	-	1	2	2	-	-	-	24
16	Adam Wainwright	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	1	4	1	23
17	Javier Vazquez	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	2	1	16
18	Matt Holliday	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	12
19	Joey Votto	Cincinnati Reds	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	11
20	Mark Reynolds	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	2	10
21	Todd Helton	Colorado Rockies	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	7
22	Jayson Werth	Philadelphia Phillies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	6
23	Adam Dunn	Washington Nationals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	3	5
24	Juan Pierre	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
25	Justin Upton	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
26	Raul Ibanez	Philadelphia Phillies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
27	Ubaldo Jimenez	Colorado Rockies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
28	Brian McCann	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	4
29	Dan Haren	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	4
30	Michael Bourn	Houston Astros	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	3
31	Yadier Molina	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	3
32	Nyjer Morgan	Washington Nationals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
33	Yunel Escobar	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

Here was my ballot:
1. Albert Pujols
2. Prince Fielder
3. Tim Lincecum
4. Chase Utley
5. Hanley Ramirez
6. Ryan Zimmerman
7. Troy Tulowitzki
8. Matt Kemp
9. Javier Vazquez
10. Adrian Gonzalez

Follow the jump for the AL results.

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pts
1	Joe Mauer	Minnesota Twins	24	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	371
2	Ben Zobrist	Tampa Bay Rays	-	10	6	2	2	1	-	1	-	-	172
3	Mark Teixeira	New York Yankees	2	3	2	4	3	2	7	1	-	-	158
4	Derek Jeter	New York Yankees	1	5	3	4	4	2	1	1	2	1	157
5	Evan Longoria	Tampa Bay Rays	-	2	4	1	2	3	2	3	2	1	106
6	Zack Greinke	Kansas City Royals	2	3	2	1	1	-	2	-	-	-	92
7	Miguel Cabrera	Detroit Tigers	-	-	3	1	2	4	-	2	-	5	74
8	Kevin Youkilis	Boston Red Sox	-	2	-	-	1	3	1	8	1	-	69
9	Chone Figgins	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	-	3	4	1	-	1	3	1	60
10	Jason Bay	Boston Red Sox	-	1	-	4	2	-	-	1	-	2	54
11	Kendry Morales	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	4	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	39
12	Ichiro Suzuki	Seattle Mariners	-	-	1	-	2	-	1	2	2	3	37
13	Franklin Gutierrez	Seattle Mariners	-	-	-	1	1	1	3	-	1	2	34
14	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	-	-	-	2	1	1	1	-	1	1	32
15	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	3	2	-	31
16	Jason Bartlett	Tampa Bay Rays	-	-	1	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	22
17	Alex Rodriguez	New York Yankees	-	-	1	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	18
18	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-	-	16
19	Adam Lind	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	4	16
20	Dustin Pedroia	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	4	1	13
21	Bobby Abreu	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	1	-	12
22	Aaron Hill	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-	-	12
23	Mariano Rivera	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	1	9
24	Torii Hunter	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
25	Brian Roberts	Baltimore Orioles	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	7
26	CC Sabathia	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	6
27	Carl Crawford	Tampa Bay Rays	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	6
28	J.D. Drew	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
29	Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
30	Jonathan Papelbon	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
31	Robinson Cano	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
32	Victor Martinez	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
33	Michael Cuddyer	Minnesota Twins	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
34	Shin-Soo Choo	Cleveland Indians	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
35	Michael Young	Texas Rangers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	3
36	Jacoby Ellsbury	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
37	Jason Kubel	Minnesota Twins	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
38	Alex Gonzalez	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
39	Nick Markakis	Baltimore Orioles	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

2009 SBNation Awards: MVP

Al — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:00:27 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP

Mike Fontenot after a forceout of Albert Pujols in April at Wrigley Field.

Browse more photos »

No surprises here, at least not for me. I expected Albert Pujols to be the unanimous MVP among SBN voters, and he was.

The AL winner is the guy I would have chosen; you may be a bit surprised at the second-place finisher.

Points for MVP are awarded as follows: 14 points for a first-place vote, then 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 for 2nd through 10th place.

BCB ballots:

Al: 1) Albert Pujols 2) Ryan Howard 3) Prince Fielder 4) Chase Utley 
5) Pablo Sandoval 6) Adrian Gonzalez 7) Hanley Ramirez 
8) Troy Tulowitzki 9) Derrek Lee 10) Adam Dunn

Mike: 1) Albert Pujols 2) Ryan Howard 3) Hanley Ramirez 4) Troy Tulowitzki 
5) Prince Fielder 6) Tim Lincecum 7) Chase Utley 
8) Adam Wainwright 9) Raul Ibanez 10) Mark Reynolds

National League

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pts
1	Albert Pujols	St. Louis Cardinals	31	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	434
2	Hanley Ramirez	Florida Marlins	-	6	8	11	2	1	2	-	-	-	220
3	Chase Utley	Philadelphia Phillies	-	7	11	2	3	1	-	1	-	1	192
4	Prince Fielder	Milwaukee Brewers	-	5	4	4	7	7	1	-	-	-	186
5	Troy Tulowitzki	Colorado Rockies	-	4	1	5	2	3	3	4	1	2	134
6	Tim Lincecum	San Francisco Giants	-	4	1	-	1	2	2	3	1	-	79
7	Ryan Howard	Philadelphia Phillies	-	4	-	1	4	1	-	-	3	1	79
8	Ryan Zimmerman	Washington Nationals	-	-	1	3	3	3	3	1	-	2	79
9	Adrian Gonzalez	San Diego Padres	-	-	1	-	3	3	2	4	3	4	71
10	Pablo Sandoval	San Francisco Giants	-	-	-	1	2	2	2	3	4	3	57
11	Matt Kemp	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	1	1	1	1	5	3	-	1	56
12	Ryan Braun	Milwaukee Brewers	-	-	2	-	-	2	2	1	1	-	39
13	Chris Carpenter	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	-	2	1	1	-	1	2	25
14	Derrek Lee	Chicago Cubs	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	1	3	2	25
15	Andre Ethier	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	-	-	1	2	2	-	-	-	24
16	Adam Wainwright	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	1	4	1	23
17	Javier Vazquez	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	2	1	16
18	Matt Holliday	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	12
19	Joey Votto	Cincinnati Reds	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	11
20	Mark Reynolds	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	2	10
21	Todd Helton	Colorado Rockies	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	7
22	Jayson Werth	Philadelphia Phillies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	6
23	Adam Dunn	Washington Nationals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	3	5
24	Juan Pierre	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
25	Justin Upton	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
26	Raul Ibanez	Philadelphia Phillies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
27	Ubaldo Jimenez	Colorado Rockies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
28	Brian McCann	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	4
29	Dan Haren	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	4
30	Michael Bourn	Houston Astros	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	3
31	Yadier Molina	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	3
32	Nyjer Morgan	Washington Nationals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
33	Yunel Escobar	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

American League

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pts
1	Joe Mauer	Minnesota Twins	24	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	371
2	Ben Zobrist	Tampa Bay Rays	-	10	6	2	2	1	-	1	-	-	172
3	Mark Teixeira	New York Yankees	2	3	2	4	3	2	7	1	-	-	158
4	Derek Jeter	New York Yankees	1	5	3	4	4	2	1	1	2	1	157
5	Evan Longoria	Tampa Bay Rays	-	2	4	1	2	3	2	3	2	1	106
6	Zack Greinke	Kansas City Royals	2	3	2	1	1	-	2	-	-	-	92
7	Miguel Cabrera	Detroit Tigers	-	-	3	1	2	4	-	2	-	5	74
8	Kevin Youkilis	Boston Red Sox	-	2	-	-	1	3	1	8	1	-	69
9	Chone Figgins	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	-	3	4	1	-	1	3	1	60
10	Jason Bay	Boston Red Sox	-	1	-	4	2	-	-	1	-	2	54
11	Kendry Morales	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	4	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	39
12	Ichiro Suzuki	Seattle Mariners	-	-	1	-	2	-	1	2	2	3	37
13	Franklin Gutierrez	Seattle Mariners	-	-	-	1	1	1	3	-	1	2	34
14	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	-	-	-	2	1	1	1	-	1	1	32
15	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	3	2	-	31
16	Jason Bartlett	Tampa Bay Rays	-	-	1	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	22
17	Alex Rodriguez	New York Yankees	-	-	1	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	18
18	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-	-	16
19	Adam Lind	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	4	16
20	Dustin Pedroia	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	4	1	13
21	Bobby Abreu	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	1	-	12
22	Aaron Hill	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-	-	12
23	Mariano Rivera	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	1	9
24	Torii Hunter	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
25	Brian Roberts	Baltimore Orioles	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	7
26	CC Sabathia	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	6
27	Carl Crawford	Tampa Bay Rays	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	6
28	J.D. Drew	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
29	Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
30	Jonathan Papelbon	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
31	Robinson Cano	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
32	Victor Martinez	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
33	Michael Cuddyer	Minnesota Twins	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
34	Shin-Soo Choo	Cleveland Indians	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
35	Michael Young	Texas Rangers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	3
36	Jacoby Ellsbury	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
37	Jason Kubel	Minnesota Twins	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
38	Alex Gonzalez	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
39	Nick Markakis	Baltimore Orioles	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

Are Jason Bay or Carlos Degado Really the Players We Should Be Going After This Off Season?

Tom Dakers — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:59:41 -0000

So lately I've been reading about two players that people want the Blue Jays to go after Jason Bay (most recently by Dave Perkins in the Star) and Carlos Delgado (in the Jay Hunter). Neither of which really excite me. Lets looks at Bay for a moment. This is what he hit last year

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Jason Bay	151	531	103	142	29	3	36	119	94	162	13	3	.267	.384	.537

A season not all that different than Adam Lind's:

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Adam Lind	151	587	93	179	46	0	35	114	58	110	1	1	.305	.370	.562

So what's the trouble? Well, Jason can only play LF and not a very good LF at that. He has roughly the same defensive ability in LF as Lind. He had a -13.9 UZR this year and that was in a tiny LF in Boston, you want him roaming a larger LF? As you might know, we already have a line of guys that play LF poorly. If he could play RF then maybe he'd be a player to go after, but he has played all of 8 innings in right. So we we were to sign him, he would have to play left, Travis Snider would have to play right and Lind would DH. And Vernon Wells would have to run his legs off. We wouldn't gain much defensively over a Lind, Wells, Snider outfield.

How much would Bay cost us? I would guess at least $15 million a year for 4 years. He is 31 now so 35 at the end of the contract, offensively I'd still expect him to be a valuable player, defensively I'd expect you'd want to move him to DH by then. I'd also expect we'd want to move Vernon out of CF sometime in the next 2 or 3 years.

Yeah he's Canadian and that is a draw but only if he can help us win. There are lots of Canadians we could sign if we weren't worried about winning. I don't know, maybe if Overbay could be moved and Lind could play first it would be worth signing him. But even then we are setting ourselves up to have a lousy defensive outfield for the next several years.

I guess if we were to sign him I wouldn't cry and complain but he's not the first guy I'd chase. I'd much rather we go after a guy that could play good defense in the outfield.

Now Carlos Delgado, what do he do this year?

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Carlos Delgado	26	94	15	28	7	1	4	23	12	20	0	0	.298	.393	.521

He was hurt a lot of the year. Someone would have to promise me he is healthy before I'd want to sign him but the year before he hit 38 homers. Would he take a one year contract? Would he want to be a full time DH? He is 37 now and there is a glut of DH types on the market this year.

The downside? Well you are forcing Lind into playing LF full time, so we are forced into a Lind, Wells, Snider outfield. Get used to watching balls hit the ground. It also makes us a little left side heavy in the offense. Lind, Snider, Overbay and Delgado would all swing from the left side.

So no, unless he comes really cheap, I'm not really all that excited about picking him up, but then I think there will be DH types that will go cheap again this winter, so if he's one I won't complain if we picked him but he's not who I'd build my off season around.

Now if someone was to suggest we go after Mike Cameron or another good defensive outfielder so we could rework ourselves back into a good defensive team, that I could get behind.

The Season That Was: Adam Lind

Tom Dakers — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:06:02 -0000

More photos » by Nathan Denette - AP

Can't wait to see more of this. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)

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Before the season I had really no idea how Adam Lind would fare this year. In the 2008 season, Lind was called up at the end of April, after Frank Thomas was released and Shannon Stewart showed he wasn't suddenly going to become young. After going 1 for 19 JP and Gibby, showing their tremendous patience, sent him back to the minors so we could be treated to Brad Wilkerson and Kevin Mench. They had no end of patience for those guys. When Cito signed on, he got Lind called back up. If for nothing else, that alone made his hiring a good thing.

Last year under Cito, Lind started off pretty well, but his last homer came on August 19th. That seemed like a bad sign going into to this year. Ending 2008 with a .282 batting average seemed ok, but he didn't walk hardly at all (16 times in 349 at bats), it seemed like a fairly empty .282 for a poor fielding corner outfielder.

Well I shouldn't have worried, but who thought he'd have a season like he did? In our 'Community Project' we figured Lind would have a .330 OBP and a .465 SLG in 580 plate appearances, which would have given him a WAR of 0.2. He actually hit:

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Adam Lind	151	587	93	179	46	0	35	114	58	110	1	1	.305	.370	.562

So he beat out our guesses by 40 points of OBP and almost 100 points of slugging. He had 74 more plate appearances than we projected. Fangraphs puts his WAR at 3.7 which makes his value $16.6 million.

So what changed for Adam? I figure it was a combination of two things, Cito and Gene Tenace's teaching and his own talent showing through, when he finally got to relax and not worry that if he went 0 for 4 two games in a row he'd be sent down.

Unsurprisingly for a lefty he hit RHP (.317/.389/.602) much better than LHP (.287/.363/.461), but hits lefties well enough that he need not be sat against them. He hit much the same on the road (.287/.363/.577) as at home (.324/.378/.547).

He hit a lot better in the games he played in LF (.316/.386/.605) than he did as a DH (.299/.362/.539). To me, with that sort of difference, I'd like to see him play in the outfield even with his less than terrific defense.

His longest hitting streak was 13 games in July. His longest stretch without a homer was 17 games.

Batting by Month:

April .315/.400/.533

May .264/.333/.453

June .360/.434/.650

July .258/.286/.581

August . 321/.364/.560

Sept/Oct .313/.395/.604

When you get on at a .333 rate or better every month but one and slug .533 or better every month but one, you've had a good year.

He hit great with RISP (.305/.413/.584). A lot was made of his ability to hit with 2 strikes and he did hit well .251/.323/.423 but it isn't like you'd want him to get to 2 strikes.

His favorite team to play? Well the Reds (.444/.615/.889) but that was just 3 games. Of the AL teams he hit the Angels great (.539/.543/.853). Least favorite? He was 0 for 12 with no walks in 3 games against the Marlins. Hit just .214/.333/.321 in 15 games against the Orioles.

As you likely know his fielding isn't good. Fangraphs has him at a -8.0 UZR or -19.0 URZ/150 which would put him deep in at the bottom of the list of LFers in the AL if he had played enough to qualify. He only had 1 error and 1 assist. He's never going to be a good fielder. He would be a good big target at first base though.

He had a great season and is just 26 going into the next one so he hasn't hit his prime yet, he might still improve though it is hard to imagine he could hit much better.. But I'm looking forward to watching him try.

Chris Carpenter, Aaron Hill named comeback players of year

Eli Greenspan — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:35:28 -0000

More photos » AP

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Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter and Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill were awarded the NL and AL comeback player of the year awards, respectively, according to FOXSports.com.

After appearing in five games between 2007-2009, Carpenter returned to the mound in 2006 form, going 17-4 in 28 starts. Having Carpenter back in the rotation gave the Cards a huge advantage in the NL Central, especially with Adam Wainwright putting up career numbers.

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Chris Carpenter	17-4	28	28	3	1	0	0	192.2	156	49	48	7	38	144	2.24	1.01

Hill showed tremendous potential coming into the 2008 season, but a Grade II concussion ended his season early. He came back strong in 2009 to hit a career high 36 home runs while putting up career highs in slugging and OPS.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Aaron Hill	158	682	103	195	37	0	36	108	42	98	6	2	.286	.330	.499

While the Blue Jays were a disappointment this season, having Hill, Adam Lind, and young prospects Travis Snider and J.P. Arenciba in the fold could make the Jays very dangerous down the road. Imagine if they trade Halladay for a mix of young pitchers and bats, too.

Hill and Carpenter are both deserving of this award. Can you think of anyone who also deserves some recognition for the 2009 season?

Adam Lind Hits Three Homers, Jays Beat Red Sox

Tom Dakers — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:43:54 -0000

More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

2 months ago: Toronto Blue Jays' Kevin Millar follows through on a solo home run against Boston Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz in the third inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009. Travis Snider (45) waits on deck. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

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Blue Jays 8 Red Sox 7

That was just a terrific game to watch, it had everything you could want.

We gotta talk about Kevin Millar, I have a rant coming about how a team could have to use Millar at third base in September, but we will save it for tomorrow. Millar had a terrific game. He was 3 for 4 at the plate, with a homer and a double. His last time up he needed a triple for the cycle, but knowing that it would cause a tear in the fabric of reality if he did it, to save the universe,he popped out.

Defensively, he made all the plays, including turning a double play at second base when the Jays had the shift on for David Ortiz, jumping over (if you can call it that) the runner coming into second. He also started a double play from third. Kevin we've (ok, I've) taken a lot of shots at you this year, and I don't apologize for any of them, but today I raise a glass to you.

I don't suppose you all have noticed this but Adam Lind is a heck of a player. His first two homers tonight were massive shots to center, the third he got smart and pulled it down the line hitting the Pesky Pole. His 3 tonight gives him 35 on the season and 114 RBI. When he came up in the 9th, with a chance at a fourth, Jonathan Papelbon hit him in the elbow with the first pitch of the at bat. I don't think he was trying to hit Lind but he was clearly trying to push him off the plate. Cito made the point with the plate umpire that he hit a guy that had 3 homers on the night. Papelbon appeared to apologize to Lind at the end of the inning. I hope Lind can play tomorrow.

Jose Bautista started off the game right, taking the first pitch over the Green Monster and Aaron Hill hit his 36th homer of the year. We hit 6 home runs today after 3 yesterday in a short game. The Red Sox must be worried about their pitching going into the playoffs.

Ricky Romero pitched pretty well tonight, going 5 innings, allowing 7 hits but just 1 walk and 2 earned. He did throw too many pitches, but then the Red Sox are a good team and he only gave up 2 runs. Brandon League and Jesse Carlson each pitched a good inning. And then Shawn Camp came in the game. He was awful and Cito left him in too long, finally pulling him after J.D. Drew hit a 3 run homer to make it a 1 run game. Fortunately Jason Frasor got a tough 4 out save. Frasor is going to be a personal favorite for the rest of his career for me, half because he saved me from throwing my laptop across the room. Frasor held up well to the pressure of all those loud Red Sox fans and he struck out Kevin Youkilis with the tying run on second.

Jays of the Day are Frasor (.243), Lind (.194) and Millar (.098, who'd have thought he'd get another JoD this season?) Honorable mention to Hill, Romero and Bautista (leadoff first pitch homer and a nice sliding catch). Suckage Jay is Shawn Camp (-.182).

That was a really fun game and we got to put off the Red Sox playoff celebration for a little bit. Yes I'm pissed off at Cito for leaving Camp in too long and I'm more pissed off at JP for having a team that has no replacements on the bench in September. What would have happened if Johnny Mac or Hill had twisted an ankle tonight? Or Wells or Bautista? But let's enjoy the game tonight and rant tomorrow.

Tomorrow the Jays go for the sweep against Tim Wakefield (11-4, 4.33). Roy Halladay (16-10, 2.90) starts for us. Edwin Encarnacion is out with a groin injury. The Red Sox called up a player just today, you would think the Jays, with no replacement players, would, you know, call someone up too. You would think.

This come from behind stuff is great, why couldn't we do this earlier in the season?

Tom Dakers — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:57:19 -0000

More photos » by Darren Calabrese - AP

2 months ago: From left to right, Toronto Blue Jays' John McDonald, Travis Snider, Jose Bautista, Aaron Hill and Vernon Wells celebrate their 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners during AL baseball game action in Toronto on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Darren Calabrese)

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Mariners 4 Blue Jays 5

I don't understand why we would pinch hit for Randy Ruiz today when we wouldn't pinch hit for Chavez, McDonald or Bautista the other day, but it worked out. Adam Lind comes in the 8th to hit for Ruiz and singles in the tying run. Rod Barajas follows that with a doulbe to bring in the winning run.

Brian Tallet pitched us 7 strong innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 walks and striking out 6. Actually 6 strong innings and one poor one, he gave up 3 solo homers in the 5th. Brian Wolfe came in in the 8th and gave up another solo homer but got the win, since we came back o his watch. Shawn Camp pitched the 9th to get his first save of the season.

We got 9 hits on the day, 2 for Bautista, one each for everyone else that swung a bat except for Aaron Hill and Edwin Encarnacion. Even Kevin Millar had a hit, though if you watch the replay it went through SS Josh Wilson. I'd have called it an error.

Jays of the Day are Lind (.298 WPA, nice when you can be JoD with one swing of the bat), Barajas (.205), Camp (.168) and Bautista (.116). Suckage Jays are Encarnacion (-.210) and Vernon Wells (-.140).

We start a 3 game series in Boston tomorrow with Scott Richmond (7-10, 5.32) going against Josh Beckett (16-6, 3.78).

The Jays finish the season 44-37 at home, unfortunately they made us play on the road too.