SB Nation - Rick Porcello

Evening Prowl: Voting Verlander, Ernie Harwell, and Granderson's Hitting

Ian Casselberry — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:00:13 -0000

MLive.com's Steve Kornacki was the one voter who put Justin Verlander on the top of his AL Cy Young Award ballot. (25 went to the winner, K.C.'s Zack Greinke, with two going to Seattle's Felix Hernandez.) Kornacki based his vote on Verlander showing toughness under pennant race pressure, something Greinke and Hernandez didn't have to worry about.

Jason Beck transcribed highlights from last night's interview between Bob Costas and Ernie Harwell on MLB Network (which I forgot to post a reminder about). As you might imagine, Harwell was warm, funny, and poignant. Perhaps the most impressive part of the interview was Ernie reciting his Hall of Fame induction speech completely from memory.

Unfortunately, I don't know when (or if) MLB Network will replay the show. If I find out anything (or if anyone else knows), I'll try to post that information (or any clips that pop up online) here.

UPDATE: Two clips are on now on MLB.com. In the first, Harwell remembers Jackie Robinson. The second is Ernie's Hall of Fame speech. (via True Blue L.A.)

At The Detroit Tigers Weblog, Bill Ferris tries to figure out why Curtis Granderson's batting average slid so far in 2009. Did he try to pull the ball too much, as some believe? Hit too many fly balls? Bill compares his spray charts over each of the last three seasons to get some answers.

Baseball Prospectus' Christina Kahrl got to vote for the AL Rookie of the Year, and explains her ballot in this article. She was one of eight who didn't vote for the Tigers' Rick Porcello.

(I have to admit, when I first heard about so many writers leaving Kid Rick off the ballot, I was baffled. But then I remembered that only three players go on the ballot. So while I don't necessarily agree with it, leaving Porcello off under those circumstances is more understandable. I'm kind of biased, of course.)

Matt Wallace chimes in on recent trade rumors at Take 75 North, and likes the idea that the Tigers are trying to get younger (and don't intend to trade away prospects for veterans). But he's not down with trading Curtis Granderson.

At Baseball Musings, David Pinto is writing profiles for the 968 players who pitched at least 20 innings or had 50 at-bats in the major leagues last year, going from "A" to "Z." Yesterday, Tigers catcher Alex Avila was featured.

Chris Jaffe of the Hardball Times has written a book called Evaluating Baseball's Managers, 1876-2008, which will be available in December. You can read an excerpt about former Tigers manager Billy Martin at the HT website, which includes how hard he rode pitchers such as Mickey Lolich.

Talking Chop knows it won't happen, but would love to see the Braves (and their surplus of starting pitching) make a run at Miguel Cabrera.

Brew Crew Ball has a trade suggestion between the Tigers and Brewers (fueled largely by the idea of trimming payroll), but I don't think any Tigers fans would be on board with this one.

The general manager of the Tigers' Class A Lakeland team, Zach Burek, was interviewed by A Penny's Worth about the business of running a minor league franchise and the considerations that need to be made for the offseason, weather, etc.

(via The Detroit Tigers Weblog)

The Minnesota Twins will be sporting some fancy new threads to go along with their new ballpark next season. Big League Stew has a look at the retro 1961 uniforms that will be worn on Opening Day and home Saturday ballgames. The Twins will also get new road uniforms, which also have a bit of a retro touch.

Marlins Chris Coghlan, A's Andrew Bailey named top rookies

Eli Greenspan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:55:55 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Browse more photos »

MLB announced that Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan and A's closer Andrew Bailey were awarded the Rookie of the Year honors for the 2009 season.

Coghlan edged out Phillies pitcher J.A. Happ while Bailey edged Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus, who beat Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello by one point for the second spot.

SB Nation - Baseball writers voted Tommy Hanson in the NL and Andrus in the AL, with Coghlan finishing fourth and Bailey finishing second.

Do you guys think that Coghlan and Bailey were the right picks for the awards?

Elvis Andrus finishes 2nd in ROY balloting

Adam J. Morris — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:36:15 -0000

So the announcement is out, and Elvis Andrus finished second in the Rookie of the Year balloting, finishing behind Andrew Bailey, who came in first place, and ahead of third place finisher Rick Porcello.

Disappointing that Andrus didn't win, but Bailey is a worthy choice as well, and it is impressive that Andrus finished as high as he did, given that his offensive numbers weren't overwhelming...it is good to know that folks did pay attention to his sterling defense this year.

UPDATE -- The full results.

Verlander and Cabrera Have DIBS on Tigers Awards

Ian Casselberry — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:05:11 -0000

More photos » by Jae C. Hong - AP

With 19 wins and 269 strikeouts among his many impressive stats, Justin Verlander was voted Tigers Pitcher of the Year and Most Improved Player by the Detroit Independent Baseball Scribes for 2009.

Browse more photos »

After a two-year hiatus, the Detroit Independent Baseball Scribes (or "DIBS") have reunited to nominate their choices for the top Detroit Tigers performers of the season

DIBS is a grouping of blogs and websites that cover the Tigers. The endeavor was originally created by Brian Borawski, Bill Ferris, and Ryan Sosin, who wanted to gather the various fans and writers producing non-traditional Detroit sports coverage online. There wasn't an awards vote last year, but Kurt Mensching wanted to get the band back together this year, adding the many new blogs and writers that now regularly contribute to the Tigers blogosphere. Kudos to him for taking this on.

The categories are for Hitter of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Breakout Player of the Year, and Most Improved Player. And the winners are as follows:

Tigers Hitter of the Year: Miguel Cabrera

One of two unanimous choices in this year's voting, there was really no competition for this award. With a .324/.396/.547 average with 34 home runs and 103 RBIs, Cabrera put together a fine season overall. And on a team whose lineup struggled all year, those numbers stand out even more. No, it wasn't perfect. Cabrera seemed to disappear in several big games and series. And of course, there were the unfortunate events of October 3. But no one else was as consistent a threat throughout the year.

Tigers Pitcher of the Year: Justin Verlander

Once again, a unanimous choice. The Tigers wouldn't have been in a pennant race, let alone played in a one-game tiebreaker for the AL Central, without Verlander putting together a Cy Young Award caliber season. He led the majors in strikeouts (by a notable margin in the AL), and was one of four pitchers to finish with 19 wins. It was the dominant season expected of him, and had the Tigers' lineup provided better offensive support, those numbers would have been even more impressive.

Breakout Player of the Year: Rick Porcello

A 20-year-old rookie who was expected to pitch in Double-A to begin the season ended up the Tigers' second-best pitcher and the starter for their most important game of the year. If that's not a breakout season, what is? Porcello wasn't a unanimous choice, with votes going to Ryan Raburn and Edwin Jackson. And I understand those choices.. But at this time last year, I don't know if Porcello was even projected to be on the major league roster for 2009.

Most Improved Player: Justin Verlander

A jump from 11 wins to 19? A drop in ERA from 4.84 to 3.45? An increase of 39 innings pitched? And how about an increase in strikeouts from 163 to 269? Any of those improvements by themselves might have warranted Verlander getting this award. But he did all of the above. Verlander won 11 of 20 votes, with Fernando Rodney, Raburn, Brandon Inge, Brandon Lyon, Jackson, and Ramon Santiago also receiving consideration.

Each of the websites that participated in this year's DIBS voting are listed after the jump:

Bless You Boys -- Ian Casselberry
Daily Fungo -- Mike McClary
DesigNate Robertson -- Scott Rogowski
Detroit Tigers Den -- Austin Drake
Detroit Tigers Weblog -- Bill Ferris
Eye of the Tigers -- J. Ellet Lambie
Fire Jim Leyland -- Mike Rogers
It's Just Sports -- Patrick Hayes
Jamie Samuelsen's Blog (Freep.com) -- Jamie Samuelsen
Mack Avenue Tigers -- Kurt Mensching
The Cutoff Man (MLive.com) -- James Schmehl and Scott Warheit
Old English D -- Jennifer Cosey
Roar of the Tigers -- Samara Pearlstein
Spot Starters -- Blake VandeBunte
Take 75 North -- Matt Wallace
Tigers Amateur Analysis -- Erin Saelzler
Tigerblog -- Brian Borawski
Tiger Geist -- John Brunn
Tiger Tales -- Lee Panas
Tiger Tracks -- John Parent
Where Have You Gone, Johnny Grubb? -- Greg Eno

Weekend Prowl: Hendry Wants Grandy, What Dombrowski Wants, Arizona Fall League, and the Tiger of the Year

Ian Casselberry — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:00:27 -0000

The Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers heard from a source close to the Cubs that said general manager Jim Hendry is "absolutely" interested a package full of prospects to the Tigers for Curtis Granderson. (And really, if he wasn't, would Hendry be doing his job?)

The key word in Rogers' second paragraph, however, is "if." If Dave Dombrowski is willing to trade Granderson, Hendry wants a shot at him.

(via MLB Trade Rumors)

At The LoHud Yankees Blog, Sam Borden doesn't think Granderson is necessarily a fit for the World Series champs. And if the Tigers want Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain in a deal, he believes the Yanks should pass.

That kind of pitching might be exactly what Dombrowski is looking for, judging from what Brewers GM Doug Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel about conversations regarding Edwin Jackson.

As Jason Beck points out, that's more than just seeing what other teams have to offer. But it might also indicate that these trades aren't being considered simply to reduce payroll.

The Detroit Tigers Weblog posted some Arizona Fall League updates. Reliever Robbie Weinhardt and outfielder Casper Wells continue to be standouts. (Wells left Thursday's game after legging out an infield hit, but turned out to be fine.)

The Washington Nationals could have an opening at shortstop (they'd like to move Cristian Guzman over to second base), and one of the guys on their wish list to fill it is Adam Everett, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi. The note makes it sound, however, as if the Nats' first choice is Alex Gonzalez.

For all those Tigers fans who hope Placido Polanco doesn't end up with the Minnesota Twins next season, maybe you shouldn't read this post at Twins Target. Andrew Kneeland is another Twins blogger who thinks Polanco would be a great fit for them, giving them a #2 hitter they've rarely had.

Speaking of Everett, Jeff Zimmerman at Beyond the Box Score projects him to be the leader in UZR at shortstop for 2010.

(via @MackAveTigers on Twitter)

This is a few days old, but if the Tigers are truly interested in trading Jackson, Bucs Dugout wants the Pirates to get in on that action (and thinks closer Matt Capps, along with a couple of prospects, could do it).

At The Spot Starters, Blake VandeBunte has been ranking the Top 109 Seasons in Detroit Tigers history. Team 92 on his list is the 1999 Tigers. Reading through Blake's post, I recalled quite a bit of affection for that squad. Maybe because it was the last team to play in Tiger Stadium?

ESPN.com's Keith Law made his picks for five of the six postseason awards (Insider). (He passed on the NL Cy Young, because he actually cast a ballot in that vote.) Tigers fans will probably agree with his choice for AL Rookie of the Year.

Lost in all the trade rumor and speculation that unexpectedly exploded this week? Justin Verlander was unanimously voted Tiger of the Year by the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Jayson Stark wonders if Cliff Lee was the greatest trade deadline starting pitcher acquisition ever (Insider). If he was listing the worst, where might Jarrod Washburn rank?

Don't Sleep on David Price

FreeZorilla — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:00:52 -0000

by Bill Kostroun - AP

David Price has seemingly gone incognito from the public expectations.

View full size photo »

It sure seems strange to be writing this. A year ago, David Price was on the cover of every pre-season baseball preview. The former #1 overall pick's triumphant pose following the 2008 ALCS was etched into history and people were projecting him as the 2009 staff ace. DRaysBay urged caution with the two-pitch lefthander, but when Price began the season in Durham, fans mercilessly were calling the Rays cheap. Then, David Price debuted and he pretty much struck out or walked every batter while struggling to make it into the fifth inning. Meanwhile Jeff Niemann emerged as a surprise rookie of the year candidate along with Brett Anderson of Oakland and Rick Porcello of Detroit. Very quietly, Price seemed to reinvent himself over the 2nd half of the season, both walking and striking out fewer hitters. However, his ratio was improving as was his ground ball percentage. Over the final two months of the season, price finished with a GB% north of 44%. He also began throwing his changeup, his missing third pitch, with more frequency and greater confidence. The change actually ended the season as his top-ranked pitch according to linear weights Runs Above Average per 100 pitches at .88. Below is a comparison of the Tale of Two Prices:

	FIP	ERA	BB/9	K/9	BA	OBP	SLG
1st Half	5.31	4.70	6.3	9.6	0.241	0.360	0.429
2nd Half	4.37	4.27	2.5	5.9	0.241	0.296	0.380

They profile like entirely different pitchers. Let's see how 2^nd half Price fared against the seasonal numbers of Anderson, Porcello, and Niemann:

	Age	FIP	xFIP	ERA	BB/9	K/9	BA	OBP	SLG	GB%
Rick Porcello	20	4.77	4.52	3.96	2.7	4.7	0.267	0.323	0.416	54.2%
Brett Anderson	21	3.69	3.8	4.06	2.3	7.7	0.265	0.312	0.399	50.9%
Jeff Niemann	26	4.07	4.74	3.94	2.9	6.2	0.266	0.33	0.399	40.5%
David Price	24	4.59	4.72	4.42	3.8	7.2	0.241	0.319	0.397	41.5%
Price 2nd half	24	4.37	N/A	4.27	2.5	5.9	0.241	0.296	0.380	N/A

The three-pitch Price measures up nicely with the rest of this crowd. Of course, other rookies may also have improved as the season progressed. There's a bias that favors Porcello and Anderson in that they pitch more frequently against weaker hitters. Below you will see the average BB and K%'s of the teams in each division:

	BB%	K%	K/BB
AL East	9.76%	19.32%	1.98
AL Central	8.86%	19.68%	2.22
AL West	8.13%	19.95%	2.45

There is a 1.63% difference between in walks between the AL East and West. This does not even take into account some of the hitter friendly ballparks of the East. What if we were to look at how each pitcher fared vs. each division sorted by FIP (small sample size alert)?:

	FIP	IP	K/9	BB/9
Niemann AL Central	3.13	54.4	7.11	1.49
Anderson AL Central	3.18	45.4	8.13	2.38
Price AL Central	3.27	29.3	9.22	3.69
Anderson AL West	3.66	70	7.07	2.19
Anderson AL East	4.18	51	7.94	2.29
Porcello Central	4.56	77.3	4.54	2.45
Niemann AL East	4.61	63.9	5.92	3.8
Niemann AL West	4.72	47.3	5.71	3.04
Price AL West	4.81	23.6	8.01	6.1
Price AL East	4.93	57.7	6.24	2.96
Porcello East	5.08	31.4	4.59	3.44
Porcello West	5.91	38.4	5.39	2.34

77 innings in the weak Central saved Porcello as his FIP was north of 5 against the rest of the American League. The sensational Anderson clearly comes out the best as he was the top dog against the East and West, and placed 2^nd in the Central. One important caveat: Each pitcher faced each team a different amount of times. Price was heavily penalized in the West with all 26.3 innings coming against Texas and Anaheim. Had he had the chance to face Seattle and/or Oakland, it is very likely he would have ranked higher.

I feel pretty comfortable projecting Price to rise to the top or at least alongside Anderson as the best pitcher in this crop. As he continues to gain confidence in his third offering and rediscover his prized slider, I would expect his K rate to improve again while maintaining a lower walk rate. Don't make the mistake of letting David Price be the forgotten man of the rotation.

A boatload of postseason awards

KLSnow — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:41:50 -0000

Because I've been away for a few days I've fallen behind on a couple of things, including the unveiling of the SBN and IBWAA postseason awards. My apologies. Let's start with the SBN Awards:

If you read any of the other SBN baseball sites, you may have seen some of these, but if you don't, they're new to you. Two BCB writers contributed to each of the NL awards: I had one vote, and TheJay had the other. I'll publish my ballot below the results, and leave it up to TheJay to decide if he wants to post his.

SBN NL Manager of the Year:

Rk	Manager	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Jim Tracy	Colorado Rockies	24	1	2	125
2	Tony LaRussa	St. Louis Cardinals	3	7	10	46
3	Fredi Gonzalez	Florida Marlins	2	6	5	33
4	Joe Torre	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	9	2	29
5	Charlie Manuel	Philadelphia Phillies	-	3	5	14
6	Bruce Bochy	San Francisco Giants	1	1	1	9
7	Bobby Cox	Atlanta Braves	-	1	4	7
8	Bud Black	San Diego Padres	-	1	1	4
9	John Russell	Pittsburgh Pirates	-	1	-	3

My ballot:
1. Jim Tracy
2. Fredi Gonzalez
3. Joe Torre

I have no other comment on this award, except this side note: Nine of sixteen NL Managers received at least one vote, meaning more NL managers were acknowledged than not, and yet Ken Macha didn't appear on a single ballot.

SBN NL Rookie of the Year:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tommy Hanson	Atlanta Braves	9	9	6	78
2	J.A. Happ	Philadelphia Phillies	6	9	7	64
3	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	8	3	5	54
4	Chris Coghlan	Florida Marlins	7	5	4	54
5	Dexter Fowler	Colorado Rockies	-	3	1	10
6	Randy Wells	Chicago Cubs	-	-	6	6
7	Garrett Jones	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	-	-	5
8	Casey McGehee	Milwaukee Brewers	-	1	2	5
9	Seth Smith	Colorado Rockies	-	1	-	3

My ballot:
1. Tommy Hanson
2. J.A. Happ
3. Casey McGehee

It was a tough year to be an NL Rookie - McGehee's performance might have rated higher in other years, but this season he was overshadowed by a bunch of high-impact players.

SBN NL Cy Young:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tim Lincecum	San Francisco Giants	18	13	-	129
2	Chris Carpenter	St. Louis Cardinals	9	4	7	64
3	Adam Wainwright	St. Louis Cardinals	4	4	10	42
4	Javier Vazquez	Atlanta Braves	-	5	7	22
5	Dan Haren	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	3	4	13
6	Ubaldo Jimenez	Colorado Rockies	-	1	1	4
7	Cliff Lee	Philadephia Phillies	-	-	1	1
8	Jair Jurrjens	Atlanta Braves	-	-	1	1

My ballot:
1. Tim Lincecum
2. Javier Vazquez
3. Adam Wainwright
4. Chris Carpenter
5. Dan Haren

The SBN ballot only asked for three pitchers, but I also voted in the IBWAA awards, which required five. The IBWAA completed their slate of awards today, naming their MVP and Cy Young Award winners for both leagues. Here are their results:

IBWAA NL Manager of the Year:

1. Jim Tracy, Colorado Rockies
2. Joe Torre, Los Angeles Dodgers
3 (tie). Bruce Bochy, San Francisco Giants
3 (tie). Fredi Gonzalez, Florida Marlins

IBWAA NL Rookie of the Year:

1. Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves
2. Chris Coghlan, Florida Marlins
3. J.A. Happ, Philadelphia Phillies

IBWAA NL Comeback Player of the Year:

1. Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
2. Troy Tulowitzski, Colorado Rockies
3. Rafael Furcal, Los Angeles Dodgers

IBWAA NL Executive of the Year:

1. Dan O'Dowd, Colorado Rockies
2. John Mozeliak, St. Louis Cardinals
3. Ned Colletti, Los Angeles Dodgers

IBWAA NL Cy Young:

1. Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
2. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
3. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
4. Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins
5. Javier Vazquez, Atlanta Braves

IBWAA NL Most Valuable Player:

1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
2. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
3. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
4. (tie) Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
4. (tie) Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
6. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
7. Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
8. Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers
9. Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
10. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

The SBN MVP award balloting will be unveiled tomorrow. Follow the jump for the AL awards for both SBN and the IBWAA.

IBWAA Cy Young and MVP Awards have yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, in the AL:

SBN AL Manager of the Year:

Rk	Manager	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Mike Scioscia	Los Angeles Angels	9	8	3	72
2	Ron Gardenhire	Minnesota Twins	9	5	1	61
3	Don Wakamatsu	Seattle Mariners	6	3	8	47
4	Joe Girardi	New York Yankees	2	4	2	24
5	Ron Washington	Texas Rangers	1	4	4	21
6	Terry Francona	Boston Red Sox	1	1	3	11
7	Jim Leyland	Detroit Tigers	-	2	4	10
8	Joe Maddon	Tampa Bay Rays	-	1	1	4
9	Ozzie Guillen	Chicago White Sox	-	-	1	1
10	Trey Hillman	Kansas City Royals	-	-	1	1

SBN AL Rookie of the Year:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Elvis Andrus	Texas Rangers	6	9	6	63
2	Andrew Bailey	Oakland Athletics	11	1	3	61
3	Jeff Niemann	Tampa Bay Rays	3	5	3	33
4	Rick Porcello	Detroit Tigers	2	7	2	33
5	Brett Anderson	Oakland Athletics	5	1	3	31
6	Gordon Beckham	Chicago White Sox	1	2	8	19
7	Nolan Reimold	Baltimore Orioles	1	-	1	6
8	Matt Wieters	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	3	6
9	Brad Bergesen	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	-	3
10	Ricky Romero	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3
11	Travis Snider	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3

SBN AL Cy Young:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Zack Greinke	Kansas City Royals	28	1	-	143
2	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	-	17	6	57
3	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	-	8	9	33
4	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	1	2	11	22
5	C.C. Sabathia	New York Yankees	-	1	2	5
6	Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	-	-	1	1

IBWAA AL Manager of the Year:
1. Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins
2. Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
3. Joe Girardi (New York Yankees)

IBWAA AL Rookie of the Year:
1. Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers
2. Andrew Bailey, Oakland Athletics
3. Jeff Niemann, Tampa Bay Rays

IBWAA AL Comeback Player of the Year:
1. Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays
2. Russell Branyan, Seattle Mariners
3. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

IBWAA AL Executive of the Year:
1. Brian Cashman, New York Yankees
2. Tony Reagins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
3. Jon Daniels, Texas Rangers

IBWAA AL Cy Young:
1. Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals
2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
3. CC Sabathia, New York Yankees
4. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
5. Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays

IBWAA AL Most Valuable Player:
1. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
2. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
3. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
4. Kendry Morales, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
5. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
6. Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals
7. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
8. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners
9. (tie) Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays
9. (tie) Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox

SB Nation Awards: 2009 American League Rookie of the Year

Jesse — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:16:21 -0000

Next round of the year's awards!

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Elvis Andrus	Texas Rangers	6	9	6	63
2	Andrew Bailey	Oakland Athletics	11	1	3	61
3	Jeff Niemann	Tampa Bay Rays	3	5	3	33
4	Rick Porcello	Detroit Tigers	2	7	2	33
5	Brett Anderson	Oakland Athletics	5	1	3	31
6	Gordon Beckham	Chicago White Sox	1	2	8	19
7	Nolan Reimold	Baltimore Orioles	1	-	1	6
8	Matt Wieters	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	3	6
9	Brad Bergesen	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	-	3
10	Ricky Romero	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3
11	Travis Snider	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3

I feel pretty good about these results too because, if I remember correctly, I voted pretty closely here too. I want to say I went Andrus-Bailey-Porcello. Beckham's year was underwhelming, Wieters was disappointing considering the hype and, as the tally shows, there were really only two choices for top pick.

My only question: RICK PORCELLO IS JUST 20 YEARS OLD!

Okay, so it's not a question...

Poll

Of the top five, who would get your vote for AL Rookie of the Year?

Elvis Andrus, SS, 20 yrs, 541 PA, 17 2B, 6 HR, 33/39 SB, .267/.329/.373

57 votes

Andrew Bailey, CL, 25 yrs, 83.1 IP, 91 K, 1.84 ERA, 0.88 WHIP

58 votes

Jeff Niemann, SP, 26 yrs, 30 GS, 180.2 IP, 125 K, 3.94 ERA, 1.35 ERA

9 votes

Rick Porcello, SP, 20 yrs, 31 GS, 170.2 IP, 89 K, 3.96 ERA, 1.34 WHIP

69 votes

Brett Anderson, SP, 21 yrs, 30 GS, 175.1 IP, 150 K, 4.06 ERA, 1.28 WHIP

17 votes

210 votes | Poll has closed

2009 SBN Baseball Awards: AL Rookie of the Year

Ian Casselberry — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:00:23 -0000

This week, we're posting the results for each of Major League Baseball's regular season awards, as voted upon by the SB Nation baseball bloggers. (Each site gets two ballots; Mack Avenue Tigers' Kurt Mensching helped me out with a vote.)

Today's announcement is for the 2009 Rookie of the Year balloting. This is the one award a Tigers player may have had his best chance with. How did Detroit's Kid Rick do?

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Elvis Andrus	Texas Rangers	6	9	6	63
2	Andrew Bailey	Oakland Athletics	11	1	3	61
3	Jeff Niemann	Tampa Bay Rays	3	5	3	33
4	Rick Porcello	Detroit Tigers	2	7	2	33
5	Brett Anderson	Oakland Athletics	5	1	3	31
6	Gordon Beckham	Chicago White Sox	1	2	8	19
7	Nolan Reimold	Baltimore Orioles	1	-	1	6
8	Matt Wieters	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	3	6
9	Brad Bergesen	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	-	3
10	Ricky Romero	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3
11	Travis Snider	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3

I have to say, this one surprises me. I'm not surprised Rick Porcello didn't win. Everyday position players usually (and should) get more consideration. But I didn't think Kid Rick would finish behind two other pitchers. I'm biased, of course. Guess who my first-place vote went to?

Elvis Andrus got the second-place vote on my ballot, with Gordon Beckham in third. There was probably some AL Central bias there, as I saw Beckham play more than the other candidates. I suppose that gave him the edge over Andrew Bailey for me.

How would you have voted?

Tomorrow, we'll have SBN's Cy Young winners, and we'll conclude with the Most Valuable Players on Thursday.

The National League ballot is after the jump:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tommy Hanson	Atlanta Braves	9	9	6	78
2	J.A. Happ	Philadelphia Phillies	6	9	7	64
3	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	8	3	5	54
4	Chris Coghlan	Florida Marlins	7	5	4	54
5	Dexter Fowler	Colorado Rockies	-	3	1	10
6	Randy Wells	Chicago Cubs	-	-	6	6
7	Garrett Jones	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	-	-	5
8	Casey McGehee	Milwaukee Brewers	-	1	2	5
9	Seth Smith	Colorado Rockies	-	1	-	3

2009 SBNation Awards: Rookie Of The Year

Al — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:40 -0000

by Nam Y. Huh - AP

Randy Wells had a fine rookie year and finished sixth in SBN rookie balloting.

View full size photo »

Count me as one of those surprised at the SBN Rookie of the Year balloting. Neither J.A. Happ nor Chris Coghlan, the two players named at the top of the BCB ballots, won. Tommy Hanson is a deserving recipient, no doubt, but I was sure that Happ was going to win. The third-place vote I gave Randy Wells is, admittely, a homer pick.

The AL balloting, for which BCB had no vote, was very close, with only two points separating the top two. If I did have a vote for the AL ROY, it would have gone to Gordon Beckham.

BCB ballots:

Al: 1) J.A. Happ 2) Tommy Hanson 3) Randy Wells      
Mike: 1) Chris Coghlan 2) J.A. Happ 3) Tommy Hanson

National League

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tommy Hanson	Atlanta Braves	9	9	6	78
2	J.A. Happ	Philadelphia Phillies	6	9	7	64
3	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	8	3	5	54
4	Chris Coghlan	Florida Marlins	7	5	4	54
5	Dexter Fowler	Colorado Rockies	-	3	1	10
6	Randy Wells	Chicago Cubs	-	-	6	6
7	Garrett Jones	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	-	-	5
8	Casey McGehee	Milwaukee Brewers	-	1	2	5
9	Seth Smith	Colorado Rockies	-	1	-	3

American League

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Elvis Andrus	Texas Rangers	6	9	6	63
2	Andrew Bailey	Oakland Athletics	11	1	3	61
3	Jeff Niemann	Tampa Bay Rays	3	5	3	33
4	Rick Porcello	Detroit Tigers	2	7	2	33
5	Brett Anderson	Oakland Athletics	5	1	3	31
6	Gordon Beckham	Chicago White Sox	1	2	8	19
7	Nolan Reimold	Baltimore Orioles	1	-	1	6
8	Matt Wieters	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	3	6
9	Brad Bergesen	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	-	3
10	Ricky Romero	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3
11	Travis Snider	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3