SB Nation User Blog: redbirdnation8206

More Evidence that I'm Glad TLR is Here

redbirdnation8206 — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:15:01 -0000

More Evidence that I'm Glad TLR is Here

Jerry Manuel may be the strangest person in all of baseball, and now he strikes again. I have problems with Tony La Russa as a manager...but he's not this guy.

R.I.P. George Kissell, 1920-2008

redbirdnation8206 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:31:10 -0000

Today, Cardinal Nation lost one of its icons. George Kissell, a man known as "The Professor," died this morning in Florida as a result of an automobile accident. Kissell, 88, dedicated his life to the Cardinals, spending nearly seven decades wearing the Birds on Bat. He appeared at spring training 68 of the past 69 years, teaching and inspiring countless Redbirds along the way. In his article over this topic, Derrick Goold notes that Kissell was forced to cut back on his role over the past few years due to his wife's health problems, however he still made his appearances, working with young players on various aspects of the game.

Some other Kissell tidbits:

He was on Tony La Russa's staff for the 2005 All-Star Game in Detroit.
He won the King of Baseball Award in 1993 for his contributions to minor league baseball.
He is commemorated with a plaque in Jupiter, which was unveiled in 2005.
He was a mentor to Sparky Anderson, Tony La Russa, and Joe Torre, men with thousands of combined wins and more than a handful of World Series rings.
He is credited with turning Ken Boyer into an MVP award-winning 3rd baseman

The list goes on and on...I don't have the time, nor does anyone, to fully list what this man has meant to the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

Kissell's passing is a great tragedy, one that I am sure will be covered more eloquently by others in the coming days, probably on this very blog. However, as a lifelong Cardinals fan, I feel greatly saddened by this loss and felt I had to express my sadness to a group of people who would understand.

R.I.P. George Kissell...you will be missed by this fan of 33 years.

Sources: Derrick Goold, The AP

Post Season Awards, AL Version

redbirdnation8206 — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:00:44 -0000

About a week and a half ago, I made a post regarding the MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year Awards for the Senior Circuit. A decent number of people responded, so I thought an AL version may be a good idea. I went ahead and named two in each category: a should win, as in who really deserves the award, and a will win, as in who the writers are most likely to pick. Once again, if you feel I am a contemptible moron, please feel free to say so!

Oh, here is the NL version if you're curious.

MVP: Alex Rodriguez (should win), Dustin Pedroia (will win)

This choice may seem a hair out of left field. But just look at the numbers. A-Rod is having a remarkable silent, yet monsterously beast-ish season. His slash line clicks in at .304/.393/.584, with 34 home runs, good enough for second in the AL. He leads the AL in slugging percentage, and is second in OPS. He also leads the AL in VORP and is second is EQA. Now, the man ahead of him in many of these categories is Milton Bradley, who is overshadowed a bit by his more famous teammate Josh Hamiltion and plays on a team that was out of the race the second they broke camp with this abomination of a pitching staff. Bradley has been the best hitter, however he's also a DH. In my mind, a player who plays reasonably well at a position and mashes is more valuable then a guy who mashes a bit better but sits on his can for most of the game. Therefore, my choice is A-Rod. Of course, he has no prayer b/c he is so unclutch and therefore sent Joba and Wang to the DL and made Hughes and Kennedy ineffective and made Captain Clutch have a bad year and made Posada get hurt and made Cano stink up the joint and so on and so forth...

One other guy needs to be discussed here: Carlos Quentin. I think he would be right in the middle of the discussion, in terms of both who should win and who will win. The guy was in the middle of a very very good year. He still leads the AL in yacks, despite having not played since September 1st. He's fourth in OBP, third in OPS, and third in EQA. I think I still would have gone w/ A-Rod over Quentin, but Quentin has ben trule wonderful this season and deserves mention here.

Now, who will win? It seems that Pedroia has become the chic pick. He's had a tremendous season to be sure. He's the batting champion at this point, a stat that writers seem to like. He's also very high in OBP and has the second highest OPS amongst all second basemen. He's also a solid fielder, clicking in fourth in RZR with 33 OOZ plays. Plus, he played very well in during Papi's injury and the Manny drama. Do I think he should win? Uhh...no. He's not even been the best hitter at his position...But, alas, I'm not the one voting. I think Pedroia's fortitude or scrappiness or whatever will get him there with the writers.

Cy Young: Cliff Lee (both)

Lee gets a lot of pub for his high win total and high win percentage. I think that wins are almost completely meaningless as a measure of a pitcher's value, but in his case things are a hair different. His team is not particularly good, and yet he's having a brilliant season win-wise. He's also not just the benefactor of good play behind him or anything like that. He's got the lowest FIP in the AL, clocking in at 2.78, a very impressive figure considering that he has to face DH's instead of pitchers and whatnot. He's second in the AL in BB/9, has a K/BB ratio of 5.61. This guy is having a hell of a year, and may very well win Comeback Player of the Year too. He's a deserving choice...I worry that K-Rod will get more votes then he deserves b/c of his record-setting year, but I have faith that the voters will make the right choice this year.

Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria (both)

Now, you all are probably sitting out there saying "but wait, redbirdnation8206, you wouldn't pick Quentin, and he was out for a really long time, so why are you picking a guy who hasn't played the whole season with his team? You're a contemptable hypocrite!!!" I would say...well, it's not really the same. Fewer rookies play well enough to deserve the award then do non-rookies going for the MVP award, if that makes any sense. Longoria has an EQA of .311, plays a very good third base, has 22 bombs, has arguably been the best hitter on one of the best teams in the league, is second amongst all rookie position players in VORP, and his name is very similar to this person, of whom you may have heard. What more needs to be said? He's also "carried," whatever that means, baseball's new darling little franchise, the Rays, who as you all may have heard, did battle with the evil Dr. Stat. Anyway, I think the writers don't seem to know of any other rookies in the American League. I'm really exaggerating here, but I think that they'll recognize Longoria's great contributions to his team, as well as the great partial year he's had and how that partial year is still more valuable than what his rookie peers have done. In other words, I think he'll win.

Damn, that was a lot of words to say that Longoria should and will win.

Post Season Awards

redbirdnation8206 — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:49:43 -0000

The 2008 regular season is, at this time, not yet over. In fact, it's not really that close to being over. However, given that our beloved Birds on Bat seem to be pretty much toast at this point, I've begun to put some thought into the award winners in the two leagues, and for the sake of brevity I'll just bang out my list for the NL today. Obviously this is not a Cardinals specific topic, but I think we can all agree we're fans of the game first (or at least second), and therefore have at least a morbid fascination with who wins these awards. Without any further ado, here is what I've come up with. Feel free to ponder my idiocity in these particular picks, and I do not mind if you feel my picks are, for lack of a better term, dumb. I don't mind! Oh, and PS...I included a who will win and who should win category for each, as they are often not the same (see MVP race, 2007, Senior Circuit...)

MVP: Albert Pujols (should win), Ryan Braun (will win)

As has been said on here a time or two-dozen, Albert Pujols is, hands down, the best player in the National League, and probably all of baseball too. His numbers this season are, once again, staggering. He leads the league in OBP and OPS, and is quite far ahead of the next guy in the latter category. He also has 30 home runs, again, and plays a sterling first base. However, the guy, despite being considered great by all, is still underrated by the mainstream media (ahem, ESPN, ahem) and does not receive nearly the pub he deserves.

So...given that Pujols is guaranteed to be overlooked, I have to go with my gut and say that Ryan Braun will grab this honor this year. Despite posting a pretty low OBP (.344), the guy has a respectable OPS and has more home runs than anyone not left-handed and gargantuan. Furthermore, writers don't seem to care much about OBP, seeing as how Rollins won last year with an OBP identical to Braun's. If you take that out, his line is pretty impressive, and his team is going to be in the playoffs, which adds that almighty playoff team thing. So, my gut says Braun is going to steal another award this season. Chase Utley or David Wright could probably enter into the discussion as well (and would probably make better candidates if you used the redbirdnation8206 criteria) depending on which team makes the playoffs, which, once again, writers get giddy over. C.C. could probably get some votes as well, but pitchers should not win the MVP except in specific circumstances...at least in my book.

Cy Young Award: Tim Lincecum (should), Brandon Webb (will)

Lincecum is the best pitcher in the NL who has been there the whole season (C.C., I'm looking at you sir). He's number one in ERA (and FIP, in case you're curious) and ERA+, he's number one in K/9, number one in total K's (and by a lot too), and has allowed the fewest HR/G of anyone in the NL. If you think wins are important, which I don't, Lincecum would probably have several more if he played on a non-awful team. I think in his chat today on this very subject Jayson Start said he had like 5 blown saves behind him or something like that, plus several starts with almost zilch run support. Simply put, Lincecum has pitched better than anyone in the NL this year in my book. He's my choice.

Webb, on the other hand, has the most wins. Is that stupid? Um, duh. But that's just the way the cookie crumbles on that one. The rest of his line is pretty decent, really. His K/9 is pretty far down the list at 7.8, but the guy is a sinkerballer so he can dominate a game without punching out a ton of folks. He's third in FIP, ahead of guys with lower ERAs (i.e. Santana, Haren). His K/BB is a very respectable 3.14, which is rather far down the list but good nonetheless. Did I mention he's leading the league in wins? The stupidity of that "logic" is fodder for another day, but writers still cling to it like some sacred object of a bygone era. It's a measure of your manliness, or clutchitude, or your will to dominate, or something like that. Plus, it's what you play the game to do, to win, and starting pitchers have ultimate control over that, right? Anyway, snark aside, Webb has been very good this season and will probably be rewarded with a second Cy Young.

Now, this topic is not complete until a certain gigantic left-hander is brought into the discussion. C.C. has been utterly lights-out since become a Beermaker. As one AL scout said, putting him in the NL midseason is simply unfair. The man has the NL lead in shutouts in all of 11 games, and probably should have a no-hitter as well. He has a microscopic 1.43 ERA, and has K'ed batsmen at a rate of 9.6/game. He also hardly ever walks anybody. I think if he has an unbelievable September he very well may win this thing. However, I'm not sure that's right given the presence of other viable candidates that a guy who has been with the team about half the season should win this thing. That's just how I feel. And, in some ways, Lincecum has STILL outpitched him. His FIP is STILL lower than C.C.'s, and he has a higher K/G. This should be a very interesting issue once it is all said and done. It's a shame they can't give C.C. something, b/c his arrival utterly changed the landscape of the NL Central, and probably of the whole NL too. I mean, Sabathia, Sheets, Parra, Suppan is a pretty solid crew to run out there in a short series, don't you think?

Rookie of the Year: Geovany Soto (both)

Despite being a Cub, and therefore scum of the Earth and worse at life then a cockroach (HYPERBOLE ALERT...and I suppose cockroaches are good at life, I mean they don't die easily...hmmm...), Soto is a beast with a bat in his hands. This is one that isn't up for debate at all. The only other guy with a case is Joey Votto, and Soto is a catcher who has him lapped in pretty much everything. 31 doubles, 21 home runs, an OPS of .890, and a decent catcher to boot. I mean, he hasn't gotten in a fight with Big Z, so that counts for something, right? He's a HUGE part of the Flubs' success this season. I feel only slightly queezy about giving him this award.

I suppose I could go ahead and bang out the Manager of the Year, Exec of the Year, and the Gold Glovers, but really those awards are somewhat uninteresting to me. I couldn't even tell you the last five Managers and Execs, and the Gold Glove is a joke and is time-consuming to predict anyway. So, I will leave the good folks of VEB with just this. I feel like I've given a pretty good rundown of my opinions on this issue, and have used some respectable logic as well, but if not feel free to say whatever you like. I may do an AL version if there is decent feedback, but of course, if no one gives a particular crap, then this is all I'll do. It's whatever, as my kids say to me.

Enjoy!

Update to a previous FanPost

redbirdnation8206 — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:11:35 -0000

Maybe this isn't a good fanpost, maybe it is. Frankly, I don't care...

A few weeks back, I made a FanPost entitled "An Escape from Life at Busch Stadium." In it, I detailed the circumstances of my grandmother's final days and the events which surrounded me when I attended a Cardinals game the day before heading to South Bend to say goodbye to her. I was astonished to see no less than 10 recommendeds on the post. I just felt like writing out my feelings, explaining how an experience at Busch had helped me deal with the passing of someone I loved, and amazingly at least 10 people "recommended" it. I hadn't expected that.

Anyway, back to the original reason for THIS FanPost. My grandmother, Janette Gwynne Starr, passed away on a Sunday in June of 2008. This was a woman who had survived the Great Depression, WW2 (as a relative of many who fought in Europe and the Pacific, with luckily no fatalities), the turbulent years of the 50's and 60's, and a bought of lymphatic cancer and the diabetes/heart attack of her husband of decades. However, a second round of cancer was too much for her. This particular strain spread up her spine and into her skull before the oncologists batted an eye or filled out a chart. It would be easy for me to blame these folks for delaying in aiding a sick old woman, but my late grandmother would never allow that from me. That's not who she was. This was a woman who had had her own wedding hi-jacked by the whims of her stupid and insensitive soon-to-be in-laws, my great aunt and uncle, and yet went along with it to make her married life as happy as possible. She was a tough and gritty woman, right up until the end, willing to stare death right in the face instead of attempting desperate, and clearly futile, efforts to prolong her life. She was courageous beyond all belief, a woman who showed a great deal of love for her grandkids and great-grandkids, asking me how my own daughters were doing even as she lay dying, her body ravaged by a cruel disease.

Equally courageous was my grandfather, a man who did not fight in the war himself because of crippling pain in his left knee caused by a misdiagnosed torn-ACL that went untreated for 10 years. He did nothing for a month but comfort my grandmother, call the hospice folks, and handle phone calls from concerned relatives, all in order to make everything as comfortable as possible for my grandmother. He was a man raised in an era which forbid men from crying for any reason, and yet openly wept at the prospect of losing the woman who had given him three wonderful daughters (including my mother), and with whom he had spent nearly three-quarters of a century.

I will never forget my grandmother, nor will I ever forget the kindness that some of you showed here on this web forum devoted to such an extraneous thing as the St. Louis Cardinals. I thank everyone who took, or will take, the time to read either of these FanPosts, and I ask only that you remember that some things go beyond baseball, and that this glorious game can act as a crutch to help us hobble through the darkest of times in our lives. Thank you so very much, and I hope that you all never have to deal with anything this painful in your own lives. A truly hopeless wish, and yet...

An Escape From Life at Busch Stadium

redbirdnation8206 — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 05:02:58 -0000

I've not written a Fanpost/Diary in quite some time, and with good reason. I feel I generally don't have anything worth creating one about, considering the wonderful job our regular posters (Lboros, Azru, et al) do creating interesting "main" threads and generating discussion within them. I also don't have time, as the majority of my life is devoted to more important things, like my family and whatnot. However, something has come out that is only slightly baseball related that I wish to share with the entire community. So here it goes:

Two years ago, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. She underwent surgery, chemo, radiation, physical therapy, and a great deal of embarrassing examination by a series of doctors. Eventually she was declared "cancer-free," and while she still had some difficulties involving uncomfortable swelling everything seemed to be quite fine.

Sadly, cancer isn't always that pretty. Roughly a month and a half ago she returned to her oncologist for a routine checkup and discovered the cancer had returned and had attached to a lymph node. After rushing around to a series of oncologists and radiologists and other-ologists, the cancer seemed to be relatively treatable. She had a strange setback involving extreme hunger, dehydration, and some powerful sleeping pills, and also underwent another surgery, but as of ten days ago everything seemed to be turning around. But then something came down like a ton of bricks. Her surgery scar ripped open, revealing cancerous growths (I'm not doctor, so the exact term escapes me) inside the muscle tissue. Biopsies revealed the cancer had spread remarkably rapidly, and by eight days ago the sonofabitch had spread up her spine and into the bones in the back of her skull.

After some scrambling about, my courageous grandmother interrupted a radiation treatment and asked the doctor how much time she had left. "Not much," was his reply. Immediately she called off all radiation, chemo, etc., and asked to be transferred home. She told my mother and her sisters that she had no regrets, and that she was perfectly content and ready to pass on. In the time since, things have accelerated rapidly. She's had serious bowel issues (i.e. no BMs for nearly two weeks), and is beginning to slip in and out of conscioussness more and more rapidly. How much time she has left is questionable, but it isn't much. Tomorrow, my wife, mother (it's my maternal grandmother FTR), and myself are driving to South Bend to see her and spend what precious little time we have left together. But there was one thing we had to do first...

Today, my father, sister, and myself traveled to Busch III to take in the Cardinals and Phillies at Busch the Third. We sat in section 170, in row 18, and watched as the St. Charles West (the HS of which I am an alum) choir sang "God Bless America." Then the game began, and Adam Kennedy of all people pops a home run into the right field seats to put my boys up 2-0. Lohse pitches a beautiful game, failing only against Pat Burrell, surrendering a two-run home run to make the game 3-2. However, the BOB held on from there, sealing a win.

Clearly I was thrilled at a Cardinals victory. However, to me this game meant far more. It was a chance to escape the nightmare cancer has brought to my family. It was a chance to temporarily escape the fact that my grandmother, such a witty, bright, and loving woman has been trapped inside her failing body and a hospice bed that will likely be her last place on Earth. It was sort of a last gasp of normality before traveling to see my grandmother for the last time.

After Ryan Franklin retired the final Philadelphia batter, a wave of emotions crashed over me. It occurred to me then and there that my next task in life was to say goodbye to "Gramma S" as I used to call her. I began to openly cry, in a section full of fans. My father and sister joined in, and we all had a big cry right there in our seats. I have no earthly clue how long we sat there, just watching people file past and watching the Cardinals take their handshakes and clear out of the dugout. After it was over, all I could think to do was to whisper a thank you to my grandma for being such a wonderful woman, and to whisper a thank you to the St. Louis Cardinals for giving me something so pure to hold onto while I hope to muster half the courage my grandmother has shown over the past few weeks.

The All-Albatross Contract Tournament

redbirdnation8206 — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:28:24 -0000

After the recent Torii Hunter signing, I sat around and contemplated the worst contracts in baseball. I'm not talking "Oh gosh why are we paying Rolen that much?" type deals. I'm talking franchise-crippling, mind numbingly dumb contracts, ones that make people like Keith Law punch themselves repeatedly in the face. I'm talking ones that make you want to take a stack of money and light it on fire, b/c that heat would be more valuable than the player involved. Here's my 1-8 (these aren't really seeds, per se, just the order I found them), and they're going to duke it out for All-Albatross honors:

T1. Gary Matthews, Jr.: 5 yrs. 55 mill for a 4th outfielder who they just replaced...all for a sweet catch and one year completely out of line with his career numbers.

Barry Zito: 7 yrs, 126 million for a middle of the rotation starter. This is possibly one of the worst pitcher's contracts ever, and makes Johan Santana and Jake Peavy the exclusive property of the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Angels when/if they hit free agency.
Richie Sexson: 4 yrs., 50 million, posted a .295 OBP this year. He's 32 years old, has declined steeply since 05, and clocked in at -10 batting runs this year according to Baseball Reference.
Carlos Lee: 6 yrs, 100 million...Well this one was ok this year b/c he did have a good year, but the dude is 31 and weighs a metric ton...how long before he literally cannot move anymore?
Juan Pierre: 'Nuf said really. To make his situation even more ghastly, he's blocking Ethier, Kemp, and Young, and may be one of the worst regular starters in baseball. Well, other than the BOB's new starting SS.
Miguel Tejada: 6 yrs, 72 million. He lead the O's in three offensive categories last year...AB/K, HBP, and IBB. The dude is in serious decline mode and will probably have to move positions. Trading that contract is going to be a bitch.
Francisco Cordero: 4 yrs., 46 million. I'm generally of the opinion that paying a closer that much moolah is just plain crazy talk in the first place, especially one who isn't as good as Rivera, Papelbon, Putz, Nathan, or hell even maybe Izzy. His away split last season was quite dreadful, posting a 6.5+ ERA in away games.
Garrett Anderson: 4 yrs., 48 million. I was tempted to go with Hunter here, but I think I've got to go w/ Anderson b/c he's older and he's not as good. The guy's never been much of an OBP machine, and in 05 he went as low as .306. That's worse than Aaron Miles. He actually had an okay year this year though, w/ a 114 OPS+. But according to Baseball-reference he made 11 million for that season. Ew.

This list is by no means perfect. Any other suggestions would be welcome. I think my personal answer is Gary Matthews, Jr. That much dough for a guy who is now their 4th outfielder, who has never slugged .450 (save one freak season), hit 20 home runs, OBP higher than .351 (except that freak 06 season), and has only been above 100 in OPS+ 3 times is so wasteful it makes me laugh. Way to go Arte, at least you have the cash to toss around.

Poll

Who wins?

Zito

54 votes

Sexy

7 votes

Lee

1 votes

Pierre

9 votes

Tejada

0 votes

Cordero

2 votes

Anderson

1 votes

Other

4 votes

GM, Jr.

13 votes

91 votes | Poll has closed

Keith Law's Top 50 Free Agents

redbirdnation8206 — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:20:30 -0000

Everyone's favorite writer Keith Law has made his way onto ESPN.com today with his Top 50 free agents list. I gotta say, it's pretty bleak. David Eckstein is his #15, and Mr. Law isn't exactly high on him.

Two guys do pop out as intriguing however: Bartolo Colon and Kenny Rogers.

Colon's name has been bandied about here before, mainly b/c he definately has plus-stuff when healthy. I also read an article over at USS Mariner that made me think he wouldn't be a horrible guy to gamble on. Basically, the argument they made in support of him is that if he's healthy, he's a horse w/ plus stuff. Also, his ERA has been inflated over the past 2 years b/c he was really unhealthy in 06, and in 07 he had a super poor strandrate and an abnormal BABIP, despite improved stuff. Now, of course Colon is a huge risk. There is a pretty good shot he'll never be healthy again due to his not-exactly-dogged approach to his conditioning (think a more-talented Sidney Ponson). However, I think given his issues he could be had for about one year, 10-11 million. If the Cards could run some tests and make sure he was fully healthy, and manage to bring him aboard, 10 million bucks for a pitcher of his caliber is a steal, considering what Kyle Lohse is likely to get this offseason. With Wainwright figuring to be a horse again, and with Piniero filling in as at least an innings eater, and with Mulder and Carp giving some kind of contribution somewhere along the line, I think that Colon could fit in even if he only goes 150 innings or so.

Rogers intrigues me as well. I feel that his case is similar to Colon's in that his injury issues last year (+ age in this case) make him unlikely to receive a large contract. However, Rogers has been pretty reliable in recent years. From 02-06 he made 30 starts every year and had an above-league-average ERA every year but the one he pitched in the Homer Dome. A lot of interest has been paid to Tom Glavine, and I see Rogers as a poor-man's Glavine. He's primarily a fastball-changeup pitcher (w/ an occasional plus curveball, which Glavine doesn't have) who relies on execution, not stuff, to get guys out. Switching leagues couldn't hurt either, and he wouldn't exactly be going into a brutal division. I think he could probably be had for a relative bargain as well.

I also want to point out a line in Law's piece that got my attention. In regards to Josh Fogg, Law writes "His 'Dragon Slayer' rep will also help him, at least among general managers who confuse baseball with World of Warcraft." I thought that was a decent attempt at humor, and it is something that Fogg will probably be able to cash in on...I won games vs. good pitchers, so give me a big contract! Since, of course, pitchers win games by themselves just by their mere presence I suppose.

Freaking Jerk Writers

redbirdnation8206 — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 22:58:41 -0000

So according to the story, Joel Zumaya was helping his folks move some stuff out of their home while a massive wildfire was bearing down. So this jerk writer comes out and says that Zumaya should have been more careful with his arm.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/SPORTS02/711020408/1048/SPORTS

While I understand the point that Zumaya should play less Guitar Hero so he can stay healthy and whatnot...But he was being stupid HELPING MOVE STUFF OUT OF HIS MOM AND DAD'S FREAKING HOUSE SO IT DOESN'T GET BURNED UP? What a jackass. Some things are more freaking important than pitching a few baseball GAMES. I realize this isn't really diary worthy...but it just made me so freaking pissed.

'07 Rookie of the Year

redbirdnation8206 — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:27:08 -0000

I know that this is a Cardinals-based site...But seeing as how the Cardinals aren't playing anymore and the Rockies's insane white-hot run of amazingness is almost over, I thought I'd get some thoughts on something I've been debating amongst some of my baseball-fan coworkers lately:

Ryan Braun vs. Troy Tulowitzki

We'll do Tulowitzki first. The guy is a pretty damn good shortstop, and has a legitimate chance at winning the GG at that spot this year. He finished first in RF, second in ZR, had a FRAR of 46 only made 11 errors and led the league in FP...these last two being pretty impressive given his incredible range. Offensively, hit put up a 108 OPS+, had a .359 OBP and slugged .479, hit 24 home runs (5th amongst NL SS and 3rd amongst rookies) and ranked 4th amongst NL SS's in OPS. He also has the advantage of being a major contributor for the Rockies from day one, and he was certainly a big part of that amazing run they went on at the end of the season, hitting 6 home runs in September.

Ryan Braun obviously didn't break camp as a member of the big club, and really only came up b/c of necessity. Of course, once he got there, he was plugged into the middle of the lineup right away. He put up a gaudy .634 slugging percentage with a 1.004 OPS. He also hit 34 homers (5th in the NL overall), put up a 8.4 RC/G, had a .325 EQR, and (not to be a stupid sportswriter here) drove in 97 runs in 112 games. Basically, the dude raked like crazy and had a rookie season like Albert Pujols's with the bat.

The only thing that makes this even up for debate is the fact that Braun is a butcher defensively. This is the image that comes to mind in regards to Braun's, ahem, skills at third:

<http://www.cinematical.com/images/2005/11/edwardscissorhands.jpg>

He made 26 errors, ticked in at -17 FRAR, had a RF of 2.11, and a ZR of .697. Basically, had Braun simply not played third at all, he would have been a better fielder than what he was. Pretty brutal.

So the question is Braun's offensive brilliance vs. Tulo's all around solidity (is that a word? probably not, oh well). Normally, I'm a big believer in overall contribution. However, Braun's offensive performance this season was so incredible that I have to give it to him.

But what do you all think?

Poll

Edward Scissorhands vs. Cal Ripken Jr., Jr.

Tulowitzki

52 votes

Braun

24 votes

76 votes | Poll has closed