Loge Level

Back from a long absence to contribute some end of season MLB ballots:

AL

MVP: 1. A-Rod, 2. Magglio Ordonez, 3. David Ortiz, 4. Ichiro, 5. Jorge Posada.
Comment: It’s a slam dunk, even I can’t take away anything from the punk-ass’s season. C.C. Sabathia, Mike Lowell, Carlos Pena, Victor Martinez and Placido Polanco would round out my top 10.

Cy Young: 1. C.C. Sabathia, 2. Josh Beckett, 3. John Lackey, 4. J.J. Putz, 5. Fausto Carmona.
Comment: It’s so close between Beckett and Sabathia, and while I think it will be hard to deny the game’s only 20-game winner a Cy Young award, Sabathia has been slightly better with less run support and more ip, more k and more quality starts. Kelvim Escobar, Johan Santana, Dan Haren, Scott Kazmir and Erik Bedard would round out my top 10.

ROY: 1. Dustin Pedroia, 2. Delmon Young, 3. Daisuke Matsuzaka, 4. Brian Bannister, 5. Jeremy Guthrie.
Comment: Young and Pedroia are close, and you’d think Young might get the nod because of power, but I was surprised to see Pedroia has a higher slugging percentage, on-base percentage and OPS. And young only had five more HR with a total of 13. So, Young’s only significant advantages are in RBI (which is negated by Pedroia’s equally large advantage in runs scored) and hits (which is solely because Pedroia wasn’t a full-time starter until late May. The three SP are all very close, and while Dice-K’s ERA is higher, he also has the most wins, most ip, the most QS, and far and away more K. I’ll admit he’s been disappointing, but had he gotten Beckett’s run support before the last six-week slide he would have been a 20-game winner with that bad ERA. Rafael Perez, Hideki Okajima, Joakim Soria, Reggie Willits and Akinori Iwamura round out the top 10, while Joba Chmaberlain wasn’t around long enough to get consideration.

MOY: 1. Eric Wedge, 2. Terry Francona, 3. Mike Scoscia, 4. Joe Torre, 5. John Gibbons.

NL

MVP: 1. Jimmy Rollins, 2. Prince Fielder, 3. Matt Holliday, 4. Chipper Jones, 5. Jake Peavy.
Comment: I’m not of the opinion the MVP “must” play for a contender, but I prefer it. But a “contender” doesn’t mean “playoff team.” So, I was convinced I’d pick Fielder until Rollins went 30-30 and seemed to kick-start Philly’s push. It’s close, but to me Rollins is every bit as valuable than Fielder and playing his best at the most important time and taking a team with no more overall talent farther while playing a premium position. Holliday and Chipper could be flip-flopped, too. Peavy could have jumped both. Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, David Wright, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard round out the top 10. Was difficult to leave out Hanley Ramirez (but he’s awful defensively), Soriano and Brandon Webb, but I love the phillies.

Cy Young: 1. Peavy, 2. Brandon Webb, 3. Aaron Harang, 4. Trevor Hoffman, 5. Brad Penny.
Comment: Next to AL MVP, this was the largest runaway. Harang was worth every bot of his $40 million — Arroyo not so much. Jose Valverde, Tim Hudson, Cole Hamels, John Smoltz and Roy Oswalt round out the top 10.

ROY: 1. Ryan Braun, 2. Troy Tulowitzki, 3. Hunter Pence, 4. Pete Moylan, 5. Kyle Kendrick.
Comment: The top three are out of this world, and James Loney was great in his half season, but the rest are far off the outrageous pace Braun, Tulowitzki and Pence set. If this were like the MVP award, it would be Tulowitzki’s but it’s not and you also can’t penalize Braun for Milawukee’s failure to promote him until almost June. Had he started the season in the majors he might have broken McGwire’s rookie HR record. Tim Lincecum, James Loney, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Chris Young (solely based on HR) and Micah Owings round out the top 10.

MOY: 1. Bob Melvin, 2. Charlie Manuel, 3. Clint Hurdle, 4. Bud Black.
Comment: Really, any of those managers could win it and I wouldn’t have a problem with it. The Diamondbacks have no business beign in contention — let alone winning their division — with that lineup. What the Phillies have done in spite of their pitching and maybe the most injuries of any contender is remarkable — even if I think Manuel has little to do with it.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 29th, 2007 at 11:57 am and is filed under MLB, Moxie Legion Baseball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.