You're probably thinking, "Okay, yeah, the Crawfish Boxes had a Manager of the Year post this morning. Way to gravy train it, Astros County." And we could see how you would think that. However, it's not true. I mean, yes, the Crawfish Boxes did have an identical post this morning, but there's a different story to why we're doing it today. As a member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, we are to vote on major awards, and the deadline for the Manager of the Year voting is tomorrow. So, in the absence of any real Astros news from the last 24 hours, we'll take this opportunity to put our votes forward today.
Each ballot must have three names, so you'll see the voting and rationale below. Quick disclaimer: This award is ridiculous. We hate it. Our old friend Anonymous can write in telling us how stupid we are and make a good case.
American League
3rd Place: Terry Francona - Boston
Francona dealt with an astounding number of injuries throughout the season, and while the Red Sox were never really in the hunt for a playoff spot - thanks to their divisional competition - their 89-73 record was quite impressive.
2nd Place: Ron Gardenhire - Minnesota
The Twins did what the Twins do, and that's win the AL Central and go to the playoffs with a fairly low payroll.
1st Place: Ron Washington - Texas
Not 15 months ago Ron Washington was snorting coke after a game. Now he's managing the Rangers in the playoffs for the first time this decade, having destroyed AL West competition! No team won their division by a wider margin than the Rangers' nine-ame cushion.
National League
3rd Place: Dusty Baker - Cincinnati
Basically everybody put the Magic Number for the Cardinals at 162 from Opening Day. So when the Reds got swept by the Cardinals in August, but finished the month 19-8, anyway, it showed their resilience. With the mixture of veterans and youth, and the emergence of Joey Votto as a superstar, Baker stood at the helm.
2nd Place: Bobby Cox - Atlanta
Cox will likely get votes based on his Last Season, and all that, but it's pretty well-deserved. The Braves went toe-to-toe with the Phillies all season, and still made the playoffs despite losing Chipper Jones (in Houston. Sorry, Larry Wayne) and a number of others to injury.
1st Place: Bud Black - San Diego
This is a team that was paying its players $2.13/hour + tips, and if it hadn't been for a 10-game losing streak late in the season, would be in the playoffs getting the crap kicked out of them by the Phillies. Bud Black took a team of Adrian Gonzalez, Heath Bell, and 23 Other Guys from a 75-87 record to the brink of the postseason.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Ron Gardenhire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ron Gardenhire. Show all posts
Monday, October 11, 2010
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Major Awards
As the lone Houston Astros representative of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, and as bloggers don’t have a voice in voting on the major end-of-season awards, the BBA is holding their own voting. Below is my ballot for the major awards. Complain if you like.
National League Rookie of the Year
Chris Coghlan, Florida
Batting in the leadoff spot in 446 of his 504 ABs, Coghlan posted a line of .336/.397/.473 and a season total of .321/.390/.460 with 46 total extra-base hits. His .850 OPS was 22nd in the National League.
2. J.A. Happ, Philadelphia
3. Tommy Hanson, Atlanta
American League Rookie of the Year
Andrew Bailey, Oakland
The 25-year old Bailey was thrust into the closer role following the Huston Street/Matt Holliday trade, and he proceeded to put up 26 saves with a 1.84 ERA/0.88 WHIP. Striking out 91 batters in 83.1IP, Bailey only blew four saves all year, and allowed 2+ER in a game only three times, and only gave up two earned runs from July 31 until the end of the season (both earned coming in the same game, on September 5).
2. Rick Porcello, Detroit
3. Elvis Andrus, Texas
National League Manager of the Year
Jim Tracy, Colorado
It’s a song we’ve all heard before, and TBS won’t let us forget. How Tracy took a team that was 18-28 end up 92-70, win the Wild Card, and make a serious run at the Dodgers for the NL West title.
2. Fredi Gonzalez, Florida
3. Tony LaRussa, St. Louis
American League Manager of the Year
Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota
Yes, Mike Scioscia’s Angels had to overcome a whole lot of adversity at the beginning of the year, and I’m happy they’re in the playoffs. Yes, Joe Girardi won 103 games. But with a payroll of $8.4 billion (approximately), they should have done that well. Ron Gardenhire took a team that was without Justin Morneau for the final few weeks of the season, made up seven games from September 6 to take the AL Central from the Tigers, which looked to be a vastly superior team. The Twins might get it handed to them by the Yankees, but Gardenhire deserves this award.
2. Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
3. Ron Washington, Texas Rangers of Texas
National League Cy Young Award
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco
No, it’s not because I’m an Astros fan and won’t give it to a Cardinal. Tim Lincecum finished in the Top Five in Wins (4th), Strikeouts (1st), WHIP (4th), Complete Games (1st), Innings Pitched (3rd), ERA (2nd), and Win% (5th). Three of his losses came in quality starts, and in seven of his quality starts he received a No Decision.
2. Chris Carpenter, St. Louis
3. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis
American League Cy Young Award
Zack Greinke, Kansas City
Child, please. Greinke had the best ERA and WHIP in the American League, and won 16 of his team’s 65 games. Righties only hit .211 off of him. He got a no decision in eight quality starts, and in four of those starts he allowed 0 or 1 run. If the Royals can score two runs for him in those games, he finishes 20-8.
2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle
3. C.C. Sabathia, New York
National League MVP
Albert Pujols, St. Louis
This is a no-brainer. Prince Albert had the NL-Best in homers, SLG (exactly 50% of his 186 hits were for extra-bases), OBP, OPS, and runs. His Triple Crown run came up short, but he did finish in the Top 3 in BA and RBI, as well. Pujols also only struck out 64 times all season. He’ll be the 2nd $300 million man, but will actually be the first to deserve it.
2. Hanley Ramirez, Florida
3. Chase Utley, Philadelphia
4. Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego
5. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee
6. Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco
7. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado
8. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia
9. Ryan Zimmerman, Washington
10. Andre Ethier, Los Angeles
American League MVP
Joe Mauer, Minnesota
I wanted to go against everyone else and give it to Jeter, but I just couldn’t ignore that Mauer hit .365 over 138 games and had the top BA, OBP, SLG (and, obviously, OPS) in the American League. Like Pujols, Mauer had an upside-down K:BB ratio (63K:76BB), and hit .376 in August and September.
2. Derek Jeter, New York
3. Kendry Morales, Los Angeles
4. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit
5. Mark Teixeira, New York
6. Kevin Youkilis, Boston
7. Adam Lind, Toronto
8. Chone Figgins, Los Angeles
9. Jason Bay, Boston
10. Zack Greinke, Kansas City
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National League Rookie of the Year
Chris Coghlan, Florida
Batting in the leadoff spot in 446 of his 504 ABs, Coghlan posted a line of .336/.397/.473 and a season total of .321/.390/.460 with 46 total extra-base hits. His .850 OPS was 22nd in the National League.
2. J.A. Happ, Philadelphia
3. Tommy Hanson, Atlanta
American League Rookie of the Year
Andrew Bailey, Oakland
The 25-year old Bailey was thrust into the closer role following the Huston Street/Matt Holliday trade, and he proceeded to put up 26 saves with a 1.84 ERA/0.88 WHIP. Striking out 91 batters in 83.1IP, Bailey only blew four saves all year, and allowed 2+ER in a game only three times, and only gave up two earned runs from July 31 until the end of the season (both earned coming in the same game, on September 5).
2. Rick Porcello, Detroit
3. Elvis Andrus, Texas
National League Manager of the Year
Jim Tracy, Colorado
It’s a song we’ve all heard before, and TBS won’t let us forget. How Tracy took a team that was 18-28 end up 92-70, win the Wild Card, and make a serious run at the Dodgers for the NL West title.
2. Fredi Gonzalez, Florida
3. Tony LaRussa, St. Louis
American League Manager of the Year
Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota
Yes, Mike Scioscia’s Angels had to overcome a whole lot of adversity at the beginning of the year, and I’m happy they’re in the playoffs. Yes, Joe Girardi won 103 games. But with a payroll of $8.4 billion (approximately), they should have done that well. Ron Gardenhire took a team that was without Justin Morneau for the final few weeks of the season, made up seven games from September 6 to take the AL Central from the Tigers, which looked to be a vastly superior team. The Twins might get it handed to them by the Yankees, but Gardenhire deserves this award.
2. Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
3. Ron Washington, Texas Rangers of Texas
National League Cy Young Award
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco
No, it’s not because I’m an Astros fan and won’t give it to a Cardinal. Tim Lincecum finished in the Top Five in Wins (4th), Strikeouts (1st), WHIP (4th), Complete Games (1st), Innings Pitched (3rd), ERA (2nd), and Win% (5th). Three of his losses came in quality starts, and in seven of his quality starts he received a No Decision.
2. Chris Carpenter, St. Louis
3. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis
American League Cy Young Award
Zack Greinke, Kansas City
Child, please. Greinke had the best ERA and WHIP in the American League, and won 16 of his team’s 65 games. Righties only hit .211 off of him. He got a no decision in eight quality starts, and in four of those starts he allowed 0 or 1 run. If the Royals can score two runs for him in those games, he finishes 20-8.
2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle
3. C.C. Sabathia, New York
National League MVP
Albert Pujols, St. Louis
This is a no-brainer. Prince Albert had the NL-Best in homers, SLG (exactly 50% of his 186 hits were for extra-bases), OBP, OPS, and runs. His Triple Crown run came up short, but he did finish in the Top 3 in BA and RBI, as well. Pujols also only struck out 64 times all season. He’ll be the 2nd $300 million man, but will actually be the first to deserve it.
2. Hanley Ramirez, Florida
3. Chase Utley, Philadelphia
4. Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego
5. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee
6. Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco
7. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado
8. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia
9. Ryan Zimmerman, Washington
10. Andre Ethier, Los Angeles
American League MVP
Joe Mauer, Minnesota
I wanted to go against everyone else and give it to Jeter, but I just couldn’t ignore that Mauer hit .365 over 138 games and had the top BA, OBP, SLG (and, obviously, OPS) in the American League. Like Pujols, Mauer had an upside-down K:BB ratio (63K:76BB), and hit .376 in August and September.
2. Derek Jeter, New York
3. Kendry Morales, Los Angeles
4. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit
5. Mark Teixeira, New York
6. Kevin Youkilis, Boston
7. Adam Lind, Toronto
8. Chone Figgins, Los Angeles
9. Jason Bay, Boston
10. Zack Greinke, Kansas City
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