26 and Counting

No Cy for CC

2009-11-17T20:03:34Z

Our ALCS MVP didn't come away with the 2009 Cy Young award like I hoped. Instead it was Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals.

Greinke only won 16 games (which could have been more if the Royals' offense had offered some support) but had an incredible ERA of 2.16 and a strikeout total of 242.

Felix Hernandez finished second with Justin Verlander, CC Sabathia, and Roy Halladay behind him.

I would go into more detail, but I'm currently trying to figure out my spring schedule for classes next semester. (Which is very, very aggravating!!)

I'm Famous!!!!

2009-11-17T02:16:07Z

Wow... this day started off pretty good but then went totally downhill. This was a nice pick-me-up.

Thanks MLBlogs!!

(P.S. There's only one problem: No one reads my posts; it feels like I writing to a brick wall. I better try and fix that somehow.)

Bailey & Coghlan Capture Rookie of the Year Awards

2009-11-16T21:03:03Z

AL Rookie of the Year - Andrew Bailey

NL Rookie of the Year - Chris Coghlan

Honestly, I can't tell you much about their seasons. (If this was Brett Gardner or Alfredo Aceves, it would have been a different story. But....) Bailey had 26 saves along with a 1.84 ERA as a reliever. Coghlan finished with a batting average of .321 along with 84 runs, 162 hits (including 94 in August and September), 31 doubles, and an OBP of .390.

Pretty impressive, huh?

Congratulations to them both.

As for the announcements of other awards:

Tuesday: American League Cy Young

Wednesday: Manager of the Year for both leagues

Thursday: National League Cy Young

Next Monday: American League Most Valuable Player

Next Tuesday: National League Most Valuable Player

Let's keep our fingers cross that CC Sabathia, Derek Jeter (or Mark Teixeira), and Joe Girardi each come away with an award.

I know, I know, I'm getting somewhat greedy. But a girl can dream, right?

Update 5:48 PM: Bailey is on the Oakland Athletics and Coghlan is on the Florida Marlins. :)

Oh Belichick, Way to Pull a Girardi...

2009-11-16T15:27:36Z

If you thought that Joe Girardi micro-managed his post-season bullpen to the nth degree, check out how Patriots' coach, Bill Belichick, micro-managed his team to a lost to the Indianapolis Colts last night

Un-freakin-believable. It's like that game three of the ACLS. You know? The one where Girardi took out David Robertson for Alfredo Aceves who immediately lost the game? Yeah, I know you remember, you just don't want to. Don't worry, I don't either.

Well, Belichick's 4th down decision late in the fourth quarter last night ultimately cost the Patriots the lost. Yeah you can blame two Pat's turnovers in the red zone prior (just like you can blame the lack of the Yanks offense in Game 3) but still.... what a terrible move.

Mr. T Was Rooting for the Yankees in the Fall Classic

2009-11-14T19:34:49Z

He said so himself.

I'm not surprised. Are you?

2009 Silver Sluggers Finally Announced

2009-11-12T23:18:05Z

Tonight, the 2009 Silver Slugger awards were handed out to the top hitters in the game...

American League Winners:

C - Joe Mauer (third Silver Slugger)

1B - Mark Teixeira (third SS)

2B - Aaron Hill (first SS)

3B - Evan Longoria (first SS)

SS - Derek Jeter (fourth SS)

OF - Ichiro Suzuki (third SS)

OF - Jason Bay (first SS)

OF - Torii Hunter (first SS)

DH - Adam Lind (first SS)

I did pretty good with my predictions of Mauer, Tex, Hill, Jeter, Bay, Hunter, and Lind . I guess I was kind of greedy when I thought that Alex Rodriguez might come away victorious. As for Ichiro, I was thinking about it, but to me, he's a very, very good hitter, but he's not a slugger. This is the Silver Sluggers, not the Silver Hitters. But nevertheless, Ichiro is still one of the best hitters of the game so he certainly deserves this award.

National League Winners:

P - Carlos Zambrano (third Silver Slugger)

C - Brian McCann (third SS)

1B - Albert Pujols (third SS)

2B - Chase Utley (fourth SS)

3B - Ryan Zimmerman (first SS)

SS - Hanley Ramirez (second SS)

OF - Ryan Braun (second SS)

OF - Matt Kemp (first SS)

OF - Andre Either (first SS)

My short Jayson Werth campaign came to an abrupt end. *Sigh*

Congrats to all!!

Minor League Yankees Named Triple-A All-Stars

2009-11-12T19:43:28Z

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees' Kevin Russo (2B) and Shelley Duncan (OF) were each named to the 2009 Topps Triple-A All-Star Team.

Russo, 25, finished fourth in Triple-A with a .326 batting average and added 18 doubles, five homers and 31 RBIs in 90 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Duncan, meanwhile, batted .277 with 30 home runs and 99 RBIs while being named International League MVP. The 30-year-old's home run and RBI totals with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ranked second and third, respectively, in Triple-A.

Congratulations to them both.

As for the other winners:

P - Lenny DiNardo (KC)

C - John Hester (ARI)

1B - Randy Ruiz (TOR)

3B - Andy Marte (CLE)

SS - Alcides Escobar (MIL)

OF - John Bowker (SF)

OF - Jordan Brown (CLE)

DH - Mitch Jones (LAA)

Who's Going to Win the Silver Sluggers in the American League?!

2009-11-12T18:20:02Z

Doug Miller's article goes into somewhat of a depth about who are the front runners for the Silver Slugger Award from both leagues. However, I'm going to focus on the AL, as it is in fact, home to the New York Yankees.

In the American League, there should be a plethora of new faces, but there's also a good chance that the catcher and shortstop positions will be locked up by the same players who took home the hardware in 2008.

Behind the plate, Minnesota's Joe Mauer, a favorite for the AL MVP award, should cruise to his second straight Silver Slugger after leading the league in batting average at .365 and adding a career high in home runs (28) and RBIs (96). Mauer is a good bet to outlast Boston's Victor Martinez (.303, 23 HRs, 108 RBIs) and Yankees veteran Jorge Posada (.285, 22 HRs, 81 RBIs).

And at shortstop, Derek Jeter once again shined for the World Series champions, hitting .334 with 18 homers and 66 RBIs, which could put him just a cut above Tampa Bay's Jason Bartlett (.320, 14 HRs, 66 RBIs) and Cleveland's Asdrubal Cabrera (.308, 6 HRs, 68 RBIs) for his fourth straight Silver Slugger

There is no doubt in my mind that Joe Mauer's going to get it. Jorge Posada's year was nothing special and Victor Martinez, though an upgrade over Jason Varitek, doesn't have nearly the same numbers has Mauer.

Around the rest of the infield, the AL did not have a shortage of big boppers at first base, and the Yankees' Mark Teixeira has serious Silver Slugger credentials after hitting .292 with an AL-high-tying 39 homers and a league-best 122 RBIs.

Teixeira will get tough competition from the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera (.324, 34 HRs, 103 RBIs), Kendry Morales of the Angels (.306, 34 HRs, 108 RBIs), Carlos Pena of the Rays (39 HRs, 100 RBIs) and last year's winner, Justin Morneau of the Twins (.274, 30 HRs, 100 RBIs in 2009).

Mark Teixeira should definitely get it. Though his average is considerably lower than his competitors, his 39 homers and 122 RBIs are the best in the AL. I honestly don't think there's much competition. Maybe from Carlos Pena.

At second base, defending Silver Slugger winner and last season's AL MVP Dustin Pedroia (.296, 15 HRs, 72 RBIs in 2009) of the Red Sox has his hands full in a particularly strong year at the position in the AL.

The front-runner from a statistical standpoint is Toronto's Aaron Hill, who enjoyed a breakout year by hitting .286 with 36 homers and 108 RBIs, and he's no shoo-in when compared to New York's Robinson Cano (.320, 25 HRs, 85 RBIs), Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist (.291, 27 HRs, 91 RBIs), Texas' Ian Kinsler (.253, 31 HRs, 86 RBIs) and Seattle's Jose Lopez (.272, 25 HRs, 96 RBIs).

I don't really care who wins just as long as it's not Dustin Pedroia. I would love to see Robinson Cano get it, but he was just about terrible when hitting with runners in scoring position.

Third base belonged to Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees in two of the past three seasons, but a late start because of hip surgery might end up costing him the Silver Slugger. Although A-Rod hit .286 with 30 homers and 100 RBIs, Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria (.281, 33 HRs, 113 RBIs) might take the Silver Slugger, or it could go to Michael Young of the Rangers, who hit .322 with 22 homers and 68 RBIs.

As much as I love Michael Young, there's no way that his going to get it. This is going to be a battle to the end for Alex Rodriguez and Evan Longoria. Rodriguez put up just as impressive numbers as Longoria despite missing the first month of the season.

Last year's Silver Slugger-winning outfielders in the AL were Josh Hamilton, Carlos Quentin and Grady Sizemore, but because of injuries and underperformance, there will likely be a new trio this year.

Boston's Jason Bay (.267, 36 HRs, 119 RBIs), Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki (.352, 11 HRs, 46 RBIs) and Minnesota's Michael Cuddyer (.276, 32 HRs, 94 RBIs) have good chances, as do Cleveland's Shin-Soo Choo (.300, 20 HRs, 86 RBIs), all three Angels outfielders (Torii Hunter, Bobby Abreu and Juan Rivera), Baltimore's Nick Markakis (.293, 18 HRs, 101 RBIs), Nelson Cruz of Texas (.260, 33 HRs, 76 RBIs) and New York's Nick Swisher and Johnny Damon.

I thought it was pretty funny how Nick Swisher and Johnny Damon were added at the end. There's noo way either of them will get one. As for who will? I have no blanking idea.

I was pretty surprised that Jayson Werth isn't mentioned. His average is low (.268) but did hit 36 HRs and 99 RBIs. I thought that he should have been at least considered. Oh well.

If I had to randomly guess I would say, Jason Bay, Michael Cuddyer, and Jayson Werth Nelson Cruz. But that's just a guess.

At designated hitter, Toronto's Adam Lind has a very good shot at his first Silver Slugger after batting .305 with 35 homers and 114 RBIs in his first full big league season. He'll get competition from Minnesota's Jason Kubel (.300, 28 HRs, 103 RBIs), New York's World Series MVP Hideki Matsui (.274, 28 HRs, 90 RBIs) and Boston's David Ortiz (.238, 28 HRs, 99 RBIs).

Oh look, it's another Yankee!! You have to admit though, Adam Lind has much better numbers. I don't see David Ortiz winning this year.

My final predictions:

C - Joe Mauer

1B - Mark Teixiera

2B - Aaron Hill

3B - Alex Rodriguez

SS - Derek Jeter

OF - Jayson Werth Nelson Cruz

OF - Torii Hunter

OF - Jason Bay

DH - Adam Lind

We'll see if I'm right...

Update 2:01 PM: Apparently I had a brain fart. As you all should know, Jayson Werth is a Phillie and the Phillies are in the National League. I have no idea WHY I thought he played in the American League. It was clearly a brain malfunction.

Nevertheless, he's still a top contender for one of the three NL outfield awards.

.... Ryan Braun of Milwaukee (.320, 32 HRs, 114 RBIs) should headline a deep field of contenders that also includes Washington's Adam Dunn (38 HRs, 105 RBIs), Philadelphia's Jayson Werth (.268, 36 HRs, 99 RBIs) and Raul Ibanez (.272, 34 HRs, 93 RBIs), the Dodgers' Andre Ethier (.272, 31 HRs, 106 RBIs) and Matt Kemp (.297, 26 HRs, 101 RBIs) and Houston's Carlos Lee (.300, 26 HRs, 102 RBIs).

Matsui in Boston's Outfield?! Are they CRAZY?!

2009-11-11T23:10:49Z

THIS IS MIND BOGGLING!!!

Holy smokes!!

Apparently the Red Sox have some sort of dilemma when it comes to left field.

(In case you forgot, this is the same left field that Manny Ramirez used to chill out in.)

The Red Sox have three options (according to that article) when it comes to left field:

Numbero Uno: Re-sign Jason Bay.

Numbero Dos: Sign FA Matt Holliday.

Numbero Tres: Sign FA Hideki Matsui.

Riiiiight.

The first two options makes TOTAL sense. The last one, not so much.

Hideki Matsui CANNOT play the field. If he could, then Joe Girardi would have played him at Citizens Bank Park during the World Series. I understand that there's an itty-bitty that Matsui will have healthier legs come Spring Training, but still. He's Hideki Matsui.

I'm still not sure if I want the Yankees to re-sign him or not. But, if they don't, I guess I don't really care where he goes. It's just going to be weird to see him go to Boston. And it's going to be even weirder to see him playing the outfield.

Update 7:02 PM: Apparently ex-Yankees' beat writer Pete Abraham agrees with me.

National League 3 (Teams) American League 1 (Team)

2009-11-11T22:59:03Z

Yesterday, we found out that Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira each won a Gold Glove. The Yankees were the only AL team to have two winners.

Today, the NL winners were announced. The Phillies, Cardinals, and Dodgers each have two award recipients.

Here are your victors:

P - Adam Wainwright (STL; first Gold Glove)

C - Yadier Molina (STL; second GG)

1B - Adrian Gonzalez (SD; second GG)

2B - Orlando Hudson (LAA; fourth GG)

3B - Ryan Zimmerman (WAS; firth GG)

SS - Jimmy Rollins (PHI; third GG)

OF - Shane Victorino (PHI; second GG)

OF - Michael Bourn (HOU; first GG)

OF - Matt Kemp (LAA; first GG)

Not bad, not bad. Lot of first-timers.

(I have to be honest with you: I've never heard of Michael Bourn in my entire life. *Gasp*)

Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira win Gold Gloves

2009-11-10T20:36:14Z

Like the title says, the Yankees' shortstop and first baseman each won a Gold Glove.

I'm not surprised by either one. Derek had one of his best seasons defensively (and offensively, too). Mark was like a freakin' robot over there at first. Knocking down line drive hits, preventing teammates' errors; the guy did it all.

This is Jeter's fourth and Tex's third.

As for the rest of the AL:

P - Mark Buehrle (first Gold Glove)

C - Joe Mauer (second)

2B - Placido Polanco (second)

3B - Evan Longoria (first)

OF - Torii Hunter (nine... all consecutive)

OF - Ichiro Suzuki (nine... all consecutive)

OF - Adam Jones (first)

Not a bad group of fielders, huh?

Cano, Hughes, and Jackson for Felix Hernandez?!?!

2009-11-10T04:15:35Z

Oh gosh. I hate this part of the year.

The part of the year when you hear the name Phil Hughes in every single trade rumor.

It just doesn't stop.

Until he retires, it just won't stop.

Ugh.

Well, the fact that Hughes' name appears in the title post is one reason why I disagree with that statement.

My dad emailed me tonight asking if I would trade the Yankees second baseman, the Yankees future CY Young Award winner (I know, I know, I'm over-doing it), and one of the team's top prospects in Austin Jackson to the Seattle Mariners for Felix Hernandez.

I gave him a few different answers. Here they are:

The There-Is-No-Way--You-Should-Trade-These-Three Answer:

At times, especially during this postseason, Cano looked asleep at the plate. BUT, when his bat gets hot, his bat gets smokin'. Oh and don't forget about his defense. Maybe future Gold Glover?! IDK, it's just a prediction.

(And no offense to Ramiro Pena and Kevin Russo, but there's no way they are Robbie Cano, right now.)

As for Austin Jackson?! He's the top prospect in the organization. Or one of the top ones. I'm torn either way. I'd say give him another year in the organization and if he doesn't wear NY pinstripes at some point this year:

Hasta la vista, baby!

As for Phil Hughes?! My exact words to my dad: That's realllll funny....

The There-Is-No-Way-That-Seattle-Will-Want-To-Trade-Him Answer:

The guy is Felix Hernandez after all. And if the M's want some shot of EVER making it past September, he's the start.

If the Mariners want to make things interesting, they can follow what the Blue Jays did:

Pretend-that-they-are-really-interested-in-trading-their-top-pitcher-in-order-to-get-some-attention strategy. That fizzled into nothingness.

(But puh-lease, Seattle, if you do this, don't be as annoying. It got old. So. Amazingly. Fast.)

The If-Seattle-Does-Really-Really-Really-Trade-Felix-They-Will-Want-More Answer:

Robinson Cano, Austin Jackson, and Phil Hughes?!

That's it?!

Oh C'mon, Cashman. Why not send in Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, Jesus Montero, Andrew Brackman, Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner, Edwar Ramirez, and Mark Melancon?

In my opinion, if another player is added, there's only one option...

**Drumroll please**

KEI IGAWA!!

(Shocker, huh?)

The If-Seattle-Does-Really-Really-Really-Trade-Felix-They-Will-Want-More-But-Will-Pull-A-Twins Answer:

Sorta kinda goes with the last answer except when those big names teams (ie Yankees and Red Sox) give out their obnoxiously large packages, the M's will want more and wait and wait and wait and wait until they can get what they want.

Or most likely, those big named teams will pull out and the M's will have to settle for less.

Like the Twins with the Mets.

The Haven't-The-Yankees-Learned-From-Not-Trading-For-Santana-And-Instead-Signing-Free-Agents Answer:

There are multiple tangents to this one.

First, Phil Hughes (What did I tell you? His name is always EVERYWHERE!!), Melky Cabrera, and Johan Santana.

Though Hughes struggled throughout the post-season, you could say that his performance in the 'pen this year helped the Yankees get to the post-season.

As for Melky... well, I just don't like the idea of Brett Gardner starting every single game in center. His bat just isn't that special.

As for Santana, wasn't he injured either last year or this year? Or both?

And how about 'em Mets!!??

This leads to...

While the Yankees passed on signing Santana, and missed the 2008 post-season, they spent big bucks and got CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett.

Who knows if the Yankees would have gotten either of them if they got Santana.

And oh, yeah. The Yankees won the World Series. With Sabathia. And Burnett. And Cabrera. And Hughes.

While Santana is sitting at home in Venezuela (or wherever he lives).

I'd say these moves made a lot of sense.

But what's my point, you might be asking?!

The Yankees were able to win by signing big names and not having to trade the young guys.

Why do it now?

Why trade these same guys for Hernandez, when you can just sign John Lackey.

The Yankees might have all the money in the world, but they don't have all the home-grown players in the world.

My Final Answer (To the Original Question: Will you trade Cano, Hughes, and Jackson for Feliz):

Nooooooo!!!

My Prediction:

The M's won't trade Feliz.

That being said,

Good night, all.

Abraham Signs with Boston and Jennings Gets a September Call Up

2009-11-10T01:09:07Z

So this is old news. But this is good news.

As you all know, I was a die-hard Pete Abraham. All my sources were from him.

His replacement is Chad Jennings.

All my Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees sources were from him.

It's a win-win situation for everyone.

For Abraham: New, better paying job. Close to family. He now works for a newspaper that you can actually buy at the airport.

For Jennings: This is clearly a promotion after covering the Scrankees (and the Red Barons, the Phillies' former AAA team) for what seemed like forever.

For Me: I secretly favored Chad's writing than Pete's.

Pete left toward the end of the regular season; Chad, Sam Borden, and Josh Thomson took over LoHud during the post-season. They did a heck of a job.

But don't worry, Chad is Pete's replacement. He's just getting his feet wet in the big leagues.

Congratulations Chad!!

P.S. This was Chad's first post for LoHud. Funny guy.

Reason #56768341467654687634 Why it's Good To Be a Yankees Fan

2009-11-10T00:45:26Z

Because of this.

(I'm talking about the part regarding Jason Varitek. You know, the Red Sox captain.)

Imagine if it was Derek Jeter.

The world would probably end, huh?

Holy. Smokes.

My English Book is TOTALLY Misleading...

2009-11-09T22:47:46Z

Pedro Martinez is one of the Mets' most electrifying pitchers.

Here's the story...

We have this book, Easy Writer, that gives you everything you need to know about writing. Everything including: sentence grammar, punctuation guidelines, information for multilingual writers, bibliography guidelines, and even Powerpoint guidelines.

I have to admit, it's all pretty helpful.

Except for one thing...

That is when the examples in the sentence grammar section don't make any sense.

Pedro Martinez is one of the Mets' most electrifying pitchers.

How does this many sense? Number one, Pedro is far clear from the New York Mets as he can get (rival wise). Number two, if he's really one of the most electrifying pitchers, then why did he look soo bad on the mound during Game Six of the World Series.

Beats me.

(I know this book was written in the 1880s 2006, but still, this baseball distraction caught my attention and was worth sharing.)