Rewarding Time of Year

The Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers have been awarded; now comes the real hardware.

Beginning today, with the announcing of the rookies of the year, we begin that fun stretch of mid-November when baseball withdrawal really starts to kick in, but is staved off by one final week of award-giving.

The Sox and Yanks both have seeming locks on one award each. Dustin Pedroia -- somehow able to hit a ball despite being 3-foot-5 and just 25 pounds -- should beat out Delmon Young for AL Rookie of the Year, and Alex Rodriguez doesn't have any competition for AL MVP. The big question there is whether Mike Lowell will finish second or third.

Josh Beckett, of course, is in a duel with C.C. Sabathia. As Nick Cafardo notes today, he would be the hands down winner if the postseason was included. In fact, here are their regular+postseason numbers:

• Beckett: 24-7, 230.2 IP, 208 H, 77 ER, 42 BB, 229 K, 3.00 ERA, 1.08 WHIP
• Sabathia: 20-9, 256.1 IP, 249 H, 101 ER, 50 BB, 223 K, 3.55 ERA, 1.17 WHIP

For fun, here's what your YFSF comoderators thought these awards would look like before the season began:

AL MVP
YF:	Vladimir Guerrero, LAA
SF:	Grady Sizemore, CLE
Nick:	Grady Sizemore, CLE
Paul:	David Ortiz, BOS
AG:	Joe Mauer, MIN

AL CY
YF:	Johan Santana, MIN
SF:	PavJohan Santana, MIN
Nick:	Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS
Paul:	Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS
AG:	C. C. Sabathia, CLE

AL ROY
YF:	Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS
SF:	Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS
Nick:	Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS
Paul:	Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS
AG:	Alex Gordon, KC

AL MOY
YF:	Joe Torre, NYY
SF:	Eric Wedge, CLE
Nick:	Joe Torre, NYY
Paul:	Eric Wedge, CLE
AG:	Eric Wedge, CLE

NL MVP
YF:	Albert Pujols, STL
SF:	Albert Pujols, STL
Nick:	Ryan Howard, PHI
Paul:	Albert Pujols, STL
AG:	Ryan Howard, PHI

NL CY
YF:	Roy Oswalt, HOU
SF:	Roy Oswalt, HOU
Nick:	Jake Peavy, SD
Paul:	Jake Peavy, SD
AG:	Roy Oswalt, HOU

NL ROY
YF:	Kevin Kouzmanoff, SD
SF:	Chris Young, ARI
Nick:	Chris Young, ARI
Paul:	Troy Tulowitzky, COL
AG:	Chris Young, ARI

NL MOY
YF:	Lou Piniella, CHC
SF:	Bob Melvin, ARI
Nick:	Ned Yost, MIL
Paul:	Ned Yost, MIL
AG:	Ned Yost, MIL

Comments

[Kazz]

Scott Boras and his amazing Daisuke Hype Machine win again!

[sam-YF]

This reminds me that Torre should be in consideration this year for MOY. Would be fitting that he got it in his last year as the yankee skipper not that the voters knew that at the time of the voting.

The amazing year that A-Rod had should be highlighted by the fact that nobody picked up here for MVP.

Is Pedroia really a lock for ROY? He has my vote but we have to remember that the post-season performances dont count. Delmon had quite a year himself. I guess we'll see.

[Atheose]

Pedroia's postseason performance was worse than his regular season; he performed well in the World Series, but struggled in the ALDS and first few games of the ALCS.
Having said that, Delmon did have a great year. But Pedroia should win the award easily.

Nick/Paul/AG: you guys all picked Ned Yost for NL Manager of the Year? Great foresight to predict that the Brewers would do well. They fell apart near the end, but their year was still great, and extremely unexpected from my perspective. Good picks. The Rockies' manager probably wins it easily now though.

[attackgerbil]

Thanks, Atheose. It should be noted (since he didn't do it himself though this was the perfect time to gloat) that Paul was the only person who correctly picked the WS winner. It's not a homer call when you are right, I think. Honorable mention goes to SF, who had Arizona coming out of the west. They probably should have stayed there, but there you have it.

[Paul SF]

I'm also the only person to correctly predict all four AL playoff qualifiers and the order in which they'd be eliminated.

How's that for gloating? ;-) I was actually waiting until after the awards, then figure out some sort of point system and see which one of us "won" the predictions... because I'm a dork like that.

[Atheose]

I had picked the World Series to be Cubs vs Indians, though I secretly thought the Red Sox would get that far. I've always considered it a jynx to pick your own team though.

[TJ]

on my blog last April 2 I picked Sox vs Rox..... I'd post the link but I dont wanna get in trouble :)

Of course I did make a idiotic pick too by picking the Rangers to win the west lol.

[TJ]

Actually Paul, I could be wrong, but that sounds more nerdish then dorkish, but still fun :p

[NH Rob]

PeteAbe hates the Sox so much he voted for Pedroia ahead of Delmon and Bannister.

[John - YF]

As much as it pains me to say this, Beckett and Pedroia are the clear winners. There was a time where I thought Escobar and Sabathia might make a push, but Beckett was clearly the most dominant pitcher in the AL this season. Delmon Young is going to be a sick player, but Pedroia had a much better season, no comparison.

As for MOY, I would say it's very close between Torre and Wedge. While I am not upset the Joe is gone (actually a little happy ;) to be honest) he still deserves to be considered for the award. My gut feeling is Wedge edges him out.

[Paul SF]

Pedroia wins it.

[LocklandSF]

Congrats Dustin!

[YF]

Braun! A good day for The Tribe.

[John - YF]

Yeah congrats you annoying little gnat...

100% kidding, well deserved. You have to admire the way he plays the game, regardless of who you root for. He is just the 4th 2Bman to ever win the AL ROY.

Tulo got hosed, Braun is not better then Tulo and did not have a more complete season then Tulo.

[YF]

Hey Cashman! Trade for the awesome Jewish third baseman! Who needs Alex, Miggy???

[YF]

"Braun is not better then Tulo"

Yes he is.

Ryan Braun: .324/.370/.634, 34 HR, 15/20 SB, 113 G
Troy Tulowitski: .291/.359/.479, 24 HR, 7/13 SB, 155 G

And in any event it's close. "Hosed"? I do not think so. Perhaps a toss-up.

[sam-YF]

Igawa got hosed.

[attackgerbil]

Braun took the award by two votes over Tulo. Two-Low? Sorry.

Anyway, Braun is a butcher in the field whereas Tulo is a truly remarkable, special, oh-my-god-how-did-he-make-that-play fielder, but for Braun to put up those kinds of power numbers over the course of the season, let alone in 112 gqmes? Braun.

[attackgerbil]

Sheesh. Typos galore there..sorry.

[John - YF]

YF, I didn't mean to make it sound like Braun winning was a travesty, my apologies.

My point being that Tulo is the better, more complete player. He also played a very important role in leading the Rockies to an NL Championship and a WS appearance. Not just speaking from stats, but from watching them play Tulo is the better player. Braun is good, very good, but Tulo is a special special player.

[LocklandSF]

Total AL ROY Points...

Pedroia – 132
Young – 56
Bannister – 36
Matsuzaka – 12
Willitts – 11
Okajima – 3
Fields – 1
Soria – 1

[Yankee Fan In Boston]

a well-deserved landslide.

the second of which the li'l guy has been involved with in the span of a month.

and braun's numbers were amazing. rodriguez hit almost as well as braun since the kid was called up. that has to say something.

[CHEA SON]

Im surprised Delmon Young didn't get more votes. I feel as though Pedroia was a worthy candidate, but his statistics were sort of "hollow." He doesn't drive in many runs, he doesn't steal, he just hits for high average. He didn't strike out much and he had a pretty good slugging percentage though, so I guess he has that going for him.

[Rob SF]

Braun deserved the NL ROY. Glad to see that Pedroia got some more hardware. Young had a good season, but hard to argue your case against a guy who had an all-time like season for a rookie 2b.

[Paul SF]

RBI are the hollowest of hollow stats. When you bat leadoff for half the season and ninth behind Lugo and Varitek the other half, you're not going to get many chances to drive runners in.

Young got a lot of looks because of his high BA and 93 RBI. But 13 HR aren't that much more than Pedroia's eight, and that .288 average is the only attractive thing about his .288/.316/.408 line. In fact, Young's .723 OPS was the lowest of all eight rookie hitters to qualify for a batting title in MLB this season. Yes, even lower than Alex Gordon. Runs Created/27 outs? Lowest among MLB rookies. Secondary Average? Only one lower than .200.

The more I look at the numbers, the more I realize Young was second by default. Bannister and Okajima were both probably more deserving of finishing in the top three than Young.

[Dionysus]

Congratulations to Dustin. He deserved it. Now back to my nervous breakdown over Mikey

[Paul SF]

According to B-R, Pedroia had 18 fewer RBI than the average MLer with his number of plate appearances, but came up with 52 fewer men on base.

He still would have had just 58 RBI given average men on base, but you have to figure in the Red Sox lineup had he been given better than Coco Crisp, Julio Lugo and Jason Varitek immediately in front of him, he would have approached a more respectable 70-RBI mark.

[jimintokyo]

Well-deserved for Pedroia.

[johansantana17]

Braun would've struck out 149 times in 600 ABs, and would've made 36 errors in 155 games.

I'm sorry, but anybody that bad on defense can't be picked over somebody who (accodring to BP or someone) was the single most valuable defensive player this season.

[attackgerbil]

> RBI are the hollowest of hollow stats

Agree with you there part of the way, Paul, as long as we are talking that it can be a hollow stat when viewed out of context.

That said, I heard somewhere those are the two sweetest words in the English language... Dee-Fault! Really, it was Dustin and who gives a damn. Great job by That Gnat. Kidding, like John. I demean because I can't think of anything constructive to add to a great performance. It will be a great, exciting thing should Dustin and Robi battle for a batting title some season soon.

[Paul SF]

Well, sure, AG. A guy with 150 RBI is more valuable than a guy with 75. But if we're comparing two random players solely on RBI, that's not very instructive without looking at their lineups, their place in the lineups, etc.

[attackgerbil]

Yeah, sorry Paul, I really didn't need to ask you to clarify. It's obvious what you meant. RBIs are glamorized in the face of more telling information.

Are RBIs to batters what W's are to pitchers in a sense? It is interesting how team stats matter so much in individual accolades. And contracts.

[Dionysus]

Honeslty, gerb, I think Wins are a worse stat than even RBIs. RBIs are surely influenced by how well your team gets on in front of you, but Wins are directly influenced by your teams offense, its defense, the opposing pitcher, the opposing offense.

Wins and Loses are quite simply the Worst stat in Baseball

[YF]

I think both RBI and W/L are useful, if they're understood in context, and understanding their weaknesses. Sabermetric analysts have a tendency to favor rate stats over counting stats, which is reasonable, especially to the extent that they're used in a predictive context. But counting stats are indeed quite valuable when evaluating past performance. Look at Alex's counting stats. They're amazing.

[Hudson]

How the heck does DiceK get more votes (12) than Oki (3)?

[Dionysus]

I can actuall FEEL Mikey slipping away minut eby minute. This sucks. Theo, you suck if you screwed this up.

[Dionysus]

*stomps off to try and play some Wiii - if only Galaxy had been in stores today - to try and distract himsel ffrom the very real knot in his stomach and the urge to vomit*

[Dionysus]

Nope. Cant focus. I'm just gonna sit here clciking refresh on the Globe's homepage until A) Its midnight B) We get an announcement that saves Theo or C)I fall asleep from utter exhaustion.

Seriously... if we lose Lowell, I promise we wont even MAKE it to the Series in 08

[sam-YF]

geez Dio relax. There are so many 3b out there, you should have more confidence in your team and how it is built now.

[Dionysus]

I can't think of an immediate available options that are appealing, sam. Basically you got A-Rod who locks you up FOREVER at the position and costs more money tahn gates could afford. Or Cabrera who, while young and promising, will drain our pitchign staff and frankly.. with his weight problems will be a HUGE defensive liability.

Lowell is perfect because he, at 3 or yes even 4 years, buys you the time you need to develope bette roptions

[Paul SF]

Or there's moving Youkilis and acquiring a first baseman, which is much easier to do. Or there's trading for Hank Blalock... Four years is too long for a 34-year-old player. Even at a three-year deal, you're pretty much assuming you're going to be overpaying drastically on that third year.

[Dionysus]

I'm really not being rational am I?

*sigh* what is it about players like Mike that make me all insane?

He's jsut.. PERFECT for Fenway. He's not gonna hit half as good anywehre else. He needs us too!

[Dionysus]

I have to say.. right now, I'm very jealous of YFs havign Pete Abe. Despite my disagreements with some of his work.. at least he constantly updates his blog, keepign the fans updated. Unless theres a sports writers blog I dont know of for the Sox (Extra BAses certainly doesnt update that much).. I'm jealous of YFs

*needs to know! Is Theo et all still in a meetign? Have they left? Whats goign on?!*

[Brian]

I believe the reason Dustin Pedroia was the OVERWHELMING vote getter for ROY is not simply that he was a key part of a division winner had good numbers AND was very deserving of the reward.

Further, I believe ROY voters think Delmon Young is not, even with his good numbers.

This is from just prior to season's end...

"After being pulled on Saturday for not hustling, Delmon Young has vowed he won't play in the regular season finale.
Manager Joe Madden said Young showed "blatant disrespect" for the game and the team when he didn't run hard on a groundout in the sixth inning. Young replied, "S---, everybody else is m-----f------ doing it. S---, I'm the only one who m-----f------ gets in trouble for the s---. ... I play every day. I don't complain about going out there. So, I'll see you guys next year. I'm shut down for (today)." Source: St Petersburg Times Sep. 30 - 11:42 am et

MLB AWARD voters are a pretty conservative bunch, something like that does not go unnoticed, or unpunished.

That would be more than reason enough for most of them, but on top of the indefinite suspension Young recieved last year (eventually reduced to 50 games)for throwing and hitting an umpire with a bat?

I have a feeling that combination all but sealed the ROY award for Pedroia.

[stuck working]

jeez, Dio, chill a little. If the Sox don't end up signing Lowell, it'll be hard for me to blame Theo. Not wanting to guarantee a fourth year is totally reasonable. And I don't think getting to or past midnight necessarily means it's unlikely for the Sox to sign him in the end either.

[attackgerbil]

Brian, interesting story, but Young could have gone 5-5 with 5 home runs and Pedroia still would have won the award walking away.

[sam-YF]

The daily news is reporting posada agrees to a 4 year deal!
Thank god.

[Brian]

I agree Gerb, I guess my point was that Young might not have had quite so FEW votes because of those incidents, not that Pedroia wasn't far and away the better choice.

In my mind Pedroia became such a cog in the success of the Red Sox, he didn't play or act remotely rookie-like. The fact that Pedroia broke the all-time 2nd base rookie record by percentage points at .317 & change had a big hand in the ROY among other things, I'm sure.

[TJ]

Dustin Pedroia was named the American League Rookie of the Year Monday. Pedroia won the award easily.

Several sports site comment sections have been ridiculing the choice saying Delmon Young was the more deserving rookie, however statistics do not back up that argument. In fact if one looked at the statistics they would ask why Pedroia wasn't a unanimous choice.

The traditional money categories, home runs and RBI were in favor of Young, but he also had two advantages. First he had 120 more at bats then Pedroia and he also batted in a spot that had a lot of RBI opportunities.

The differential in home runs wasn't that great. Pedroia had eight for Boston while Young had 13 for the Rays.

So where did Pedroia win the award? His great defense at second base was one area that helped, but his bat did a lot of talking too. Pedroia scored 21 more runs then Young, 86-65. He also had one more double then Young, remember in 120 less at bats.

Pedroia also excelled with his eye, he had 47 walks, but just 42 strikeouts. Meantime Young only had 26 walks and struck out 127 times. Young had advantages in hits 186-165, and stolen bases 10-7. Again this was with 120 extra at bats.

What does all this come out to? For Pedroia it was a .317 average with a .380 OBP and a slugging percent of .442. For Young? .288, .316, .408. Advantage Pedroia.

Seriously how can anyone make an argument for a guy with a .316 OBP? And to add to that the fact that Young had five more homers proved unimportant as Pedroia still slugged 34 points higher.

Ladies and Gentleman, there was and never should have been any doubt who deserved this award.

[TJ]

errr last sentence should have been wasn't not was

[NH Rob]

By all decent defensive metrics, Pedroia is an average fielder. But he deserved the ROY.