The postseason awards thread: Who ya got?

[whitesoxfan101]

Here are mine:

 

NL MVP: Jimmy Rollins, Matt Holliday a close 2nd.

NL ROY: Ryan Braun, but his defensive nightmares makes Tulowitzki a close 2nd.

NL Cy Young: Jake Peavy no matter what happens tomorrow, and it's not really even close.

NL Manager of the Year: Bob Melvin (team won 90 games and beat out two solid 89 win teams in the NL West for the crown despite being outscored this season overall).

 

AL MVP: A-Rod, and it's not even close. At all. He had one of the great seasons of all time, and carried his team into October.

AL ROY: Dustin Pedroia wins in a weak crop with his over 800 OPS, .312 average, and 40 doubles. Brian Banister's nightmare September killed his chances.

AL Cy Young: Beckett gets my vote, mainly because I can't pick one between Carmona and Sabathia from the Indians.

AL Manager of the Year: Eric Wedge. Fausto Carmona went from 1-10 to 19-8, Hafner was subpar for him, and Joe Borowski was his closer. Yet, the Indians were 18 games better. Enough said.

[jackie hayes]

Peavy, ARod, and Braun are automatic.

 

For AL CY, it's so close between Carmona, Lackey, Haren, Beckett, and Sabathia, that I'll go with the guy who provided more innings, Sabathia. Whatever small advantage Beckett may have in effectiveness isn't equal to the extra 40 innings, imo. I was really pulling for Bedard, here.

 

NL MVP is very tough. My first reaction is to go with Hanley Ramirez. I never liked the idea that a MVP must be on a playoff team, and he hit better than Rollins this year. Rollins collected more pas, but not enough to make up for a big dropoff in obp and a small one in slg. The other candidates, in my mind, are Holliday, Utley, Fielder, Chipper Jones, Pujols...and I think that's it. I do penalize Holliday for the home/away splits, some.

 

AL RoY goes to...flip a coin. Pedroia or Bannister. Actually, I'd probably go with Pedroia, too, I'd just rather see Bannister nab it.

 

Manager of the year, I just don't care.

 

Hell of a year for NL rookies...again.

[JDsDirtySox]

AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez

AL CY YOUNG: CC Sabathia

AL ROY: Dustin Pedroia

AL Manager Of The Year: Eric Wedge

 

NL MVP: Jimmy Rollins

NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy

NL ROY: Troy Tulowitzki

NL Manager Of The Year: Charlie Manuel

[CWSGuy406]

Is this who the writers are going to pick or who's we actually thinks should win it?

 

Anyways, I'm thinking the latter, so:

 

AL MVP: A-Rod

CY Young: Sabathia

AL ROY: Petunia (Pedroia)

AL MotY: Seattle's interim manager (don't know his name)

 

NL MVP: Bleh -- if Utley doesn't get hurt this is any easy call (in my mind). But since he got hurt... David Wright? Hanley Ramirez? Utley is still right up there. Stick a gun to my head and I'll go with Utley*.

CY Young: Peavy

NL ROY: Braun (this shouldn't be close -- if Braun had the ABs, he'd be a legit MVP candidate, too)

NL MotY: Manny Acta

 

*It's a shame that the writers, year after year, seem to focus in on one guy. In this case, that guy was Rollins. I find it rather funny, too -- if Rollins ends up winning the MVP, that has to mean Aaron Rowand was pretty close. Afterall, he plays a similarly difficult defensive position as well (or better) than Rollins does. Rowand had a better year at the plate and gets the same "intangible" label that Rollins gets.

 

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

American League

MVP-Alex Rodriguez

Cy Young-C.C. Sabathia

ROY-Pedroia

MOY-Wedge

Comeback player of the year-Fausto Carmona

 

Gold Gloves

C-Kenji Johjima

1B-Lyle Overbay

2B-Mark Ellis

3B-Brandon Inge

SS-Juan Uribe

OF-Coco Crisp

OF-Curtis Granderson

OF-Ichiro

P-Jon Garland

 

Silver Sluggers

C-Jorge Posada

1B-Carlos Pena

2B-Robinson Cano

3B-Alex Rodriguez

SS-Carlos Guillen

OF-Magglio Ordonez

OF-Vladimir Guerrero

OF-Curtis Granderson

DH-David Ortiz

 

National League

MVP-Jimmy Rollins

Cy Young-Peavy (although Webb is closer than you'll think)

ROY-Ryan Braun

MOY-Bob Melvin

Comeback player of the year-Rick Ankiel

 

Gold Gloves

C-Russell Martin

1B-Todd Helton

2B-Brandon Phillips

3B-Pedro Feliz

SS-Troy Tulowitzki

OF-Andruw Jones

OF-Aaron Rowand

OF-Carlos Beltran

P-Greg Maddux

 

Silver sluggers

C-Russell Martin

1B-Prince Fielder

2B-Chase Utley

3B-Miguel Cabrera

SS-Hanley Ramirez

OF-Matt Holliday

OF-Carlos Lee

OF-Adam Dunn

P-Micah Owings

 

[RockRaines]

*It's a shame that the writers, year after year, seem to focus in on one guy. In this case, that guy was Rollins. I find it rather funny, too -- if Rollins ends up winning the MVP, that has to mean Aaron Rowand was pretty close. Afterall, he plays a similarly difficult defensive position as well (or better) than Rollins does. Rowand had a better year at the plate and gets the same "intangible" label that Rollins gets.

Better year at the plate? J-Rolls was a 20-20-20-20 guy. A-row could never sniff that. Not to mention Rollins was their lead off hitter and igniter at the top of the lineup.

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

Better year at the plate? J-Rolls was a 20-20-20-20 guy. A-row could never sniff that. Not to mention Rollins was their lead off hitter and igniter at the top of the lineup.

 

It was a tough call between Fielder, Rollins, and Holliday. If Holliday's home/road splits weren't so lopsided I would have gone with him.

Edited October 1, 2007 by WhiteSoxfan1986

[CWSGuy406]

Better year at the plate? J-Rolls was a 20-20-20-20 guy. A-row could never sniff that. Not to mention Rollins was their lead off hitter and igniter at the top of the lineup.

 

I was wrong to say "better" -- similar would've been a more choice word. Rowand finished with a higher OPS.

 

But I'm not (and didn't) saying that Rowand had a better year when taking everything (games played, defense, offense, baserunning) into consideration. I'm just saying they had seasons that are comparable, within the same ballpark. And, because of that, I'm surprised that the Rowand's name doesn't get mentioned (even in passing) while Rollins looks, at this point, to be a shoe-in.

 

I'm also surprised with so many people here picking J-Roll. Are people aware of how much better a season Hanley Ramirez had compared to Rollins? I guess that gets into the "What is your definition of MVP?" talk, though, so...

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

I'm also surprised with so many people here picking J-Roll. Are people aware of how much better a season Hanley Ramirez had compared to Rollins? I guess that gets into the "What is your definition of MVP?" talk, though, so...

 

Rollins is a much better defensive player.

[Balta1701]

I'm also surprised with so many people here picking J-Roll. Are people aware of how much better a season Hanley Ramirez had compared to Rollins? I guess that gets into the "What is your definition of MVP?" talk, though, so...

If Ramirez had that same season on a winning team, he'd be a darn solid contender for that award.

[CWSGuy406]

Rollins is a much better defensive player.

 

That makes up the 30 point OPS+ difference?

[RockRaines]

If Ramirez had that same season on a winning team, he'd be a darn solid contender for that award.

the 20-20-20-20 thing is huge in the voting, but yeah, if Hanley is on a contending team he may win. Of course this is true with ALOT of players over the years so it shouldnt be a surprise to anyone. Voters classify someone as valuable if their team wins.

[whitesoxfan101]

I'm also surprised with so many people here picking J-Roll. Are people aware of how much better a season Hanley Ramirez had compared to Rollins? I guess that gets into the "What is your definition of MVP?" talk, though, so...

 

I refuse to ever vote for a guy on a last place team for MVP, no matter how good he is. They could have FOR SURE finished in last place without Hanley, just as they did with him. If it were the most outstanding player award, well that's different, but until they change it from MVP to MOP, last place guys should never even be considered for the award.

[CWSGuy406]

I refuse to ever vote for a guy on a last place team for MVP, no matter how good he is. They could have FOR SURE finished in last place without Hanley, just as they did with him. If it were the most outstanding player award, well that's different, but until they change it from MVP to MOP, last place guys should never even be considered for the award.

 

So you're making MVP into a 'partly about the individual, partly about the team' award. I'd like to base it on what the individual does.

[whitesoxfan101]

So you're making MVP into a 'partly about the individual, partly about the team' award. I'd like to base it on what the individual does.

 

Then change it to most outstanding player award. But no player in the history of baseball has been valuable to a last place team, because if said player, no matter how great a season he had, were not around, his team would have still finished in last.

[CWSGuy406]

Then change it to most outstanding player award. But no player in the history of baseball has been valuable to a last place team, because if said player, no matter how great a season he had, were not around, his team would have still finished in last.

 

You can't be serious... If the Marlins didn't have Ramirez, they're a bunch of wins worse, last place or not. You're docking him because his teammates suck. It's an individual award.

 

That's funny -- last place team can't have a valuable player. That's golden.

[whitesoxfan101]

You can't be serious... If the Marlins didn't have Ramirez, they're a bunch of wins worse, last place or not. You're docking him because his teammates suck. It's an individual award.

 

That's funny -- last place team can't have a valuable player. That's golden.

 

It's funny to me you think that a player on a last place team can be the most valuable in baseball. That's maybe the dumbest thing I've ever seen on these boards, which is quite the statement. How can a guy on a 5th or 6th place team be more valuable than every player on all the 1st and 2nd place teams in his league?? Keep in mind here, I'm not one of the he must make the playoffs to win MVP people, but he can't finish in LAST.

Edited October 2, 2007 by whitesoxfan101

[whitesoxfan101]

It's all about how the award is worded. The award is given out to the MOST VALUABLE PLAYER. While I agree Hanley has great value to the Marlins, how much value did he give a last place team? I know the argument against that is "It's not his fault the team around him sucks" which is a very valid argument, but I go back to what the award is called. The player that receives the award for having the most value in the league should go to a player on a contending team, unless the numbers for a player on a last place team are astronomically better than everyone else.

 

I'd like to just also point out I think the name of the award should be changed to "most outstanding player", because it's not fair to the players on bad teams that they have no help and thus really have little shot at the award. But for now, it's MVP and should be awarded accordingly with such common sense standards as the most valuable player in the league can't be on one of the 3 worst teams in the league.

[jackie hayes]

Actual guidelines given to voters:

 

There is no clear-cut definition of what Most Valuable means. It is up to the individual voter to decide who was the Most Valuable Player in each league to his team. The MVP need not come from a division winner or other playoff qualifier.

 

The rules of the voting remain the same as they were written on the first ballot in 1931:

 

1. Actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense.

 

2. Number of games played.

 

3. General character, disposition, loyalty and effort.

 

4. Former winners are eligible.

 

5. Members of the committee may vote for more than one member of a team.

 

You are also urged to give serious consideration to all your selections, from 1 to 10. A 10th-place vote can influence the outcome of an election. You must fill in all 10 places on your ballot. Only regular-season performances are to be taken into consideration.

 

Keep in mind that all players are eligible for MVP, including pitchers and designated hitters.

 

So unless you think that any season with a last-place finish has absolutely zero value to the team itself, you have to consider players on those teams.

 

A last place team still wins games, that's still a goal. Players who contribute to that goal should be judged on those contributions.

 

Anyone really believe the Marlins would have had an equally rewarding season with some talentless schmuck like me out there playing ss?

[Buehrle>Wood]

The 1 game play-off is includes season stats, so I assume you include it for picking an MVP candidate. So why not Mr. Holiday?

Edited October 2, 2007 by Buehrle>Wood

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

It's funny to me you think that a player on a last place team can be the most valuable in baseball. That's maybe the dumbest thing I've ever seen on these boards, which is quite the statement. How can a guy on a 5th or 6th place team be more valuable than every player on all the 1st and 2nd place teams in his league?? Keep in mind here, I'm not one of the he must make the playoffs to win MVP people, but he can't finish in LAST.

 

Your argument is like saying that wins are the most important stat for a pitcher, or that Kyle Orton is actually good because he is 10-3. It's not Hanley's fault that only one of their starting pitchers had an ERA under 5.00.

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

The 1 game play-off is includes season stats, so I assume you include it for picking an MVP candidate. So why not Mr. Holiday?

 

Because Mr. Holliday's OPS is 300 points lower away from Coors.

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

Is it Holliday's fault he is on a good team?

 

No, how good your team is shouldn't matter.

[CWSGuy406]

Really, I won't lose sleep over who they go with. I haven't looked it up in VORP, but there sure seems like a handful of players who are all really close in terms of value -- off the top of my head I'm thinking about Holliday, Fielder, Pujols, Cabrera, Ramirez, Wright, Utley, Rollins... Heck, why not throw Chipper Jones and his 166 OPS+ into the mix?

 

I'm more just confused by the writers' logic in picking there MVPs. Hell, didn't a year or two ago somebody have Pierzynski in their top ten? Crap like that is ridiculous.

Edited October 2, 2007 by CWSGuy406

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

Really, I won't lose sleep over who they go with. I haven't looked it up in VORP, but there sure seems like a handful of players who are all really close in terms of value -- off the top of my head I'm thinking about Holliday, Fielder, Pujols, Cabrera, Ramirez, Wright, Utley, Rollins... Heck, why not throw Chipper Jones and his 166 OPS+ into the mix?

 

I'm more just confused by the writers' logic in picking there MVPs. Hell, didn't a year or two ago somebody have Pierzynski in their top ten? Crap like that is ridiculous.

 

To the award the voters really got wrong was giving Eckersley the MVP in 1992. There are certain years when I will feel a closer is deserving of the Cy Young, but to give a guy who pitches 80 innings a year an MVP award is a joke.