This is sort of a blog but unlike other crappy substitutes, mine doesn't have "Xanga" or "Livejournal" in the title. Consider this the evolution of The Rumor Mill.

I'm still trying to figure out if I want to update this regularly (it's obivous I haven't been). I still like my cynical writings and occasionally feel the need to twist off on a topic. Well, you're in luck because this week I followed through and WROTE something. Aha!

November 12, 2007

This used to be an annual column, but I've fallen lazy recently.  But I'm writing this for one main reason: to appeal to the voters (although their ballots are already submitted) for one award in particular.  I will get to this soon. (Asterisk denotes the player led the league in the category)

But let's start at the bottom, sort of.

AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

The race for AL Rookie of the Year comes down to two candidates, Delmon Young of the Devil Rays and Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox.  Pedroia had about 100 fewer ABs, but overall Delmon Young has better stats on the year, especially knocking in 93 RBI.  Pedroia is a close second, with KC Royals closer Joakim Soria turning in a nice season from the 'pen in 3rd.

NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

It was a good year for NL rookies.  Tulowitzki played in the Series and had a great stretch run, but Ryan Braun burst on the scene in June with very impressive power numbers.  What's more is his .324 average, good for #7 in the NL had he qualified for it (too few ABs).  But that makes his power numbers all the more mind boggling.

Tulowitzki was on the spring radar (I drafted him in my fantasy league), but Braun pretty much came out of nowhere.

AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR

1. Eric Wedge, Cleveland
2. Joe Torre, New York
3. John McLaren, Seattle

Usually this award goes to the manager who outperforms his expectations the most.  In my opinion, only 1 AL team outperformed their expectations this year, and that was Seattle.  But John McLaren only took over for the "I'm tired of baseball" Mike Hargrove in late June.  Seattle continued their impressive run (many writers had them finishing last in the AL West) even tying Anaheim at one point in August, but they tailed off in the end.

Eric Wedge wins for piloting an Indians team that fell below expectations in '06 but competed well in what has been called (not by me) baseball's toughest division.  And props to Torre as well for righting the Yankee ship enough to make the playoffs after seeing the cellar in early June.

NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR

1. Bob Melvin, Arizona
2. Clint Hurdle, Colorado
3. Ned Yost, Milwaukee

All 3 of these managers meet my litmus test for outperforming expectations.  I have to say I had Milwaukee winning the NL Central and due to their late season swoon, Yost doesn't win this award.  Melvin and Hurdle made the playoffs in the tough NL West after many people had either SD or LA going.  The Rockies have been gradually improving, but the D-Backs' ability to win the division with the kids they start (Conor Jackson? Chris Young?) gives the edge to Melvin.

AL CY

This is a tough one, and could be the closest race of the awards season.  No one pitcher dominated, with Beckett winning 20 games, but Lackey, Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang and Fausto Carmona winning 19.  The Cy goes to Lackey for winning the ERA crown and anchoring the Anaheim rotation.  Beckett and Sabathia benefitted more from strong supporting casts.  cy to Lackey.

NL CY

This isn't even a race.  Jake Peavy won the pitchers' Triple Crown (W, ERA, K).  Webb had a nice follow-up to his '06 Cy campaign and Saito dazzled in LA's bullpen with a 1.40 ERA and 39 saves. Note how all 3 top candidates are from the NL West, showing dominance in pitching. But that's nothing new for the West. This race isn't even close though: Cy to Peavy.

AL MVP

My MVP litmus test is basic: award should go to the player who provides the most VALUE to his team.  The MVP's team does not have to be a playoff team, but must contend.

I ranked the top 10 candidates like the BBWAA does.  This award is clearly A-Rod's, but Magglio and Ichiro put up good numbers.  I almost picked Ichiro since the rest of the Mariners had pretty poor offensive numbers and they fought for a playoff spot til the very end.

Other impressive seasons came from the all-around awesome Curtis Granderson (not listed is his 23 triples) and Jorge Posada put up great numbers (.338 avg) as the Yankee catcher.

NL MVP

Here is the award I'm most worried about.  In my mind, there is NO QUESTION - Matt Holliday is the MVP.  He had an amazing season, first in average, RBI, doubles, and hits.  He hit 12 home runs in September to propel the Rockies to the postseason.

Jake Peavy is #2.  I have no problem with a pitcher winning the MVP, especially one as dominant as Peavy was this season.  Had Peavy won the 163rd game of the Padres' season...maybe he'd be the MVP.  Maybe.

David Wright had a 30/30 season with good numbers that got clouded by the Mets' September collapse.  Chipper Jones finished #2 for the batting title and was a bright spot for the Braves.

The East Coast Media Bias' consensus for MVP seems to be Jimmy Rollins.  He had good numbers and a career year - but not great numbers.  He didn't bat .300, plus he has a great hitting lineup, with protection from Utley, Howard, and Rowand.  The Phillies' success did not hinge on Rollins, like the Rockies on Holliday.

Prince Fielder had some MVP talk, but his .288 average and home run drop off push him back to 6.  Hanley Ramirez had an amazing season in Florida as did Miggy Cabrera. But in the end, there's only one real choice here and that's Holliday. Here's to hoping the baseball writers choose correctly.

October 3, 2007

Ah, playoff baseball. What a great topic to re-start this website of mine. And actually, my topic today isn't playoff baseball at all. It's tiebreaker games.

The San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies tied at the end of the season with a 89-73 record, 1 game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Padres & Rockies were then scheduled for a 1-game, winner-take-the-Wild-Card, playoff. This is unique to baseball in that it's the only time ONE GAME decides who goes on and who goes home.

These one game playoffs are rare, only occurring when there are 2 teams with the same record for 1 playoff spot. In 2006, the Padres and Dodgers tied with the best record atop the NL West, but the Dodgers ended up with the Wild Card (based on head-to-head record) and both teams went to the playoffs. One-game playoffs are the norm in the NFL, and in my opinion, one reason that the NFL is so popular - everything happens in one sitting.

Granted, neither of these ML teams are based near my home of Dallas, Texas, but it remains exciting baseball, to anyone, not just me, the extreme baseball fan. And so Monday night, I prepared for some "playoff" baseball.

A little background...I've been in my new apartment for 2 months, but have yet to get cable TV. Hasn't been a priority, but for this game, it sure should've been. The ESPN website said it was on ESPN Radio - WRONG. As you may know, Monday night is also when ESPN broadcasts a national telecast of "Monday Night Football". TBS showed the Pads/Rockies.

After Game-casting the game for 8 innings, it was a nailbiter. I realized I had to take action and find a TV. Stop one was my apartment lounge. No luck - it was tuned to MNF, a blowout and non-interesting game between the Patriots and Bengals (24-7 at that point).

I ventured out of my apartment building, across the street to the West End Pub. I could see at least 6 TV's from outside. I went in, and all of them were on MNF. I asked the bartender if he could change the channel on one of them so I could watch a real game. (I wasn't as cynical to his face).

"Sorry, we had it on, but the people here want to watch the football game," he said, half-apologetically.
"Really? You know it's in the 10th now," I countered.
"I know, 6 to 6. Sorry man."
"Me too." And I left to find another bar. Stop #2 was the Cadillac Bar in the heart of the West End. Sure enough, 2 TVs, 2 games. Everyone wins.

I watched innings 10, 11, and 12 here while nursing a $4.50 Shiner pint (when I said "in the heart of the West End", that's code for "tourist trap, no drink specials ever, even on Mondays"). I sat next to 2 business travelers, judging by their accent, from somewhere Northeast. They were quite knowledgeable about baseball. The bartender, on the other hand, was not. He tried though, by guessing what pitch was coming. On 0-2 with 2 outs and a runner on? Probably not "fastball down the middle" as he suggested. He tried though, I'll give him credit.

The bar officially closed at 11, and it was nearing 11:30. The manager said I could stay as long as I liked, but after 12 innings, I was feeling like it could go another 6. I decided to leave and find another bar with patrons. TGI Friday's it was.

At this point (11:30), the MNF game was over. So on all 8 TVs at the Friday's bar, there was postgame action. The bartender graciously changed a channel on one, but no one in the bar seemed to care about the game but me.

This part of the story you know - Pads go up by 2 in the top of the 13th, then send Trevor Hoffman to the mound. Double, double, triple, tie game. Sac fly, Rockies win. I finished my $2 Miller Lite pint (much more reasonable) and left as my phone rang. It was Jose.

"OHMYGOD did you see that game??" Of course I did, Jose, who the hell do you think you're talking to? I paid my price for it though. We talked about the game as I walked 2 blocks back to my apartment.

So all in all, what a GREAT GAME. THIS is what baseball's about.

So if the rest of Dallas (or at least the bars I tried) would rather watch a pointless NFL game, so be it. Because if you chose Monday Night Football over Padres/Rockies, you lost.

=========and some more twisting off================

ESPN has been running commercials for Monday Night Football lately; I'm sure you've seen them. They have to do with playing up the "rich history" that MNF has. What BS. In my 25 years on this earth, I still don't get why a game played Monday night gets so much attention. It's just another game, one of 16 for the weekend. Those games referenced in the commercials? Hell no I don't remember them! I've never watched a MNF game in my life, and I'm not sure I knew what it was until I was 16. File me under the "Not Getting It" column. I sometimes credit growing up in a non-NFL household as the cause. But regardless, MNF is not a transcendent program or game. And if it is, do I remember "that Cubs/Cardinals Sunday night game from 1998?" Probably not.

December 3, 2006

Today I got on a tear for updating this site. Who knows why, perhaps it was Rob from Lobsterbush who kept pressing me to update the link to his site. I've also been wanting to upload old webcam videos to YouTube, so I finally got that done too. Here's the link - fun for all ages.

And for old times' sake, here are a few photos that the webcam took - Clark Hall room 341 in action. That's the notorious Ye Olde Keg in the 2nd picture.