The first annual National League Statnutties

Now that the post-season is over, its time for the 1st annual Statnutties! The Statnutties consist of 4 awards: MVP, Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Pitcher of the Year.

First up, Rookie of the Year. There are several contenders: Reds first baseman Joey Votto, Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens, Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, and Cubs catcher Geovany Soto. Despite Votto’s late season surge that gave him more homers and a higher OPS than Soto, I have to give the Statnuttie Rookie of the Year to Geovany Soto. As a starting catcher on a division winning team, his 23 homers were the most for a rookie catcher since Mike Piazza(1993). Runner up: Votto

Next up, Player of the Year. Player of the Year is different from MVP, in that POY is more about who had the best year, regardless of value to team and team’s finish. There are some good candidates for this one, but none better than St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols. Pujols was 2nd in the NL in batting average, 4th in RBI’s and 4th in home runs. In fact, he was the only player in the NL to finish top 5 in those three categories. For good measure, he was 4th in doubles and 2nd in walks. A truly amazing player, it seems like he puts up the same numbers every year. Amazingly, he’s never had a year where he batted below .314, or hit fewer than 32 homers. He’s probably the best Cardinal position player since Stan Musial. Runner up: Chipper Jones, Atlanta. Jones led the National League in batting, but his missed time probably cost him, as he finished with only 22 homers and 75 RBI’s.

Next to last we have Pitcher of the Year. The four big contenders are Johan Santana, Tim Lincecum, Ryan Dempster, and Brandon Webb. Santana led the NL in ERA, was 2nd in strikeouts, and 7th in wins. He also led the National League in quality starts with 28. Dempster went from bullpen mediocrity in 2007 to top of the line starter in 2008. He was 4th in ERA, 3rd in wins, and 8th in quality starts. An impressive year from someone that was only being counted on to be a #5 starter. Webb, the 2006 NL Cy Young award winner, won 20 games for the first time in his career, finishing with 22 as the only NL pitcher to win 20. He was in the top 10 in ERA, complete games, and quality starts. But no ones season was not as impressive as Lincecum, the Statnuttie pitcher of the year. Lincecum went 18-5, posting a winning percentage that was .339 better than his teams. He led the National in strikeouts, and was second to Santana in ERA and quality starts. Runner up: Santana

And last but not least we come to MVP. For the MVP, I have devised a little formula. I have not tried it out yet, so this will be an almost live experiment. The formula is thus:
-1 point for playing on a winning team
-2 points for playing on a playoff team
-1 point for being a catcher, shortstop, second baseman or centerfielder
-1 point for a top 5 finish in homers, RBI’s, runs, batting average or OPS
-3 points for leading the league in one of those categories.

So lets see who the top 5 are:
5)R. Braun/G. Soto/L.Berkman: 4
4)C. Utley: 5
3)H. Ramirez: 6
2)A. Pujols: 8
1)R. Howard:11


Interesting. My formula picked someone I wouldn’t pick myself. In Howards favor are: led the league in homers and RBI’s, and played on a playoff team. Why I wouldn’t pick Howard personally, is how awful he played most of the year. Also, no National League MVP has ever had a batting average lower than .267, and that was during World War II(and Stan Musial should have won that award anyway).
But there you have it. I’ll stand by the formula. Ryan Howard is the 2008 Statnuttie MVP Award. I’ll be curious to see what others think. As for the MVP Formula, I'll continue to tweak it.

MLB's World Series embarrasment

Bud Selig suspending yesterday's Game 5 was a huge deal. Never in history has a World Series game been suspended, nor has one been called on account of rain. Had the Rays not scored in the top of the 6th, shortly before the game was suspended, under MLB rules the Phillies would have technically had a case for them to be declared World Series winners. Bud Selig claims he would not have allowed that. But either way, it would have been a disaster, and left a bad taste in fans mouths.

This is on top of the, at best, shoddy umpiring we've seen thus far. There have been 3 blown calls(Baldelli's walk in Game 2, Moyer's tag in Game 3, and Rollins being taged out at 3rd in Game 4). All of them were big calls, and all were blown badly. This is on top of the awful strike zones being used. Last night, Scott Kazmir threw two perfect strike threes in the 5th to Pat Burrell. Too bad home play umpire Jeff Kellog called them balls 3 and 4. In the top of the 6th, the same pitch was ruled a strike for Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels.

MLB has a problem on their hands. Game 3 was a terrific game, with an exciting finish. Too bad that many East Coasters were probably in bed by the time it end, seeing as it started almost 2 hours late.

There's no excuse for these types of things. World Series games should not be starting at 8:30 on a Saturday night. Nor on a weeknight. My solutions:

1)Weekend World Series games start at 5:30 PM EST. This would allow kids to actually stay up and watch a game from start to finish. I guarantee that fans will tune in even if the game isnt in prime time.

2)Weekday World Series games start at 7 PM EST. This will put the games into prime-time, but still have them start early enough that games wont end around midnight on the east.

3)With all of the technology around for weather forecasting, why didnt it occur to anyone to move up Game 3 and Game 5's start time, to avoid the problems that occurred. You can't tell me that on Saturday morning, MLB didnt know that rain would be a problem around game time. Had they been flexible and moved the game up 2-3 hours, there wouldnt have been a problem.

4)Change the archaic rain rules. If a game has any kind of implications(playoff game, regular season game that could clinch a playoff spot), allow for it to be made up later. Don't declare a winner based on 4 and a half innings of play. That would be like the NFL determining a game at the half.

5)Make sure a)the very best umpires are calling a WS game year in and year out, and b)blown playoff calls weigh heavily against an umpire when it is time to hand out World Series assignments.

I'm sure MLB will take none of these suggestions under consideration, because for the first 3, FOX rules those decisions. But maybe with the upcoming MLB Network, baseball will be able to regain some measure of control over these things.

Game 5 Preview

Joe Maddon's lineup shakeup is interesting, but leading off with Iwamura, who hasnt had a hit since game 1 may be a critical mistake. Inserting Baldelli is interesting, and makes sense with the lefty Hamels on the mound. I like the 2-3-4-5 of Crawford/Upton/Pena/Longoria, but will it be too little, too late?

I'm gonna say Rays have one more win in them, and scratch together just enough offense to force a game 6.

Stick a fork in the Rays

they're done for in Game 4. They can only hope they have enough fight in them to get it back to Tampa. One game at a time.

Ryan Madson

sure has come a long way from failed starter.

This heart of the order

has no pulse. You cant win if your big hitters arent hitting.

Phillies pen

Is lights out. Maybe all of them can be the WS MVP?

If the Rays lose Game 4

Maddon should consider dropping Iwamura to the 8th spot against the lefty Hamels, and playing Fernando Perez in right field, batting leadoff. They are struggling offensively, so perhaps the new, speedy blood at the top of the lineup could invigorate them.

I give

Iwamura a 30% chance of reaching base here.

Wonder if going to Kazmir in game 4

Would have made a difference. Last time a Game 1 starter started Game 4 was in 2001, Curt Schilling against the Yankees.

good at-bat

Even though Utley struck out, he really made Jackson work for it.

Phillies Pitchers

are getting the calls the last two nights. I wonder if they're getting the benefit of a wider strike zone because they're "veterans", while the Rays pitchers are unproven "kids". Wouldn't surprise me at all, not that anyone would admit it.

Dang

You dont expect to see that in the WS. Jackson did give up 23 homers this year, but to a pitcher, thats inexcusable. Last pitcher to hit a homer in the WS, as noted in the telecast, was Ken Holtzman, also in game 4, and for Oakland, Blanton's old team.

Rays have a gripe

They've really been victimized by poor calls and inconsistent strike zone. That same pitch was a strike for Blanton last inning. Last night, Moyer received a number of calls that were boderline at best(including one that I swear was on the chalk of the batter box. On the opposite side of the hitter).

New poll

It's early, but tell me who you think the WS MVP thus far is? If other, leave it in the comments.

The Rays

cant catch a break. Looks like I was half right, Sonnanstine gone after 4 innings. Good call though hitting Hinske. Now if the Rays could just get some runners on...

This is why

the talk of not throwing Howard a fastball is silly. Feed him a steady diet of breaking balls, and he'll eventually time it and do that.

Conversely

the Rays were 13-24 when trailing after the first.

When ahead

the Phillies were 36-10 when leading after the 1st inning this year.

Crawford

Nice shot. Hopefully it will wake them up, cause they have looked dead to this point. Who would have guessed Crawford would lead the team in homers during the WS?

How much longer

Can Sonnanstine survive? How much longer will the Phillies leave runners on base? Tampa is lucky to be in this game, they have to take advantage of that soon.

Finally.

Man, it was like watching a slow death. Can Ruiz continue his hot hitting?

Floodgates

I have a feeling that error is going to open the gates for the Phils.

Blanton

is cruising. No one is making him work. 42 pitches through 3 innings. With 4 strikeouts. By the way, Blanton's career high is 10 whiffs in a game. WS record is Bob Gibson with 17. I think that's pretty safe.

Settling in-end of the 2nd

Looks like Sonny settled in nicely in the 2nd. He needs to keep that going, and he needs his offense to pick him up. Pena and Longoria are scuffling, someone else needs to pick up the slack? Iwamura? Or Upton?

Hacking is right-bottom 2nd

The Rays arent going up there with any kind of idea. They are taking terrible swings, and thats giving Blanton all sorts of confidence.

Wasted chances-End of the 1st

When will this come back to bite the Phillies? Cant leave the bases loaded like, with a chance to knock out a young pitcher. Let's see how Tampa responds.

Pat Burrell

is one of those players who won't be appreciated by Philly fans until he leaves. He's more known for what he doesnt do(hit for a high average, play good defense) than what he does do well(hit 30+ homers, post high OBP's). It's a shame.

Bad decision, bad call

Hate to agree with McCarver, but there was no reason to not turn two on that one. And Rollins was clearly out.

Werth

Boy is he a good fundamental ball player. One of the best unnoticed free agent signings of the last few years. Dodgers and the Blue Jays made a mistake letting him get away.

Not a good start

The Rays cant afford to let the Phillies get out ahead early again. Like Garza last night, Sonnanstine looks wild and uncomfortable.

Sonnanstine

looks wild in warmups. We'll see how that translates to the game.

Bottom of 1st

Blanton looked good early on. I have to question why Pena was swinging there.

Prediction

Tonights going to be a high-scoring game. Neither pitcher will last more than 5 innings.

Poll on tonights starters

Curious as to what anyone out there thinks about the pitching matchup tonight, so there's a poll on the right side. Vote if you want.

Lineups

The lineups are pretty much the same, with the exception of Ben Zobrist starting in rightfield. I havent understood this move at all this post-season. Zobrist has played 2 regular season games in rf, both coming this year. He has Eric Hinske, Fernando Perez, Gabe Gross, and Rocco Baldelli on the bench. Zobrist did manage 24 extra base hits in less than 200 AB's this year, but I would think it would be risky asking him to play an unfamiliar position on the WS.

Tonights pitching matchup

An interesting matchup. Andy Sonnanstine has been excellent in the playoffs, allowing a .220 OBP, and is 2-0. Joe Blanton on the other hand, is 1-0, but hitters are teeing off on him, posting a .340 OBP. This could be the pitcher Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena have been waiting for to get their WS into gear.

Live Blogging tonights WS game

I'll be doing some live-blogging during Game 4 tonight. Joe Blanton vs Andy Sonnanstine.