Does it seem like I enjoy baseball?..
2010 will most definitely be remembered as the season of the pitcher. We witnessed 7 no-hitters. Well...technically 6 (I counted Armando Galarraga). One pitcher (some guy named Roy Halladay) had two by himself. Ubaldo Jimenez had 15 wins before the All-Star break. Cliff Lee has become trade bait central, landing on his 4th team in two years (and second World Series loss in that time span), although it's safe to assume he'll land a huge deal this offseason, keeping him off the trading block.
Power numbers were down, but some players still blossomed. Robinson Cano had his breakout campaign, while Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre bounced back from off-season(s). On the senior circuit, Carlos Gonzalez and Joey Votto showed Albert Pujols that he isn't the only Triple Crown threat in the National League anymore. And Jose Bautista, with a previous career high of 16 home runs, tore the cover off the ball with 54 homers. CoughsteroidsCough.
So, let us take a gander at some Regular Season awards.
AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit (Josh Hamilton, Robinson Cano)
If Josh Hamilton played the last month of the season, he would take this handedly. He could still take it! But my vote would go to Cabrera who, besides average, was better or close to Hamilton in major hitting categories. Cano carried a Yankees squad who had a struggling Jeter, Teixeira, and A-Rod. He could steal this, too
NL MVP: Albert Pujols, St. Louis (Carlos Gonzalez, Joey Votto)
This decision would have been easier if one of them won the triple crown. But, Pujols got two of out three, so let's go with him. Gonzalez and Votto will most likely will have an MVP trophy sooner or later. Heck, they could this year. My vote (if I had one) goes Pujols.
AL Rookie: Neftali Feliz, Texas (Austin Jackson, Detroit)
Jackson had a fine season in Detroit; .293 average, 103 runs, 27 steals. But Feliz made a major impact on this league, converting 40 of 43 save opportunities. Makes me wonder why I dropped him in Fantasy Baseball to start the year...
NL Rookie: Buster Posey, San Francisco (Jaime Garcia, Jason Heyward)
Heyward, at the close of his career, may statistically have better numbers then Posey. But from when he first arrived until the last game of the regular season against the Padres, Posey transformed the Giants into a World Series team, controlling the pitching staff remarkably (not to mention his bat). Stephen Strasburg would have strong consideration if he was not injured.
AL Manager: Ron Washington, Texas (Terry Francona, Ron Gardenhire)
Boston bias would pick Francona. You can easily make a case for him, dealing with all of his injuries and still making a playoff push late into September. Washington, however, under scrutiny for failed drug tests in the past, helped lead Rangers to its first playoff series victory ever.
NL Manager: Bruce Bochy, San Francisco (Bud Black, Bobby Cox)
Yeah I know, typical "they got to the World Series". But, playoff outcomes do not determine the postseason awards (although I did mention Ron Washington's playoff success). Bochy's Giants were able to capitalize on the late season struggles of Bud Black's Padres. Black would probably have this award, or rather, my vote, if it weren't for that. Cox will get votes because of his retirement, leading his Braves back to the playoffs in his final year.
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, Seattle (Clay Buchholz, CC Sabathia)
Hernandez deserves
to win this. Buchholz, in my humble opinion, should get more support than Sabathia. A 3.18 ERA in a pitcher's season should not take the Cy Young award. Sure, King Felix was only 13-12. But he lead the league in ERA and Ks, not to mention that he pitched 30 quality starts! While the record doesn't show it, Hernandez did keep his team in the game. They just didn't hit the ball. If Buchholz pitches the whole season, he's right in the hunt. (Seems to be a common trend among injured players).NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia (Ubaldo Jimenez, Adam Wainwright)
Jimenez couldn't keep up his first half domination of the League. He was incredible, and it's too bad he couldn't keep it going. Halladay and Wainwright have eerily similar numbers, but Halladay had 9 complete games, plus a perfect game. And made the playoffs. Wainwright's team was not able to accomplish that.
Team to watch in 2010: Oakland Athletics
Doesn't it always seem like Oakland always finds new pitchers? Don't look now, but the A's pitching is starting to develop like the early 2000s with Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito. And then when they re-tooled with Joe Blanton and Dan Haren. Now it's Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, and Dallas Braden (another perfect game), and they could help the A's cause some problems when they get a little offensive help.
Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants. Sneaking into the playoffs and then just taking the whole damn thing. Well played.
So, baseball get's a seat on the back burner for awhile. When anything big happens (i.e. Dice-K getting shipped back to Japan and the acquisition of Cliff Lee), we will re-visit baseball. Until then, Happy Basketball (or your Fall/Winter sport of choice) season, Ultimate Boston.
And of course, feel free to discuss the MLB regular season awards below.
Dude I can't even explain the immensity of the shit I do not give about baseball.
ReplyDeleteNot an attack on you, Joseph, or the UB blog's baseball coverage.
Baseball's popularity is floundering, and I feel like alot of people feel the way I do about baseball, which is a shame. Its a great game, but the excitement so diluted by the number of games played. You have to be such a hardcore fan to even keep up with it.
I know thats it's not even a remotly feasable option, but I think baseball would benefit greatly from having only a couple games a week. It's so much easier to be a casual fan when there aren't 162 games. I know, personally, that the MLB turns me off as a fan just due to the number of games a season. It's just too much effort to be a casual fan.
Unfortunately, I agree with Shane in that baseball is losing it's zeal, which is a shame. Do we blame steroids? A little, because it exposed that athletes aren't as "super-human"as they used to seem. But the NFL is in now. But popularity of anything has ebbs and flows, whether it be a sport, a musician, pro wrestling, whatever. In five years the NFL could be in the same position. Dare I say the NFL probably won't be nearly as popular as it is now in 10 years.
ReplyDeleteBaseball will always be my favorite sport because anybody can play, meaning you don't have to be 6'9 or a great "traditional" athlete per say. It's still America's past time, but it's not America's fad at this point.
I could go on and on about why baseball is the best sport, but I might save it for a column.
And I 100% agree with Joe's picks, particularly the A's breaking out next year. They're almost like the Randall Flagg of the MLB; just when you think they're down they come back up. It may take a couple of years, but they have the powerand brains (Billy Beane) to become a contender again (shamless "The Stand" reference.)
No offense taken.
ReplyDeleteBaseball is definitely a "acquired taste" if you will. I'm sure there are people (besides the players) who see all of the games of their hometown team. I see a good majority, but hey, you're right, you do have to have a life sometimes. And they are talking about expanding playoffs? Terrible idea.
Unfortunately, I don't think baseball gets the hype that it used to come spring training time, or really come playoff time. During spring training, and come opening day, the NBA and NHL are approaching the playoffs...while the playoffs are overshadowed by the NFL.
Another reason I think is the TV coverage. Sure, FOX can garner some attention. But the fact that they share some of the playoffs with TBS doesn't help. The TBS network is clearly trying to become more mainstream, like FOX, CBS, NBC, ABC, TNT (basketball). And some channel called ESPN, who would rather cover The Cowboys and Vikings playing each other with 1-3 records instead of covering the Major League Baseball playoffs.
But I do agree, 162 games is hard to follow. Hopefully, baseball can bounce back, but for now it's third in line for major sports (Football and Basketball). Sorry Hockey.
And, hopefully this comment is literate.
ESPN is the problem, too. Sure the NFL ismore popular, but I do not need football analysis on a Wednesday when it's the world series. You wouldn't even know the WS was going on if you watched only ESPN.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely agree. I sort of tried to hint at that when I referenced the Cowboys-Vikings 1-3 match-up in my previous comment. But I'm with you on that.
ReplyDeleteMaybe disagree. I completely stated the opposite of that when I did not reference the Cowboys-Vikings 1-3 match-up in my future comment. But I'm not with you on that.
ReplyDelete