Center of the Sports Universe

(AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)

Below are my selections for the 2009 awards in Major League Baseball.  I added stats my winners to clarify why I chose them and I also included some stats on some players that may make you scratch your head.  Agree or disagree, these are my awards:

NL MVP

1. Albert Pujols (1B-STL) – 1st in HR, XBH, WAR, OBP, SLG, OPS, and wOBA.
2. Chase Utley (2B-PHI)
3. Hanley Ramirez (SS-FLA)
4. Prince Fielder (1B-MIL)
5. Troy Tulowitzki (SS-COL)
6. Ryan Zimmerman (3B-WAS)
7. Matt Kemp (OF-LAD)
8. Adrian Gonzalez (1B-SD)
9. Derek Lee (1B-CHC)
10. Ryan Braun (OF-MIL)

AL MVP

1. Joe Mauer (C-MIN) – 2nd in WAR, AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, and plays toughest position in the game.
2. Ben Zobrist (2B-TB) – 1st in WAR, 4th in OBP, OPS, 2nd in fielding value.
3. Miguel Cabrera (1B-DET)
4. Zack Greinke (SP-KC)
5. Derek Jeter (SS-NYY)
6. Mark Teixeira (1B-NYY)
7. Evan Longoria (3B-TB)
8. Kevin Youkilis (1B-BOS)
9. Chone Figgins (3B-LAA)
10. Adam Lind (OF-TOR)

NL Cy Young

1. Tim Lincecum (SP-SF) – 1st in WAR, FIP, SO, and K/9, tied for 1st in CG and SHO, 2nd in ERA, 3rd in IP
2. Adam Wainwright (SP-STL)
3. Javier Vazquez (SP-ATL) – 2nd in WAR, FIP, and K/BB, 3rd in K/9, 4th in BB/9
4. Chris Carpenter (SP-STL)
5. Dan Haren (SP-ARI)
6. Matt Cain (SP-SF)
7. Jonathan Broxton (RP-LAD) – 76 IP, 114/29 K/BB, 1.97 FIP, 2.61 ERA, .165/.247/.232 against, 0.96 WHIP, 1st in WAR among relievers.
8. Jair Jurrjens (SP-ATL)
9. Josh Johnson (SP-FLA)
10. Ubaldo Jimenez (SP-COL)

AL Cy Young

1. Zack Greinke (SP-KC) – 1st in WAR, ERA, FIP, WHIP, OBP, 2nd in K, CG, SHO, and K/BB.
2. Roy Halladay (SP-TOR) – 1st in K/BB, CG, SHO, BB/9, and P/IP, 2nd in IP and OBP, 3rd in WAR, ERA, and FIP.
3. Felix Hernandez (SP-SEA) – 1st in BAA and SLG, 2nd in ERA, 3rd in IP, WHIP, 4th in FIP and WAR.
4. Justin Verlander (SP-DET)
5. Jon Lester (SP-BOS)
6. C.C. Sabathia (SP-NYY)
7. Josh Beckett (SP-BOS)
8. Jered Weaver (SP-LAA)
9. Edwin Jackson (SP-DET)
10. Mariano Rivera (RP-NYY)

NL Rookie Of the Year

1. Andrew McCutchen (OF-PIT) – 1st in WAR (among rookies) and just read this for more on him.
2. Chris Coghlan (OF-FLA)
3. Tommy Hanson (SP-ATL)
4. J.A. Happ (SP-PHI)
5. Garrett Jones (OF-PIT)
6. Randy Wells (SP-CHC)
7. Casey McGehee (3B-MIL)

AL Rookie Of the Year

1. Brett Anderson (SP-OAK) – 1st in WAR among all AL rookies, 175 IP, 3.69 FIP (8th in the AL), 150/45 K/BB.
2. Elvis Andrus (SS-TEX)
3. Andrew Bailey (RP-OAK)
4. Jeff Niemann (SP-TB)
5. Rick Porcello (SP-DET)
6. Nolan Reimold (OF-BAL)
7. Gordon Beckham (3B-CHW)

NL Manager Of the Year

1. Jim Tracy (COL)
2. Tony LaRussa (STL)
3. Fredi Gonzalez (FLA)

AL Manager Of the Year

1. Mike Scioscia (LAA)
2. Ron Washington (TEX)
3. Ron Gardenhire (MIN)

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The Pittsburgh Pirates avoided the dreaded 100 loss plateau this year partially thanks to a rained out game that will not be made up against the Chicago Cubs, leaving them with 99 losses on the season. At this point, who cares anymore? They have 17 consecutive losing seasons and there is nothing to chear about when you lose 99 games. The Pirates’ offense ranks last in the NL in runs (16th), 15th in SLUG, 14th in AVG, 14th in OBP, and 14th in OPS. Is there hope in the future? I think so, and hope’s name is Andrew McCutchen.

McCutchen, the 11th overall pick in the historic 2005 draft, looked like a potential star when I saw him in Spring Training. He hit .286/.365/.471 with an OPS+ of 124, a wOBA of .368, 12 homers, 26 doubles, 9 triples, 22 steals, and 54 walks, and he only grounded into 3 double plays in 433 at-bats in his 2009 rookie season at the tender age of 22.

On defense, McCutchen was gunning runners down in center too with 10 outfield assists and only 2 errors. His UZR/150 was -0.5 but he actually plays a stellar centerfield and should consistently post positive UZR/150 ratings.

Fangraphs has McCutchen’s 2009 production value at $15.8M while only making the league minimum and not qualifying for the batting title due to lack of plate appearances.

The bottom line is that McCutchen is going to be a star. His rookie season was even better than it appears. Among centerfielders with at least 475 plate appearances he ranks 2nd in wOBA behind Matt Kemp, 3rd in OPS behind Torii Hunter and Kemp, and 3rd in outfield assists.

In a full season, McCutchen will be what B.J. Upton should be, annually hitting 20+ homers, stealing 35+ bases, posting OPS’s over .850, playing above-average defense in center, and playing in All-Star games. This kid is a star in the making and Pittsburgh has the player to build a contender around and hope for the future.

(AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

The Detroit Tigers are sitting atop the AL Central with a handful of games left to play, a 20-year old starter, no real 5th starter all season, a patchwork bullpen, and a few injury woes.

Among corner position players losing time to injury or alleged disputes about a vesting option are Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Guillen, Marcus Thames, and Jeff Larish. The Tigers have lost a lot of man hours, especially in left field this year. That’s where Ryan Raburn steps in.

Raburn, never having 200 plate appearances in any season in the majors, filled in nicely for the injured players listed above.  Jim Leyland played Raburn at five different positions this season and could eclipse 300 plate appearances for the first time in his big leage career.

Raburn is currently hitting .281/.345/.517 with an OPS+ of 121 and a wOBA of .366.  Raburn has 14 homers, 11 doubles, 2 triples and 5 steals in 242 fill-in at-bats.  His HR/FB rate is 15.9% and will be very hard to sustain but it is not impossible.

Raburn has helped offset the underwhelming offensive performances of basically the entire starting lineup:  Gerald Laird (.226/.309/.327), Adam Everett (.236/.287/.325), Brandon Inge (.232/.323/.418), Curtis Granderson (.247/.328/.447), Magglio Ordonez (7 homers in 427 at-bats), and Carlos Guillen (.246/.331/.439).

Raburn has also done well in the outfield.  Overall, he has a 3.7 UZR/150 as an outfielder in 475 innings of work.  His infield work, well, not so much.  Raburn belongs in the outfield.  Fangraphs has Raburn valued at $5.1M with his 1.1 WAR (wins above replacement).  Not bad for a guy with under 300 PAs and making close to the league minimum.

Houston Astros GM Ed Wade, owner Drayton McLane, and president of baseball operations Tal Smith met with Cecil Cooper in his office on Monday to inform him that his time as Houston’s manager was over. They decided to point the finger at the manager at the bottom of the totem pole with only 13 games left in the season. Was the firing just? It may have been, but, he is not the only one to blame.

Cecil Cooper, since taking over for Phil Garner, had a 171-170 record. Not too bad, at least not bad enough to warrant a firing on it’s own. The reason he was fired was becuase upper management needed a scapegoat and Cooper lost the respect of his players.

Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle notes that “Cooper burned some bridges last year when his veterans became convinced he lied to them during a team meeting.” He also mentions that “[Cooper] lost a few players that day. Two veterans say that on the day Aaron Boone tearfully told his teammates he was to undergo heart surgery, Cooper used the moment to get on his guys for not playing harder. To say his timing was bad would be an understatement.”

You obviously can’t win with a manager your players don’t trust and have little respect for. Soft spoken and nice guy Lance Berkaman said “I do think something has to change. The environment is not good.”

Cooper is not the only one to blame. 

Owner Drayton McLane is the number one guy to blame.  Sure he approved a budget that crossed the $100M plateau but he has the money for it.  He also has money to approve at least a league average budget in the draft but decides to go under slot and never over it.  David Coleman has a great article on McLane and how he spends his money.  In his article he notes that “[2003, 2006-2009] the Astros have spent the least amount of money on draft picks of any team”  This has lead to the Astros having a bottom-of-the-barrel farm system the last 5-7 years.

And don’t go blaming GM Ed Wade.  He has done a decent job.  Blame McLane for hiring other bum GMs that have this team eating bad contracts.

Sure, there were problems at the bottom with manager Cecil Cooper, sure some of the players are having poor seasons, but the problem is, and has always been at the top with owner Drayton McLane.  He can point the finger all he wants but his team will never win as long as he is pointing it.

“If I back up this year with the same kind of year next year, I don’t want to play the game. The game is not fun to me when I’m not playing up to my standards.” Those were the words of Chipper Jones just the other day.

Jones has had a tough time staying healthy the past six seasons. And while he has performed very well in each of those six seasons –this season is not as awful as some might think– he may retire after next season if he cannot return to what he considers his norm. So, the question that comes to mind when a great player like Chipper Jones utters the word retirement is: is he a hall of famer? I say yes, and on the first ballot.

Among switch hitters, Jones ranks third all-time in homers with 424, second in AVG at .308, fourth in OBP at .407, fourth in SLG at .542, third in OPS at .949, fifth in doubles with 469, fourth in total bases at 4208, fourth in walks at 1331 (only two behind Eddie Murray who is third), and third in OPS+ at 143.

His career numbers, switch-hitter or not, should be enough to get him in the hall anyway. On top of the numbers listed above, Jones also has 142 steals, more walks than strikeouts (1331/1219), 3741 times on base, 1438 RBI, 1448 runs scored, a wOBA of .404, and a postseason line of .288/.411/.459 with 18 doubles, 13 homers, 8 steals, and a 72/60 BB/K rate in 333 at-bats. Jones also won an MVP award (1999) and finished in the top 12 eight other times. Oh, and he was an above-average defender for his career.

There is no doubt in my mind that Jones is a first-ballot hall of famer. He has the credentials, he has been an iconic figure in his generation, and his name was clean in an era when steroids and HGH ruled the headlines. The best part is that Jones will continue to climb the leaderboards when he plays next season and possibly beyond. It will be a sad day the day Jones walks off the field for good but bet on seeing him give a speech at Cooperstown five years after he hangs up his cleats for good.

(AP Photo/John Froschauer)

The Rays, even though they say they didn’t, mailed their season in when they traded their best pitcher in franchise history in Scott Kazmir while still in playoff contention. Sure, the Rays needed to save some cash, and they got three very good prospects in return, but you can’t sell playoff hopes to fans when you deal your franchises best pitcher of all-time at the tender age of 25. The Rays loss was the Angels gain, a team headed to the playoffs.

Since Kid K’s arrival in Los Angeles he has started two games, going 13.1 innings, allowing only 2 earned runs for a 1.35 ERA, 6 hits for a .128 BAA, and strikingout 12 against just 3 walks.  Sure, the numbers may be in small sample sizes, but the stuff is up and the control is above-average and he’s pitched deep in both starts for the playoff-bound Angels.

Kazmir’s fastball has also been up. Maybe it’s re-uniting with Mike Butcher or maybe it’s something else but he is averageing 92.5 mph on his fastball with the Angels compared to 90.7 mph when he was with the Rays.  He has also cut his BB/9 in half and is attacking the strike zone with confidence.  Sure, the numbers may be in small sample sizes, but the stuff is up and the control is above-average.

Kazmir may very well be back on track to being a mid-3 ERA and 9.0+ K/9 guy again, or better, and if he is, then the Angels got a great pitcher locked up to a great contract for the next two seasons who also has playoff experience under his belt. Not a bad deal for the Angels at all.

(AP Photo)

Pedro Martinez outdueled one of the best starters in the game on Thursday night in Tim Lincecum. Pedro went 7 innings allowing one run on five hits while striking out 9 and walking none, flashing above-average stuff all night.

Pedro’s fastball has been averaging 88.3 mph, his best since 2004, and he has found a new love for a cutter (seems to be a pitch that is re-making pitchers lately), using it almost 19% of the time. Pedro is keeping hitters off balance by changing speeds and pounding all areas of the strike zone with pinpoint control and hitters are only hitting line-drives 19.7% of the time off of his stuff.

Pedro’s stuff has been above-average so far this year. Maybe Pedro has had enough time off to get his health back to 100%, maybe this is too small a sample size, or maybe he is back as a reliable starter. Who knows? All we know is that so far, Pedro is dealing.

Currently sitting at 3-0 with an ERA of 3.52 and a 23/4 K/BB rate in 23 innings, Pedro is proving that he has something left to offer in the majors and he may get himself a nice one or two year deal in the offseason if he keeps this up down the strech. Welcome back Pedro.

Jonathan Broxton is rarely mentioned in talks as an elite reliever. It’s probably because he wasn’t a full-time “closer” until this season and relievers rarely get mentioned unless they are racking up the overrated “save”.

Well, Broxton is racking up those saves this season (he has 28) but there still seems to be little talk of him. We here more about Joe Torre running his pen to the ground than we do about one of the most dominant arms in the game.

Broxton currently sits at 7-1 with 28 saves, 1 hold (his infamous “8th inning save), and a 2.83 ERA.  Pretty good numbers, but he has actually out performed them.

Hitters are hitting a major league low (min 60 innings) .166 against Broxton and slugging for a major league low (tied) of .251 this year.  Hitters are just flat out finding it hard to make contact with Broxton’s stuff.  He leads the majors with a 13.28 K/9 rate (89 strikeouts in 60.1 innings), and when they do make contact it is pretty weak.  Hitters are only hitting line-drives off of Broxton 17.7% of the time and his groundball rate is the best of his career at 54%.

Broxton’s stuff is also the best it has ever been.  His fastball averages 97.8 mph (best in the majors by 1.6 mph), his slider averages 88.1 mph (2nd behind Andrew Bailey) and hitter’s contact percentage is 69.3%.  All are top marks for Broxton’s young career.

Broxton’s numbers at the surface are great but his numbers below the surface are some of the best, if not the best, in the entire league.  So, next time you talk about relievers, please tone down the talk on saves and give guys like Broxton a little more attention.