On this date 15 years ago, the Yankees and Rockies became the first Wild Card teams in baseball history. Both were eliminated in the League Championship Series however, with the Mariners and Braves doing the honors. Nine Wild Card teams have reached the World Series since, with the Marlins (1997 & 2003), Angels (2002), and Red Sox (2004) taking home championships.
A few days before the 2010 postseason begins, let's look around the baseball blogosphere…
- 1 Blue Jays Way interviewed Mel Queen, Toronto's senior adviser of Player Development.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness tries to find a taker for Jonathan Broxton.
- Pine Tar And Pocket Protectors attempts to determine if a Carlos Zambrano trade would be worth it for the Cubs.
- Royals Review wonders if Gregor Blanco is part of Kansas City's future.
- Red Sox Beacon looks at what Boston must do to fix its bullpen.
- Beyond The Box Score breaks down the performance of the Yankees' four $20MM a year players.
- The Sports Banter places odds on whether or not four clubs could acquire Albert Pujols.
- Cubs Pack tries to figure out who will hit leadoff on Chicago's north side next season.
- The Southpaw examines Jose Bautista's MVP case.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here
Pujols is not going anywhere, is the best player in the game, and no team is going to risk their future for 1 year of Pujols, maybe a package would include Trout, Morales, Conger and Trumbo, or Smoak, Ackley, Franklin, and Pineda, I think is impossible
If the Angels even consider that deal they are nuts. Morales ‘at a fraction of the price’ for 34/108 in 2009 and was on pace for 33/117 this year. Instead of paying Pujols $30 mil a year, trading Morales, Trout who ‘many consider the top prospecr in baseball’ and a future closer (bullpen is an area of need for the Angels) the Angels could just sign Beltre (Morales/Beltre better then Pujols/whomever) and there would still be money left over to get Crawford if they desire.
Morales/Beltre/Crawford/Trout/Walden or Pujols and $5-10 mil??? Easy call…
so your telling me they could sign beltre, and still have money left over for Crawford along with giving raises to guys like Morales?
im calling BS
Hell yes! Trade Zambrano now! He said he would play for the Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, or White Sox. even though BOS, CHW have set rotations NYY and LAD could maybe be destinations.
CHW
Peavy
Danks
Jackson
Buehrle
Floyd
BOS
Beckett
Lester
Lackey
Buchholz
Dice-K
NYY-Not in order
CC
Burnett
Hughes
?- Cliff Lee?
? – Carlos Zambrano?
LAD
Kershaw
Billingsley
Lilly- They’re going to resign him
?- Z
?
Big Z last 10 starts7-0 1.27 ERA 55 SO in 64 IP. Z should get 1 more start before the seasons end if he finishes strong and doesn’t blow up the Cubs should have negotiations this Winter about him. Kosuke is most likely gone too.
Zambrano? I would bet Pettitte comes back for 1 more year and then they sign Cliff Lee. That way the rotation is CC-Lee-Burnett-Pettitte-Hughes, with Aceves coming back healthy and resigning Moseley to another 1 year deal so both of them are long relievers and can spot start. Nova starts at AAA, but if anything goes wrong, can provide more rotational depth.
I wouldn’t count on the Mexican Gangster. His back injury sounds pretty serious if he’s been out all year.
I guess Ely has a rotation spot unless they find someone else to replace him. Maybe they keep Lilly and Kuroda and get Zambrano? That wouldn’t be a terrible rotation.
Also, that’s my article you’re referring to 🙂
I know its not gonna happen, but I’d love to see the Dodger and Red Sox swap question mark guys.
Papelbon, Ellsbury, Dice K
for
Kemp (Eithier?), Broxton, Russel Martin.
Ethier is far from a question mark guy. Ellsbury/Kemp and Papelbon/Broxton are probably pretty close. Too bad the dodgers won’t want to add the payroll in Papelbon. Plus Torre is gone so Broxton will be able to close again without being in his doghouse.
Oh I know Ethier is not a question mark. I brought his name up b/c he mentioned he’d like to play for the Sox and he’s good friends with Pedroia.
No he didn’t.
twitter.com/Sean_McAdam/status/24533621749
he actually said that if he were to be traded to boston he would be open to the idea, he didnt just come out and say that he wants to play for them.
Just stop it. You’re completely out of your mind.
LAD would laugh at that one. Matsuzaka probably have the NL eating out of his hand for a year or 2, but his trade value is not that high and Papelbon is going to be making 10m next season, with Boxton just about as good and making 3m less. Ells coming off an injury.
Sure Martin forgot how to hit and Eithier to play any kind of RF defense, but Colletti not gonna make that based on 2010 Ells stats, maybe coming out 0f 2009 when he showed he was a force in the field, but not until he kicks the health risk tag does he have a ton of value IMO.
Martin would probably be the Sox target from the Dodgers if Boston could have a pick, or one I would like to see them go after if the could convince them to take Matsuzaka and more, then convince Matsuzaka to accept the deal.
Personally I give Sabathia the MVP (but not the Cy Young, I give that to King Felix)…The Yankees do not do anything this year without Sabathia fronting that rotation.
This is of course if you consider the MVP to be the most VALUABLE player and not the best hitter in the league.
Alright, so you think that Sabathia is the most valuable Yankee. How does that make him the most valuable AL player? I think there is a stronger case for several other players.
Yeah without CC, I bet the Yanks still make the playoffs. They still probably beat the Red Sox. Was CC alone worth 7 wins? Maybe…but that’s pushing it. According to WAR he’s not there.
MVP should be Longroia. WAR over 7…..they are 7 games over the Red Sox. Without him, they aren’t in the playoffs.
Miggy Cabrera and Bautista should receive exactly ZERO votes for MVP. If Cabrera wasn’t on the Tigers, guess where they’d finish? 3rd in the AL Central. Where are they finishing with him? 3rd in the AL central. Not valuable at all to the TEAM this year (he’s a great player though).
Blue Jays will finish 4th in the AL East with Bautista…..guess where’d they would have finished without him? wow, crazy….4th in the AL East.
It’s called the MOST VALUABLE PLAYER. Not the best hitter in the AL, not the guy with the best OPS, not the guy with the most HRs. MOST VALUABLE.
Bautista should be up for the Hank Aaron award (though I’d give it to Cabrera), but if he receives a single MVP vote I’ll be very, very, very disappointed.
MVP should be Miguel. Tampa won on their pitching staff, not their hitters. Longoria has mediocre power numbers (22hrs), high K% (21.6), decent average and OBP, and good speed but he has only stolen 5 bases since May. But he has hardly been an offensive powerhouse. You can put the defense in but I still don’t think his offensive numbers are enough to give him the award. Especially when you have 1 player who is vastly superior.
Longoria: .294/.372/.507, 22 HRs, 169 hits, 10.9 BB%, 21.6 K%, .213 ISO, .376 wOBA
Miguel: .328/.420/.622, 38HRs, 180 hits, 13.7 BB%, 17.3 K%, .294 ISO, .428 wOBA
Say what you want about defense but Miguel has been so much more valuable than Longoria. You put Miguel on the Rays and Longoria on the Tigers and I doubt we would be having this conversation. Don’t penalize Miguel for his team, he was the reason they were in it.
heck if you aren’t open to Miguel over Longoria, you have to admit Hamilton should be over him. WAR leader for a playoff team, good UZR, and vastly superior offensive numbers. I don’t see how Longoria would be in this MVP conversation tbh.
Cabrera was the scariest hitter I saw when watching the Jays games. Longoria was impressive and his defensive play was most noticable. Fans drool over him because of his age. Best years still ahead of him. Hamilton struck out a lot against the Jays. But, this must be ignored when you see his stats for the season. They command respect. Cano looked ordinary against the Jays. No better than Aaron Hill. Last year, he looked good. Plus, his season stats were great the all-star break. But, he fizzled out. Jose Bautista, he caught fire after the trade deadline when everyone was calling his season a fluke. Very exciting to watch. Yanks could have had him for Gardner and Joba.
If I voted today, it is Cabrera. However, my vote can change by the end of the season even though only a few games remain.
Jose Batista won’t be the same player next year as he was this year.
.264 54 HR 124 RBIs will turn into
.250 25 HR 75 RBI
Then the Joba and Gardner would look stupid
Jose Batista will be the Alfonso Soriano of the AL next year
There is merit to what you say….but…it is not convincing. At what point do people acknowledge this is not a fluke?
There was a time when things were simple and the best player in the league was voted the league MVP. Then along came some writers who preferred to vote for their favourite player. Of course, it was rationalized by referencing “most valuable to their team” print in the awawrd description.
Maybe we should consider Brian Roberts as AL MVP given how starkly different Baltimore’s record has been with and without him…30 and 29 with; 33 and 63 without.
OR…we can keep things simple and vote for who we think is the best player.
But who?
LOL…I like your question.
I think it is too close to call. I haven’t examined it as thoroughly as many of you…but…Hamilton, Cabrera, and Bautista jump out at me immediately. They are having amazing seasons! Let me say it again…amazing seasons.
Myself, I have an affinity for Bautista because I am a Blue Jay fan.
But, a great argument can be made for Cabrera because he leads the league in runs, RBIs, and OBP. Most impressive.
Josh Hamilton has incredible stats. Leads in batting avg, slugging pct, and OPS.
To me, Jose Bautista is charging from behind nipping at their heels. Think I am exagerating, look at his second half splits in baseball reference or some other site. For the season, he leads in HRs and Total Bases. Plus he is two runs and two RBIs behind Cabrera. If he overtakes Cabrera in those categories, you have to look at him differently.
With these three, I think we have to wait until the last out of the season before deciding who is the best player this year. Enjoy the suspense.
You’re ignoring defense though…..
It’s not the best hitter award. We have that award already, it’s called the Hank Aaron Award.
Best pitcher gets the Cy Young. Best hitter gets the Hank Aaron.
MVP is neither of those things, no matter how much some fans want it to be.
Even if you make it the BEST PLAYER award (it’s not that either), you have to include defense and not just batting stats.
Last time I checked…..Yankees spent big bucks on positional players because of their hitting….
Nope, they spent big bucks on Teixeira because of his hitting AND how good a defensive 1B he is. They let Matsui and Damon go becuase both were poor defenders. Grabbed Grandy because he’s a better defensive OFer than Damon.
And in any case, what the Yanks spend their money on has WHAT to do with the MVP voting? good grief
You yourself keep saying “best player”, not best hitter.
Bautista is not the best player in the AL. He’s not the most valuable player in the AL. PERIOD.
I get you’re a Blue Jays fan, but c’mon man. Gotta separate your allegence from facts. I’m one of the biggest Indians fans around, yet I can put my fandom aside for the MVP voting and agree that Belle didn’t deserve it in 1995 (despite destroying Mo Vaughn in virtually every offensive category….and being better defensively). No one on that Indians team won the division for the Tribe; therefore, no one was the MVP of the league.
Personally I’d have given it to Edgar Martinez that year, but Vaughn was a worthy winner as well.
This year, it’s between Longoria, Cano, and Hamilton…..or at least should be. Hoping the voters realize this….and feel they will. Bet Cabrera gets some votes too though. Bautista may get 1 or 2.
Sorry…I only suggested (actually implied) Bautista be considered the top candidate for MVP if he leads in HRs, Total Bases, Runs, and RBIs. I believe there is a lot of merit to my suggestion.
Presently, I believe it is a race between Hamilton and Cabrera because of their “great” hitting. I haven’t seen Cano’s defence overshadow their hitting.
Cano beating Cabrera will be comparable to Joe Gordon (Yankee 2B) beating Ted Williams in 1942. Ted Williams was league leader in Runs (141), HR (36), RBIs (145), BA (.356), OBP (.499), SLG (.648), OPS (1.147), BBs (145), Total Bases (338). A lot of blank ink.
Hey you…661Dodgerblue….look what you started
Or we can vote for the most valuable player in the league.
A guy that’s valuable to a last place team (ie, Roberts) is not the most valuable player in the league. That’s just ridiculous to even bring up.
You look at the top 4-6 teams in the league….so Rays, Yanks, Twins, Rangers, maybe the Red Sox and White Sox (big maybe on both though).
Who is the most valuable of those teams?
To me, it’s Longoria. Just so happens that he is also the best all-around player in the AL this year (according to one of the WARs).
There was a very brief time when the award was given to just the best player in the league (when A-Rod won it in Texas)…but usually, it goes to the most valuable guy on a team that’s in the playoffs are darn close.
It’s why Morneau won (and deserved) the award over jeter.
Also can’t pick a guy on a team that absolutely destroys their division. For example, no one on the Angels last year…..and why Albert Belle didn’t deserve the AL MVP in 1995 despite having one of the greatest offensive seasons in ML history. When you win a division by 30 games…..1 player didn’t make that up. I could have started in LF for the Tribe that year and they’d have won the central division.
The award was created for and still IS about who is most valuable to a team. Who if taken off his team would cause the most negative damage to a team that’s winning?
To me, the final 3 guys are Cano, Longoria, and Hamilton.
of those 6 teams how can Longoria be more valuable than Beltre? Beltre has a better average, slugging, HRs, .ISO, K%, hits, and a better UZR.
I was going to mention Beltre as a dark horse. However, I must admit, Longaria is the one he makes an impression on me. He makes me think of Brooks Robinson, who, by the way, was MVP at age 27. Was the RBI leader that year.
Maybe i should make this clear. ALBERT is NOT going ANYWHERE.
I agree, their are really 2 teams that could sign A.P. Yankees and Cardinals. The last time I checked the Yanks already have an all-star, Gold Glove and potential MVP winner in Big Tex.
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The Yankees and Rockies were eliminated in League DIVISION series.
Don’t you mean division series not league championship series?
to be sure everyone is clear – my column was NOT “Bautista should be MVP” but rather “if you think Cabrera should be MVP, you can’t dismiss Bautista”
If you are the sort who insists on a MVP from a contender and you vote for hamilton Cano and, i dunno, Longoria 1,2,3 – fine. that’s your standard.
BUT
if you vote Cabrera 2 and Bautista 6 (as Rosenthal did in his awards column, THAT is simply indefensible. Heck, Rosey had Bautista behind Konerko! in what workd does that make sense?
Once you vote Cabrera #2, you can’t then turn around and go back to Cano because he played for a contender – either the contender thing is important to you or it’s not, don’t swing back and forth on the same ballot.
By every offensive measure EXCEPT batting average, Bautista and Cabrera are neck and neck, and Fangraphs has Bautista the most valuable of the two by WAR. Plus, Bautista plays not one but two defensive positions which are harder than 1B, plus he places in the AL East. If you want to vote Cabrera, fine, but if he’s in your top 2 and Bautista isn’t in your top 3, you are not consistent with yourself.