Baseball Insider

Lincecum wins second straight NL Cy Young

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:03:38 -0500

San Francisco Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum made history of two kinds in winning his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award. Lincecum's 15 wins marked the fewest ever for a Cy Young-winning starting pitcher in a non-strike-shortened season, and he also became just the second pitcher in history to win the award without receiving the most first-place votes. Lincecum received only 11 of the possible 32 first-place votes in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, or one fewer than St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright. Lincecum, though, received 12 second-place votes and nine third-place votes, for a total of 100 points (based on a 5-3-1 tabulation system). Wainwright, meantime, got five second-place and 15 third-place votes, for a total of 90 points -- and he didn't even finish as the runner-up. That honor went to Wainwright's Cardinals teammate Chris Carpenter, who received nine firsts, 14 seconds

Scioscia, Tracy honored as managers of the year

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:18:58 -0500

Mike Scioscia, who led the Los Angeles Angels to the American League Championship Series after a season marked by tragedy and numerous injuries, was named American League Manager of the Year on Wednesday, the second such honor of his career. In the National League, Colorado's Jim Tracy won the award, after taking over an 18-28 Rockies team in May following the firing of Clint Hurdle and leading them to the playoffs as the NL wild card. Under Tracy, the Rockies went 74-42, the NL's best record in that stretch. Scioscia steered the Angels through a harrowing year that began with the automobile-accident death of phenom right-hander Nick Adenhart and also included significant injuries to pitchers John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Kelvim Escobar, and designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero. Scioscia received 15 of a possible 28 first-place votes in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Minnesota's Ron Gardenhire

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Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:18:58 -0500

Royals' Greinke takes AL Cy Young Award

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:05:23 -0500

Kansas City Royals right-hander Zack Greinke, who put together an historic pitching season in relative obscurity for the second-worst team in the American League, was voted the winner of the AL Cy Young Award on Tuesday by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Greinke, 26, won only 16 games in 2009 -- fewest by an AL Cy Young winner since David Cone (16) in the strike-shortened 1994 -- but his sparkling ERA of 2.16 was about a third of a run lower than anyone else in the league and represented the lowest ERA by an AL pitcher since Boston's Pedro Martinez had a 1.74 in 2000. His ERA+ (adjusted for park and league effects, with 100 representing league-average) of 205 was the best since Martinez posted a 210 in 2003. Formerly the Royals' top pitching prospect, Greinke missed all of the 2006 season due to social anxiety disorder

Oakland's Bailey, Florida's Coghlan win ROY

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:10:47 -0500

Oakland Athletics closer Andrew Bailey and Florida Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan were named the winners of the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year awards in the American and National Leagues, respectively, in voting by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus in the AL and Philadelphia Phillies lefty J.A. Happ in the NL were the runners-up. A recap and the full voting totals can be found here.

Why the Yankees won't start Chad Gaudin

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:50:42 -0500

Way back on Oct. 27, a day that feels ages ago, the Yankees held a pre-World Series workout at Yankee Stadium, on the day before Game 1. Chad Gaudin, a right-handed pitcher who had been used exclusively in relief during the first two rounds of the playoffs, went through a simulated game of some 80 or so pitches in an effort to "stretch out" his arm -- because the Yankees were thinking about using him to start one of the games in the World Series. Five games later, the Yankees have not started Gaudin, and it is clear at this point -- as we await Wednesday night's Game 6 -- that they will not. In this fine column, my esteemed colleague Tom Boswell argues the Yankees should have used Gaudin in Game 4, rather than sticking to a three-man rotation that forces them to use a starter on short rest

Off-day notes [UPDATE: Blanton in Game 4]

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:10:16 -0500

Greetings from the press box at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, where we will have many plagues to look forward to this weekend -- rain on Saturday night, a transit strike on Sunday night and -- something, perhaps locusts or more bad umpiring, on Monday night. Both the Phillies and Yankees will be working out in a little while, but I don't expect a lot of news to come out of today's proceedings. The biggest question on everyone's minds -- will both teams use their aces, Philly's Cliff Lee and New York's CC Sabathia, on short rest in Game 4? -- probably won't be answered until after Game 3 late Saturday night. [UPDATE 2:55 p.m. Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel just named RHP Joe Blanton his Game 4 starter, a bit of a surprise. Blanton gets the nod over lefty ace Cliff Lee, who now gets Game 5 on full rest,

Return of the Big Mac

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:31:31 -0500

It's an off day in the World Series so what better time to go a bit off-topic? If you're any kind of baseball fan you've probably heard that Tony La Russa is welcoming former single-season home run king Mark McGwire back to baseball by adding him to his St. Louis Cardinals staff as hitting coach. While one might think that Major League Baseball would want to distance itself from a player that was prominent during the Steroid Era (though never proven guilty of taking steroids), Commissioner Bud Selig is welcoming McGwire back with open arms. "Over the years I developed affection for players who I get to know and have been good," Selig said on Thursday in reference to McGwire. The move marks the largest, if not first, step baseball has made toward accepting the Steroids Era where home run totals went through the roof to the delight of fans

Are Yanks in trouble, or just down a game?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:20:49 -0500

It's never a good idea to read too much into Game 1 of the World Series. The classic example from recent history is 1996, when the Atlanta Braves -- the defending champs, no less -- romped to a 12-1 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium. You would've sworn, at that point, the Yankees were finished and the Braves would probably sweep. Um, no. The Yankees won in six. (And for anyone who thinks Cliff Lee is literally unbeatable, consider that in 1996 the Yankees were throttled by Atlanta's John Smoltz, who went on to win the Cy Young Award that year, in Game 1, but came back to beat him in Game 5 in Atlanta. Yeah, it took a brilliantly pitched, 1-0 victory by Andy Pettitte to do so -- but CC Sabathia, the current Yankees' ace, is perfectly capable of such a thing.)

Red Sox defections leave leadership void

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:05:56 -0500

The World Series is about to start tonight, and there's a million reasons to be excited about baseball in Philadelphia and New York. Well, maybe we should make that a million and one in New York (at least for Yankees fans), because up the Northeast corridor, the Yankees' annual chief opposition is suddenly having a hard time retaining people in leadership positions. After three consecutive seasons with nearly no turnover, the Red Sox are hemorrhaging members of their front office and managerial staff. First, Jed Hoyer, longtime assistant general manager and the highest ranking member of the front office below Epstein in charge of the Boston farm system, accepted a position to run the Padres. Then Brad Mills, Terry Francona's longtime bench coach and right-hand man (not to mention his college roommate), bolted town to manage the Houston Astros. That's two key departures in one week. Sure, the Red Sox

The Yankees' World Series rotation problem

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:00:05 -0500

So many reasons why this World Series is going to be fascinating: *A matchup of ace lefties, CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee, in Game 1. That's the 2007 and 2008 American League Cy Young Award winners, mind you. I'll have a story on the Web site shortly, and in the paper Tuesday morning, showing just how historic this matchup is. *Alex Rodriguez's first World Series. *A showdown of the two most powerful lineups in the game -- both teams led their respective leagues in homers this season -- in two of the most extreme hitters' parks in baseball. *And double miles on Amtrak all fall! To me, where things will get really interesting is in the way each manager chooses to set up his starting rotation. At this point, we don't know anything official beyond Game 1. Both Philadelphia's Charlie Manuel and New York's Joe Girardi are in similar situations,

Biggest winner in rainout: the Phillies

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:36:27 -0500

So, let's try this again, shall we? After persistent rain forced the postponement of Game 6 of the ALCS on Saturday night, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels will reconvene Sunday night at Yankee Stadium, with lefties Andy Pettitte (whom Boz wrote about here) and Joe Saunders (a product of West Springfield High and Virginia Tech) squaring off. Any discussion of the winners from the rainout would have to include the Angels, who, should they win Sunday night to force a Game 7, would then have ace John Lackey available to start Game 7 on three days' rest, and Pettitte himself, whom the Yankees chose to keep on the mound for Game 6, despite the availability of ace CC Sabathia on full rest. But I can't help suspect that no one was feeling better about the rainout than the NL-champion Philadelphia Phillies, who are getting themselves rested and

Who Will Be the Phillies' Game 2 Starter?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:18:04 -0500

So, the Philadelphia Phillies want the New York Yankees in the World Series, as I wrote in today's print edition. (An aside, while you click on that link: After 10 1/2 years at The Post, and an estimated 1,200 nights on the road, I'm finding it very strange not to type in the date as part of a story's dateline when I'm on an out-of-town assignment. I guess folks found the dates confusing, which is why the higher-ups did away with it in this latest resdesign. It's a silly little thing, when it comes down to it, but I miss it already.) Anyway, the Phillies will have to wait to find out if their wish comes true, after the Angels extended the ALCS with a thrilling 7-6 win in Game 5 Thursday night. Chico's 10-day fellowship in southern California during the two league championship series is now over -- he'd

In case you missed it...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:25:00 -0500

Obviously the talk of the baseball world is the Philadelphia Phillies who won their second straight NL pennant by throttling the Los Angeles Dodgers, 10-4, in Game 5 of the NLCS. Dave Sheinin waded through the champagne and Ryan Howard's promised bedlam to crank out the game story last night and covered the surprising effectiveness of the Phillies' bullpen. However, two other news items that had nothing to do with league championship series raised my eyebrows last night. Let's start with news that at least pertains to the playoffs. Yesterday, Fox announced that it will be bringing combustible Chicago White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen into its studio to be an analyst during the World Series. While Guillen has led the White Sox to a World Series title in 2005, he is best known for his many humorous but profanity-laced tirades. Considering that Fox is the same network that featured guest

No spitter from Mo, MLB says

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:26:27 -0500

For at least a few hours on Tuesday, before Major League Baseball cleared him of any wrongdoing, Mariano Rivera found himself at the center of a modern controversy, pinned down by accusations on a fan blog and the accompanying evidence of a YouTube video. The video showed Rivera, on the mound in the 10th inning of Game 3, spitting in the general direction of his right hand, which happened to hold a baseball. The accusation, posted originally on Halosheaven.com: That Rivera, the Yankees peerless closer, had thrown a spitball. After reviewing all available still photographs and video evidence, the commissioner's office on Tuesday found no evidence of a spitball. Baseball, too, considered the context of the accusations. Never before has Rivera been accused of doctoring a baseball. Plus, Rivera launched his loogie in clear view, with no attempt at deception; no true cheater would plot his move in plain sight.

In Praise of Cliff Lee

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:15:14 -0500

Back in late July, when the Philadelphia Phillies traded for Cliff Lee, I gave the deal a tepid endorsement. On its surface, for what the Phillies gave up relative to what they got back, the deal was "not bad," I wrote. Lee was bound to help them fill out a decent rotation. But I lamented the fact the Phillies hadn't gone for the bigger deal -- Toronto's Roy Halladay. I even called Lee a "downgrade" (cringe) and "the lesser of two pitchers" (ouch). My position was this: The Phillies had a comfortable lead in the NL East at the time, so the acquisition of a starter was as much about the postseason as the regular season. Halladay, I thought at the time (and confirmed by talking to a couple of scouts about the deal), was simply a more dominant pitcher -- and dominant starting pitching is what wins in October.