Saturday, September 29, 2007

End of Season Awards

This week I will give my end of the season awards (stats are through September 28th).

Rangers Awards:

Rangers MVP: Michael Young: .316 AVG, 9 HR, 94 RBI
Runner-up: Marlon Byrd

Rangers Cy Young: CJ Wilson: 2-1, 3.03 ERA, 63 SO, 12 SV
Runner-up: Kevin Millwood

Rangers Rookie of the Year: Jarrod Saltalamacchia: .266 AVG, 11 HR, 33 RBI
Runner-up: Luis Mendoza/Travis Metcalf

AL Awards:

AL MVP: A-ROD NYY: .312 AVG, 54 HR, 155 RBI
Runner-up: Vladimir Guerrero LAA

AL Cy Young: Josh Beckett BOS: 20-7, 3.27 ERA, 194 K
Runner-up: CC Sabathia CLE

AL Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the Year: Bobby Jenks CWS: 3-5, 2.77 ERA, 56 K, 40 SV
Runner-up: Jonathon Papelbon BOS

AL Rookie of the Year: Dustin Pedroia BOS: .317 AVG, 8 HR, 50 RBI
Runner-up: Jarrod Saltalamacchia TEX

AL Manager of the Year: Eric Wedge CLE, 95-65
Runner-up: Mike Scioscia LAA

NL Awards:

NL MVP: Ryan Howard PHI: .265 AVG, 45 HR, 132 RBI
Runner-up: Jimmy Rollins PHI

NL Cy Young: Jake Peavy SD: 19-6, 2.36 ERA, 234 K
Runner-up: Brandon Webb ARI

NL Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the Year: Jose Valverde ARI: 1-4, 2.66 ERA, 78 K, 47 SV
Runner-up: Francisco Cordero MIL

NL Rookie of the Year: Ryan Braun MIL: .323 AVG, 34 HR, 96 RBI
Runner-up: Chris Young ARI

NL Manager of the Year: Bob Melvin ARI, 90-70
Runner-up: Charlie Manuel PHI

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think is the best player the Rangers traded for in 1999?
Francisco Cordero – 68%
Frank Catalanotto – 23%
Gabe Kapler – 9%

Come back next week for my playoff predictions.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Doug Melvin Trade Analysis Part 5

This is part 5 of an analysis of the trades Doug Melvin made while he was Rangers GM. This week I will cover 1999 and the beginning of 2000. Each trade will be scored a win, loss, or tie. The score is based on how each player contributed to the Rangers at the major league level.

29. 8/27/99 - The Seattle Mariners traded Jeff Fassero to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later. The Texas Rangers sent Adrian Myers (minors) (September 22, 1999) to the Seattle Mariners to complete the trade.

Tie – Fassero only pitched 17 innings for the Rangers and Myers never made it to the majors. Fassero was part of the Rangers’ stretch run to the playoffs that year but was not very effective, posting a 5.71 ERA and going 1-0.

Record: 10-7-12

30. 11/2/99 - The Detroit Tigers traded Frank Catalanotto, Francisco Cordero, Bill Haselman, Gabe Kapler, Justin Thompson, and Alan Webb (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Juan Gonzalez, Danny Patterson, and Gregg Zaun.

Win – This is a tough trade to analyze because the Rangers were a regular playoff team with Juan and have been a bad team ever since this trade. But when you look at the performance of the players the Rangers got vs. the ones they gave up, it’s a win for the Rangers. The Rangers got two good years out of Cat (.291 in 2000 and .330 in 2001) and many good years out of CoCo, including two All-Star years. We got three good years of back-up from Haselman, and a couple of decent years from Kapler (he hit .302 in 2000 and had 17 homers in 2001). Justin Thompson didn’t make it back to the majors for years due to injuries and finally appeared for the Rangers in 2005 as a reliever for two games. Juan Gonzalez went just .289 with 22 HR and 67 RBI in his one year in Detroit. He then had a good year for Cleveland in 2001 (.325, 35, 140) before coming back to Texas. At that point, we not only had all of the players we got from Detroit but had Juan back too. Patterson had some solid years as a reliever for Detroit for 5 seasons. Gregg Zaun didn’t even play one game for the Tigers.

Record: 11-7-12

31. 12/13/99 - The New York Yankees traded Chad Curtis to the Texas Rangers for Brandon Knight and Sam Marsonek.

Win – Knight only had 19 innings pitched and Marsonek only had 1 inning pitched, while Curtis had one decent year for the Rangers (.272 with 8 homers and 48 RBI).

Record: 12-7-12

32. 3/16/00 - As part of a 3-team trade: The Texas Rangers sent Lee Stevens to the Montreal Expos. The Montreal Expos sent Brad Fullmer to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Toronto Blue Jays sent David Segui and cash to the Texas Rangers.

Tie – Lee Stevens batted .265 and .245 in his two years there. He had 22 home runs and 75 RBI in 2000 and 25 homers and 95 RBI in 2001. David Segui played very well for the Rangers in 93 games in 2000 before being traded. He batted .336 with 11 homers and 57 RBI.

Record: 12-7-13

33. 6/9/00 - The Florida Marlins traded Brant Brown to the Texas Rangers for Chuck Smith.

Loss – Brant Brown never played for the Rangers and Chuck Smith was only in the majors two years. He went 11-11 for the Marlins in 34 games, posting a 3.84 ERA.

Record: 12-8-13

34. 6/9/00 - The Chicago Cubs traded Dave Martinez to the Texas Rangers for Brant Brown.

Tie – Dave Martinez never played for the Rangers and Brant Brown had less than 100 at-bats for the Cubs.

Record: 12-8-14

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will win the World Series?
Red Sox – 33%
Yankees – 24%
Angels – 14%
Mets – 14%
Cubs – 5%
Brewers – 5%
Indians – 5%

Come back next week for my end-of-the-season awards.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Pennant Race Analysis

This week I will break down the pennant races and give my predictions for the postseason.

Below are my predictions for the final standings in each division.

AL East
1. Red Sox – Their pitching will be key in holding the Yankees back. (My preseason prediction: Yankees)
2. Yankees – The Yankees have a good 3 and a half game lead in the Wild Card over the Tigers. (Preseason prediction: Red Sox)
3. Blue Jays (Preseason: Orioles)
4. Orioles (Preseason: Blue Jays)
5. Devil Rays (Preseason: Devil Rays)

Al Central
1. Indians – The Indians are 5 and a half games ahead of the Tigers and are 7-3 in their last 10. (My preseason prediction: Tigers)
2. Tigers (Preseason: Indians)
3. Twins (Preseason: White Sox)
4. White Sox (Preseason: Twins)
5. Royals (Preseason: Royals)

AL West
1. Angels – They’re seven and a half games up on the Mariners who are really falling. (My preseason prediction: Angels)
2. Mariners (Preseason: Rangers)
3. Rangers (Preseason: Athletics)
4. Athletics (Preseason: Mariners)

NL East
1. Mets - They have a five and a half game lead on the Phillies and are playing really well, going 7-3 in their last 10. (My preseason prediction: Mets)
2. Phillies – They have an incredibly easy schedule from now on and are only 1.5 games back from the wild card. Also, they are 6-4 in their last 10, while the Padres are 4-6. (Preseason: Phillies)
3. Braves (Preseason: Marlins)
4. Marlins (Preseason: Braves)
5. Nationals (Preseason: Nationals)

NL Central
1. Brewers – Both the Brewers and Cubs have very easy schedules, but at just 1 and a half games behind, I think the Brewers have better pitching, which should move them ahead. (My preseason prediction: Reds)
2. Cubs (Preseason: Cardinals)
3. Reds (Preseason: Cubs)
4. Pirates (Preseason: Brewers)
5. Cardinals (Preseason: Astros)
6. Astros (Preseason: Pirates)

NL West
1. Diamondbacks – The D’Backs are a good 3 games ahead of the Padres, who have struggled lately. (My preseason prediction: Dodgers)
2. Padres (Preseason: Padres)
3. Rockies (Preseason: Rockies)
4. Dodgers (Preseason: Diamondbacks)
5. Giants (Preseason: Giants)

AL Playoffs:

Divisional Series:

Red Sox over Angels in 4 – The Red Sox have very good pitching which I think will carry them over the Angels

Indians over Yankees in 5 – The Indians have an all-around better team and have proven to be great in the clutch this year, leading baseball with 9 walk-off wins.

AL Championship Series:

Red Sox over Indians in 6 – I think Josh Beckett will be huge in this series and be the decider of the series.

NL Playoffs:

Divisional Series:

Mets over Brewers in 3 – The Mets have a lot of postseason experience, which I think will put them past the Brewers.

Diamondbacks over Phillies in 4 – Pitching wins championships, and will win the D’Backs this series.

NL Championship Series:

Diamondbacks over Mets in 7 – I think that the D’Backs’ incredible pitching will win them the NL pennant.

World Series:

Red Sox over Diamondbacks in 7 – The D’Backs have great pitching, but their offense won’t be enough to keep up with the Red Sox.

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think was the best player the Rangers acquired in 1998?
Royce Clayton – 45%
Todd Zeile – 27%
Esteban Loaiza – 18%
Todd Stottlemyre – 9%
Tim Crabtree – 0%

Come back next week for part 5 of the Doug Melvin trade analysis series.

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Doug Melvin Trade Analysis Part 4

This is part 4 of an analysis of the trades Doug Melvin made while he was Rangers GM. This week I will cover 1998. Each trade will be scored a win, loss, or tie. The score is based on how each player contributed to the Rangers at the major league level.

25. 3/14/98 The Texas Rangers traded Kevin Brown to the Toronto Blue Jays for Tim Crabtree.

Win – Tim Crabtree gave us two good relief year, with ERA’s of 3.59 and 3.46 in ’98 and ’99 before his awful years of ’00 and ’01. Kevin Brown (the catcher) only got to play in 85 career games.

Record: 8-7-10

26. 7/17/98 The Pittsburgh Pirates traded Esteban Loaiza to the Texas Rangers for Warren Morris and Todd Van Poppel.

Tie – None of the players did well, as Warren Morris never played very well, Esteban Loaiza never had an ERA below 5.00 as a Ranger, and Todd Van Poppel, in his only year with Pittsburgh, had an ERA of 5.36.

Record: 8-7-11

27. 7/31/98 The Florida Marlins traded Todd Zeile to the Texas Rangers for Daniel DeYoung (minors) and Jose Santo (minors).

Win – Todd Zeile really helped us make the playoffs in ’98 and then hit .293 in ’99. Neither DeYoung or Santo even made the majors.

Record: 9-7-11

28. 7/31/98 The St. Louis Cardinals traded Royce Clayton and Todd Stottlemyre to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later, Darren Oliver, and Fernando Tatis. The Texas Rangers sent Mark Little (August 9, 1998) to the St. Louis Cardinals to complete the trade.

Win – Darren Oliver only played with the Cardinals for one and a half years, Tatis only started one year and hit .298 that year, and Mark Little only got 12 at-bats. Both Clayton, who hit .288 that year, and Stottlemyre, who had a 5-4 record that year, were huge in the Rangers’ pennant race. Also, Royce Clayton played for the Rangers for 2 and a half years.

Record: 10-7-11

I went to two baseball games this week. On Wednesday, my dad and I went to the Rangers/Royals game. It was Autograph Wednesday so I got a lot of autographs. They had Rusty Greer, Jim Norris, Frank Catalanotto, Ramon Vazquez, and David Murphy located around the park signing autographs and I got all of them. It was a great game, with the Rangers winning 3-2. Padilla pitched great and got the win and Benoit got the save. We had great seats, 11 rows behind home plate, so it was a lot of fun. On Thursday night, I went to the RoughRiders playoff game with my dad and my two-year-old little sister Kate. They lost, but we had a lot of fun and I got a lot of autographs for Kate. She really likes going to the games because she likes watching Deuce, the mascot. Eleanor Czajka from the Newberg Report and Jon Daniels were also there and I got to talk with them.

Last night, I was on the Rangers post game show on the radio (KRLD). Mike Ogulnick interviewed me about my blog. It was a lot of fun and I would like to thank Mike for having me on. I got to stay up until midnight to do the interview.

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think should be the NL MVP?
Prince Fielder – 38%
Matt Holliday – 25 %
Albert Pujols – 13%
Ryan Braun – 6%
Ken Griffey – 6%
Ryan Howard – 6%
Other – 6%
Miguel Cabrera – 0%
Adam Dunn – 0%

Come back next week for an analysis of the pennant races.

Sunday, September 02, 2007

August Awards

This week I will do my August awards. These are the awards that would be given if the season ended today.

Rangers Awards:

Rangers MVP: Marlon Byrd: .310 AVG., 7 HR, 56 RBI: Since Marlon has come up he has surpassed most Ranger players’ RBI totals and batting averages.
Runner-up: Michael Young

Rangers CY Young: CJ Wilson: 2.52 ERA, 58 K, 2-1, 9 SV: CJ has had an incredible year and has put himself in position to be the closer next year.
Runner-up: Joaquin Benoit

Rangers Rookie of the Year: Jarrod Saltalamacchia: .275 AVG, 9 HR, 27 RBI
Runner-up: David Murphy

AL Awards:

AL MVP: A-ROD: .308 AVG, 45 HR, 129 RBI
Runner-up: Magglio Ordonez

AL Cy Young: Josh Beckett: 3.29 ERA, 158 K, 16-6
Runner-up: John Lackey

AL Rookie of the Year: Dustin Pedrioa: .322 AVG, 6 HR, 42 RBI
Runner-up: Hideki Okajima

AL Manager of the Year: Eric Wedge Cleveland Indians 78-57
Runner-up: Mike Scioscia

NL Awards:

NL MVP: Matt Holliday: .336 AVG, 24 HR, 106 RBI
Runner-up: Ryan Howard

NL Cy Young: Brandon Webb: 2.83 ERA, 170 K, 14-9
Runner-up: Jake Peavy

NL Rookie of the Year: Ryan Braun: .325 AVG, 25 HR 68 RBI, 13 SB
Runner-up: Chris Young ARI

NL Manager of the Year: Bob Melvin Arizona Diamondbacks 76-61
Runner-up: Clint Hurdle

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think was the best player that the Rangers acquired in 1997?
Rick Helling – 55%
Aaron Sele – 37%
Tom Goodwin – 5%
Jim Leyritz – 3%
Everybody else – 0%

Come back next week for part 4 of the Doug Melvin trade analysis.