Major League Baseball announced the winners of its prestigious awards this week; now, FanHouse is following suit. We voted on winners in five categories (MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Draft Day Bargain, Draft Day Bust), the results of which are revealed below. Remember, this awards show deals strictly in fantasy baseball. I'll also throw in a few awards I'm personally doling out for performances that made the 2009 season what it was.
It's a baseball podcast. The math is easy, right? BaseCast. Let's rock.
The American League Cy Young Award winner, Zack Greinke, was announced Tuesday and the National League Cy Young winner will be announced Thursday, so what better time for the MLB FanHouse crew to discuss both pieces of hardware.
In this edition of BaseCast, Jeff Fletcher, Ed Price and I discuss the implications of Greinke capturing the award, both for the voting body and for the team he plays for, before trying to wrap our head around the intriguing NL race, which features three excellent pitchers (Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Tim Lincecum), but no clear favorite.
The streak is over. The American League completely ignored the 7-9 record and 1.62 WHIP of Cleveland's Aaron Laffey and named Kansas City's Zack Greinke as their 2009 Cy Young Award winner. With Greinke's accomplishment comes the realization that the Indians have no choice but to keep all of their pitchers next season and that my Tribe bobblehead collection is about to get fifteen more Grady Sizemores in occupational clothing.
With his American League-best 2.16 ERA, Royals right-hander Zack Greinke became the first starter to win the AL Cy Young Award with fewer than 18 wins.
In results announced Tuesday, Greinke received 25 of 28 first-place votes. Mariners ace Felix Hernandez got two first-place votes and finished second in the balloting, and Detroit's Justin Verlander received one first-place vote and finished third, one point ahead of Yankees lefty CC Sabathia.
Greinke was 16-8, and his relatively low win total was due to a poor Kansas City offense. The Royals averaged 3.8 runs scored in his starts, tied for the worst run support in the AL. Greinke had six starts in which he allowed fewer than two runs but did not get a win.
"I can't give you all that information," Gardenhire, the Twins manager, said of his No. 3 hitter. "You'll write it and then other people might figure it out."
So you know, Ron, how to get him out?
"Hell, no, I don't! That's why I don't want to say anything.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ...
That Zack Greinke is doing everything in his power to win the American League Cy Young Award.
The Royals ace will not get anywhere close to 20 wins, but he did pick up his 16th of the year with seven innings of one-run ball against the Twins. He's now won five straight decisions dating back to Aug. 25 and his ERA is down to 2.06. As pointed out by FanHouse's Jacob Wheatley-Schaller, if Greinke pitches seven shutout innings in his final start of the year next Saturday in Minnesota, he'll finish the year with his ERA under 2.00.
Only one AL pitcher in the last 15 years -- Pedro Martinez in 2000 -- has thrown more than 200 innings in a season and finished with a sub-2.00 ERA
The Giants will have a pretty big decision to make this offseason regarding Tim Lincecum. Do they sign the insanely talented righthander to a long-term contract extension to buy out his arbitration years or do they let him go to arbitration and continue going the one-year contract route to avoid being on the hook for big money if something untoward happens to Lincecum's arm?
You'd imagine they'd opt for the long-term deal, so his answer to a question about a willingness to sign an extension was likely met with some smiles.
Yes," Lincecum said Thursday. "I definitely like San Francisco. I've seen nothing but positive things as far as my personal experiences. It's where I see myself being for awhile."
So the deal's getting done, right? Sadly, it won't be quite that easy for the Giants.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's weekly look at some aspect of America's pastime.
Zack Greinke has been the best pitcher in the majors this season.
That statement wouldn't be disputed by anyone other than people who look only at won-loss record and nothing more. I'm not suggesting you throw that stat out the window, but you can take Greinke's 15-8 record, combine it with everything else, and still come to the conclusion that the best pitcher in 2009 plays for the Kansas City Royals.
With that in mind, I wanted to create a starting rotation from the past decade of pitchers who were similarly plagued by a less-than-stellar record, while also sporting filthy numbers elsewhere. It's the Zack Greinke Tribute Team.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Before the season started, I was rough on Derrek Lee. I named him the biggest bust on the Cubs for this coming season and included him on the list of "five guys to lose" your fantasy league. I even predicted Mike Fontenot would hit more home runs than Mr. Lee. Obviously, it sounds outlandish now, in hindsight, as Lee clubbed his 35th home run Tuesday night. In the process, he established a new career high in RBI with 109. His OPS is the second-highest it's ever been -- trailing only his insane 2005 season when he did an Albert Pujols impersonation.
It's a baseball podcast. The math is easy, right? BaseCast. Let's rock.
The streak is over. The American League completely ignored the 7-9 record and 1.62 WHIP of Cleveland's Aaron Laffey and named Kansas City's Zack Greinke as their 2009 Cy Young Award winner. With Greinke's accomplishment comes the realization that the Indians have no choice but to keep all of their pitchers next season and that my Tribe bobblehead collection is about to get fifteen more Grady Sizemores in occupational clothing.
With his American League-best 2.16 ERA, Royals right-hander Zack Greinke became the first starter to win the AL Cy Young Award with fewer than 18 wins.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
The Giants will have a pretty big decision to make this offseason regarding Tim Lincecum. Do they sign the insanely talented righthander to a long-term contract extension to buy out his arbitration years or do they let him go to arbitration and continue going the one-year contract route to avoid being on the hook for big money if something untoward happens to Lincecum's arm?
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
