Before continuing the Awards Show themed introduction to my column, a couple of notes to pass along.

First, a truly sad goodbye to Rodney Dangerfield, who died this week at the age of 82. He starred in the greatest comedic sports movie ever – I don’t want ANY arguments about this – and had a long and fruitful career as a stand-up comedian. Best joke I heard from him:

“I’m having a bad day today. I put on my shirt – the button broke off. I

picked up my briefcase for work, the handle came off in my hand. I’m

too scared to go to the bathroom…”

He will be missed.

My week, however, was brightened by the news that Tiger Woods had gotten married to girlfriend Elin Nordigren. Well, not so much the news that they had married, but more the news that Elin has a (single!) twin sister. I think that would brighten up just about anyone’s week, no?

OK, back to the awards. We left off after handing out the Cy Young’s (Santana & Johnson) and the MVP’s (Guerrero and Bonds). That mean we have only four more to go – Rookies of the Year, and Managers of the year. And away we go!

Manager of the Year (AL):

Terry Francona: Yes, there were days when he looked more like a statue in the dugout than a Major League manager. And yes, there were (and still are days) that most of Red Sox Nation has called for his head. But there’s no denying the fact that he led his team to a 98-64 record, a Wild Card berth, and almost an A.L. East division title. He’s got three more goals to accomplish this year. Here’s hoping he gets it done.

Ron Gardenhire: This was supposed to be the year the Twins fell out of the top of the Central. The year that small-market payroll just couldn’t compete anymore. The year that the players got traded to purge dollars and the league rethought the idea of contraction. Instead, it’s the year that Ron Gardenhire gets serious consideration for this award as his team wins their third straight A.L. Central title under his command.

Mike Scoscia: The Angels weren’t supposed to have to do it this way, but it’s worked so far. They were named “The Team To Beat” in the A.L. West before the season started after all of their off-season acquisitions, and in the first month or so of the year, they looked like it. Then the injury bug set in, the A’s stayed hot, the Rangers learned to pitch, and the Angels faded. At least until the last month of the season, when they went nuts and took the A.L. West by 1 game over Oakland, going 92-70 to do it.

Buck Showalter: …and his “Fightin’ Showalters” got the job done as best they could this year, finishing just three games out of the A.L. West title. They weren’t even expected to be above .500 after trading away the best player in the game – instead, they finished with an 89-73 record in one of baseball’s toughest divisions, and they look primed to make another run next year.

Alan Trammel: Yes, the team finished 18 games under .500 (72-90). Yes, they finished 4^th out of 6 teams in one of baseball’s weakest divisions. Yes, they never really had even a remote chance of competing this year. But yes - Alan Trammel did one hell of a job as manager. They improved from 2003’s disgrace of 43-119 with a fighting attitude, and Trammel’s presence helped keep team spirits high and set the stage for a run at the A.L Central next year, when only Cleveland will return a team as strong as the 2004 version.

Winner: I know his team didn’t finish first, but Buck Showalter did an unbelievable job with what he was given, and he deserves this award. Followed by Scoscia, Gardy, Francona, and Trammel. (Notice no mention of Joe Torre? The Yankees had a disappointing year, by their standards, and he doesn’t deserve a mention for their season. They underachieved with what they had, plain and simple.)

Manager of the Year (NL):

Bruce Bochy: I know, by my standards, he underachieved as well, since I picked the Pads to win the N.L. West. But Bochy still did a great job managing a team that hadn’t really competed since 1998 to an 87-75 record, good enough for third in the division. Next year, they’ll make their run.

Bobby Cox: Scary, isn’t it, that in the Braves’ now 13-year run of N.L. East dominance, Bobby Cox has won exactly zero Manager of the Year awards? It seems like every season the Braves are just expected to win, so when they do, he doesn’t get the credit. You can be sure, though, that if they lost the East or lose in the playoffs, he’d be the first one to step up and take the blame.

Phil Garner: ‘Ol Scrap Iron stepped in after the All-Star Break and led a .500 team (44-44) to the NL Wild Card, finishing the season at 92-70 (48-26 under Garner). I don’t know what kind of motivator this guy is, but he sure got the most out of the talented players he had on his squad. Just imagine if the ‘Stros had packed it in and dealt away Clemens, Kent and Beltran. Maybe Jimy Williams should get some MOY attention for being so bad as to get fired and allow Garner in…

Tony LaRussa: The King of Micromanaging, LaRussa led a Cardinals’ team that was supposed to be nothing more than an afterthought in the N.L. Central after the Cubs and Astros. Well, the birds made both of those teams an afterthought as they soared to a 105-57 record, best in baseball, and won the division by an astounding 13 games. The didn’t play a meaningful game after mid-August, when they clinched a playoff spot. Amazing.

Jim Tracy: He had to deal with a clearly insane outfielder, a GM pulling strings behind his back, and a team built on pitching that suddenly wasn’t there anymore. And somehow, during all this, he had to fight off the San Francisco Bonds’, er, uh, Giants’ late season charge for the division. Result: Well, the Dodgers are still playing, aren’t they?

Winner: Even though what Phil Garner did was amazing, I picked Bobby Cox way back in April, and I’m sticking with him. Garner is close, followed by LaRussa, Tracy and Bochy. Amazing how the team with the best record almost never gets the MOY award…

Now on to the Rookie’s of the year. This award is actually what got me so riled up last year, especially the obvious slight towards Hideki Matsui by two Baseball Writers who should never be allowed to vote again. This year, I’ve decided that their votes don’t matter. I’m making the picks, and that’s all there is to it.

Before I start picking, let me say that I’m not 100% clear on the eligibility rules for MLB ROY’s, so even though I might nominate someone, they may not be eligible. But they should be. Everything in the world should just be the way I want it – it would make my life so much easier.

American League Rookie of the Year:

Bobby Crosby: .239 BA, .744 OPS, 22HR, 64RBI, 70R, 7SB

Crosby had to take over for a former MVP in Miguel Tejada, and he did well in the role. In time, he’ll grow into the position and possibly supplant Eric Chavez as the anchor of the Oakland lineup.

Zack Greinke: 8-11, 3.97 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 100K and 26BB in 145IP, .256 BAA

Greinke had the bad luck of pitching for a horrid Royals team this season. His numbers are surprisingly good, aside from the W-L column, for a rookie. He’s another kid who’s got a good chance to blossom into a very, very good pitcher in the next few years. The only question is: Which contender will pry him away from the Royals in a deadline deal?

Kevin Youkilis: .260 BA, .780 OPS, 7HR, 35RBI, 38R, 0SB.

I’m not sure that Youkilis is eligible for this award, though I’m not entirely sure why. His numbers aren’t spectacular, but he was injured for a good part of the year and also was forced to platoon at third base with Bill Mueller and Mark Bellhorn. Let me put his value another way. His was the only name mentioned by the Diamondbacks as a Red Sox prospect to be included in a deal for Randy Johnson. That’s gotta say something.

Winner: If Joe Mauer doesn’t get hurt, who knows how this race would shape up. Yeah, it’s gonna be Crosby, with Grienke close behind only because I’m not sure about Youkilis’ eligibility. Also receiving votes: Daniel Cabrera, Lew Ford, Joe Mauer, B.J. Upton

National League Rookie of the Year:

Jason Bay: .282 BA, .907 OPS, 26 HR, 82 RBI, 61 R, 4 SB

Bay really vaulted into this discussion with a great second-half surge, but he was pretty solid all year long. He played a good outfield, and anchored a young Pittsburgh lineup that really lacked any quality hitters outside of him and Craig Wilson, and he’s trying to be Pittsburgh’s first ever ROY (Not even Clemente…).

Khalil Greene: .273 BA, .795 OPS, 15HR, 65 RBI, 67 R, 4SB

Before getting sidelined with a broken finger on September 15^th, Greene all but had this thing sewn up. It seemed like he made a highlight-reel catch every night, reminiscent of another slick-fielding Padres shortstop – Ozzie Smith. Greene hits a little better than The Wizard did in his Padres days, but not much.

Akinori Otsuka: 7-2 (2 Sv, 34 Hlds) 1.75 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 87K and 26BB in 77.1IP, .199 BAA

And you wonder why I think the Padres will make a run next year? How about two serious ROY candidates in the same season? Otsuka was dominating in middle-relief for San Diego, and even though his 2 saves aren’t the best gauge of his abilities, he could probably step in to the closer’s role once Trevor Hoffman decides to hang ‘em up.

David Wright: .293 BA, .857 OPS, 14 HR, 40 RBI, 41R, 6SB

Again, I’m not sure as to Wright’s eligibility, but I do know that this kid actually has Mets’ fans excited about their team again, which isn’t an easy task. Wright was absolutely on fire during his first couple of weeks in the league, then cooled off, then went on a tear to end the season. At least the Mets were smart enough to hold onto one of their best prospects this season…

This concludes our 2004 Big D MLB Awards Show. Well, actually, this will conclude the awards show… It’s the return of…

THE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

So this week, there are actually two quotes. One from television, one from dear old mom.

During Game 1 of the Sox/Angels ALDS series, ESPN put up the “K-Zone” feature that shows if a pitch really is a strike. The K-Zone is usually just a 2-dimensional box on the screen that shows the strike zone for each hitter. Then they changed the shot to a 3D side-view K-Zone that had the strike zone as a 3D object, prompting this exchange between announcers Chris Berman and Rick Sutcliffe:

Berman: “What is this now, geometry? What’s that Sutt, a trapezoid?”

Sutcliffe: “It’s a damned nightmare for me. Let’s go back to the flat box, guys.”

See, this is why I love baseball. For all the stats in the world, math just isn’t effective. And we all know how much I hate math.

But the coup de gras quote this week comes from my mother (who else?). We were watching that very same Game 1, when across the bottom of the screen on ESPN’s BottomLine came the note “J. Giambi – left off postseason roster”. Obviously, this was referring to the fact that the Yankees chose to leave 1B/DH Jason Giambi off their postseason roster for at least this first round. My mother, in her infinite wisdom, came out with this gem:

“Oh, ‘J. Giambi’. Hey, is that where the nickname ‘Jeter’ comes from? Is ‘Jeter’ J. Giambi’s nickname? You know, all these players have nicknames now…”

And she was DEAD serious. I nearly passed out, and no, I couldn’t stop laughing for a solid five minutes. She kept talking, and I just kept on laughing.

OK, OK, onto football. Last week was not kind to me. After the previous week’s mastery, I was a lowly 5-9 last week, my first week under .500 since December 12^th of last year (although if you count my loss in the Super Bowl pick, I guess it’s only since late January). Oh, and 7-7 in my office pool to fall back to third. I’ve won outright two weeks there, and I’ve finished .500 two weeks there. So inconsistent…

I’ve already written a lot this week, so the picks are going to be short and sweet, most of them anyway.

FALCONS (-6.5) over Lions: Atlanta has a better offense (29^th to 21st), a better defense (30^th to 10^th), has scored more points, and allowed fewer. Plus, they’re at home and less than a TD favorite? So why would anyone pick against them? C’mon – no brainer!

Dolphins (+12.5) over PATRIOTS: This is the first time I’ve picked against the Pats in over a year, and it makes me sick to think it’s going to have to be this game in which I do it. Don’t worry, they’re winning the game and setting the new all-time consecutive wins mark (which will get it’s own column next week, win or lose, just like every other columnist in the free world), but Miami’s defense is just too good (3^rd in the league) to allow the Pats to get up by 13 or more.

Bucs (+3) over SAINTS: For all of the griping about Tampa, their defense is still one of the best in the game (6^th). And like I said back in my NFL Preview, New Orleans just never gets a consistent game going. They can’t put together any kind of streak, whether it’s winning or losing. But coming off a loss to Arizona… that’s just inexcusable.

STEELERS (-6) over Browns: I’m not too happy about that –6 up there; might even consider buying about a point and a half before laying dollars on this one. Pitt has a pretty decent team this year – might even battle with Baltimore for the division. Cleveland is so damned inconsistent – they either light a team up or fall over their own feet the whole game. Watch out for the Steelers running backs this week…

Vikings (-4) over TEXANS: Nice little side story, real quick. Last week I was without a second running back in one fantasy league, so I had to decide between Houston’s Jonathan Wells (who was on waivers and wasn’t guaranteed that I could pick him up in time), Tony Hollings, or Oakland’s Amos Zereoue. So naturally, I picked Hollings. He scored 2 points for me, while Wells had 14 and Zereoue had 24. Solid choice there. This week, I’m starting David Carr over Tom Brady. Let’s hope that doesn’t bite me in the ass…

Giants (+3.5) over COWBOYS: So get this. According to ESPN’s rankings, Dallas has a better offense (5^th to 7^th) and a better defense (19^th to 22^nd), yet the Giants have a better scoring average and a better points against average? What the hell is that?

COLTS (-9) over Raiders: Yes, I now own Amos Zereoue. And yes, he’s starting this week, both for me and for Oakland. But no, the Raiders are not winning this game – not even keeping it close. Indy is just playing on sheer anger, trying to prove that they, not the Pats, are the best team in football. And you know what? They’re making a pretty solid case. If only their defense could stop someone… anyone…

Jaguars (-2.5) over CHARGERS: Even the Jags defense couldn’t stop Indy, though they made the game a lot closer than even I thought it would be. Jacksonville has a good shot at the AFC Wild Card, although watching the Chargers the past few weeks, so do they.

J-E-T-S (-6) over Bills: The common theme in most people’s assessment of the Bills offense last week was something along the lines of “Oh my God – it’s Drew Bledsoe! Right in the middle of the road! He’s staring right at my headlights – why won’t he move?!?! Oh no – I think I just ran over Drew Bledsoe!” Don’t worry, you wouldn’t be the first, nor the last.

Cardinals (+1) over NINERS: Lemme get this straight. The Cards win a game (convincingly, I might add), then go to San Francisco to face a winless 49ers team that just lost it’s best cornerback (as if being the best anything is a compliment in S.F.), and Arizona is an UNDERDOG? Yeah, sure, OK – whatever. Just lemme get some more money in here…

SEAHAWKS (-7) over Rams: Yep, the Seahawks are the owners of the league’s best defense, having allowed an obscene 4.3 points per game (thanks largely to the Niners anemic offense). St. Louis won’t have much trouble scoring, say 24 points, but they will have trouble stopping the ‘Hawks from putting up, say, 38…

BRONCOS (-5.5) over Panthers: With or without Steven Davis, this Panthers team is in trouble. Especially, going into Denver, in the thin air, to face the second-best defense in the league. In the battle of the Jakes, take the Arizona (State) Rattler over the Carolina Garden…

Ravens (-1) over REDSKINS: Yep, I’m off the ‘Skins bandwagon altogether. Let’s put the Eagles and Seahawks in the NFC title game now, since the Panthers aren’t making it there either. This line is ridiculous – Jamal Lewis won’t serve his suspension in time to affect this game, so the Ravens should dominate.

PACKERS (-3) over Titans: It’s time for that Lambeau magic to return, and the Packers need their first home win in the worst way. If McNair plays, this game is closer, but the Packers will still hold on for the W. But it’s cold, it’s Wisconsin, and it’s Monday Night – any chance Brett Favre doesn’t show up big for this one? Didn’t think so.

Recap: FALCONS / Dolphins / Bucs / STEELERS / Vikings / Giants / COLTS / Jaguars / JETS / Cardinals / SEAHAWKS / BRONCOS / Ravens / PACKERS

Still waiting for ideas for my 1-year anniversary column. And still waiting for suggestions for my “snappy sign-off”. Eh, what the hell.

Lata.

posted by Big D @ 12:00 AM