NL Silver Slugger Awards

Joey Votto was phenomenal for the Reds this year, and played a huge part in getting the Reds a playoff birth. He has a shot at winning this years NL MVP

Posted by Wilchiro

A couple of days ago, BaconSlayer09 talked about the American League Gold Glove awards, as the love affair with overrated shortstop Derek Jeter continues. Needless to say, many people believe that the Gold Glove Awards are just turning into jokes, as voters look are now turning to fame instead of using statistics to determine their votes. Today, I am going to be discussing the National League Silver Slugger Awards, and making my picks based on stats, not fame.

Catcher: Brian McCann (ATL) - McCann was arguably the second best catcher in baseball this season, and he well deserves this award. He had the highest overall WAR of 5.3 over every other NL catcher, to go along with more power, as he hit 21 homeruns and 77 RBIs. His triple slash line of .269/.375/.453 was also among the top in that category. Runner Ups: Carlos Ruiz (PHI), Buster Posey (SF), Geovany Soto (CHC).

First Base: Joey Votto (CIN) – You might be wowed to see that Albert Pujols is not my selection for this award, but he is not far behind. Votto led the league in WAR on the year with an impressive 7.4 mark, to go along with 37 homeruns and 113 RBIs. His triple slash line of .324/.424/.600 beat out Pujols in all three categories as well. Runner Ups: Albert Pujols (STL), Aubrey Huff (SF), Adrian Gonzalez (SD).

Second Base: Dan Uggla (FLA) – Although Dan Uggla did not lead the NL in WAR, he did lead all 2B in the league with 33 homeruns and 105 RBIs. His triple slash line of .287/.369/.508 was near the top in the league, as Uggla netted an All-Star appearence this summer. Even through all of the possible trade talk within the last few days, My pick is for Dan Uggla to win the 2B Silver Slugger in the National League. Runner Ups: Rickie Weeks (MIL), Brandon Phillips (CIN), Chase Utley (PHI).

Despite leading all NL 3B in WAR, Ryan Zimmerman did not land a spot in the All-Star game, though a Silver Slugger award is well deserved

Third Base: Ryan Zimmerman (WAS) – Although David Wright of the New York Mets could put up a debate for the award, my pick is for the young 3B of the Washington Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman. He led all 3B in the league with a 7.2 WAR, beating everyone by 2+ whole points in that category. After barely missing this years All-Star game, Zimmerman slugged 25 HR and 85 RBIs to go along with a slash line of .307/.388/.503. Runner Ups: David Wright (NYM), Scott Rolen (CIN), Placido Polanco (PHI).

Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki (COL) – This was another relatively easy pick. Many people thought that Hanley Ramirez could make a run for the award, but Tulo beat him by a landslide. After an electric September, “Tulo” finished with a .315/.381/.568 slash line, beating all shortstops in those categories. He also slugged 27 HRs and 95 RBIs on the season. Runner Ups: Hanley Ramirez (FLA), Stephen Drew (ARZ), Starlin Castro (CHC).

Left Field: Carlos Gonzalez (COL) – This was a tougher decision. I really that that Cards’ LF Matt Holliday could put up a strong case for the award, but after an abseulute break-out season, I have to give it to him. Afterall, he did slug 34 HRs with 117 RBIs, while maintaining a triple slash line of .336/.376/.598 to go along with it. Runner Ups: Matt Holliday (STL), Ryan Braun (MIL), Josh Willingham (WAS).

After suffering a month of injuries, Troy Tulowitzki was fantastic in September, slugging over half of his season total homeruns during that time

Center Field: Chris Young (ARZ) – Many people might question my pick for Chris Young, but I have my reasons. Many people might say that Torres, Rasmus, or McCutchen deserve the award, but all three relied on luck as opposed to skill for the majority of the season. Young posted a .296 BABIP, while Torres had a .331, Rasmus had a .354, and McCutchen had a .311. Young also had the highest amount of HRs in the league among CF’s  with 27, and the highest amount of RBI’s with 91. Runner Ups: Andrew McCutchen (PIT), Andres Torres (SF), Colby Rasmus (STL).

Right Field: Corey Hart (MIL) – Why not Jayson Werth, Jay Bruce, or Jason Heyward? I’ll tell you why. Hart posted more HRs and RBIs then any other RF in the league with 31 and 102, while maintaining a solid triple slash line of .283/.340/.525. He also relied on more skill as opposed to luck, posting a .324 BABIP on the year, down from Werth’s mark of .352, Bruce’s mark of .334, and Heyward’s mark of .335. Runner Ups: Jayson Werth (PHI), Jason Heyward (ATL), Jay Bruce (CIN).

Note: These predictions are not those of the Pine Tar and Pocket Protectors Writing Team. If you disagree with these rankings and are dissatisfied with them, please send all hate mail to Wilchiro.

Pine Tar And Pocket Protectors Gives Out Annual Awards – National League Edition

Posted by Brady

It happens every year. Major League Baseball gives out three big awards. Rookie of The Year, Cy Young, and the Most Valuable Player. And here at Pine Tar and Pocket Protectors, we do the same thing. We already did the American League awards a few weeks ago, and now, we present the National League version.

Heyward is headed for things bigger than my entire generation has ever witnessed.

National League Rookie of The Year: Jason Heyward, OF, ATL.

Why not Buster Posey? Or Jaime Garcia? Because he’s Jason Heyward. Heyward has been billed as “The Future”. Just look at his OPS. .849. At 20 years old. What Hall of Fame (or future Hall of Fame) outfielders did he best in their age 20 season? Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Ken Griffey Jr. If you look at Hall of Famers who didn’t start their big league career until they were 21, then Heyward out performed Barry Bonds, Carl Yastrzemski, Reggie Jackson, Eddie Murray and more. Clearly, Heyward is headed for things bigger than my entire generation has ever witnessed.

Runners Up: Buster Posey, C, SFG, Jaime Garcia, P, STL

Halladay dazzled all year long, and every time he pitched, you thought you were going to see something special. And you probably did.

 

 

National League Cy Young Award: Roy Halladay, PHI

Who else? Ubaldo Jimenez? Nope. Sorry. Doc wins this hands down. Watching Halladay pitch this season, you have to wonder how pissed off the Yankees are that he’ll probably never pitch for them.  He threw a perfect game. He threw a no-hitter in his first post-season game. He led the league in innings pitched (250.2!), shutouts (4), and complete games (9). The Good Doctor rung up 219 batters, and walked only 30. Good for a 7.30 SO/BB ratio. Halladay dazzled all year long, and every time he pitched, you thought you were going to see something special. And you probably did.

Runners Up: Ubaldo Jimenez, COL

National League Most Valuable Player: Joey Votto, 1B, CIN

In 2009, Joe Mauer won the AL MVP by leading the AL in batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. This year, Votto lead the NL in OBP and SLG%.  He did all that while clouting a career high 37 home runs, and stealing 16 bases. The Canadian is the a hitting machine. He posted a .276 ISO and a .361 BABIP. Many people will say that his BABIP just isn’t sustainable, but last year he posted a .372 BABIP. Votto’s offensive skills are just that. Skills. Votto needs no luck to be an elite hitter. Votto is the NL MVP this year, and methinks that King Albert will have competition for the next few years.

Votto lead the NL in OBP and SLG%.

Runners Up: Albert Pujols, 1B, STL, Carlos Gonzalez, CF, COL

Should Big Z Get the Boot?

Here is what seems to be the most difficult question facing Cubs management heading into the 2011 season:

Should the Cubs trade Carlos Zambrano this offseason?

Trading Zambrano is starting to look like no-win territory. There, of course, are the lobbyists that will never believe that Zambrano has or can turn a corner from his hotheaded nature or find consistency relative to a staff ace–being that dominant, innings-eating horse that he was when he got his current contract. Then, there are some who may think that he has at least established himself as a solid starter, worthy of a #2 or #3 spot in the rotation of most baseball clubs. And, as always, there has to be a middle ground on the matter.

Personally, I am doing this article in part to find out which side of the line I stand on here. There are compelling points for (past stats, the no-hitter, his desire to stay here) and against (2007, 2008, 2009, the start of 2010) keeping Zambrano, so let’s dive right in. Seeing as Zambrano started off as poorly as one can hope to never do, let’s traverse the bad of Zambrano first. After being a 4-5 WAR pitcher from 2003-2006, Zambrano put up back-to-back 2.8 WAR seasons in 2007 and 2008. He rebounded to a more in-line 3.6 in 2009, but he managed to win just 9 games (I know, I know–wins never fairly judge a pitcher, but COME ON–9 wins from the staff ace?!). And then the flood gates opened like I’ve never seen from Zambrano.

On Opening Day, Zambrano put up one of the worst lines I’ve seen from him: 1 1/3 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 1 KO, 2 HR. Of course, many remember that more as Jason Heyward’s coming out party, but many Cubs fans thought it had signified the beginning of the end for Big Z when the Cubs finally limped into the All-Star Break, and it didn’t get much better from there.

For starters, it was so bad that I have to actually type this and sound less than stabbed in the chest: Zambrano was relegated to bullpen duty after lowering his ERA to (here comes the stab) 7.45 after his fourth start. The move was two-fold: Zambrano sucked as a starter, and Grabow was worse as a reliever, meaning Z didn’t fit in his role, and no one in the bullpen fit in the 8th inning role. As a reliever in April, Zambrano allowed one earned run in four innings. Through April, Zambrano was settled to a horrific 6.56 ERA.

May saw Zambrano produce eight scoreless outing as a reliever, but it was ruined by two appearances that produced five earned runs, giving him a 5.00 ERA for the month. Of course, baseball fans know well what June brought.

The month started with three more embarrassments from the former ace, in which he posted a 4.96 ERA–15 1/3 IP, 11 R (8ER), 11 BB, 9 KO. Then, a little hope arrived: 7 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 KO; Zambrano may be back, right? WRONG. The next outing was what some thought to be the final straw.

On June 25th, Zambrano took the mound against the rival Chicago White Sox. He managed to allow four runs (all earned) on four hits in the first inning. Like clockwork, Zambrano’s annual epic meltdown arrived. He did as he frequently has, and began stomping around, throwing a fit about how players weren’t diving for balls and letting off steam in an unnecessary, childish tantrum. However, Derrek Lee would have none of it, and he confronted Zambrano. This led to a heated argument between the two, and Zambrano’s day was done after that. Shortly after, Zambrano was suspended and sent to anger management.

Should Zambrano's up-and-down year be the reason to ship him off?

That trip did wonders. Zambrano returned to the mound on July 31st, and had a scoreless two-thirds of an inning. After a couple more relief appearances, the Cubs let him back into the rotation, and he took off. Granted, the first two outings were rather rocky (10 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 9 BB), but Zambrano has been strong as a whole, in terms of on-field production.

Since coming back from rehab, Zambrano has posted a 2.23 ERA in 7 appearances (5 starts) in August, and a 0.78 ERA in 5 September starts. His ERA+ has skyrocketed to a strong 130. Of course, he needs to lower the walks (41 walks and 59 strikeouts in 67 2/3 innings pitched). Still, that he is getting a solid strikeout total and going deep into games with some frequency (4/10 starts were 7+ IP; 7/10 were 6+ IP) is a great sign. His xFIP is a much higher 4.47 on the season, but you take what you can get at this point.

And that’s the rub: do the Cubs ride the wave of success or cash out as soon as the season ends? Zambrano’s not a cheap cat–he makes$17.875 million in 2011, $18 million in 2012, has a $19.25 million vesting option (top-2 in 2011 Cy Young voting or top-4 in 2012 and healthy after 2012), plus a full no-trade clause (Jim Hendry’s bread and butter tactic to screw the team). So, even if the Cubs DO determine that moving Zambrano is the way to go, the options will be limited to a specific grouping of teams:

1. Those who actually want/need Zambrano

2. Those who can afford Zambrano

3. Those Zambrano will be willing to play for–meaning, contenders

My goal is to determine if Zambrano should be traded, not who he could go to (at least, that is the case for now). So, let us recap with a pros and cons list:

Pro-Zambrano:

1. He has typically been durable in his career.

2. He has been a staff ace in the past.

3. He has appeared to settle down mentally.

4. He has pitched well of late.

Con-Zambrano:

1. He is expensive.

2. No one can ever believe he is completely past the mental breakdowns.

3. He has been rather lucky, with an ERA-xFIP of -1.11.

4. His leadership skills are less than spectacular.

5. The team has plenty of pitching prospects to replace Zambrano, and he is at a sell-high point.

So, 4 pros and 5 cons. Of course, those are in no way the end-all, be-all facts and points of interest in the matter. But there is one thing that cannot be denied: Zambrano has a fla9ir for the dramatic, and not in a good way. He is arrogant, disruptive, and childish at his worst, and the highs have not outweighed the lows lately.

In my opinion, the cubs would be better off by trading Zambrano to anyone that will take 50% of his contract or more, though I would say 70% is my magic number to absolutely get him moved. It would allow them to address the issue of a true staff ace, among other issues.

What would Zambrano bring in return? Ideally, he would bring at least what Ted Lilly brought, which really was not much–another mediocre 2B/3B like Mike Fontenot and Jeff Baker (Blake DeWitt) and a couple of mid-level prospects. The best-case scenario to me is if a team takes 70% of his contract and offers a 3-player prospect package, at least one of which is a B-level corner infield prospect.