Friday,
October 15, 2010
Willie Mays Award Ballot
AL Rookie of the Year
NFL “EXPERT” PICKS - Week 6
The Baseball
Bloggers Alliance began a couple of years ago. I was one of the first members
to join, but now there are well over 200 blogs associated. Last year was the
first year that the group did its own award voting.
This year, Hall of Famer Goose Gossage gave
his name to one of the awards, the Top Reliever. So, over the next few weeks,
the Baseball Bloggers Alliance will be voting on the following awards.
From the press release:
The five awards are given to a
player in each league: The Connie Mack Award, given to the top manager; the
Willie Mays Award, for the top rookie; the Goose Gossage
award, mentioned above; the Walter Johnson Award, which would be analogous to
the BBWAA’s Cy Young Award; and the Stan Musial Award, awarded to the most
valuable player in each league.
I was recently selected to be the President of the local chapter which
currently contains four Twins bloggers.
Between the four of us, we will receive two votes for each AL award. Here is
when you can expect to see the awards named:
Connie Mack Award: October
14
Willie Mays Award: October 18
Goose Gossage Award: October 21
Walter Johnson Award: October 25
Stan Musial Award: October 28
With that reminder and background information, today I will be posting my
ballot for the Willie Mays Rookie of the Year Award. Andrew Kneeland of Twins
Target was the other Twins blogger to vote
for this award.
As difficult as my vote for AL Manager of the Year was, it was equally
easy for me to make my choice for the AL Rookie of the Year. Not that there
weren’t a lot of very good candidates. There were. My preseason choice for the
award was Brian Matusz of the Baltimore
Orioles, and he had a very solid rookie campaign. The Tigers Brennan Boesch had a remarkable first half, but during the
second half, he really struggled. Wade Davis struggled in the first
half, then went 7-1 with a 3.22 ERA in the second
half. Or, consider the on-base skills of Davis’s Tampa teammate John Jaso from the catcher position. There are a lot of
strong candidates. Maybe not as strong as the National League’s group that
includes Buster Posey, Jaime Garcia, Jason Heyward and Mike
Stanton, but solid none-the-less. Many players made their big league debuts
or played as rookies in 2010, but below you will find my ballot, my top three
American League Rookies:
#3 – Danny
Valencia – Minnesota Twins
2010 was an interesting season for
Valencia. He began the season at Rochester and got off to a really slow start.
In fact, when promoted to the Twins, he was yet to hit a
AAA homer. When called up by the Twins in early June, he hit for average, but
no extra base power. But in July, something clicked. He hit .453/.508/.623 with
six doubles and his first home run (a grand slam against Zach Greinke. He added another homer in August and then hit five
in September. The only case against Valencia is that he played in 85 games and
had just 322 plate appearances. However, a .311/.351/.448 line is impressive.
As impressive was his 5.7 UZR and 10.2 UZR/150. The
question mark for many with Valencia was his defense, and he played
outstanding. Valencia played an important role in the Twins pennant run.
#2 – Austin
Jackson – Detroit Tigers
Jackson came to the Tigers from the
Yankees in that big three-team deal that brought Curtis Granderson
to the Yankees. Jackson made the team out of spring training and was impressive
through the entire season. He got off to a great start, hitting .364/.422/.495
in April thanks to a .530 BABIP. Obviously that was not maintainable, but his
overall line of .293/.345/.400 was solid. The speedster added 34 doubles, ten
triples and four home runs. He strikes out a lot (170 times!), but he has so
much upside. He stole 27 bases in 33 attempts as a rookie. His 5.4 UZR in
centerfield was very solid. Again, his speed helped him overcome being very raw
yet.
#1 – Neftali Feliz – Texas Rangers
Feliz pitched only
69.1 innings in 2010, but they were pretty important innings to the resurgent
Texas Rangers. There was a lot of talk about Feliz
and his triple-digit fastball being a starting pitcher, and that is something that
could still happen. But Feliz became one of the
league’s most shut-down closers throughout the 2010 season. Feliz
recorded 40 saves in 43 opportunities. He struck out more than a batter an
inning. He walked just 18 and gave up just five home runs on the season. His
0.88 WHIP meant that he did not even put himself into bad situations many
times. Feliz was an All-Star, and at season’s end was
still one of the best in the league at his position (not just among rookies).
That’s why he is my choice for the Willie Mays Award for American League Rookie
of the Year. (Think the Braves wouldn’t love to have Feliz
and Elvis Andrus about now?)
There is my ballot. Would yours look different? Leave
your comments here.
NFL “EXPERT”
PICKS – WEEK 6
|
New Orleans @ Tampa Bay |
Detroit @ NY Giants |
Miami @ Green Bay |
Seattle @ Chicago |
Baltimore @ New England |
Cleveland @ Pittsburgh |
Kansas City @ Houston |
Atlanta @ Philadelphia |
San Diego @ St. Louis |
NY Jets @ Denver |
Oakland @ San Francisco |
Dallas @ Minnesota |
Indianapolis @ Washington |
Tennessee @ Jacksonville |
||
|
Seth Stohs |
SethSpeaks.net |
Saints |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Eagles |
Chargers |
Broncos |
49ers |
Vikings |
Colts |
Jaguars |
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Dan Slowey |
Blogonoscopy |
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Kevin Slowey |
Twins Pitcher |
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Jeff Manship |
Twins Pitcher |
Saints |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Patriots |
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Cowboys |
Colts |
Titans |
|
Alex Burnett |
Twins Pitcher |
Saints |
Giants |
Dolphins |
Bears |
Patriots |
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Cowboys |
Colts |
Titans |
|
Matt Fox |
Red Sox Pitcher |
Saints |
Giants |
Dolphins |
Seahawks |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Cowboys |
Colts |
Titans |
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Kyle Waldrop |
Twins RP
Prospect |
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Kyle Gibson |
Twins SP
Prospect |
Saints |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
|
49ers |
Cowboys |
Colts |
Titans |
|
Chris Parmelee |
Twins 1B
Prospect |
Saints |
Giants |
Dolphins |
Bears |
|
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Vikings |
Colts |
Titans |
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Steve Blevins |
Twins RP
Prospect |
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Nate Hanson |
Twins IF
Prospect |
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Dan Osterbrock |
Twins SP
Prospect |
Saints |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Patriots |
Steelers |
Texans |
Eagles |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Cowboys |
Colts |
Titans |
|
Danny Rams |
Twins C Prospect |
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BJ Hermsen |
Twins SP
Prospect |
Saints |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Eagles |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Vikings |
Colts |
Jaguars |
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Matt Schuld |
Twins P Prospect |
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LaVelle
Neal |
Star Tribune |
Saints |
Giants |
Dolphins |
Bears |
Patriots |
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Broncos |
49ers |
Vikings |
Colts |
Titans |
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Howard Sinker |
Star Tribune |
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Phil Mackey |
1500ESPN.com |
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Darren Wolfson |
Twins Wrap |
Saints |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Eagles |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Vikings |
Redskins |
Titans |
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Kelly Thesier |
TwinsBaseball.com |
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Anthony Maggio |
FSNorth.com |
Saints |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Eagles |
Chargers |
Broncos |
49ers |
Cowboys |
Colts |
Titans |
|
Judd Spicer |
City Pages |
Buccs |
Giants |
Dolphins |
Bears |
Patriots |
Steelers |
Chiefs |
Eagles |
Rams |
Broncos |
Raiders |
Vikings |
Colts |
Jaguars |
|
Seth Kaplan |
Fox 9 - TV (Twin
Cities) |
Saints |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Vikings |
Redskins |
Titans |
|
Cory Hepola |
WROC-TV,
Rochester, NY |
Saints |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Patriots |
Steelers |
Texans |
Eagles |
Chargers |
Broncos |
49ers |
Vikings |
Colts |
Titans |
|
Vic Quick |
KOTA-TV Rapid
City, SD |
Buccs |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Chiefs |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Broncos |
49ers |
Cowboys |
Colts |
Jaguars |
|
Jack Michaels |
ESPN 710am,
Bismarck |
Saints |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Eagles |
Rams |
Jets |
49ers |
Cowboys |
Colts |
Titans |
|
John Bonnes |
Twins Geek |
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Josh Johnson |
Josh's Thoughts |
Saints |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Patriots |
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Vikings |
Colts |
Titans |
|
Dan Wade |
BB Daily Digest |
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Roger Dehring |
Twinkie Town |
Saints |
Lions |
Dolphins |
Bears |
Patriots |
Steelers |
Chiefs |
Falcons |
Rams |
Jets |
49ers |
Vikings |
Colts |
Jaguars |
|
Cody Christie |
NoDak
Twins Fan |
Saints |
Giants |
Dolphins |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Cowboys |
Colts |
Titans |
|
Travis Aune |
Travis Twins
Talk |
Saints |
Giants |
Dolphins |
Bears |
Patriots |
Steelers |
Chiefs |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Broncos |
49ers |
Vikings |
Colts |
Titans |
|
John Meyer |
Twins MVB |
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Topper Anton |
Curve for a
Strike |
Saints |
Giants |
Dolphins |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Vikings |
Colts |
Titans |
|
Kirsten Brown |
K-Bro Baseball |
Saints |
Giants |
Dolphins |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Vikings |
Colts |
Titans |
|
Andrew Kneeland |
Twins Target |
Saints |
Giants |
Dolphins |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Broncos |
49ers |
Vikings |
Colts |
Jaguars |
|
Shawn Berg |
On the Road with
Shawn |
Buccs |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Patriots |
Steelers |
Texans |
Eagles |
Chargers |
Broncos |
Raiders |
Vikings |
Colts |
Jaguars |
|
Emily Jipp |
Cheap Seats
Chatter |
Saints |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Patriots |
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Vikings |
Colts |
Titans |
|
Blake Meyer |
Twins Cards |
Saints |
Lions |
Dolphins |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Eagles |
Chargers |
Jets |
Raiders |
Vikings |
Colts |
Titans |
|
Andrew Bryz-Gornia |
Off the Mark |
Saints |
Giants |
Packers |
Bears |
Patriots |
Steelers |
Texans |
Eagles |
Chargers |
Broncos |
49ers |
Cowboys |
Colts |
Titans |
|
Louie Schuth |
Hitting the Eephus |
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Missy Lien |
|
Buccs |
Giants |
Dolphins |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Vikings |
Colts |
Jaguars |
|
Mike Brasel |
|
Buccs |
Giants |
Dolphins |
Bears |
Ravens |
Steelers |
Texans |
Falcons |
Chargers |
Jets |
49ers |
Vikings |
Colts |
Titans |
|
Summary |
|
Saints 25-4 |
Giants 27-2 |
Packers 15-14 |
Bears 28-1 |
Ravens 16-12 |
Steelers 29-0 |
Texans 25-4 |
Falcons 18-11 |
Chargers 26-3 |
Jets 18-10 |
49ers 26-3 |
Vikings 19-10 |
Colts 27-2 |
Titans 21-8 |