Baseball Notes (9/28/2015)

• The Arizona Diamondbacks have an historically good defense this season. They currently have four players with 15+ defensive runs saved: Ender Inciarte, Nick Ahmed, Paul Goldschmidt, and A.J. Pollock. Only three other teams have ever had four players with 15+ WAR Runs Fielding: the 2012 Atlanta Braves, 1989 St. Louis Cardinals, and 1973 Baltimore Orioles. The team is ranked first in Major League Baseball in fielding runs this year.
• Jeff Francouer is not a very good baseball player. In fact, since the beginning of 2012 he has the worst Wins Above Replacement of any player in the Major Leagues at -5.0 (the next worst is Yuniesky Betancourt at -3.2). Frenchy's OPS+ is just 75 over that span, one of the worst among players with 1000+ plate appearances. Perhaps most surprisingly, he is ranked as one of the five worst defensive right fielders over the last four seasons. Apparently his vaunted arm cannot overcome his other liabilities as an outfielder. I would suggest that he take up pitching to help prolong his career, but his one attempt at that earlier this year did not go so well: he gave up three walks, a home run, and hit a batter while allowing two earned runs in two innings of work on June 16.
• Jake Arrieta must really want to win the Cy Young Award. Since the beginning of August he is 10-0 with a 0.44 ERA in 11 starts. His ERA+ is now up to 215, joining Zack Greinke (228) with 200+ this season. The last time two pitchers in the same league had a 200 ERA+ was 1907, when Jack Pfiester and Carl Lundgren did so - as teammates on the Chicago Cubs. Greinke himself is set to become just the sixth pitcher ever to have two seasons with a 200 ERA+, joining the elite group of Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, and Roger Clemens.
• Meanwhile, the AL Cy Young race is also down to just two contenders. Dallas Keuchel made a strong bid to solidify his position last night, allowing just one run over seven innings to pick up the win. It is remarkable just how similar Keuchel's numbers are to those of David Price, at least on the surface. Keuchel is 19-8 with 213 SO and a 2.47 ERA, while Price is 18-5 with 229 SO and a 2.45 ERA. However, Keuchel leads Price in WAR by a 7.3 to 6.0 margin. 

Some Random Baseball Thoughts (9/23/2015)

• Robinson Cano is going to be a Hall of Famer. His next hit will be his 2000th, becoming just the 25th second baseman to reach that plateau. He should be able to quickly move up both the lists for hits and RBI (he's closing in on 1000) among second basemen over the next few seasons. He's already 9th all time in home runs at the position, as well as 7th in OPS (3000+ PA). Lastly, his 55.2 career WAR already puts him in the company of other Hall of Fame second basemen, and I would expect he still has some good years left in him to add to that total.

2002 AL Cy Young: Pedro Martinez vs. Derek Lowe

The 2002 American League Cy Young Award proved to be one of the most controversial votes in recent memory, as Oakland A's starting pitcher Barry Zito (23-5, 2.75 ERA) beat out Pedro Martinez (20-4, 2.26 ERA). However, the player who should have won the award may not be Pedro, but rather his teammate Derek Lowe. Head below the fold to find out why.

2014 Midseason MLB Awards

American League

Most Valuable Player: Mike Trout, LAA
Cy Young Award: Felix Hernandez, SEA
Rookie of the Year: Masahiro Tanaka, NYY
Manager of the Year: Mike Scioscia, LAA
Reliever of the Year: Dellin Betances, NYY
Comeback Player of the Year: Phil Hughes, MIN
Hank Aaron Award: Mike Trout, LAA

National League

Most Valuable Player: Troy Tulowitzki, COL
Cy Young Award: Adam Wainwright, STL
Rookie of the Year: Billy Hamilton, CIN
Manager of the Year: Ron Roenicke, MIL
Reliever of the Year: Pat Neshek, STL
Comeback Player of the Year: Josh Beckett, LAD
Hank Aaron Award: Andrew McCutchen, PIT

MLB League Awards at the Quarter Pole

American League

Most Valuable Player: Josh Donaldson, OAK
Cy Young Award: Max Scherzer, DET
Rookie of the Year: Masahiro Tanaka, NYY
Manager of the Year: Ron Gardenhire, MIN
Reliever of the Year: Jake McGee, TBR
Comeback Player of the Year: Phil Hughes, MIN
Hank Aaron Award: Jose Bautista, TOR

National League

Most Valuable Player: Troy Tulowitzki, COL
Cy Young Award: Johnny Cueto, CIN
Rookie of the Year: David Hale, ATL
Manager of the Year: Ron Roenicke, MIL
Reliever of the Year: Francisco Rodriguez, MIL
Comeback Player of the Year: Tim Hudson, SFG
Hank Aaron Award: Troy Tulowitzki, COL

2013 End-of-Season Awards

National League

MVP: Andrew McCutchen, PIT

Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, LAD

Rookie of the Year: Jose Fernandez, MIA

Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle, PIT

Reliever of the Year: Craig Kimbrel, ATL

Comeback Player of the Year: Hanley Ramirez, LAD

Hank Aaron Award: Paul Goldschmidt, ARI

American League

MVP: Mike Trout, LAA

Cy Young: Max Scherzer, DET

Rookie of the Year: Chris Archer, TBR

Manager of the Year: Terry Francona, CLE

Reliever of the Year: Greg Holland, KCR

Comeback Player of the Year: Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS

Hank Aaron Award: Miguel Cabrera, DET

First-Half MLB Awards

American League

MVP: Miguel Cabrera, DET
Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, SEA
Rookie of the Year: Jose Iglesias, BOS
Manager of the Year: John Farrell, BOS
Comeback Player of the Year: John Lackey, BOS
Hank Aaron Award: Chris Davis, BAL

National League

MVP: Paul Goldschmidt, ARI
Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, LAD
Rookie of the Year: Yasiel Puig, LAD
Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle, PIT
Comeback Player of the Year: Adam Wainwright, STL
Hank Aaron Award: Carlos Gonzalez, COL

2012 MLB Awards Picks

National League
Most Valuable Player: Buster Posey, SFG
Cy Young Award: Clayton Kershaw, LAD
Rookie of the Year: Bryce Harper, WSN
Manager of the Year: Davey Johnson, WSN
Reliever of the Year: Craig Kimbrel, ATL
Comeback Player of the Year: Buster Posey, SFG
Hank Aaron Award: Ryan Braun, MIL

American League
Most Valuable Player: Mike Trout, LAA
Cy Young Award: Justin Verlander, DET
Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout, LAA
Manager of the Year: Buck Showalter, BAL
Reliever of the Year: Fernando Rodney, TBR
Comeback Player of the Year: Alex Rios, CHW
Hank Aaron Award: Miguel Cabrera, DET