Friday, July 11, 2014
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
MLB Mid-Season Awards Part Two
MLB Mid-Season Awards Part
Two
National League
Manager of the Year: Ron Roenicke (Brewers)
Let me be the first in stating that the Manager of the
Year award is like the RBI of awards, relatively meaningless in comparison to
MVP or Cy Young. It is much easier to point to somebody and say what a terrible
manager they are as opposed to picking out the good ones. There are probably a
couple good selections for this award, but so far I have to hand it to Ron
Roenicke for sticking with Scooter Gennett at second base, when a number of
managers would have probably let Rickie Weeks be the permanent second baseman. He
also deserves credit with sticking Francisco Rodriguez as the closer again,
where Rodriguez has performed well at this year. Coming into the year I did not
expect this team to be in the National League Central playoff hunt, but here we
are, with the Brewers leading the tough division by 6.5 games. Have to give
some credit to Ron for decisions that have lead to their success.
American League
Manager of the Year: Bob Melvin (Athletics)
Melvin has done a good job in Oakland this year once
again, leading the American League West by five games. He probably has kept the
offensively-anemic Eric Sogard in at second base for too many games, but the
other choice for the spot is Nick Punto, so I cannot really blame Melvin.
Melvin also deserves credit for keeping Brandon Moss as the daily first baseman
as opposed to trying out Daric Barton, who has failed at first base time and
time again. Oakland’s rotation has performed better this season than last, even
with the injuries, and I will give Melvin some credit with not freaking out
when given Scott Kazmir as your number two starter in 2014. Oakland currently
sits with a wacky run differential of +134, which Melvin
gets a tiny bit of credit for utilizing guys properly.
Major
League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year: Starting Pitcher Scott Kazmir
(Athletics)
It is hard to overemphasize how done
Scott Kazmir looked a few years ago. Despite having a strikeout per nine
innings rate of 9.2 last year, Kazmir posted a 4.04 ERA, which while improved
was far from the ace that was once of the Tampa Bay Rays (then Devil Rays). In
103.1 innings pitched, Kazmir has an ERA of 2.61, an ERA+ of 145, a hits per
nine innings rate of 7.1, a career low. His walks per nine innings are also a
career low at 2.1. His strikeouts per nine innings are only 7.9, which is a bit
disappointing, but he is not going for the Cy Young award. He is the number two
starter on the best team in baseball and has produced when injury struck
Oakland’s rotation. I am not sure it is fair to say Scott Kazmir is back, but
he is no longer the joke he was thought of just a couple of years ago.
National
League Comeback Player of the Year: Starting Pitcher Josh Beckett (Dodgers)
Beckett was viewed as dead weight
last year, posting an ERA+ of 70 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, with his hits per
nine innings reaching a high of 10.4. Beckett was walking 3.1 batters per nine
innings. His home runs per nine innings reached a career high of 1.66. Everything
suddenly changed for Beckett this year, reducing his walks per nine innings to
2.69 and his home runs per nine innings to 1.06. This year Josh Beckett has an
ERA of 2.11 and an ERA+ of 168. Explaining Beckett’s magical comeback is
probably another article if I could find a way to really explain it, but
Beckett has had various slumps throughout his career, the latest lasting two
full seasons in which he posted an ERA+ of 89 and 70. Beckett is holding his
own and proving to be better than some of the others in the rotation (Greinke,
Haren, Ryu). In ERA+, he is second only to the best pitcher in baseball,
Clayton Kershaw, who has an ERA+ of 174. Beckett just being a step behind
Kershaw after being dead weight last year makes him the National League
Comeback Player of the Year.
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