Monday, October 4, 2010

2010 MLB Playoff Preview/Regular Season Awards

Greetings all... 2 parts here.. Part 1 to give out the MLB regular season awards... Part 2 to preview the playoffs...

REGULAR SEASON AWARDS

AL Rookie of the Year - Neftali Feliz, RP Texas
- Feliz saved 39 games for a playoff team... and was pretty dominant in doing so... he's been a top-5 closer in all of baseball this year by the numbers... and I'm pretty down on Austin Jackson... he had a nice year but he tailed off after May, and his numbers simply don't stack up to Feliz...

NL Rookie of the Year - Jaime Garcia, SP St. Louis - 2.70 ERA... a full season of starts with a 2.70 ERA... better than Hudson... better than Oswalt... better than Ubaldo... and the list goes on... I can't ignore those numbers... You can make a great case for Buster Posey, who's been downright ridiculous since he came up... but I can't give the nod to a guy who didn't come up til the end of May... and without the DL stint mid-season I'm pretty sure my winner would be Jason Heyward, but the power numbers don't give enough to compliment his ludicrous .394 OBP... so Garcia is my pick

AL Cy Young - Felix Hernandez, Seattle - Lowest ERA.... 2nd most K's (and he would've won this category if they made him make his meaningless final start), 2nd in WHIP, best in the league in BAA... this isn't a "most valuable pitcher" award where you'd have to factor in team success... it's a "best pitcher" award, and frankly, it hasn't been close... 13 wins with that offense is pretty impressive in itself, and nobody with high win totals can come close to matching his production elsewhere... CC's ERA is nearly a run higher (3.18 to 2.27) with 35 less K's, and significantly higher WHIP... David Price would be my runner-up, but he didn't eat innings like Felix, and gets the benefit of a much better offense... Felix FTW...

NL Cy Young - Roy Halladay, Philly - 250 innings... 2nd in K's, 3rd in ERA, 2nd in WHIP, and an insane 9 complete games... this is a close race (with Wainwright) but in the end, I give the stamp to the guy who saves his bullpen more... and that's Halladay... Wainwright has been crazy too (2.42 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 213 K's) and would easily be my #2...

AL MVP - Josh Hamilton, OF Texas - This was close.. but in the end.. 1.044 OPS hitting .359 with 32/100 is just insane... even in 133 games... especially when they had the division wrapped up when he got hurt (so only a slight deduction), and the only guy with comparable numbers played for a Detroit team that's been out of it since August (sorry Miggy)... Darkhorse? How bout Robinson Cano? .319/29/109 from a SECOND BASEMEN on the best team in the AL...

NL MVP - Joey Votto, 1B Cincy - Slam...Dunk... 1.024 OPS (1st), 37 HR (2nd), 113 RBI (3rd), .424 OBP (1st), and 16 steals for good measure... yes, Albert Pujols is insane, yet again.. and Carlos Gonzalez was fantastic from the jump... but Votto was the best hitter in the NL this year and he plays for a division winner... pretty easy choice...


Okay that's that.... to the Playoff Preview...

NLDS #1: Giants over Braves in 4...

Too much pitching for San Fran... If Atlanta had home-field it may be a different series, but I can't pick a team that is 11 games under .500 on the road for the season, AND down Prado/Chipper to win this series without homefield... The one advantage for Atlanta is that they'll only need 3 starters in the series... but that also takes Barry Zito out of the picture (we think) for SF... so it's kind of a wash.. Hope I'm wrong....

NLDS #2: Philly over Cincy in 3....

Yes, a sweep... I'm not crapping on the Reds... I'm really not... but they don't have a single pitching edge (or really even anything near-even) in this series facing Halladay/Oswalt/Hamels... and Philly is a juggernaut right now...

ALDS #1: Yanks over Twins in 4...

Too much offense for NY... I don't trust Minnesota's pitching (or NY's really) enough to override their offense advantage... and Mo Rivera can't be ignored... X-factor in the series, and the Yankees season, is how Phil Hughes and Andy Pettitte respond... This'll be a nice test

ALDS #2: Tampa over Texas in 5...

Price/Lee is a very, very nice matchup in games 1 and 4... that's for sure, but I don't trust a single other starting pitcher on either side... that sounds crazy, but that's the view I'm taking... Tampa's lineup is a gauntlet, and they'll be able to run on whichever catcher Texas throws out there (name that Molina... Bengie!)... Like the Rays

NLCS: Philly over SF in 5...

Too much Phillies... SF can match their pitching (as well as anyone at least) and they have the better bullpen, but the lineup disparity is shocking... can't see SF scoring any runs here...

ALCS: Tampa over NY in 7...

Tampa has the better pitching... seems crazy to say, but I don't trust Hughes or Pettitte, and I ESPECIALLY don't trust AJ Burnett in Game 4... Long series... and I wouldn't be surprised to see NY win this one, but I'll give the proverbial nod to the Rays... even without a homefield advantage lol

World Series: Philly over Tampa in 6...

Best pitching... Top-2 Lineup (with NYY)... I can't ignore the way Philly has been destroying everyone in their path, and they matchup well with Tampa... This is MLB's worst nightmare ratings wise (i.e. 2008), but it's what I see... And please know, this is obviously an elaborate reverse jinx on the Phillies... I certainly hate them... but they have the best roster, and they're playing the best... done and done


Go Braves...


1 comment:

tdomeski said...

Cincy vs Philly - Cincy in 4 (welcome to the crapshoot that is the MLB playoffs)

Atl vs SF - Atl in 5 (everyone talking pitching, but no one mentioning that we are running out a 3 man rotation with 2 guys pitching the best they've pitched in their career at the moment and the other guy is named Tim Hudson. Not to mention we have the deepest/best bullpen IMO)

NYY vs Minn - Twins in 4 (Something about this Yankee team screams postseason disappointment)

TB vs Tex - TB in 4 (Speed never slumps)
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Atl vs Cincy - Atl in 6 (Cinderella story continues)

TB vs Minn - Doesn't matter
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Atl vs Doesn't Matter - Atl in 7 (Just for drama)