My Award Ballot

AL MVP

1. Mike Trout
2. Miguel Cabrera
3. Josh Hamilton
4. Robinson Cano
5. Justin Verlander
6. Adrian Beltre
7. Prince Fielder
8. Albert Pujols
9. Edwin Encarnacion
10. Adam Jones

AL Cy Young

1. Justin Verlander
2. David Price
3. Jered Weaver
4. Felix Hernandez
5. Chris Sale

AL Rookie of the Year

1. Mike Trout
2. Yu Darvish
3. Yoenis Cespedes

AL Comeback Player of the Year-Adam Dunn

NL MVP

1. Buster Posey
2. Andrew McCutchen
3. Ryan Braun
4. Chase Headley
5. Yadier Molina
6. Giancarlo Stanton
7. Clayton Kershaw
8. David Wright
9. Matt Holliday
10. Joey Votto

NL Cy Young

1. Clayton Kershaw
2. R.A. Dickey
3. Johnny Cueto
4. Gio Gonzalez
5. Matt Cain

NL Rookie of the Year

1. Bryce Harper
2. Wade Miley
3. Todd Frazier

NL Comeback Player of the Year-David Wright

Heroes of Game 162

Here's a list of some players who were at the top of their game on the season's final day:

• Gavin Floyd blanked the Indians for seven innings, allowing just three singles and two walks while striking out six in Chicago's 9-0 rout
• Dan Johnson, (yes Red Sox fans, that Dan Johnson) belted three long balls and drove in five runs to back Floyd.  Clearly Johnson knows how to save his best for last
• Speaking of the Red Sox, Robinson Cano went to town at their expense yesterday by going 4-for-4 with two dingers, six RBI, three runs scored and a walk in New York's 14-2 pasting of the Sox (who lost eight in a row to close out the year). Curtis Granderson chipped in with two circuit drives of his own, giving him 43 on the season to tie Josh Hamilton for second place behind Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera
• 23 year-old Blake Beavan fired eight innings of shutout ball in Seattle's 12-0 drubbing of the Angels.  Incredibly, not one of the 24 outs he recorded came via the K. I don't care if he has a pathetic 4.0 K/9; Mike Trout, Kendrys Morales, Mark Trumbo, Howard Kendrick, and Torii Hunter all piled up triple digit strikeout totals this year and all five of them were in the lineup yesterday
• Evan Longoria crushed three solo home runs in support of Jeremy Hellickson, who gave up only one single to the Orioles over 5.1 frames. Last year, he cleared the fences twice during Game 162
• Brandon Morrow dominated the Minnesota Twins, holding Joe Mauer and co. to just three singles and one run while punching out eleven in eight innings of work. He spent most of the summer on the Disabled List, but in his 21 starts the budding ace compiled a 2.96 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and trimmed his walk rate for the third year in a row. If he stays healthy next year, he could wind up in the Cy Young discussion
• 21 year-old Shelby Miller looked great in his first major league start, one-hitting the Cincinatti Reds for six innings while fanning seven. My favorite for 2013 NL Rookie of the Year had no problems stifling a lineup featuring Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce, Ryan Ludwick, Drew Stubbs, and Scott Rolen
• Clayton Kershaw bolstered his Cy Young case by limiting the Giants to one run and three hits over eight innings while striking out eight. Like Justin Verlander, his numbers this year are almost identical to last season's figures except for one; wins. Verlander won 24 games in 2011 while Kershaw won 21, but this season both hurlers won seven fewer games despite pitching just as well.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why won-lost record has gone the way of batting average and RBI
• Edwin Jackson helped Washington secure the best record in baseball with 6.2 innings of one run ball. E-Jax struck out six Phillies and issued only one free pass as the Nats took their 98th win of the season

Cabrera Wins Triple Crown

Cabrera mashed his way to the Triple Crown in 2012 (SBNation)

Miguel Cabrera accomplished something no baseball player has done in 45 years. He led the league in home runs, runs batted in, and batting average, becoming the first man since Carl Yastrzemski to win the Triple Crown. Cabrera’s 44 homers and 139 RBI topped the majors, and his .330 batting average made him the American League batting champ for the second year in a row.

Since 1900, the Triple Crown has been achieved 14 times by a dozen different players (Rogers Hornsby and Ted Williams, the best pure hitters of all time, did it twice) but Cabrera is the only third baseman to win it. He dominated in other statistical categories, too, leading the league in slugging percentage, OPS, total bases and extra base hits. Cabrera could be in line for his first Most Valuable Player award after leading his Tigers to their second consecutive division title.

The scary thing is, 2012 isn't even the best season of his career. Looking at OPS and OPS+, he was better last year, and in 2010, too.

It wasn’t until September that Cabrera emerged as a legitimate threat to win the Triple Crown. Josh Hamilton was leading the league in homers and RBI for much of the season, and Trout seemed to have a stranglehold on the batting crown. Their early success forced Cabrera to play catch-up for most of the summer, and only in the season’s final weeks did he pass them on the strength of his monster second half (.337/.407/.667 with 26 home runs and 68 RBI after the All-Star Break). 

They say slow and steady wins the race. Miguel Cabrera is both painfully slow–he grounded into more double plays than anyone else this year–and he is freakishly steady.

 And sure enough, he won the race.

Cabrera receives a standing ovation from the Kansas City crowd (NYTimes)

Chris Davis Breaks Through (Finally)

Davis launches a go-ahead home run in yesterday's game at the Trop

The Baltimore Orioles eked out a 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday. James Shields went the distance in a losing effort, coming up short against Miguel Gonzalez and Baltimore's unflappable bullpen (51 saves for Jim Johnson!).  Big Game James was truly masterful as he whiffed 15 Orioles, didn't walk anybody and allowed just two hits.

But one of those hits was a long solo home run by Chris Davis in the fourth inning, a majestic shot that carried way past B.J. Upton and the centerfield fence. As the only run scored by either team, it turned out to be the difference maker.

Davis has gone yard in six consecutive games now, giving him 33 bombs on the year and raising his batting line to a healthy .272/.328/.505 in the process.  Like teammate Mark Reynolds, he's inflicted much of his damage in the past six weeks. Davis has socked 15 home runs, three of which came on August 24th in a 6-4 win over the Blue Jays, during the most important stretch of the season.  He's white hot, and thanks to his heavy hitting the Orioles reached the playoffs for the first time since 1997, back when Roberto Alomar, Cal Ripken Jr. and Mike Mussina wore the orange and black.  Davis, like many of his teammates, has never played in a postseason game before.

But that's about to change.  The Orioles, currently tied with the New Yankees for first place in the AL East, are gunning for the divisional flag to avoid a do-or-die play-in game with the Oakland A's.   Davis has played a big part in Baltimore's success; he leads the team in home runs and RBI (though Adam Jones is right behind him), set personal bests across the board and has begun to meet the high expectations that dogged him earlier in his career (much like Alex Gordon, or former teammate Jarrod Saltalamacchia). After years of disappointment, he is finally realizing his potential as he enters his prime.

It's about time.  The 6'3, 230 pound corner infielder is blessed with the natural Giancarlo Stanton brand of power that makes scouts drool.  The Texas native signed with the hometown team in 2006 and proceeded to tear through minor league system.  By June, 2008, the Rangers had seen enough and punched his ticket to the Show. The 22 year-old stroked a single off Houston reliever Oscar Villarreal in his first big league at-bat.  The following day with Philadelphia in town, Davis launched his first major league big fly, a two-run shot at the expense of Clay Condrey.  He was just getting warmed up. In his first month of big league action he smacked ten home runs, batted .303 and slugged .730, inspiring the fans and media to call him "Crush Davis."  His bat cooled during August, but he hit well in September and ended his rookie campaign with 23 doubles, 17 home runs, and .285/.331/.549 figures in just 80 games played. Had he played the entire season, he almost surely would have given AL Rookie of the Year Evan Longoria a run for his money.

It's no wonder people were so high on him entering 2009.  That power, combined with the ballpark and a stacked lineup around him (Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler), led many to expect big things out of the young slugger. I remember him being compared to Carlos Quentin, who led the AL in AB/HR rate in '08, finished second in home runs (one behind Miguel Cabrera) and slugging percentage (two points below Alex Rodriguez) while winning a Silver Slugger and netting a top-five finish in the MVP race despite missing 32 games.  But the dreaded "sophomore slump" hit Davis hard. When the Rangers optioned him to Triple-A on July 5th to make room for Hamilton coming off the DL, Davis was batting .202 and had fanned 114 times in 258 at-bats, an astounding 44 percent clip.  His hitting improved after he was recalled in late August, but his strong finish wasn't enough to make up for those three months of futility.  On the bright side his power remained intact;.204 ISO and 21 home runs.

Optimists hoping Davis would rebound in 2010 watched him get off to another brutal start, with nary a home run and but one RBI in his first 15 games, earning him another stint in Triple-A, where he spent most of the season. He returned to the big club for 16 games in July and 14 more in September, but didn't hit a lick. In all he received 120 at-bats and finished the season with just one home run and four RBI. 2011 brought more of the same, as Davis was shuttled back and forth between the minors and the majors. Unable to receive consistent playing time, he continued to struggle.

That's when the Rangers finally gave up on him.  Turns out, teams don't have much use for position players who don't hit, field, or run. The day before the trading deadline, they dealt him and starting pitcher Tommy Hunter to the Orioles for Koji Uehara and cash.  Davis went 0-for-4 in his Baltimore debut, but he seemed to settle down and ended the year on a high note; over the season's final three weeks he batted .342 and swatted eight doubles.  Nobody noticed, because the O's hadn't played a meaningful baseball game in months, but perhaps that stretch of regular playing time and hot hitting gave Davis the confidence he so desperately needed (brief sidenote; the Rangers shouldn't beat themselves up over this deal.  Hunter hasn't improved in Baltimore and Uehara has been one of the Rangers' best relievers this season despite spending most of the summer on the Disabled List.  His 1.82 ERA, 0.66 WHIP and 41/3 K/BB ratio are all ridiculous).

Sure enough, that success has carried over into 2012.  Davis came out of the gates swinging a hot bat and proved he belonged as an everyday player, even if that meant batting anywhere in the order except ninth or leadoff and splitting time at first base, left field, right field, and DH.  Granted, Davis does more harm than good just by bringing his glove to the ballpark, but his potent bat makes up for it. Like most high-strikeout guys (Adam Dunn, B.J. Upton, Jim Thome) this free-swinger is prone to lengthy droughts, but when the stakes are high he takes his game to another level.  Whether you believe in clutch hitting or not, you can not deny that Davis has been deadly with runners in scoring position (.977 OPS) and in high leverage situations (1.023 OPS) this year. He has come through time and time again.

But will he do it in the playoffs, against tougher pitching when the lights shine their brightest? We'll find out soon enough.

Patriots Bludgeon Bills

Stevan Ridley (#22) goes to work against the Bills (CSNNE)

The New England Patriots throttled the Buffalo Bills last Sunday by a score of 52-28.

Here's the thing; at the beginning of the fourth quarter the game was tied, 21-21.  Do the math.

And while you're crunching those numbers, take a look at this one.  580.  That's how many total yards Bill Belichick's offense accumulated; 333 in the air and 247 on the ground.  All those rushing yards are what really impress me, especially since the Pats have built their offense around some guy named Tom Brady (you know, the handsome man who does all those Ugg advertisements).  New England's young running-backs Stevan Ridley and Brandon Bolden both delivered monster performances as they turned this game into a track meet.  Ridley piled up 106 rushing yards on 22 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns, while 22 year-old rookie Brandon Bolden totaled 137 yards on 16 carries and scored during New England's fourth quarter rampage.

The game was a tale of two very different halves.  Ridley opened the scoring to give the Pats a first quarter lead, but Ryan Fitzpatrick fired a pair of TDs to tight end Scott Chandler during the second quarter while Buffalo's defense kept New England off the board. The Bills padded their lead to 21-7 in the third after Fitzpatrick connected with Donald Jones on a 68-yard bomb, and Pats fans began bracing for the possibility that their team would lose its third consecutive game in a row for the first time since 2002.

Then the Patriots offense, which had been dormant much of the game, went bananas.  Bonkers.  Absolutely nuts. Brady, who had some trouble locating his helmet at the beginning of the quarter, took care of business himself by slinging a 17-yard TD pass to Danny Woodhead and rushing for the game-tying touchdown.   The score was tied at 21, but not for long. Brady initiated the fourth quarter bloodbath by finding Rob Gronkowski to take the lead. Ridley and Bolden rushed for touchdowns to put the game out of reach before Fitzpatrick ended New England's 35-0 run with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Brad Smith.  Brady responded by notching his third passing TD of the day with a 25-yarder to Brandon Lloyd. Stephen Gostkowski punctuated the scoring with a 30 yard field goal to seal New England's first 50 point game since October 18th, 2009, when they creamed the Tennessee Titans 59-0. Their 31 fourth quarter points were more than 24 other teams (including the Bills) scored during Week 4. They scored five consecutive touchdowns, six in the second half and seven in all.

The defense was shaky again, allowing 438 total yards to the Bills a week after giving up 503 to the Ravens. Give them credit for forcing six turnovers--four interceptions and two lost fumbles--and recording three sacks, but at the same time realize that this game could have, and probably should have, been a lot closer than the final score indicates. They've allowed way too many passing yards to Fitzpatrick and Joe Flacco, so they have me worried about their Week 5 match-up with Peyton Manning's Denver Broncos.  It's disappointing to see them struggle like this because the D looked very good in Weeks 1 and 2 against the Titans and Cardinals.  Granted, they're an average defense at best and are going to have their fair share of ups and downs, but it would be nice if they could find some consistency going forward.

Still, after what happened in last week's Sunday night loss to the Ravens, it sure felt good watching the Pats vent some frustration by running up the score against their AFC East foes.  Both teams now sit at 2-2, as do the New York Jets following the 34-0 beatdown they suffered at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers.  The Bills have now lost 17 of their past 18 meetings with the Patriots.