KC's Greinke receives another pitching award
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) --- Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke has been named American League Pitcher of the Year by the Major League Baseball Players Association.
It's the third post-season honor for the Royals ace, whose 2.16 earned run average was the best in baseball. He also has received top A.L. pitcher honors by The Sporting News and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and is a leading candidate for the Cy Young Award, to be announced Nov. 17.
Greinke finished the 2009 season with a 16-8 record and was second in the American League with 242 strikeouts. He had six complete games and three shutouts, both second in the majors behind Toronto's Roy Halladay.
Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals received the honor as the National League's best pitcher. Wainwright led National League with 19 wins, finishing 19-8 in 34 starts.
(c) 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Brewers: Milwaukee baseball group selects Fielder as MVP
Members of the Milwaukee Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America have unanimously voted first baseman Prince Fielder as the Milwaukee Brewers most valuable player.
Six ballots were cast for each award.
Fielder batted .299 with 46 home runs and a franchise-record 141 RBI in 162 games. This marks the second time that Fielder has won the award (also 2007).
The National League Most Valuable Player candidate ranked among the league leaders in nearly every offensive category, including RBI (tied for first with 141), and home runs (second with 46).
Yovani Gallardo received four first-place votes to be named Brewers Most Valuable Pitcher. Trevor Hoffman garnered the other two first-place votes. Gallardo, in his first full season in the majors, went 13-12 with a 3.73 earned run average in 30 starts. He became just the fifth pitcher in franchise history to have 200 strikeouts in a season. His 204 strikeouts ranked fifth in the National League while his .219 opponents' batting average ranked third.
Hoffman earned five first-place votes to earn Top Newcomer honors. Infielder Casey McGehee received the remaining first-place vote. Hoffman went 3-2 with a 1.83 ERA and 37 saves in 55 appearances this season. He extended his all-time Major League saves record to 591 as he ranked fifth in the National League in that category in 2009.
Reliever Todd Coffey was voted Brewers Unsung Hero, receiving three first-place votes. Infielder Craig Counsell (2) and McGehee (1) also earned first-place votes. Coffey went 4-4 with a 2.90 earned run average in 78 games. He led the National League with a career-high 83.2 relief innings while his 78 appearances tied for seventh in the league and ranked third in franchise history behind Ken Sanders (83 in 1971) and Ray King (82 in 2001).
Counsell earned the Good Guy Award for the second consecutive season. His four first-place votes edged outfielder Mike Cameron for the honor.
Cameron is the winner of the Michael Harrison Award for Community Service.
(c) Appleton Post Crescent.
Saltdogs' Brown Named Top-5 Indy Ball Prospect
LINCOLN, NE - Lincoln Saltdogs pitcher Tim Brown, the team's 2009 Rookie of the Year, was recognized by Baseball America this month as the fifth-best unsigned prospect in independent minor-league baseball. The list tabbed Brown as the top prospect in the American Association, and the third-best pitching prospect in the independent ranks.
In an excerpt from the article, author J.J. Cooper of Baseball America writes, "He pitches to contact...what he does have is four pitches with excellent command, which he showed by making the rather large leap from Division II to the American Association. He walked only nine batters in 63 innings this season while going 5-1, 2.59 in 63 innings. Along the way he showed he could throw his 88-90 mph fastball, curveball, changeup and slider for strikes. Brown's fastball is a heavy sinker that is hard to hit in the air."
The 22-year-old Brown finished his college career at Division II Pittsburg State this past spring, going 8-4 with a 3.71 ERA for the Gorillas. He signed with the Saltdogs on June 23 after not being selected in the 2009 major league draft. After beginning his pro career with six relief appearances, the right-hander made his first start on July 18, allowing just one run over six innings and picking up a win over Wichita. He ended the regular season with a 4-0 record and a 2.14 ERA in his starts, helping the Saltdogs claim a playoff berth and the American Association championship.
"Tim did everything we could have asked this year, and more," said Saltdogs manager Marty Scott. "He came here as a career starter in college, but he was willing to help us out in the bullpen and did a fine job there. When we had an opening in the rotation in July, he stepped up and really claimed that role for himself, and had maybe the best second half of anyone on the team. He proved that if you throw strikes and keep the ball down, you don't have to throw the ball 100 miles an hour to be a successful pitcher."
Brown was named as Lincoln's "Max Muscle Max Performer of the Game" five times during the season, earning the win on three of those five days. His best outing of the season may very well have been a game in which he did not earn a decision, as he tossed 7.1 innings and only gave up one unearned run at Sioux Falls on August 27. He also pitched three scoreless innings of relief on August 30 in Sioux Falls, helping Lincoln preserve its lead and clinch a playoff berth on the final day of the season.
(c) 2009 OurSports Central.
Why America should root for the Angels over the Yankees
Times staff writer Bill Shaikin offers 10 reasons why America should be rooting for the Angels to beat the New York Yankees in the ALCS:
1The Yankees had their century.
2The Angels could become the first team to knock the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox out of the playoffs in the same season, ridding us of both the teams that are force-fed to America all summer.
3What do the Yankees call a $1,250 seat? Half-price.
4Torii Hunter! Say anything! Down with the bland corporate personalities of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira!
5If the Angels and Dodgers win, how cool would it be to see Gail and Dave Weaver rooting their boys on, wearing those custom-designed, half-Angels, half-Dodgers jerseys?
6Can you imagine the disgusted looks on the faces of New Yorkers if Joe Torre gets into the World Series and the Yankees do not? Better yet: Jeff Weaver gets into the World Series and the Yankees do not.
7The Angels have the rally monkey. The Yankees have bleacher creatures.
8The Yankees charge $20 for a stadium tour. No game included.
9Biggest contracts in baseball history: 1. Rodriguez ($275 million); 2. Rodriguez ($252 million); 3. Jeter ($189 million); 4. Teixeira ($180 million); 5. CC Sabathia ($161 million).
10The Angels have won the World Series more recently than the Yankees. America loves a winner.
(c) The Los Angeles Times.
Jon Lester, Red Sox concerned about Angels running game
The Angels ranked third in the American League with 148 stolen bases, while Red Sox catchers threw out only 23 of 174 base-stealers, a 13% success rate that is among the worst in baseball, so you can bet the Angels will try to exploit a rare Boston weakness in the division series.
But it's not just the responsibilities Red Sox catchers Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek to shut down the running game. Boston pitchers must also do a good job of holding runners by varying their looks to the plate and using an occasional slide-step delivery.
"It's nothing we haven't seen from them before," said Jon Lester, Boston's Game 1 starter Thursday night. "They've always been a team that runs the bases well. You just have to be conscious of varying your looks and your holds.
"But at the same time, you can't take the focus away from the hitter. If you start focusing on the runner too much, that takes the focus away from your pitch. Once you do that, that's when a single turns into a home run or an out becomes a hit."
(c) The Los Angeles Times.
Yusei Kikuchi Could Bypass NPB Draft For American Baseball
Every year, the relationship between American baseball and Japanese baseball gets a little more complicated. Reports Tuesday indicate that Yusei Kikuchi, a high school pitcher expected to be the first player picked in Nippon Professional Baseball's amateur draft late next month, is contemplating skipping the draft in favor of coming to America.
That may not seem like a big deal, but under Major League Baseball's current rules, Kikuchi would not be subject to the MLB Draft and instead be declared a free agent, free to sign with any American team he wants. In light of Junichi Tazawa making a similar jump last year, skipping the NPB draft for America now carries a three-year ban, but Kikuchi would be the second top prospect in two years to make the leap, should he choose to do so.
I contacted Patrick Newman and Ryo Shinkawa, the authors of NPB Tracker, to ask about Kikuchi's situation.
Both agreed that because of age (Kikuchi is 18, Tazawa was 22 when he signed) Kikuchi is considered a much rawer prospect than Tazawa was last year and might not command contract on par with the three-year, $3.3 million deal he received from Boston, but that he still might command a seven-figure contract.
Given time spent in the minors, that may not represent more money than he'd make if he were to stay in Japan, though it's impossible to put a dollar figure on getting into the MLB system at the age of 18 without having to be posted or waiting to be granted free agency (which comes nine years after being drafted in Japan).
The above video is taken from Kikuchi's appearance in a high school tournament in July. His fastball clocks in anywhere between 85 and 92 mph and he seems to spot it nicely with a big, slow curve that clocks in the low 70s. He even mixes in an eephus pitch for good measure.
It's hard to really judge his talent with free-swinging high school kids batting against him, but I think a lefty with the ability to hit 90-plus on the radar gun regularly (he does at least three or four times in the inning shown above) and a breaking pitch would make him a pretty good prospect if he were an American high schooler.
It's not hard to see why an American team would be interested in signing him and adding him to their system, even with his young age.
(c) FanHouse.
Twins' Michael Cuddyer is AL Player of the Week
CHICAGO -- Michael Cuddyer is the Twins' ultimate diplomat, seamlessly shifting the focus to his teammates when asked about himself, somehow offering up praise to his comrades when pressed to address his personal accomplishments.
Even Monday, when Major League Baseball named Cuddyer the American League player of the week for his four home runs, two doubles, 11 runs batted in and .875 slugging percentage over a stretch of six games last week, Cuddyer tried to turn the tables, saying what's been so great about his transition to first base is that his teammates have filled in the outfield gap so well.
To Justin Morneau, though, Cuddyer's impact has been invaluable and unavoidable.
"He's the difference-maker," Morneau said. "You know Joe (Mauer) is going to get two hits every day, and (Jason) Kubel's doing what he's doing. You need to have that depth in the lineup, guys driving in runs, and he's been that guy."
One of the game's best arms in right field, Cuddyer has handled his move to the infield with relative ease while his offensive production has exploded.
The reason for the stress-free transition, Cuddyer said, is because he came up through the Twins' system as an infielder. Before finally settling in right field, Cuddyer was a defensive vagabond of sorts, playing third base, some first, a little second and the outfield.
"In '03 and '04 and '05 I played five different positions throughout the course of the season," he said.
Although Cuddyer
might not be willing to acknowledge his accomplishments, the Twins will need him to keep producing in order for the team to catch the Tigers in the AL Central race.
"It's been needed," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, "and in a lot of big situations, he's done it. It's not that I expect it, but it doesn't shock me because I know Michael."
Cliburn out at Rochester: The Twins will not renew Class AAA manager Stan Cliburn's contract with Rochester for the 2010 season, the team announced Monday.
Twins director of minor leagues Jim Rantz said he made the decision to let Cliburn move on because the Red Wings needed a change. Cliburn has managed the Red Wings for the past four seasons, going 305-279 during that time.
"Obviously, we just thought it was time for a change," Rantz said in a phone interview. "Hopefully, we can make our Triple-A club better. ... Stan has a very good track record. He did all right (this season). I just felt like we needed a fresh face."
The organization also let Rochester coach Rich Miller go. Miller took over for Red Wings hitting coach Riccardo Ingram on July 1 when Ingram left the team on personal medical leave.
Rantz said he let Cliburn and Miller go now so that the two would be available to other teams looking for a manager or coach. He has not made any other personnel decisions and said the organization would start looking to replace Cliburn next week. Asked if the ballclub would focus their search internally or externally, Rantz said, "You know we like to promote from within."
Setting up the rotation: The Twins have shuffled their starting rotation to ensure that Carl Pavano, Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker and Brian Duensing will each start during next week's four-game series at Detroit.
That means Jeff Manship will start against Kansas City, most likely on Sunday, giving him his normal five days of rest. The Twins likely will flip-flop Manship and Blackburn, who would have started Sunday, in the rotation. If that's the case, Blackburn would start on Monday in Detroit, Duensing on Tuesday, Pavano on Wednesday and Baker on Thursday.
Monday night conflict: More from Gardenhire on a potential conflict if Minnesota needs a one-game playoff at home this season that would most likely fall on Oct. 5, the same night the Vikings are scheduled to play the Packers on Monday Night Football at the Metrodome: "I'm a football fan, too, and both of those teams, I have a lot (of players) on my fantasy team," Gardenhire joked. "I don't want to ruin their game. It might cost me a fantasy win."
(c) American Chronicle.
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