Indians hired Manny Acta

Astros hired some dude that was the Red Sox bench coach. In the first press conference, he talked about bringing "the freshness" back to Houston. Sounds like a winner to me.

10/28/2009 7:37:37 AM

Big Mac + Cardinals = 5000 team strikeouts next season

10/28/2009 9:15:53 AM

It'll be interesting to see how the Big Mac - Pujols dynamic works. I like Big Mac, but he does not seem to have the personality to be a coach. I wonder if his forearms still like like most people's quads.

10/28/2009 9:51:48 AM

More so, he doesn't seem to have the right approach to teaching young hitters

Roids or no roids, he was one of the top 10 power hitters of all time

If he preaches what he practiced, the whole team sans Pujols will be hitting .240 with tons of popups and sky high strikeouts

10/28/2009 10:00:17 AM

With the World Series now over, there should be a lot of movement with FAs in the next week or so.

Angels resigned Bobby Abreu

Red Sox traded for Jeremy Hermida.

11/6/2009 7:08:28 AM

JJ Hardy traded from Brewers to Twins for Carlos Gomez.

Brewers trying to make room for Alcides Escobar

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4629260

11/6/2009 1:22:14 PM

Braves re-signed Tim Hudson. Looking to trade Lowe, Kawakami, or most likely Vazquez now.

11/19/2009 8:24:37 AM

I'm biased but Carpenter/Wainwright should have been ahead of Lincecum for Cy Young. I'm sure being on the same team hurt their chances.

11/19/2009 3:42:27 PM

^it definitely did

Lincecum had a great year too though

11/19/2009 3:44:03 PM

Damn I can't believe Linecum won. Carpenter deserved it. West Coast bias Between Carpenter and Felix Hernandez, you have two of the greatest non-Cy Young winning seasons in history.

Jair Jurjens is going to win it next year.

No suspense for the next two awards.
NL MVP = Pujols
AL MVP = Mauer




[Edited on November 19, 2009 at 3:54 PM. Reason : x]

11/19/2009 3:53:37 PM

^Those are who SHOULD win but we have already seen that's not how it works.

If they give it to a Yankee especially Jeter, that's serious bullshit. Mauer took a team without Morneau to the playoffs while being one of the best catchers in the game.

[Edited on November 19, 2009 at 4:06 PM. Reason : AL batting champ titles as catcher....that's sick]

11/19/2009 4:02:37 PM

^ Mauer will win it. I have faith in the writers not located in the Northeast to vote correctly.

Jeter winning a Gold Glove makes me worried though. Him winning a Gold Glove is beyond laughable.

11/19/2009 5:20:30 PM

Mauer wins AL MVP in a land slide. Took home all but one 1st place vote.

Pujols will receive his MVP shortly.

11/24/2009 11:08:30 AM

This will be Albert's 3rd, and it would be his 5th or 6th if not for Barry Lamar

Barry has 7, and about 8 people have 3

11/24/2009 11:14:21 AM

Quote :

"Jeter winning a Gold Glove makes me worried though. Him winning a Gold Glove is beyond laughable."

He's won the Golden Glove 4 times and you think it's laughable? Don't be a douche just b/c you hate the Yankees.

11/24/2009 1:39:40 PM

there is no statistic, no evidence that jeter deserves a gold glove besides gatorade commercials and NY/ESPN bias

11/24/2009 1:41:20 PM

What other stellar shortstops are there in the AL? All the ballers are in the National League. You gonna give Michael Young the golden glove over Jeter? Jason Bartlett?

11/24/2009 2:42:33 PM

Uhh Young plays third so he can't get it. Elvis Andrus is their SS.

Gone are the automatic picks of Ozzie Smith and Omar Vizquel. SS is more about hitting now.

11/24/2009 2:47:37 PM

I'm gonna guess you're just being a smartass and you realize Young started like 70 games at SS for Texas last year

My point is that Jeter deserves the award

11/24/2009 2:57:47 PM

Saying Derek Jeter deserves the gold glove is like saying Treetwista deserves Sports Talk Poster of the Year

Its a travesty...he's been a bottom 5 defensive shortstop for the better part of the last decade

11/24/2009 3:04:54 PM

You sucked a lot of cocks from 2002-2006. What does that have to do with 2009?

11/24/2009 3:06:12 PM

^^^Yes, Young didn't play shortstop at all this year.....What more do you want?

^^I agree Jeter is not deserving at all.....if he played for the Royals he would never win ANY award.

[Edited on November 24, 2009 at 3:07 PM. Reason : overrated]

[Edited on November 24, 2009 at 3:08 PM. Reason : Vizquel/Andrus split]

11/24/2009 3:06:14 PM

Quote :

"Its a travesty...he's been a bottom 5 defensive shortstop for the better part of the last decade"

haha now someone is just trolling..

[Edited on November 24, 2009 at 3:06 PM. Reason : .]

11/24/2009 3:06:28 PM

He has less range to his left than anyone in the game

He can't get to a ground ball up the middle to save his life

All everyone sees is that play where he lunges to his right and makes the fadeaway throw to first he makes 10-15 times every year

Let's give Tayshaun Prince defensive player of the year because of that block on Reggie Miller

11/24/2009 3:09:37 PM

Quote :

"All everyone sees is that play where he lunges to his right and makes the fadeaway throw to first he makes 10-15 times every year"

what, you mean this?


as for better defensive shortstops:



[Edited on November 24, 2009 at 4:00 PM. Reason : .]

11/24/2009 3:36:19 PM

That is actually one of his better defensive seasons, if not the best, of his career. He's usually a - defensive player...

11/24/2009 4:57:11 PM

The overlying problem with gold gloves is that they almost always go to great offensive players

Palmeiro won it one year when he played all but maybe 30 games at DH

The NBA has it right...Bruce Bowen and Ben Wallace were on the All Defense team for most of the past decade, and those guys couldn't score ten points on Dennis Horner

11/24/2009 5:05:16 PM

So last year, among AL shortstops, Jeter had THE BEST fielding percentage, and was tied for the fewest errors.

Tell me again why he didn't deserve a gold glove? I mean shit, I am a Twins fan and wouldn't have been pissed if Jeter had gotten AL MVP because he had that good of a season. Part of that was me penalizing Mauer for not playing a full season.

11/24/2009 5:12:02 PM

are you serious? fielding percentage doesn't tell you how good a fielder is.. it tells you he's efficient at batted balls that he gets to. his range is average at best.

that's like awarding a silver slugger to a guy who hits .330/.370/.360

11/24/2009 5:14:08 PM

Fielding Percentage and Errors

Lets say Jaybee has the best hands you've ever seen...he also runs a 5.8 40 and has the reflexes of a geriatric

But he never misses a ball hit right at him, and never fucks up a throw

Perfect fielding percentage, Gold Glove

Never mind those all those balls that got thru the hole because he couldn't reach them

All that matters is the ones he did get to, and he fielded those flawlessly

Ladies and Gentleman, Treetwistametrics !

11/24/2009 5:17:08 PM

Quote :

"fielding percentage doesn't tell you how good a fielder is.. it tells you he's efficient at batted balls that he gets to"

yeah and? wouldnt his errors be higher if, like yall make it out to be, he cant get to a ball hit 5 feet to the side of him?

^you got a more quantifiable way to determine it?

here's a better question. What AL shortstop should've won it over Jeter? if you can't answer this, then shut the fuck up about me using "stats" to defend him winning it

11/24/2009 5:29:39 PM

if a fielder can't get to a ball, and doesn't touch it, it's not an error. it's a hit.





I will admit, fielding is a hard if not the hardest category to create statistics from because of the aforementioned reason. but derek jeter has the WORST RANGE of any AL SS, anecdotally and using sabermetrics.

11/24/2009 5:33:09 PM

Quote :

"yeah and? wouldnt his errors be higher if, like yall make it out to be, he cant get to a ball hit 5 feet to the side of him?"

I can hardly believe this is a rational argument, but if you don't get to a ball at all, or dive and don't come up with it, its not an error, and thus won't be reflected as such.


Fielding percentage maybe the worst of all defensive arguments. There are those that will argue for Cal Ripken as one of the best SS based on this statistic. Cal was a good shortstop, but far from great. The simple fact is that he was great at positioning himself, but when it came to range he did not have the athletic ability to compare to a lot of shortstops. Simply put he could not get to balls that a fair amount of shortstops could get to. These shortstops that can get to those plays often are left in a delima of trying to throw out guys at first base with a split second timing and accuracy, which more likely can end up in an error than a shortstop that does not have the ability to have to make those decisions in the first place.

Simply put, Jeter has the range of a second basemen.

11/24/2009 5:34:24 PM

Quote :

"f a fielder can't get to a ball, and doesn't touch it, it's not an error. it's a hit."

its up to the ump to determine that...SHOULD he have been able to get to it or COULDNT he get to it?

although with umps, thats again subjective

but until you can name me ONE AL SHORTSTOP who is more deserved of it last year, stfu about how wrong I am for defending Jeter winning it

^And what good is having someone like Alexei Ramirez, who has more range than Jeter, if they also bobble more balls and make terrible throws to first?

[Edited on November 24, 2009 at 5:39 PM. Reason : .]

11/24/2009 5:38:47 PM

it's actually up to the scorer. swing and a miss

I pick erick aybar

Quote :

"And what good is having someone like Alexei Ramirez, who has more range than Jeter, if they also bobble more balls and make terrible throws to first?"

because alexei ramirez can do everything jeter can and more. he's just not as accurate on the "more". jeter can't even do the "more". though, I don't think alexei ramirez deserved a gold glove, he fucked up too much.

[Edited on November 24, 2009 at 5:46 PM. Reason : .]

11/24/2009 5:39:56 PM

Quote :

" its up to the ump to determine that...SHOULD he have been able to get to it or COULDNT he get to it?"

Its almost as if you have never watched a baseball game in your life

If a ball goes cleanly thru the infield, its a hit every time

If a player dives and knocks the ball down, but the runner makes it to first safely, its a hit every time

Its never an error unless you fuck up a routine play







and as for your second question ? Andrus, Izturis or Aybar would have been a fine selection

11/24/2009 5:42:02 PM

I'll give you Aybar but nobody else

11/24/2009 5:46:44 PM

I'll give you nothing

You have proved today that you lack any reasonable understanding of defensive value

I only wish Ernie was here to see this

11/24/2009 5:51:03 PM

today, we are all jeff gordon at wrigley stadium

11/24/2009 5:51:59 PM

I was just doing some checking because even though I am a Yankees fan I didn't think Jeter should have won the GG for SS. I was wrong, he had the highest fielding percentage of any starting SS in the league. Polanco is also deserving at 2B which surprised me as he made only two errors all season. What surprises me the most is when I look at the OF stats. Torii Hunter I can't argue with because he is generally regarded as the best center fielder in the game and the stats back it up. What I can't believe is how Ichiro and Adam Jones won gloves over some other guys. I know Jason Bay isn't generally regarded as a defensive wiz but he made ZERO errors. Of course the voters aren't going to get them all right and missing one of these guys for Ichiro is slightly understandable but to give a Glove to Jones and snub both these guys tells you that nobody really looks at stats before putting their X on the ballot. At 1B you could make a case for a couple guys but you can't really argue against Teixeira. As for the guy that said Pena should win it, check out the numbers and you will see Pena made TEN errors to Teixeira's four so this is clearly not the case.

11/24/2009 5:57:03 PM

So SF, is range more important than making plays and throws? Seems like the main thing yall have against Jeter winning it is basically him being old and less mobile.

11/24/2009 6:04:22 PM

Range IS making plays!

^ and he has always had little to no range. He's been a below average SS most of his career... A-Rod was FAR, FAR better.

[Edited on November 24, 2009 at 6:06 PM. Reason : x]

11/24/2009 6:05:47 PM

Range helps you make plays. You still have to field the ball and make the throw.

I dunno, I guess I'm off on this one, but I don't see it as that big of a deal that Jeter won. Itzuris didn't play enough games for my liking. I am not a big fan of people missing 50 games and winning awards for the season.

11/24/2009 6:10:29 PM

Jeter got 546 chances this year

he fucks up 8 of them

Andrus gets 668

He fucks up 22 of them

Almost triple the errors of Jeter

But he got over 100 more outs that would have been hits if Jeter was in his place

So its ok to fuck up a little more if you get to balls that other players wouldn't

I don't know how I could make this any clearer

11/24/2009 6:17:59 PM

I CAN'T BELIEVE TWISTA IS VALUING A PLAYER BASED ON A RARELY USED STATISTICAL METRIC

I'M SO PROUD OF YOU SON

EXCEPT YOU DID A SHIT JOB OF IT

SHAME ON YOU SON

[Edited on November 25, 2009 at 7:21 PM. Reason : And can we not mention Elvis Andrus? That hurts]

11/25/2009 7:17:12 PM

nice to see some other people in here follow fangraphs too. as for my take on the jeter thing, he certainly had one of the best seasons defensively since earlier this decade, but aybar still should've won the gold glove. like Madman said, defense is the toughest stat in baseball to quantify, but the best metric we have for judging a player's defensive value is UZR. until someone comes up with something better, that's what people should really follow.

i can't stand the yankees, but i don't have a huge problem with jeter winning the gold glove just because he did so much better than he has in previous years when he's been sub par yet yankee fanboys will literally rip your dick off if you tell them he's below average defensively. they all get the halo effect from him making that play deep in the hole that a better shortstop with more range can make more routinely

what i am more bothered about is teixeira winning the gold glove at 1B. kendry morales and miguel cabrera were both better defensively this year.

[Edited on November 25, 2009 at 8:13 PM. Reason : .]

11/25/2009 8:11:57 PM

Boom ! Motherfuck Yeah !

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/chip-caray-and-tbs-part-ways/

Quote :

"Chip Caray’s tenure as TBS’s lead major league baseball announcer ended Monday when he and the cable network agreed to part ways. Caray’s high-volume style was mixed with a penchant for bad play calls, embellishments and factual errors. His best known incident occurred during the American League Central Division tie breaker between the Twins and the Tigers in October. He called an obvious lineout this way: “Line drive. Base hit. Caught out there. The runner tags. Throw to the plate. On target. And in time! A double play!”"

12/1/2009 9:23:30 AM

wow...rumor has it that the mets are after miguel cabrera and are offering jose reyes and one top tier prospect for cabrera and cash....

as i tiger fan, i dont know if i like this at all...i dont think too highly of reyes even though we need a SS bad. He's always getting hurt

12/1/2009 3:05:12 PM

i think detroit needs that bat too much in their lineup. there's not a whole lot of power in there, a lot of pretty solid hitters but he's the power bat that keeps them somewhat legit.

as for the mets, do they have some young SS prospect? Is Anderson Hernandez their solution? I mean I guess as long as you have a decent defensive SS, getting Cabrera is fine to replace any offense lost.

12/1/2009 3:20:17 PM

it's been said that Detroit will move Edwin Jackson, Cabrera, and Granderson in this offseason.

An Adam Dunn for Edwin Jackson trade has been projected as well. i guess this makes sense as dunn comes relatively cheap (1 season left for $10mil) and will be asked to play 1B which means they're definintely moving cabrera.

12/1/2009 3:32:19 PM