Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Lupica's new favorite manager.

Ben Cherington will probably be Lupica's new favorite GM.

Though it's also possible Lupica will just follow Theo to Chicago.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Mushnick vs. Francesa

"What a shame that Ryan Braun, last week named the National League MVP, didn’t take a few seconds to give credit where credit is deserved.

Braun, after all, became a lock to win the award even before the season began, when our incomparable all-seeing and all-knowing evaluator of human athleticism and horse flesh, Mike Francesa, dismissed Braun as nothing special, not even among the majors’ top two-way outfielders.

Francesa even ridiculed and stepped on a caller who asked him how he could not include Braun on his list of the best outfielders in the majors."


Hilarious that Mushnick remembers this conversation and calls out Francesa.

More ridiculous that I remember this conversation on Francesa's radio show.

It's quite true that Francesa dismissed Braun's credentials. But the topic was whether or not MLB had any OF superstars. Where are the Willies, Mickeys, and Dukes?

So Francesa wasn't so much dismissing Braun vis a vis Braun's peers, he was dismissing Braun vis a vis other OF superstars in MLB history.

I'm hardly defending Francesa -- this is the sports radio host who doesn't know who Al Albuquerque is -- and Francesa probably has no idea how good Ryan Braun is. But Sherman is slightly misrepresenting the conversation.


"There is no one who speaks more authoritatively and more imperiously — and gets more colossally wrong — than Francesa. He can turn a three-TD road ’dog into a blowout winner simply by stating that the visitors shouldn’t even bother to get off the bus. Good thing he didn’t take the U.S. in the Cuban Missile Crisis."

Cuban Missile Crisis ???


Here's the thing: Every person who picks NFL games is wrong half the time and they always have a short memory.

For inexplicable reasons, they're paid for their opinions.

For even less explicable reasons, lots of people listen.

So, as long as this occurs, Mushnick will always have a lot of fodder for his Scorecard of Life.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

2011 NL MVP.

Them
Us
Ryan Braun
388Matt Kemp
24
Matt Kemp332Ryan Braun
21
Prince Fielder
229Prince Fielder
10
Justin Upton214Justin Upton
10
Albert Pujols166
Albert Pujols4
Joey Votto
135
Lane Berkman
3
Lance Berkman118
Joey Votto
2
Troy Tulowitzki
69


Roy Halladay52


Ryan Howard39


Jose Reyes
31


Clayton Kershaw29


Shane Victorino
18


Ian Kennedy
16


Cliff Lee12


Hunter Pence10


Pablo Sandoval
7


John Axford7


Michael Morse5


Carlos Beltran
3


Miguel Montero
2


Yadier Molina
2


Starlin Castro
1


Craig Kimbrel
1


Carlos Ruiz
1


Mike Stanton
1














Monday, November 21, 2011

2011 AL MVP.

Them
Us
Justin Verlander
280Curtis Granderson
25
Jacoby Ellsbury
242Miguel Cabrera
18
Jose Bautista
231Jose Bautista
14
Curtis Granderson
215Justin Verlander
11
Miguel Cabrera
193
Robinson Cano9
Robinson Cano
112
Jacoby Ellsbury
7
Adrian Gonzalez105


Michael Young96


Dustin Pedroia48


Evan Longoria27


Ian Kinsler
25


Alex Avila13


Paul Konerko
11


CC Sabathia
10


Adrian Beltre9


Ben Zobrist7


Victor Martinez
7


James Shields7


Mark Teixeira5


Asdrubal Cabrera
4


Alex Gordon
3


Josh Hamilton
1


David Robertson
1


























Thursday, November 17, 2011

2011 NL Cy Young.

Baseball Writers' Association of America:

Name Points
Clayton Kershaw
207
Roy Halladay133
Cliff Lee90
Ian Kennedy76
Cole Hamels17
Tim Lincecum7
Yovani Gallardo5
Matt Cain
3
John Axford2
Craig Kimbrel2
Madison Bumgarner1
Ryan Vogelsong
1



Felz & His Friends:


Name Points
Clayton Kershaw
30
Roy Halladay
23
Ian Kennedy16
Cliff Lee11
Yovani Gollardo2
John Axford1
Craig Kimbrel1
David Robertson1
C.J. Wilson1








A day late.

"Injuries forced Alex Rodriguez to enter the postseason without enough time to regain his typical comfort level at the plate, prompting Yankees general manager Brian Cashman to wonder Tuesday if Eric Chavez could have been the better choice at third base.

'Chavy might have been a better option there at the end,' Cashman said"

Not a very brave position to take after the fact.

Chavez at third couldn't have hurt. But ARod probably would have been the DH. Posada and Montero played well as DH. So the Yankees would have been hurt by ARod's bat, anyway.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

2011 AL Cy Young.

Baseball Writers' Association of America:

Name Points
Justin Verlander
196
Jered Weaver97
James Shields66
CC Sabathia63
Jose Valverde28
C.J. Wilson9
Dan Haren7
Mariano Rivera
4
Josh Beckett3
Ricky Romero2
David Robertson1





Felz & His Friends:


Name Points
Justin Verlander
36
Jered Weaver19
CC Sabathia16
Josh Beckett2
Felix Hernandez2
Mariano Rivera2
James Shields2
David Robertson1
C.J. Wilson1








Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Gold Glove award is silly

No Gold Glove for Gardner or Teixeira.