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2013 NL MVP Poll

 BBWAA

Name	Points
Andrew McCutchen	409
Paul Goldschmidt	242
Yadier Molina	219
Matt Carpenter	194
Freddie Freeman	154
Joey Votto	149
Clayton Kershaw	146
Hanley Ramirez	58
Carlos Gomez	43
Jay Bruce	30
Craig Kimbrel	27
Shin Soo Choo	23
Jayson Werth	20
Andrelton Simmons	14
Yasiel Puig	10
Hunter Pence	7
Troy Tulowitzki	5
Allen Craig	4
Adrian Gonzalez	4
Buster Posey	3
Adam Wainwright	3
Michael Cuddyer	3
Matt Holliday	2
Russell Martin	1

Felz Poll

Name	Points
Andrew McCutchen	19
Paul Goldschmidt	13
Matt Carpenter	7
Gary Carter	4
Hanley Ramirez	4
Joey Votto	4
Jay Bruce	2
Michael Cuddyer	2
Freddie Freeman	1
Buster Posey	1

2013 AL MVP Poll

 BBWAA

Name	Points
Miguel Cabrera	385
Mike Trout	282
Chris Davis	232
Josh Donaldson	222
Robinson Cano	150
Evan Longoria	103
Dustin Pedroia	99
Adrian Beltre	99
Manny Machado	57
David Ortiz	47
Jason Kipnis	31
Max Scherzer	25
Adam Jones	9
Edwin Encarnacion	7
Greg Holland	3
Carlos Santana	3
Coco Crisp	3
Jacoby Ellsbury	3
Torii Hunter	2
Hisashi Iwakuma	2
Koji Uehara	2
Yu Darvish	1
Felix Hernandez	1
Salvador Perez	1
Shane Victorino	1

 Felz Poll

Name	Points
Miguel Cabrera	24
Chris Davis	10
Mike Trout	6
Gary Carter	4
Josh Donalson	4
Adrian Beltre	3
Robinson Cano	2
Adam Jones	2
Adam Longoria	2
Alfonso Soriano	1
Koji Uehara	1

I think ARod is lying.

Not because I analyzed his body language, but because I analyzed his language language.

2013 NL Cy Young

 BBWAA

Name	Points
Clayton Kershaw	207
Adam Wainwright	86
Jose Fernandez	62
Craig Kimbrel	39
Matt Harvey	39
Cliff Lee	32
Jordan Zimmerman	21
Zack Greinke	18
Madison Bumgarner	3
Francisco Liriano	3

 Felz Poll

Name	Points
Clayton Kershaw	20
Adam Wainwright	11
Gary Carter	4
Jordan Zimmerman	4
Jose Fernandez	3
Francisco Liriano	2
Zack Greinke	1
Craig Kimbrel	1
Kyle Lohse	1

2013 AL Cy Young

Not much interest in my poll this year, including respondents who didn't bother to figure out which league the players are in, but here you go.

 BBWAA

Name	Points
Max Scherzer	203
Yu Darvish	93
Hisashi Iwakuma	73
Anibal Sanchez	46
Chris Sale	44
Bartolo Colon	25
Koji Uehara	10
Felix Hernandez	6
Matt Moore	4
Greg Holland	4
James Shields	2

 Felz Poll

Name	Points
Max Scherzer	24
Bartolo Colon	9
Yu Darvish	6
Gary Carter	4
Felix Hernandez	3
Anibal Sanchez	3
Adam Wainwright	3
Zack Greinke	2
C.J Wilson	2
Phil Hughes	1
Hisashi Iwakuma	1
Cliff Lee	1
Mariano Rivera	1

Describing Bill Madden as a hypocrite is an insult to hypocrites.

"But if he doesn’t get Granderson, where might Alderson go for the bats he needs? I say he should think Biogenesis.

After all, Alderson has never seemed to have a problem with drug-tainted players, going all the way back to his days in Oakland when, whether he knew it or not, the Bash Brothers, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, were alleged to have been shooting up steroids in the bathroom stalls of the A’s clubhouse.

...

There is one other added advantage in signing Cruz or Peralta. Both of them have demonstrated they know how to beat a drug test."

Not that a clown like Bill Madden ever sought noble goals such as "journalistic integrity" or "consistent principles," but the next time the name "Alex Rodriguez" is moving up his throat, he should choke on it.

I know nothing.

I would have bet the ranch on Farrell.

Mount Rushmore of Heroes

Mike Lupica can't think of anything interesting to write about the Yankees or baseball.

If you don't believe me, ask Mike Lupica:

"There was a time, and it wasn’t so terribly long ago, when you got the idea that you could lead a paper like ours with Yankee news in or out of season, like they were the big game in town no matter what else was happening in football or basketball. But those days are long gone, starting with the way pro football has gotten as big as it has over the past several years, because of the Giants winning two Super Bowls that stand with any dramatic World Series the Yankees have ever won.

There is more to it than that, you know there is. Rex Ryan got to town and was an immediate game-changer for the Jets until things went sideways for them. There is this arms race between the Knicks and Nets now in New York, the teams and their owners apparently as obsessed with beating each other as they are with beating the Heat or the Bulls or the Pacers in the Eastern Conference.

You even wonder what happens to the whole dynamic of the baseball summer if ’14 is the year when the Mets make another run at the playoffs.

(What, a guy can’t dream?)"

I think the problem is that you are unskilled at your profession.

Worse, you are whining about it in public.



"If you’re a Yankee fan, and you’ve been watching the way teams like the Cardinals and San Francisco Giants and now the Red Sox win the World Series, are you really willing to pay Robinson Cano whatever he wants?"


Of course not.

I also didn't pay much attention to the World Series because that has little to do with my analysis.

I did pay attention to the 2013 Yankees ... I know that's boring torture for you ... being your job and everything.

Listen to what you're saying, part two.

MLB is accused of singling out ARod and putting emotion ahead of prudent, blind justice. Rob Manfred responds by emotionally singling out ARod.

Manfred also inadvertently accuses MLB of either ignorance or injustice:

"Mr. Rodriguez's use of PEDs was longer and more pervasive than any other player, and when this process is complete, the facts will prove it is Mr. Rodriguez and his representatives who have engaged in ongoing, gross misconduct."

Either:

1) MLB knows of a lot of other players who took PEDs and evaded punishment.

2) MLB has no idea how many other players took PEDs.

Scenario #2 is more likely.

But if that is the case, then Manfred shouldn't proclaim with certainty that ARod took more PEDs than Sosa, Dykstra, Canseco, Bonds, and ... most likely ... some AA muck-a-luck catcher who never batted above .250.

Listen to what you're saying, part one.

Jon Lester defends David Ortiz against Colin Cowherd's accusations:

"You couldn't be more wrong," Lester said about Ortiz. "You really haven't seen the power numbers spike up. He's really just become a more complete hitter. It's not like he's all of a sudden hitting 50 homers and driving in 140. He's done it the right way for a long time."

Right.

It's not like he's hitting 50 HRs and driving in 140 ... like the first time he used PEDs.

Mike Lupica had several weeks to come up with this zinger.

"They had done everything else over the past 10 seasons, taken out the Yankees and then won their first World Series since 1918 in St. Louis and then won another one three years later in Colorado. The Red Sox had done everything except win a World Series at Fenway Park in all the years since 1918. Like there was one more monster to slay. Just not the Green Monster."

Not the Green Monster.

Lupica is a pro's pro.

I'm a sheriff and I'm a'huntin' for PED users.

Got him! I found another one!

Miguel Cabrera, of all people, is featured in a car commercial which takes a moral stand against PEDs.

Makes me wonder if the Average American thinks PED use is worse than drunk driving.

I think the Average American really does.

Certified check. You can get them at any branch office.

"While I usually enjoy Mr. Francesa’s show, I submit he may be drinking too much of the A-Rod Kool-Aid lately. People with experience in criminal law understand that when dealing with criminals or even just the average guy in the street, cash is king."

Right.

When dealing with criminals.

Which is precisely why MLB should not be conducting its legitimate business in secret, in cash.


"In other words, In God We Trust, but all others pay cash."

For real?

When you wrote this column for the Daily News, did they pay you in cash?


"Thus, assuming that MLB investigators made a legal deal to purchase documents, I suspect the seller of the same would insist on cash. Why? People in these types of situations always think a check could be canceled. The person usually thinks taking cash somehow gives them anonymity."

Exactly.

Which is why MLB should not conduct their legit business in cash. Unless they are trying to hide something. Something they may be trying to hide, for example, is the purchase of stolen documents.


"Mr. Francesa also railed about IRS violations the MLB investigators may have committed by paying 'cash cash' for the document, as if it was the crime of the century that would diminish the evidentiary value of the document(s). The reality is that the finder of fact typically will not be swayed by such issues, unless perhaps the allegation is that the documents were forged or altered."

Not the crime of the century.

Just a regular run-of-the-mill shady tax evasion.


"The fact that Mike Francesa is even talking about MLB’s possible malfeasance shows the Yankee third baseman’s attorneys have been at least somewhat successful in clouding and obfuscating the real issues: did A-Rod take PEDs and thereafter impede MLB’s investigation? It seems Mr. Francesa thinks this circus hurts the sanctity of baseball, and for MLB to participate in this circus by using hardball tactics damages the institutions of baseball itself. Point taken."

"Point taken," he says.

So you're doing a tremendous job agreeing with Francesa.

Which is weird since you started this whole thing out by suggesting you were disagreeing with Francesa.


"Lost in this mess is the legal issue of whether Alex Rodriguez deserves his 211-game ban or something less. If the former All-Star did not use PEDs, there is no issue, and he should not agree to even a one-day suspension."

We're so far past this, for crying out loud. Fifty games, like everyone else.


"There certainly seems to be a colorable legal argument that since A-Rod was never officially 'caught,' that under the MLB Drug Agreement, his suspension, if he did use PEDs, should be 50 games. Many attorneys would argue that using multiple drugs over a period of time cannot result in more than a 50-game ban under the MLB agreement if the player wasn’t officially suspended for each violation separately."

FIFTY GAMES LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.

Of course it's the number of times you're caught. Nobody who takes steroids takes one steroid.


"If A-Rod did take PEDs, after the circus he has created, it sure seems hard to think he doesn’t deserve the entire 211-game suspension, if not more. Indeed, it seems to match the number of lawyers he has working on this matter."

Weird conclusion that is not aligned with the rest of your analysis.

So MLB should function like the FBI

"In many of the major Mafia cases prosecuted in New York in the last 20 years, our federal government cut deals with murderers, money was paid and testimony was provided by cooperating witnesses who had supposedly been reformed.

The reality is that a number of active and retired MLB players have repeatedly lied, some even under oath, when asked about illegal drug use, and thereby made a complete joke out of the Joint Drug Agreement and our courts."

I think the people at the Daily News have convinced themselves that Alex Rodriguez is an actual murderer.

Matt Williams was just hired as a manager of the Washington Nationals. At the same time, MLB is going after ARod with the same zeal as the FBI goes after the Mafia. This sounds like testimony for the defendant.


"The reality is that MLB investigators — many of whom are former FBI and NYPD police officers — used the same investigative techniques they used for years when they were on the job, chasing con men and criminals.

Sorry, but I don’t see anything wrong with that just because it is A-Rod. In fact, maybe there is something right with it."

Of course that isn't right.

MLB should not be using the same investigative techniques as the FBI and the NYPD.

This Week in Bill Madden

Terrific insider "confidential" stuff by Bill Madden. Not one, but two columns in which Madden reminds the Yankees to follow the strategies of the teams that are in the World Series.

Which would also be good advice for the 30 teams that are not in the World Series.

Phase 1: Collect underpants
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: Win World Series


It's difficult to describe Madden as a "hypocrite," because a hypocrite first needs to have a coherent point of view in order to violate the tenets of that point of view.

Madden's garbled nonsense does not even qualify as a coherent opinion, it seems more like a random word generator ... a baseball_ebooks twitter account, or something.

But if a mushbrain can be a hypocrite, I suppose this is pretty close:


Madden on 9/21/2013:

"And there is also this to consider: In years past, the Yankees had an added advantage in the free-agent market besides just money: As a team that was always assured of being a World Series contender, players wanted to come to the Bronx. Now they are back to where they were during George Steinbrenner’s manic ’80s, a purgatory the Mets have been mired in, seemingly forever, without a championship-caliber team and having to overpay for free agents in order to get them to come to New York."



Madden on 10/19/2013:

"With the Yankee high command left little choice but to fill their multiple holes through the free-agent market, it was interesting that Scott (Avenging Agent) Boras should suggest the other day that they’re going to need to prove to the major free agents they will be competitive next year. Coming from Boras, the ultimate 'money talks' and 'sold to the highest bidder' agent, this is laughable."

So Boras is "laughable" when he comes to the same conclusion you made a month earlier.

Don't blame the teacher.

"Twenty years later, the lesson hit. Terry Collins was standing a few feet from Jim Leyland and Barry Bonds on that day in spring training, 1991, when Leyland howled at his superstar, 'don’t you f--- with me!' and ended up with more respect from the player because of it.

Bonds has been sulking all spring about losing his arbitration hearing, and one morning began cursing at a photographer. Bill Virdon, an old baseball lifer and coach on Leyland’s staff, told Bonds to stop, and Bonds was soon swearing at Virdon; Leyland would not have anyone disrespecting his coaches, so he stuck his face into Bonds’ and started yelling. Bonds later called Leyland the best manager he had ever played for.

How, wondered Collins, then a bullpen coach and aspiring manager, did Leyland pull that one off?

Two decades (and two failures in with Astros and Angels later) the Mets manager understands. 'What I got from him was that I always had to be myself,' said Leyland’s longtime friend and acolyte on the day of the 68-year-old’s retirement in Detroit. 'Then there was what happened in Houston. Then there was what happened in Anaheim.' "

The implication seems to be that he has succeeded in New York.


"But then there was what happened in New York: Close relationships with star players, and a strong hold on the clubhouse despite three years of losing records. So it took 20 years for the deep lessons of Leyland to take hold inside Collins?

'Exactly,' Collins said."

Congratulations on your close relationships with star players and a strong hold on the clubhouse despite three years of losing records.

The World Series counts more.

Top Ten list of best playoff hitters which does not include Reggie Jackson.