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.

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.

2011 NL MVP.

Them		Us
Ryan Braun	388	Matt Kemp	24
Matt Kemp	332	Ryan Braun	21
Prince Fielder	229	Prince Fielder	10
Justin Upton	214	Justin Upton	10
Albert Pujols	166	Albert Pujols	4
Joey Votto	135	Lane Berkman	3
Lance Berkman	118	Joey Votto	2
Troy Tulowitzki	69
Roy Halladay	52
Ryan Howard	39
Jose Reyes	31
Clayton Kershaw	29
Shane Victorino	18
Ian Kennedy	16
Cliff Lee	12
Hunter Pence	10
Pablo Sandoval	7
John Axford	7
Michael Morse	5
Carlos Beltran	3
Miguel Montero	2
Yadier Molina	2
Starlin Castro	1
Craig Kimbrel	1
Carlos Ruiz	1
Mike Stanton	1

2011 AL MVP.

Them		Us
Justin Verlander	280	Curtis Granderson	25
Jacoby Ellsbury	242	Miguel Cabrera	18
Jose Bautista	231	Jose Bautista	14
Curtis Granderson	215	Justin Verlander	11
Miguel Cabrera	193	Robinson Cano	9
Robinson Cano	112	Jacoby Ellsbury	7
Adrian Gonzalez	105
Michael Young	96
Dustin Pedroia	48
Evan Longoria	27
Ian Kinsler	25
Alex Avila	13
Paul Konerko	11
CC Sabathia	10
Adrian Beltre	9
Ben Zobrist	7
Victor Martinez	7
James Shields	7
Mark Teixeira	5
Asdrubal Cabrera	4
Alex Gordon	3
Josh Hamilton	1
David Robertson	1

2011 NL Cy Young.

Baseball Writers' Association of America:

Name	Points
Clayton Kershaw	207
Roy Halladay	133
Cliff Lee	90
Ian Kennedy	76
Cole Hamels	17
Tim Lincecum	7
Yovani Gallardo	5
Matt Cain	3
John Axford	2
Craig Kimbrel	2
Madison Bumgarner	1
Ryan Vogelsong	1

Felz & His Friends:

Name	Points
Clayton Kershaw	30
Roy Halladay	23
Ian Kennedy	16
Cliff Lee	11
Yovani Gollardo	2
John Axford	1
Craig Kimbrel	1
David Robertson	1
C.J. Wilson	1

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.

2011 AL Cy Young.

Baseball Writers' Association of America:

Name	Points
Justin Verlander	196
Jered Weaver	97
James Shields	66
CC Sabathia	63
Jose Valverde	28
C.J. Wilson	9
Dan Haren	7
Mariano Rivera	4
Josh Beckett	3
Ricky Romero	2
David Robertson	1

Felz & His Friends:

Name	Points
Justin Verlander	36
Jered Weaver	19
CC Sabathia	16
Josh Beckett	2
Felix Hernandez	2
Mariano Rivera	2
James Shields	2
David Robertson	1
C.J. Wilson	1

Jose Reyes no hay amigo.

Gold Glove award is silly

No Gold Glove for Gardner or Teixeira.