And the VMA for Worst Range Goes to... Derek Jeter!

Seriously, Sports Illustrated? Obviously, the world is conspiring for me to have to write a series of posts in which I first qualify that I respect Jeter's obvious talent and drive, and then go on to describe the ways in which he is under qualified for the myriad of honors bestowed upon him. Here's another one for you, universe:

The only good thing about this is the potential for the SI Cover Jinx to rear its ugly head. Derek Jeter was not even the MVP of his own team, and yet he got a Gold Glove, serious AL MVP consideration, and now the SI Sportsman of the Year Award. I realize it would probably be easiest if I just accepted that Jeter is destined to win awards he isn't qualified for... but I can only hope this is in his future:

"Yo Derek, I'm really happy for you, and I'mma let you finish... but A*Rod and the 2005 MVP was the most undeserved award of all time - OF ALL TIME!"

Golden Boy: Take Two

It's official: Jacoby Ellsbury has dropped number 46 in favor of the much lower (and more aesthetically pleasing) number 2. When Brad Mills jumped ship for Houston, Jacoby wasted no time in snapping up his number. Normally this wouldn't be huge news (in early 2007, Dustin Pedroia swapped #64 for #15), but I take vindictive pleasure in the fact that all the Golden Boy worshipers will have to buy new T-shirts.

Let's Hear it for the Boy!

Congratulations to the American League's 2009 Most Valuable Player, Joseph Patrick Mauer!

Obviously he's immune to the SI cover jinx.

While I think it's a travesty that Jeter managed to place third (the man was EIGHTH in slugging percentage on his OWN TEAM), the right man definitely won.

As much as I'd love to see Mauer don a Red Sox uniform, I think it would be best for the game if he stayed in Minnesota: everyone knows that if he hits free agency looking for the most money he'll land in the Bronx, and it would be a devestating blow for small market teams everywhere. Mauer to the Yankees could be the straw that breaks the camels back, resulting in a salary cap in baseball (hopefully it comes with some sort of floor).

For now, however, I'm going to bask in the glow of the BBWAA getting things right thus far: after all, it's a rarity.

The Most [Terrible] Time of the Year

It's that time of year again. The time when radio stations start playing Christmas music between their weekly NFL predictions, when a forecast for snow is still exciting rather than daunting, and when baseball is rarely in the news. Sure, SportsCenter might spend thirty seconds on trade possibilities and minor pickups, but until a major free agent is signed, people are more worried about touchdowns, power plays, and free throws than home runs and strikeouts.

That being said, I would like to apologize in advance: there won't be lengthy posts every day for a while. I'll try to put something up for you guys daily, but I can't promise anything - especially since the end of semester rush is here, and I think my professors are literally trying to bury me in work.

Needless to say, this is not my favorite time of year, but it brightened up a bit yesterday when I got a package in the mail:


The Teammates by David Halberstam is about Johnny Pesky, Ted Williams, Dom DiMaggio, and Bobby Doerr, and the special relationship they shared as teammates and friends. It was recommended to me by several of my readers, and though I'm just thirty-six pages in, I would like to thank you all, as I can tell it's going to be a mainstay of my baseball library for years to come.

It was Never About the Babe is by Jerry M. Gutlon, and promises to be an interesting read, as it discusses the racism that was inherent in the management of the Sox for many years. There was no "Curse of the Bambino" (though Dan Shaughnessy thanks you for believing in it and buying his books), and this book will explain exactly why and how the Red Sox failed for so long.

As far as curses go, I'd like to take this opportunity to express my belief that there's something to that Billy Goat thing in Chicago... 101 years? Really?

And last but certainly not least is The 2010 Bill James Handbook. You've heard me say this before, and you're sure to hear it again, but I love Bill James. I pulled out the Handbook at lunch on Friday to show my friends (I could barely contain my excitement), and they just stared. I opened it up to show the pages of player stats and equations for fielding prowess, and they remained silent. Finally, one of them asked the ultimate question: "Explain to me again how you hate math?" Oh, if only there was a course on baseball statistics! Even once I explained the genius that is Bill James, they judged me. Sure, they nodded politely at all the right times, but none of them really got it, and that's fine.

Hopefully I'll be getting some more baseball books for Christmas, so I'll make it to Spring Training alive and (reasonably) sane. Until then, I'll carry on my illicit love affair with Bill James and Co., and my friends can judge me all they want.

Congratulations, Zack!

Earlier today I posted the following statement on Twitter:

"If Zack Greinke doesn't win the AL Cy Young, I'm going to punch Joba Chamberlain in the face."

I wouldn't really punch Joba in the face (mostly due to logistical difficulties), but I would have been pretty upset. The fact that Greinke was recognized with this award means that the BBWAA is finally recognizing that W-L% is not the be-all end-all of pitching greatness.

Greinke's 2009 stat line looked like this:

16-8 record, 26 quality starts, 229.1 IP, 2.16 ERA

For what it's worth, I think Greinke's story is MUCH more inspiring than Josh Hamilton's. Sure, Hamilton overcame his drug addiction to become a feared hitter in the big leagues and put on a show at the 2008 HR Derby, but who decided to take drugs in the first place? I don't mean to belittle Hamilton's struggles, I only want to shed some light on what Greinke went through to get where he is today.

Two years ago, the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner was planning to quit baseball and never look back. He was suffering from crippling depression and anxiety, and had put together a pretty bad season. He had electric stuff, but his makeup was literally crushing him. Luckily, he decided to stay in the game, allowing thousands of fans to watch him dominate this year, and most likely for the foreseeable future.

Luckily for the Red Sox, they only faced Greinke once this year, and it was a brutal night in Kansas City for the visitors. The game lasted just over two and a half hours, because Greinke was brilliant: he allowed just two hits in six innings (to Pedey and VMart), while keeping the game scoreless. For once, he got both the run support and bullben support he needed, as the Royals scored five runs off of Paul Byrd, and the bullpen game up just one.

I was torn before that game. I wanted the Red Sox to win, as I always do, but I was hoping it could come due to some unearned runs, or perhaps at the expense of the bullpen. After all, it was September 22, Sabathia had a chance to get to twenty wins, and I wanted to make sure that Greinke would get that Cy Young plaque.

These guys lost more than a few games for Zack... of course, the bats didn't help out much, either.

We lost the game, but it gave Zack another win (and we went to the playoffs anyway, albeit briefly) in his quest for the award. Royals fans haven't had much to celebrate lately (though the new stadium looks great), so I hope they're enjoying this victory as much as I am: the best pitcher won, and that's how it should be.

Budget: Four Letter Word?

I got this week's Sports Illustrated in the mail today, and it predictably had a feature on the Yankees. Normally I would skip it, but I know from experience that for the next few months there will be very little baseball in the news, and I'd best read it while I can.

I'm guessing mine was the only mailbox at school with this particular combination in it today...

It was pretty typical: extolling the virtues of each and every Yankees player and proclaiming them to be the best team. Is it true that the Bronx had the best team in MLB this year? Yes. But What the article glossed over was that this wasn't the team of destiny, it was simply the best team money could buy:

CC Sabathia: drafted by the Indians in 1998, and bought by New York (who, lest we forget, actually had to bid against themselves to convince him to sign) in December of 2008 for seven years and $161 million.

AJ Burnett: drafted by the Mets in 1995, and bought by the Yankees in 2008 for five years and $82.5 million.

Mark Teixeira: drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2001, and bought by New York in 2008 for eight years and $180 million.

Alex Rodriguez: drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 1993, and bought by New York for 10+ years and $275 million.

Johnny Damon: drafted by Kansas City in 1992, and purchased by New York in 2006 for four years and $52 million.

Hideki Matsui: drafted by the Yomiuri Giants in 1993, and bought by the Yankees in 2002 for eight years and $73 million.

Many of their other players were signed as "amateur free agents" (Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, Andy Pettitte, Chien-Ming Wang, and Mariano Rivera, to name a few), meaning that the players often go to the highest bidder. In any type of free agency, the Yankees will get exactly what they want, because they'll go on spending sprees like last winter's, which brings me to the point of this post.

Tom Verducci's World Domination piece in this week's SI includes this infuriating snippet:

"There was one hitch. The Yankees, after doling out $423.5 million in free-agent contracts for Sabathia, Burnett, and first baseman Mark Teixeira, were not sure if they had any room left in the budget for Pettitte. 'It wasn't about Andy Pettitte,' the team's managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner says. 'We had a payroll in mind. I'm a financial guy, what can I say?'"

Uhm. WHAT? Correct me if I'm wrong, but Pettitte was asking for $10 million (he ended up with $5.5 million), which is less than 5% of the payroll... $10 million dollars is way out of the budget for many teams (Kansas City, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Baltimore...), but it is in no way too rich for New York's blood.


Honestly, I'm shocked that Steinbrenner even knew what a budget was, seeing as he was raised by the "See it, want it, buy it" George Steinbrenner, and is the most perfect example of a spoiled brat since Angelica Pickles. The fact that he wanted to cop out on Andy Pettitte - ANDY PETTITTE! - by pleading poverty is absolutely disgusting. Get a clue, Hal: if you don't want him, don't sign him, but don't insult every other franchise in baseball on the way.

Hot Stove Review: Hideki Matsui

Thanks to the suggestions of Twitter followers Schlik1, heybarto, and DaddySir4, Off the Monster is introducing a new offseason segment: the Hot Stove Review. Today, the Review will focus on the reigning World Series MVP, Hideki Matsui.

According to this article from the New York Times, Matsui will be able to play some outfield next year, if the surgery he underwent last winter is repeated successfully. However, this outfield time would be limited to "2 to 3 games a week," and that's where it gets interesting. Matsui is not a good defensive outfielder, mostly due to poor range, but Fenway doesn't exactly have an expansive left field to cover: if he could learn to play the wall, Matsui might very well be an acceptable fourth outfielder should Jason Bay opt to follow the money elsewhere.

The other thing that makes this intriguing is the recent deal for one Jeremy Hermida. Thus far, Hermida has been a disappointment, after all, he was projected to do great things. It's possible that a change of scene is just what the twenty-five-year-old Hermida needs, and a platoon with Matsui might bring out the best in him, all while providing an emergency backup for the DH position should Papi go through a 2009-esque slump (heaven forbid).

This is all speculation for now, but it wouldn't shock me if Theo went this route should Jason Bay sign elsewhere (I absolutely DON'T see him paying the kind of money Matt Holliday is asking). Obviously, Bay will be a priority until he signs a contract somewhere, but the negotiations have been strange, to say the least.

So, could Godzilla come to Boston? Maybe. Brian Cashman has already said that he would only sign Matsui as a DH exclusively, while Hideki himself has expressed a desire to play outfield, at least a little. Most likely, 2010 will see Matsui back in pinstripes, but anything's possible on the Hot Stove.