Non-Washington Nationals MLB News, Notes: 2011 NL Cy Young Winner Clayton Kershaw, Houston Astros To AL.
by Patrick Reddington on Nov 17, 2011 2:24 PM EST
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• 2011 NL Cy Young Award Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers' left-hander Clayton Kershaw received more 1st place votes, but he and Philadelphia Phillies' ace Roy Halladay ended up tied in the SB Nation's year-end voting for the NL CY Young Award. Of the 198 votes cast in a poll last week here at Federal Baseball, 133 (67%) went for LA's 23-year-old '06 1st Round pick. 56 votes in our poll were cast for the 34-year-old Toronto Blue Jays' 1995 1st Rounder, who finished his second season in Philadelphia with a (19-6) record in 32 GS and 233.2 IP over which he had a 2.35 ERA, 2.20 FIP and 220 K's (8.47 K/9). Hallladay allowed 35 BB (1.35 BB/9), 10 HR's (0.39 HR/9) (ed. note - "3 of the 10 HR's by the Nats!), and finished the season at 8.2 WAR. In Kershaw's 4th MLB season, he was (21-5) in 33 GS and 233.1 IP, posting a 2.28 ERA, 2.47 FIP and a league-leading 248 K's (9.57 K/9), with 54 BB (2.08 BB/9) and 15 HR's (0.58 HR/9) allowed. Kershaw finished the year at 6.8 WAR. This afternoon the voting members of the BBWAA went with a Dodgers' pitcher for the first time since Eric Gagne in 2003, awarding the 2011 NL Cy Young Award to Clayton Kershaw.
The BBWAA described the lefty in their official press release as, "... a Triple Crown of pitching winner with league-best totals of victories (21), earned-run average (2.28) and strikeouts (248)." After Kershaw it was Halladay, the Phillies' Cliff Lee, the D-Backs' Ian Kennedy and Philly's Cole Hamels. I had the same Top 5 on my balllot in the SB Nation's voting...Your NL Cy Young?
• Astros To AL West, Wild Card Notes...
MLB Commisioner Bud Selig made three fairly major announcements this morning as well, approving the sale of the Houston Astros for $610 million dollars to a group led by "Houston businessman" Jim Crane. The second part of that announcement was the fact the Astros will move to the AL West from the NL Central. Houston, Texas, Oakland, LA and Seattle. The move is the first realignment since Milwaukee moved to the NL Central in 1998. Each league, as of 2013, will consist of 15 teams, meaning Interleague play takes place every day. The third part of the announcement?MLB has approved the addition of another Wild Card team in each league. The two Wild Card teams will reportedly meet in a one-game playoff before each league divisional series (maybe this year, or in 2013). Are we liking/not liking the changes? Will anyone miss the Astros in the NL?
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Well, now it's the whole team
THEY WENT!
by d_c_guy on Nov 17, 2011 2:56 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
I'm on the fence about the second wild card
Mostly because I’m not crazy about the first wild card and the fact that teams would coast into the playoffs instead of fighting for the division title. This at least creates a real incentive for winning your division regardless of the potential matchups.
I don’t really have an issue with interleague play either, although I’d like to see a more balanced schedule. I’m sure the Orioles would, too, since they have to play 72 of 162 games against the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and Blue Jays. Although a fair amount of their attendance is generated by the Yankee and Red Sox games – which is sad.
Dangit
Sorry everyone, I think this was my fault. Well, I started the italics. I blame Lance Berkman though.
I can't tell if I'm sarcastic or not when it's all italicized!!
I love the italics!!
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Nov 17, 2011 3:49 PM EST up reply actions
Not happy... and no DH in the National League!
If I had my way, the NL would have two divisions of 8 teams and the AL would have two divisions of 7 teams. The division winners of each league would face each other in an LCS and those winners would go on to the World Series. That’s it.
I’d also get rid of interleague play – there are plenty of teams in each league to face already – and, while I’m at it, free the American League from the tyranny of the DH too.
The end of the Disastros in the NL. I guess this will mean a potentially intense rivalry between Dallas and Houston with the Astros and Rangers. If I were an Astros fan, I would be really ticked about this, though. Going to the DH league would bother me so much.
Waiting to bang my drum in parades for the Nats and Caps.
I didn't realize "italics failure" messed up the stuff in the sidebar, too.
ODD.
Rob
-- In baseball we trust.
Rob slew the italics beast
Send him your finest meats and cheeses!
Guess I Fail.....
…..at being a baseball purist. I LOVE the news that the Astros are moving to the AL, and love even more that there will be interleague play all season, although I have not actually read the story yet, only the headline. Now we need to implement the rule that interleague games will be played by the rules of the road team league (even in the World Series) to make the competition more even and fair; for example, AL rules when we play the O’s at Nats Park, and NL rules at Camden Yards. Plus, that allows the NL fans to see the DH, and AL fans to see their pitchers hit. Of course, folks will say it will never happen, but they also have said that evening the leagues would never happen as well. Great Job MLB! Slowly but surely inching into the 21st Century! Oh….and remove the dumb rule of allowing the All-Star Game determine home field advantage.
"Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence In All We Do" - USAF Core Values
AFL's done with...
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Nov 17, 2011 4:50 PM EST reply actions
Over for Nats' prospects at least...
AFL Championship is Saturday, no Nats involved.
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Nov 17, 2011 4:51 PM EST up reply actions
"Ferris is my heero"
Brain: "Pinky, are you pondering what i'm pondering?"
Pinky: "Yes, ... wait, ... no, ... never mind"
I don't like the addition of another wild card race
I think the wild card by itself can help keep things interesting, but what made this year so exciting was that the down-to-the-last-game thing doesn’t happen every year. It was special. Adding another wild card team to each league just means two extra teams are going to get to say they went to the playoffs. It’s not going to make the race that much more interesting, at least not enough to justify further diluting the exclusivity of the playoffs.
I think that it just shifts the down-to-the-last-game thing
And whether we get one at the end of the season or not is purely random. When they adopted the wild card a lot of traditionalists lamented the end of the “pure” race that they had in 1993, when the Giants and their 103 wins didn’t make the playoffs – because the Braves had 104 and won the NL West. A lot of traditionalists felt vindicated last year when the Yankees and Rays each seemed utterly indifferent down the stretch as to who would win the AL East and who would win the wild card. Under this system, the teams will care A LOT about who wins the division. And instead of a crazy night of baseball because of the wild card, you’ll potentially have a crazy night of baseball as teams fight over the second wild card.
For the purists, they will be mad because the teams fighting at the end will have about 89 wins instead of 93.
and that why in general i favor the change
my biggest gripe is the potential for a 3rd place team to make the playoffs and/or win the ws. ugh
Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, uh, your opinion man
Fixed
TampaBoston, Toronto, and Baltimore are jumping for joy
Rob
-- In baseball we trust.
by RobBobS on Nov 17, 2011 8:46 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
It was Tampa the last 2 years, but the Sox are still going to be consistently better than the Rays almost every year.
Aim for the head baby Jesus
There are two things I don't like about the extra wild card
First, I think it cheapens the one-game playoff. I was 10 years old when the Mariners and the Angels played a one-game playoff for the division, and let me tell you, that shit was magic. If it happens every year, I think it loses something. Also, if there is a tie for the second wild card, do those two teams play a one-game playoff for the right to go to the annual one-game playoff? That’s just weird.
Second, the two wild card teams are going to be at a significant disadvantage should they advance to the LDS, because they have to pull out all the stops to win the one-game playoff first. They’ll throw their ace starter out there, and then advance to the LDS with their #2 going against the other team’s #1.
I like the Astros move. I like spreading interleague play out all season instead of bunching it up. I hate the extra wild cards.
Your first point, IMO, is right on.
As far as the second point is concerned, I have nothing against stacking the deck against the wild card teams – they didn’t win the division, so as far as I’m concerned, they’re going to have to prove they belong, including, among other things, shoing they’ve got some SP depth.
If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding! How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?!
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