{democracy:23}

Another day, another poll. Today we’re looking at the American League Rookie of the Year, an award I haven’t talked too much about in this space. My preseason pick was Royals third baseman Alex Gordon, and although he finished with respectable numbers, he’s not my choice.
Neither is Tampa Bay’s Delmon Young. I expect him to win the award because of his big RBI numbers, but I’d go with Boston’s Dustin Pedroia. In addition to outhitting Young this year, Pedroia also plays second base.
Beyond Pedroia, you could make a decent case for Baltimore right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, although the fact that he …read more

{democracy:21}

We’ve talked about the AL Cy Young here and here, but I’m thinking maybe it’s time for a poll? After all, we are having so much fun with the NL (write-in candidate Jimmy Rollins has overtaken Matt Holliday and David Wright) and AL MVP award polls.
My preseason pick? I went with the pack and chose Johan Santana. Right now, I’d say that if one of the guys from Cleveland (C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona) doesn’t win it, there’s a problem. But I could be wrong.
What do you think? Feel free to leave comments supporting your choice if you’re so …read more

Listening to the Phillies and Indians game on radio. The Cleveland announcers have been talking about C.C. Sabathia, this afternoon’s starter, and noting how much more efficient he was last season than he had been in years past. They pointed to the fact that he led the American League with six complete games, which is an interesting data point, in a ’70s kind of way.
What fascinates me is that over the past six seasons, Sabathia has cut his walk totals dramatically and now is recording about four more outs per start than he did as a rookie:

Year
Age
GS
BB/9
BF/GS
#P/PA
#P/IP

2001
20
33
4.74
23.12
4.14
17.52

2002
21
33
3.77
27.00
3.79
16.09

2003
22
30
3.01
27.73
3.78
15.93

2004
23
30
3.45
26.23
3.95
16.52

2005
24
31
2.84
26.55
3.83
16.03

2006
25
28
2.06
28.64
3.66
15.24

 
If you’re an …read more