Knuckle Curve » american_league

2007 AL Rookie of the Year Poll

Geoff Young — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 13:08:53 +0000

{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 managed just seven wins is probably a deal breaker in the voters’ eyes. Daisuke Matsuzaka? His season was better than he gets credit for, but with all the hype surrounding him, that’s just not good enough.

So. Who would get your vote?

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2007 AL Cy Young Poll

Geoff Young — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 12:59:09 +0000

{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 inclined…

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C.C. Sabathia: Now Even More Efficient

Geoff Young — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 19:12:34 +0000

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 Indians fan, it’s hard not to be encouraged by those trends. Oh, and Sabathia doesn’t turn 27 until July. Nice…

Post from: Knuckle Curve