• Jon at Dodger Thoughts reminds us that rumors are, well, rumors.
• Jim at AZ Snakepit transforms a couple Diamondbacks into South Park characters.
• El Lefty Malo talks about Barry Bonds.
• Mark at Bad Altitude complains that Troy Tulowitzki should have won the NL Gold Glove at shortstop over Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins. He’s right, of course.
• Speaking of shortstops, MB at Friar Forecast presents the relative merits of Khalil Greene.

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Post from: Knuckle Curve

I will trust the writers to vote for the right person in any given award only after they have done so.

Update, 12 Nov 2007: It has been pointed out to me that the example I chose to use — Gold Glove Award — does not, in fact, fall under the jurisdiction of the BBWAA. Although the ensuing rant about Gold Glove voting incompetence still holds, it should be directed at coaches and managers, and not the BBWAA. What should be directed at the latter institution are the ‘79, ‘87, and ‘91 NL MVP; ‘95 AL MVP; ‘87 NL Cy Young; ‘83 and ‘90 AL Cy Young; etc., ad nauseam.

Three Derek Jeter Gold Gloves should be evidence enough, but beyond those, a particularly egregious miscarriage of justice occurred in 1999. That year, the BBWAA awarded Rafael Palmeiro the AL Gold Glove at first base on the basis of his fine work in 28 games at the position.

Look, I’m willing to cut a guy slack for making an honest mistake. Jeter’s a poor defensive shortstop, but he’s in New York and he gets a lot of hype. Despite the evidence against him, at least he plays the position.

Palmeiro was a DH in ‘99. Think about that. The best-case scenario in this case is that everyone who voted for Palmeiro was just lazy, not paying attention, not doing their job well.

Other possibilities? Honestly, I’d just as soon not go there. As has been said of many a politician, “Well, I hope he’s only incompetent.”

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Then again, I never saw Parker play, so what do I know?

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Ichiro often draws comparisons to Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, and although Gwynn was a much more productive player throughout his career, there is one area in which both players are very similar. Both are severely overrated by a certain contingent of the fan base, and severely underrated by another. This is what happens when your game revolves around hitting singles in a league where batting average is still held in high regard despite not being a particularly good measure of run production.

These same folks love Juan Pierre as a leadoff hitter. The difference between Pierre and guys like Gwynn and Ichiro is that the latter perform at such a high level that it’s impossible to ignore their contributions. Ichiro has a career .332 batting average as I write this. He is good for 30+ steals a year at a high success rate, and he’s a mortal lock to score 100 runs. Gold Glove defender in the outfield? Believe it.

We haven’t mentioned Ichiro’s marquee value — everything he brings to the proverbial table beyond on-field performance. From a marketing standpoint, he’s got to be the most recognizable Asian baseball player currently plying his trade in North America. I have no statistics to support this, but I imagine that his merchandise flies off the shelves on both sides of the Pacific.

Taken together, Ichiro’s on-field exploits and off-field marketability make him a very valuable commodity. With a large Japanese community and a port that serves as a gateway to the Pacific Rim, Seattle is an obvious fit for Ichiro. He’s known there, he’s adored there, and now he’ll be staying there a while. This is a smart move for both him and the Mariners.

Post from: Knuckle Curve