Still in desk-clearing mode. Back to regular columns soon…

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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Catching up on some stuff that’s been sitting on the proverbial desk for awhile. Yeah, it’s a little old, but so am I. Get over it:

Chris at Capitol Punishment examines the Nationals’ least clutch plays of the 2007 season.
Speaking of the Nats, Harper at Oleander and Morning Glories explains why Manny Acta didn’t get serious consideration for NL Manager of the Year.
Erik at Philliesflow wonders why Jimmy Rollins won the NL Silver Slugger at shortstop over Florida’s Hanley Ramirez. Remember, this is a Phillies blogger asking the question.
Will at Chop-n-Change looks at the best ever to play left field for …read more

The voters went 50-50 this year. They got one right, the other not so much.
Your 2007 AL MVP is Alex Rodriguez, which makes sense because with all due respect to Detroit’s Magglio Ordonez, A-Rod dominated the league in every conceivable way. His was an easy choice.
In the National League, things were complicated by the Mets’ historic collapse. If David Wright’s team had reached the playoffs, I’m convinced the voters would have chosen the right guy.
As it stands, they were sure to make a mistake, the only issue being whether it would favor Colorado’s Matt Holliday or Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins. As …read more

I haven’t done one of these in a while. Time to turn the electrons over to you; here’s what y’all have been saying at Knuckle Curve over the past couple months or so:

Okay, I promise this is the last I’ll say on the subject. In case you somehow missed it, we’ve been running polls on all of MLB’s major postseason awards. Here is a list of links to all of our polls and who is leading as of this writing.

Award
Current Leader

AL MVP
Alex Rodriguez

NL MVP
Jimmy Rollins Matt Holliday

AL Cy Young
Josh Beckett

NL Cy Young
Jake Peavy

AL Rookie
Dustin Pedroia

NL Rookie
Troy Tulowitzki

AL Manager of the Year
Eric Wedge

NL Manager of the Year
Clint Hurdle

I’m not going to tell you which ones I think are wrong, but I will say that their names rhyme with Mimmy Mollins Ratt Rolliday and …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

This is it. The final day of the regular season. Four teams are fighting for the final two playoff spots in the National League. Baseball Prospectus is tracking the odds as each game finishes this weekend, while David Pinto keeps us posted on his massive tie scenario.
Meanwhile, here are the games that matter:

Marlins at Mets, 10:10 a.m. PT — Dontrelle Willis vs Tom Glavine. I can’t think of a better pitcher to make this start for New York than Glavine. To say the guy is well prepared for this situation is to make a colossal understatement. He’ll face a tough …read more

Have you noticed the National League shortstops this season? These are not the players I remember watching as a kid — Bill Russell, Davy Concepcion, Rafael Ramirez, Rafael Santana, Larry Bowa, Tim Foli, et al. Sure, Adam Everett is around, but most of the other guys manning the position now wield a potent bat.
Cal Ripken created a big stir when he first came into the big leagues. Redefined the position, they said. Alan Trammell. Robin Yount. And later, of course, the big three of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Nomar Garciaparra.
Those guys all called the American League home. What did …read more

Here’s a quick recap of recent events in the City of Brotherly Love:

Shortstop Jimmy Rollins claims that the Phillies are the team to beat in the National League East.
Manager Charlie Manuel has a nice little chat with a member of the sports media.
Manuel moves right-hander Brett Myers to the bullpen. Myers, you may recall, has been one of the Phillies’ best starters over the past couple seasons.

Meanwhile, the Phillies find themselves looking up at the Washington Nationals, a team expected by some to challenge the New York Mets’ record-setting 120-loss season back in ‘62. Honestly, when Antonio Alfonseca is your …read more

We’ve got a light schedule on Monday, with some surprisingly good pitching matchups:
American League

Royals at Tigers, 4:05 p.m. PT – Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander do battle in Detroit. Two starts does not a season make, but it’s nice to see Greinke off to a strong start in 2007.

National League

Mets at Phillies, 4:05 p.m. PT – Shortstop Jimmy Rollins thinks the Phillies are the team to beat in the NL East, but their 3-8 start isn’t helping his case. Don’t blame Rollins, though. He’s hitting .298/.411/.766 in the early going, with a league-leading six homers. The problem has been that …read more