• 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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• 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 the Braves.
• Alex at Mets Geek marvels at the success Tom Glavine has enjoyed over the years despite never having great stuff.

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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 you probably know by now, Rollins was named NL MVP.

It’s not Rollins’ fault that the voters botched this, so I don’t begrudge him the award in the slightest. Congratulations to Rollins and Rodriguez.

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Larry on baseball writers:

I commend you for your restraint, Geoff. Baseball writers have been so wretched they shouldn’t have a say in ANY post-season awards OR the HOF.

Go to the HOF site and see what the writers have done since 1936. The first ballot was tough, with Cobb, Ruth, Honus Wagner, Hornsby and Walter Johnson on the ballot.

400-game winner Johnson got in, but 500-game winner Cy Young didn’t. He got in the next year, in 1937 – with 76%. Imagine, 24% of writers didn’t think Cy Young belonged in the Hall.

Honus Wagner and his 8 batting titles and .327 lifetime average got in, but Hornsby’s 7 NL titles and .358 average got less than half the vote. I guess they forgot about his three .400 seasons or his two triple crowns.

Hornsby not only didn’t get in, he was dropped from the ballot in ‘37. He got back on in ‘38 and got 19% of the vote. He was finally voted into the Hall in 1942, with 78% of the vote.

The writers have been stiffs since day one. You were much too kind, Geoff.

Rain Delay on Seattle’s managerial situation:

The Mariners are under .500 with John Mclaren at the helm. You’d think all of the time as he spent as Lou’s bench coach he would’ve learned, something… heck anything…

I pray that he’s not hired on for 2008.

Sorry, bud; next time pray harder.

Vegas Watch on the Arizona Diamondbacks:

In looking back at various preseason predictions, I think it’s interesting that everybody was so wrong about the Diamondbacks, but ended up being right (if that makes sense).

As you said, the young hitters didn’t come through, as they’re third to last in the NL in R/G. The pitching ended up carrying them – third in the NL in ERA.

That adds up to about an average team, but of course they completely outperformed their Pythag record. I doubt there has ever been a team that has ended up being this different from people’s expectations, yet finishes (potentially) right where everybody expected.

Joe Ruiz on classic rock:

If I hear Foghat during the next commercial, I’m switching to Gameday Audio.

Derrick on Jimmy Rollins for MVP:

J-Roll has put up historical numbers from the lead off spot. He also should win the Gold Glove. Holliday is not a leader the way that Jimmy Rollins is. Nor is he the defensive player that Rollins is. The MVP is the single player that helps their own team to win and to hold that team together. J-Roll backs up what he says. Have you guys heard of Super Bowl III? Great players back it up on the field. No player in baseball has held a team together like Jimmy has this year.

BV on the AL Cy Young race:

Other than the fact that Josh Beckett has one more win than CC How can anyone build a legit case that Beckett deserves the CY… CC should win in a landslide…

And there you have it…

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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 Posh Peckett. If you haven’t voted yet, please feel free to do the right thing.

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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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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 Florida lineup, but also a pitcher in Willis who has been a disaster in the second half (batters are hitting .315/.383/.522 against him since the All-Star break).
• Nationals at Phillies, 10:35 a.m. PT — Like the Mets, the Phillies play a lousy team at home. Like the Mets, they’ll send out a 40-something left-hander (Jamie Moyer) to get the job done. Jay Bergmann counters for Washington, and all of his splits come up bad. He’s much less effective on the road, in the second half, and against left-handed batters (hello Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard).
• Padres at Brewers, 11:05 a.m. PT — How has San Diego’s season come to depend on Brett Tomko? I’m pretty certain that wasn’t in the script. The Padres also have the pleasure of facing a playoff-caliber club on its home turf. Jeff Suppan, who has been stronger at home and in the second half, gets the call for Milwaukee.
• Diamondbacks at Rockies, 12:05 p.m. PT — Arizona has already clinched the NL West. Although the Snakes own the best record in the league, they also don’t have much incentive to play their regulars. The Rockies, meanwhile, have won 15 of their last 20 games and have shown no interest in going home for the winter. Two young right-handers, Yusmeiro Petit and Ubaldo Jimenez, hook up in this one.

There you have it. Fire up a pot of coffee and plant your posterior on the couch. It’s gonna be a fun morning…

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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 the NL have? Barry Larkin (who hopefully will have better luck than Trammell did when it comes time for the Hall of Fame folks to hand out keys to the executive washroom), and that’s about it.

Now, though, we’ve got J.J. Hardy, Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, Edgar Renteria, and Jimmy Rollins tearing up the league. Renteria and Rollins have been around a while, but those other three might have untapped upside, which is a scary thought.

Troy Tulowitzki and Stephen Drew aren’t there yet, but they will be. Remember that Reyes hit .273/.300/.386 in his first full season.

Hardy leads the league in home runs. He now has 28 for his career, or three more than Foli knocked over 16 seasons. Yeah, I think the game has changed a little in 30 years…

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1. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins claims that the Phillies are the team to beat in the National League East.
2. Manager Charlie Manuel has a nice little chat with a member of the sports media.
3. 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 most effective pitcher, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate the situation a little.

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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 Philadelphia’s team ERA of 5.14 is worst in the NL — yep, behind even the Washington Nationals. John Maine starts for the Mets in this one, against Freddy Garcia, who makes his Phillies debut after opening the season on the disabled list.
• Pirates at Cardinals, 5:10 p.m. PT – Ian Snell and Anthony Reyes hook up in St. Louis. The 25-year-old Snell fanned 11 in his ‘07 debut against the Astros and followed with seven strong innings against the Cardinals. Reyes, born exactly two weeks before Snell, is a little behind his counterpart in the development department but has been a highly touted prospect in the past. This could be a fun matchup.
• Giants at Rockies, 5:35 p.m. PT – Barry Zito and Jeff Francis square off at Coors Field. Francis owns a career 4.41 ERA pitching in the Mile High City. Here’s a weird split that might speak a little to the differences between playing at Coors and “real baseball”: Francis has issued 21 intentional walks in his brief career; 19 of those have come on the road. I wonder if other Rockies pitchers have similar splits.

Happy Monday, folks. Baseball. It’s not just for breakfast anymore…

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