ESPN reports that federal agents haven’t been able to track down ex-big-leaguer Chuck Knoblauch to serve him with a subpoena to appear before a House panel investigating steroid use in baseball:
When the committee didn’t hear from Knoblauch or a representative, it issued a subpoena to force the 1991 AL Rookie of the Year to submit to a deposition next Tuesday.
As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, though, that subpoena had not reached the former infielder who, like Clemens and more than 80 other players, was accused of using performance-enhancing drugs in last month’s Mitchell Report on baseball’s steroids era.
Knoblauch swiped 407 …read more

This is a tough time of the year to write about baseball, so I love when people say things that don’t make a lot of sense. The great thing is, you can almost always count on someone to come through in the clutch.
Enter Tampa Bay Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon, talking about the fact that his outfielder, Delmon Young, didn’t win the AL Rookie of the Year:
It’s really disturbing. I can see him not winning the award, but leaving him off eight ballots is just a sign of personal prejudice.
In this case, “personal prejudice” is code for “understanding the criteria …read more

Milwaukee Brewers “third baseman” Ryan Braun and Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia have been named 2007 Rookie of the Year for the NL and AL, respectively. Braun just beat Colorado’s Troy Tulowiztki in the NL, while Pedroia easily won in the AL.
You are so smart: In our polls, Braun nosed out Tulowitzki, 180-172, and Pedroia took 75% of the votes. Hooray for us, hooray for Braun and Pedroia, hooray for everything.
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{democracy:24}

You know the drill by now. The question before the court is, Who would get your vote for NL Rookie of the Year and why?
In my mind, this is a two-man race between Milwaukee “third baseman” Ryan Braun and Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Guys like Hunter Pence and Josh Hamilton would have merited serious consideration had they remained healthy all season. Actually, you could make a strong case for Pence anyway.
Similarly, right-handers Yovani Gallardo and Tim Lincecum might have been part of the conversation if they’d been called up a little sooner. Micah Owings? The crazy thing about him is …read more

{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

Rich at Baseball Analysts takes a look at Milwaukee Brewers phenom and leading (what, there are others?) National League Rookie of the Year candidate, Ryan Braun. In case you’ve missed it, Braun is hitting a robust .343/.388/.663 so far. Big deal, right? Um, yeah…
To put Braun’s numbers in historical perspective, he is on pace to produce the highest AVG, SLG, OPS, and OPS+ of any first-year player in the modern era. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound native of Southern California is in elite company with such greats as Joe DiMaggio, Johnny Mize, Albert Pujols, Frank Robinson, and Ted Williams.
Sure, but is he …read more