Chris Carpenter had a busy day when the St. Louis Cardinals faced the Cincinnati Reds. On the mound, he was his usual stellar self. At the plate, however, is where Carpenter turned some heads.
In the second inning, Carpenter came to the plate with the bases loaded. The result? Carpenter hit a grand slam to put the Cardinals up 5-0. But he wasn’t done. In the fifth inning, Carpenter hit a two-run double. He finished the contest 2-for-3 with six RBIs.
On the mound, Carpenter went five scoreless innings and gave up only three hits and one walk while striking out six …read more

After an amazingly strong finish to the 2009 baseball season, Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Zack Greinke has all but wrapped up the 2009 American League Cy Young Award. His latest masterpiece was on Sunday when Greinke led the Royals to a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
In seven innings, Greinke gave up only one earned run while striking out eight batters. The win improved his record to 16-8 and lowered his ERA to 2.06. His ERA is the lowest by any starting pitcher in the majors. And his record is impressive considering that the Royals are 64-92 on the …read more

With the baseball just underway, here are my predictions for who will take home the 2009 baseball awards. While there are a lot of close calls for each award, this is how it see it shaping up.
Here are the KnuckleCurve 2009 MLB awards predictions:
American League Rookie of the Year
Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles
American League Manager of the Year
Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels
American League Cy Young
Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins
American League MVP
Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox
National League Rookie of the Year
James McDonald, Los Angeles Dodgers
National League Manager of the Year
Bob Melvin, Arizona Diamondbacks
National League Cy Young
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
National League MVP
Albert Pujols, …read more

On Monday, Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame after they received the required 75% of the vote. Henderson and Rice were two of an impressive list of potential Hall of Famers on the 2009 Hall of Fame ballot.
Henderson was able to get in on his first time on the ballot, while Rice got in on his final time on the ballot. They will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame in July in Cooperstown, New York.
Here is the final voting numbers for the 2009 Hall of Fame:
Rickey Henderson – 511 votes …read more

On Monday, we will find out which players go enough votes to make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Although Rickey Henderson is a lock, there is a lot of Hall of Fame worthiness discussions surrounding all the other players. Who do we think will make it into Cooperstown?
Players Who Will Be In The Hall
Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Rickey Henderson
Tim Raines
Players Who Won’t Be In The Hall
Harold Baines
Jay Bell
David Cone
Ron Gant
Mark Grace
Tommy John
Don Mattingly
Mark McGwire
Jack Morris
Dale Murphy
Jesse Orosco
Dave Parker
Dan Plesac
Jim Rice
Lee Smith
Alan Trammell
Greg Vaughn
Mo Vaughn
Matt Williams

Some claim Dustin Pedroia is about 5-foot-5 in real life. However, all must now admit that Pedroia is the 2008 American League Most Valuable Player.
Pedroia, the second baseman for the Boston Red Sox, handily won the award by beating out Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins and his teammate Kevin Youkilis. Pedroia not only was very good in the field, at the plate he was one of the most dangerous players in the AL.
He finished the season with a .326 batting average and 17 homers, 83 RBIs, 118 runs scored and 213 hits. The 25-year-old improved his numbers across the …read more

Cliff Lee, a starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, has been named the American League Cy Young Award winner. Lee, who just last season was sent down to the minors due to ineffective pitching, bounced back in a big way in 2008.
When looking at Lee’s numbers, it’s difficult to keep your jaw from hitting the floor. He had a record of 22-3 to go along with a 2.54 ERA and a microscopic WHIP of 1.11. He also had 170 strikeouts and only 33 walks in 223.1 innings pitched.
The 30-year-old Lee had by far his best season in 2008. In 2007, …read more

Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants was named the winner of the 2008 National League Cy Young Award. The 24-year-old right-hander proved during the 2008 campaign why he’s regarded as one of the best young pitchers in Major League Baseball.
On the season, Lincecum went 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA. He also struck out 265 batters in 227 innings pitched. Throw in a WHIP of 1.17 and it’s no wonder how Lincecum was able to win the NL Cy Young Award.
Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks finished second and Johan Santana of the New York Mets finished third, while Brad …read more

Like the National League Gold Glove winners, the American League Gold Glove winners feature a lot of young faces. Apparently, the best fielders in 2008 were young players who had never won this award before. Here is a look at the 2008 AL Gold Glove award winners:
Pitcher – Mike Mussina, New York Yankees – 8th Gold Glove
Catcher – Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins – 1st Gold Glove
First Baseman – Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays – 1st Gold Glove
Second Baseman – Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox – 1st Gold Glove
Shortstop – Michael Young, Texas Rangers – 1st Gold Glove
Third Baseman – Adrian …read more

The National League had a youth movement of sorts when it came to the Gold Glove winners. Five of the players who won the 2008 Gold Glove award were first time winners. Here’s a complete list of the NL Gold Glove winners for 2008:
Pitcher – Greg Maddux, Los Angeles Dodgers – 18th Gold Glove
Catcher – Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals – 1st Gold Glove
First Baseman – Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres – 1st Gold Glove
Second Baseman – Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds – 1st Gold Glove
Shortstop – Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies – 2nd Gold Glove
Third Baseman – David Wright, New York …read more