Monday Morning Manager…Season Awards
All right….the Baseball Writers of America get to pick their own awards so we here at the Elysian Fields can choose our own. They won’t let us have our own banquet but time to voice your opinion on the Rangers 2007 season.
1. Who was the Rangers MVP?
2. Who was the Pitcher of the Year?
3. Forget Rookie of the Year because nobody stood out…What rookie do you think will have the greatest impact in the future? (Volquez, Saltalamacchia, Murphy, Mendoza, Galarraga, Metcalf, White, Murray, Quiroz, Guzman)
4. Rusty Greer Award: What player reminds you of the Rangers Hall of Famer in the way he plays the game on the field.
5. Jim Sundberg Award: What player do you admire most for the way he conducts himself away from the ballpark?
By the way….on Wednesday, we’re going back to April and see who picked the most division and wild card winners. Let’s see if you make the Elysian Fields Top Ten.
T.R. Sullivan
Toby
1.Mike young had a good overall year, but kinsler and sosa had big years as well……dont forget marlon byrd
2.Benoit…we need more options
3.toss up, volquez…salty
4.David Murphy
5.Tex is gone so lets go Mike young, or C.J. wilson
1. Sammy Sosa
2. C.J. Wilson
3. David Murphy
4. David Murphy
5. Mike Young
1. Michael Young
2. Joaquin Benoit
3. David Murphy
4. Marlon Byrd
5. This is a team award, if we could leave out Vicente Padilla.
1. Michael Young has got to be first. I would also think that a close second could be Marlon Byrd because this team change its identity the moment that he stepped on the field.
2. I think CJ wilson has got to be the Rangers pitcher of the year. He did pitch well in both a set up role and a closing role. He handled that much better than Benoit did in my opinion.
3.I think a lot of these guys may be contributing next year and beyond. But I think that Salty, Edinson Volquez and David Murphy all three may have great impact on the Rangers future.
4. I see a little bit of Rusty in David Murphy. And if he can eventually put up Rusty like numbers we are going to watching a special player. Marlon Byrd also is a lot like Rusty in the way he goes after balls and the way he battles pitchers at the plate.
5. Michael Young has got to be number one on this list don’t forget that he is also up for the Roberto clemente award for his off the field work. He is the face of the Rangers Franchise and they couldn’t have a better person or player as that face. I hope for good things to come for Michael and the Rangers in the coming years a head.
1. The MVP was tough to pick, but I’ll go with Sosa – for production when he was in the lineup and attitude when he wasn’t.
2. Pitcher was Benoit.
3. Time will tell, but I’ll take Volquez, as his ceiling is probably higher and a pitcher can have a bigger impact on this team.
4. David Murphy, and I like him in left, too.
5. I would have taken Tex, too, but now I’ll take MY.
1. Sammy Sosa.
2. C.J. Wilson/Joaquin Benoit.
3. Saltalamacchia.
4. Michael Young.
5. C.J. Wilson.
1. Young
2. Benoit, Wilson tie
3. Volquez
4. Byrd
5. Wilkerson
1. Michael Young. I like Ian’s numbers, but he missed a month and Sammy would have my support, but he only produced against lefthanded pitching.
2. Benoit
3. Volquez
4. Marlon Byrd
5. Michael Young.
I know this is off-topic, but what happened with the pitcher who came over in the Tex trade who was injured? I believe he had a shoulder injury, which caused us to get an additional pitcher in the trade.
Also, what are the odds Mendoza gets to stay up next season?
1) MVP: For the life of me, honestly, I can’t say there was one.
2) Pitcher of the Year: CJ or Benoit–IF left in their 7th/8th inning roles to setup Aki/Gagne. Otherwise, I wouldn’t name a pitcher of the year either. Sad.
3) Rookie most likely to impact the future: Salty–because he has a huge ceiling, switch-hits, and plays 2 positions.
4) Rusty Greer award: Michael Young. For being gritty, solid, and always there in the lineup.
5) Jim Sundberg award: Again, Michael Young. Excellent representative, on and off the field for the Texas Rangers. Low-key, old-school, reliable, non-controversial, solid.
****TR, don’t bother previewing my prognostications. I, (GULP!!) picked the Rangers to win the World Series. I DID however laud JD for signing Sammy, and that was borne out (I was one of maybe 2 of all the bloggers who thought the Sammy signing was a deft move–and it was.) So, at least I was 50-50%.
*****To ALL–Let’s get on the bandwagon NOW, like the Rangers key players (Kinsler, Blalock, Michael, etc.) who want a return to Ranger Red!
rfan –
I think you are looking for Matt Harrison, who is supposedly over his shoulder soreness and is scheduled to pitch in the Arizona Fall League. He was considered for a callup before the Braves traded the lefty, so hopefully we see him in spring training.
1. Sammy Sosa
2. CJ Wilson
3. Edinson Volquez
4. Frank Francisco – Nobody mentions what a nice season he has.
5. Kameron Loe
1. I agree with McNutt. Marlon Byrd’s appearance changed the team. If Mike Young (a terrific player and clutch hitter) is really a leader, he needs to lead. There’s a difference between production and leadership. He needs to figure that out.
2. C.J. I believe that he wants the ball in tough situations. I still don’t believe Benoit does.
3. Volquez/Mendoza. Both will be studs. Mendoza was biggest surprise for me. Came from nowhere. This is where the Rangers’ pitching luck begins to change.
4. Why the love affair in this town with Rusty Greer? Solid player; better than solid for a few years. Not idol worship material in my book.
5. Don’t know how they act when away from the ballpark.
1. Michael Young is the rock of this team. Nobody really put up the offensive #’s to be considered a real MVP this year, but Mike should be our default MVP. He is our Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, or Ichiro Suzuki.
2. CJ Wilson. Benoit had a great year too, but CJ was the pitching story of the year.
3. Volquez and Hurley are our great rotation hopes right now. Salty will probably be our best power hitter next year, unless we get Adam Dunn. But overall, in the future, I think the biggest impact will be the development of Travis Metcalf. I think he and/or Chris Davis will either force Hank Blalock to 1st base, or out of the organization within the next 3 years. Metcalf has a great natural 3B glove, and it looks like he has decent power potential. I hate to say that, ’cause I really like Hank, but I think Travis will be opening day 3B by 2010, if not ’09.
4. Who reminds me of Rusty: David Murphy, of course.
Who should get the Rusty Greer award: Mike Young.
5. Vicente Padilla, who doesn’t talk to the media at all (no, just kidding). It’s a tie: CJ Wilson and Mike Young.
P.S. I wasn’t around for the April picking of the division/wild card winners, but (as far as the AL goes) I would have picked the Tigers in the central, the Angels in the west, and the Yankees in the east. Don’t think I made the top 10.
One thing I wanted to comment on in response to jjordan. Michael Young is a production machine-this is true. It also is true jjordan, that he might not be “leadership material.” Some guys lead quietly by example, by on the field work. That epitomizes Michael. Now, as far as a vocal leader, we had one in the 3 of 4 winning Division years, with Will Clark. He was vocal, and backed it up ON the field, and IN the clubhouse. Mickey Tettleton, Rusty Greer and Mark McLemore were the main “Leaders” on that successful stretch of winners we had then. . .Michael might not be that vocal a fella, he’s too nice. This is one of my main points in wanting to keep Sammy locked in the cleanup position here for the next year or so…because it takes Veterans, who have been there, who lead by example, who are a presence in the clubhouse, and who aren’t afraid to call someone’s bluff, or get on someone who isn’t giving their all. (I remember Dave Valle’s butt-kicking one year which reignited the team.) I feel Sammy is the only guy who can do this. There simply are too new a crew of young players, and a guy like Sammy would be invaluable to lead, in my opinion. Those naysayers who don’t like Sammy “clogging up a spot” for the “terrific Triple-A hitter” Jason Botts, best think about who on this team can crack a whip, and lead–both by experience, production, a presence, and by example. I can’t see any one person, not Michael, not Hank, not Millwood–these are too nice a group of guys. We need SOME veteran leadership on this young, young team. I suggest Sammy better be hitting cleanup, and leading this team. Just my thought…jjordan, I think you are onto something. Michael is a terrific guy, producer, gamer, and role-model..but an on the field and in the clubhouse leader, I’m not so sure. Sign Sammy–lest we’ll be looking at an overmatched Jason Botts in cleanup. Not a great prospect in my books.
1. I call it a tie – Young and Sosa – the two top RBI men.
2. By default Wilson developed as a set-up pitcher. Benoit a close second as a set-up man. Neither is ready to be a closer.
3. What rookie do you think will have the greatest impact in the future? I am hoping starting pitchers Volquez and Mendoza. That is the kind of impact the Rangers need the most!
4. Kinsler
5. Young
Good comment bingo on the leadership needs of the team. I think at times this need gets forgotten, especially in the recent wave of rebuilding when ‘trade ‘em all’ is the mantra, and blowing up the team is discussed.
The team needs at least a few veteran leaders – some stars – not just to market the team, but to mentor the younger players and shorten their time on the growth curve. Some may say that that is what coaches are for, but coaches do not accomplish this without the help of veterans. Remember CJ talking about how much Gagne’ helped him – just one example of many. Different players lead in different ways as bingo has said, and MY is simply not an in-your-face kind of leader. I also honestly don’t see Blalock as a leader – just my impression.
Now I think the discussion should be whether you want Sammy to be one of these leaders. I believe the team should keep Sosa and use the FA or trade market to acquire a couple more proven producers in the field – players that lead – to match up with the younger players. But whether you keep Sosa or not, we need some vets.
The younger players we now have will hopefully grow into veterans in a handful of years. During this time, as part of the current rebuilding, JD has to have built up the farm system to a point where the minors will produce the stream of youngsters that the current youngsters will mentor. It’s all just a little backwards right now in a rebuilding mode, where there are not enough veterans.
GO MURPH!
1. Michael Young is an easy choice here. But let me suggest a few other who need consideration. Eric Gagne filled the closer’s role and then provided the leverage for Daniels to get Gabbard, Murphy and Beltre. If you don’t like that …
2. Tie. Juoaquin Benoit and CJ Wilson should share this award. They anchored a bullpen that was on the spot all season. Benoit and Wilson pitched 82 and 68 innings, respectively and were dominant at times. Wihtout those two … 2007 would have been Royals-esque.
3. I’m not sure if he’ll have the best year of the players listed, but Edinson Volquez is the most crucial to the Rangers short-run success. If he can pitch 180-200 innings with a respectable (4.20-4.60) era, the Ranger might actually be able to compete in 2008.
4. David Murphy, becuase he’s fighting for his big-league life.
5. Michael Young, of course.
Bingo-
I agree with your point about Michael Young. He may be the rock of the team on field, but when it comes to the clubhouse, he’s really more of a team spokesman than a team leader.
But I really don’t think Sammy is any more of a team leader than Mike. He has made a great teammate, and been a positive influence on the clubhouse, true – but I can’t recall recall him making any comments or doing anything to particularly challenge or motivate his teamates like a team leader in the fashion you’re talking about. In fact, he’s gone through stretches (like right after he hit #600) where he’s been just as much of a dead weight as Laird or Botts.
A team leader means a superstar player with some fire in his belly, that has a hunger to win, and leads by example of exemplary play. Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies would be a perfect example. Sammy makes a good positive teammate, but I don’t see how he fills the reqeirements for a “team leader”. Furthermore, how can a guy that’s in the twilight of his career be the guy to lead this team down the stretch? Sammy is probably only good for one more year, and that’s as a platoon player.
But it is true, one thing the Rangers are in need of as much as anything is a team leader. Mark Teixeira could have filled that role, but chose not to. Torri Hunter could fill that role, but only if he really wants to play here. Hopefully, a true leader will emerge in the next few years, but right now, I don’t see anybody we currently have as a candidate for that role.
1. Honestly – no-one. The starting pitching was ineffective and the “star” position players could not be counted on and put this team out of contention early – sure they were better in the second half – when it didn’t matter anymore. The most valuable from day one to the end of the season: the bullpen.
2. It’s a tie: Joaquin Benoit and C.J. Wilson
3. I hope it’s Volquez and Galarraga because that’s what this franchise needs more than anything – but I have a feeling it’ll be Salty.
4. Marlon Byrd
5. Kameron Loe
Vah! Denuone Latine loquebar? Me ineptum. Interdum modo elabitur
http://emc.mlblogs.com
1. the bullpen
2. Joaquin Benoit
3. Edinson. Hands down
4. David Murphy
5. CJ…very interesting dude
Mark Texiria and Eric Gagne should share the MVP award. They did more between them to restock the Ranger’s farm system than all the scouts and draft of the previous 5 years combined.