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Phillies' Jamie Moyer Hospitalized Again

2009-11-26T00:16:18Z

by Evan Vucci - AP

7 months ago: Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer delivers against the Washington Nationals during the second inning of their baseball game on Monday, April 13, 2009 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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White Sox Beef Up Their Bench, Add Veteran Andruw Jones

2009-11-25T20:47:01Z

by Tony Gutierrez - AP

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Albert Pujols Unanimously Wins Third N.L. MVP Award

2009-11-24T19:22:19Z

by Gene J. Puskar - AP

2 months ago: St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols (5) follows through on a three-run home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Denny Bautista in the sixth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh Sept. 4, 2009. The Cardinals won 14-7. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Albert Pujols entered the MVP voting as such a big favorite that in the preview on MLB.com, they asked, "Will it be unanimous?" Today we got the answer: yes, it was.

Albert Pujols won the 2009 National League MVP Award, his third in five seasons, beating out Hanley Ramirez and Prince Fielder. Pujols led the league in runs (124), home runs (47), OBP (.443), SLG (.658) and OPS (1.101). He also led all of baseball with an OPS+ of 188(!).

It's the second straight year that Pujols has won the award, and the third time overall. He is the 10th player in history to win three MVPs, and the fifth to win it three times in the National League. He is also the 10th player to win back-to-back MVP awards. The last was Barry Bonds, who won it four straight years from 2001-04.

Most remarkable may be that Pujols still hasn't turned 30 -- that will occur in January. Only one player in history, Bonds, has more MVP awards than Pujols, yet the Cardinals superstar is still very much in the heart of his prime.

He may even be getting better. By some measures 2009 was Pujols' best year at the plate. He batted .327 with a .443 on-base percentage, a .658 slugging percentage, 47 home runs and 135 RBIs. Moreover, he did it for a division champion.

Yes: Pujols is still just 29 years old and already has won three MVPs. He could retire right now, after having played just nine season, and be a sure-fire Hall of Famer. He's now in some pretty rare company, becoming only the fifth player to win three MVPs in a five-year span, joining Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez.

As he explained why he would intentionally walk Albert Pujols even when baseball tradition and accepted strategy screamed not to, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre offered a seven-word defense of his action: "Albert is in a class by himself."

The man is scary good.

Check in with Viva El Birdos for more reaction.

Joe Mauer Beats Yankees At Something, Wins 2009 A.L. MVP

2009-11-23T19:29:44Z

by Hannah Foslien - AP

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Yankees fans everywhere weep: Joe Mauer, catcher for the Minnesota Twins, has won this season's American League Most Valuable Player Award, beating out Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira (he also received more votes than Miguel Cabrera and Kendry Morales, but neither of them play in New York, so we'll move along).

Mauer received 27 of the 28 first-place votes, with the other vote going to Cabrera, meaning a witch hunt has already begun to discover who was crazy enough not to give Mauer a first-place vote.

Mauer became the fifth player in Twins history to win the MVP Award. He joined teammate Justin Morneau, who took home the honor in 2006, as well as Zoilo Versalles (1965) Harmon Killebrew (1969) and Rod Carew (1977).

He also became just the second catcher in the past 33 years to be named MVP. Texas' Ivan Rodriguez (1999) is the only backstop besides Mauer to take home the honor since Yankees catcher Thurman Munson won it in 1976. The last catcher to win National League MVP honors was Cincinnati's Johnny Bench in 1972.

The 26-year old catcher began his season on the DL, and didn't appear in his first game until May 1, but quickly made up for lost time, hitting a home run in his first at-bat. He ended 2009 leading the AL in AVG (.356), OBP (.444), SLG (.587), OPS (1.031) OPS+ (a comically-good 170).

"The year Joe had was just incredible," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said last week. "It's almost hard to wrap your mind around where he now stands in the history of the game. I know what he means to our ballclub and our organization. But I think everybody nationally is starting to get a little bit of a feel now how really, really good this guy is. I think you just top it off by giving him an MVP award, which he rightfully deserves."

Check in with both Twinkie Town and Pinstripe Alley for more analysis and reaction.

Diamondbacks Acquire Pitcher Aaron Heilman

2009-11-19T21:46:54Z

by Nam Y Huh - AP

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Tim Lincecum Edges Carpenter, Wainwright To Win Second Straight NL Cy Young

2009-11-19T19:19:29Z

by George Nikitin - AP

7 months ago: San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum throws to the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 18, 2009, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

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Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants was named the 2009 National League Cy Young winner Thursday afternoon, his second straight season taking home the award (they'll make lovely bookends on his mantle). The Freak narrowly edged out St. Louis Cardinals starters Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. He joins Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson and Sandy Koufax as the only NL pitchers to win the award in two consecutive years.

The Giants ace led the NL in strikeouts with 261 in 225 innings pitched. He also finished second to Carpenter in ERA with a 2.48. Lincecum went 15-7 this past season, including a 10-2 record in the first half of the season.

In his career, the 25-year-old Lincecum is 40-17 with a 2.90 ERA. He's widely considered -- even by peers -- as having some of the best stuff in the game.

The vote was expected to be a close one between the three favorites, all of whom got into the act of endorsing a winner.

Lincecum totaled 100 points, including 11 first-place votes. Carpenter was right behind him with 94 points, tying it for the third-smallest margin of victory since 1970. Wainwright finished third with 90, but actually had the most first-place votes (15).

Lincecum (15-7, 2.48) had the fewest victories of any starter to win the Cy Young in a nonstrike season, and he also became only the second pitcher to win the Cy Young without getting the most first-place votes.

Lincecum received 11 first-place votes among the 32 ballots cast, from two writers in each National League City. Wainwright got 12 first-place votes, but he finished third because he had only five second-place votes. Carpenter, the only one of the three who was not named on all 32 ballots, got nine first-place votes and finished second.

Lincecum, who is just 25 years old (and five months), also became the youngest back-to-back Cy Young award winner since Roger Clemens accomplished the feat in 1987, when he was 25 years and three months.

Check with McCovey Chronicles and Viva El Birdos for more reaction and analysis.

Mike Scioscia, Jim Tracy Named Managers Of The Year

2009-11-18T19:38:50Z

by Mark J. Terrill - AP

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Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels and the Colorado Rockies' Jim Tracy were named the 2009 Managers of the Year for the American League and Naitonal League, respectively.

Tracy led the Rockies to an appearances in the NLDS after taking over for Clint Hurdle on May 29. Under Tracy, Colorado went all the way from 15.5 games out of first to Wild Card champions while amassing an overall record of 74-42.

When Tracy moved from bench coach to skipper, replacing Clint Hurdle, the Rockies' offense was underperforming because of a lack of aggressiveness. Pitchers were trying too hard and veering into plans that didn't work. All around the field, the right plays weren't being made in key situations.

But after a little more than a week, the Rockies had earned a four-game road sweep of the Cardinals. Suddenly, Tracy began thinking the Rockies could do more than just put their house in order.

"We just played a terrific series," Tracy said, sounding excited and wanting to believe the series was the beginning of a trend. "We pitched great the entire series and we deserved to win these games."

Tracy has already taken home the top manager awards from The Sporting News and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum this offseason.Similarly, the selection of Scioscia did not come as a surprise after he guided the Angels to the ALCS following the tragedy of Nick Adenhart's death.

The most emotionally challenging of his 10 seasons as leader of the Angels culminated in Mike Scioscia's selection on Wednesday as 2009 American League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

It was Scioscia's second Manager of the Year award. He was named by the BBWAA in 2002, when the Angels claimed their first World Series title under his direction after entering the postseason as a Wild Card.

Scioscia is the first manager in Major League history to pilot six postseason teams in his first 10 seasons.

Coping with the death of young pitcher Nick Adenhart in a car wreck on April 9, the Angels emerged from early struggles -- they were 29-29 on June 11 -- to take flight en route to a third consecutive AL West title, their fifth in six seasons.

Follow Halos Heaven and Purple Row for more analysis and reaction.

Zach Greinke Wins 2009 AL Cy Young In Landslide

2009-11-17T19:32:06Z

by ED ZURGA - AP

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A certain level of sanity was restored to baseball today when the BBWAA voted Royals pitcher Zack Greinke the 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner. This hopefully means that voters (finally) are placing less emphasis on wins (Greinke had just 16 this season), and instead focusing more on stats like strikeouts, K/9, ERA, ERA+ and WHIP -- Greinke was top-three in all of those categories. In fact, his 2.16 ERA was tops for all of baseball.

Certainly, there was no argument that Greinke was one of the most dominating pitchers of 2009 in either league. His performance and his award brightens what was a disappointing season for the Royals.

"Zack Greinke has always been a potentially tremendous talent and we were all fortunate to watch him perform this past year," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. "He was everything that he and all of us expected him someday to be."

Greinke won in what the BBWAA called a "landslide," getting 25 first-place votes. The Mariners' Felix Hernandez, who finished second, received just two first-place votes. The final results: 1. Greinke, 2. Hernandez, 3. Justin Verlander, 4. CC Sabathia, 5. Roy Halladay).

If you happen to be a Royals fan looking to get in on the celebration, head over to SB Nation's Royals Review.

Bailey, Coghlan Named MLB Rookies Of The Year

2009-11-16T19:45:30Z

by Chris Carlson - AP

2 months ago: Oakland Athletics catcher Kurt Suzuki, left, and relief pitcher Andrew Bailey celebrate their 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Angels during a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Friday, Sept. 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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MLB announced its 2009 Rookies of the Year today. The A's closer Andrew Bailey took home the award for the American League, while Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan was named the National League's representative.

A's right-hander Andrew Bailey's rise from Minor League obscurity to Major League limelight turned historic Monday when he was named the American League's 2009 Rookie of the Year.

Moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen at midseason 2008 while with the Double-A Midland RockHounds of the Texas League, Bailey didn't just make a successful transition to relief work.

He made the transition look like a breeze, dominating during the second half of the 2008 season at Midland, following suit in the prestigious Arizona Fall League and doing the same in his first trip to big league Spring Training to make the A's roster.

Coghlan had a similar rise from obscurity, originally coming up as an infielder.

The franchise with a knack for producing some of the best young talent in the Major Leagues has another gem to add to its resume -- Chris Coghlan.

That fact was evident through the rookie sensation's first season in the big leagues this year, but it was a point that was driven home on Monday afternoon - when the 24-year-old infielder-turned-outfielder took home National League Rookie of the Year honors from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. [...]

Coghlan's victory continues the Marlins' streak of three: three winners in club history, with each coming in three-year spans.

Bailey beat out Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus, while J.A. Happ finished just 11 points behind Coghlan.

Follow SB Nation's Athletics Nation and FishStripes for more on Bailey and Coghlan, respectively.

Yanks To Make Their Move On Halladay

2009-11-13T03:53:24Z

by Kathy Willens - AP

2 months ago: Toronto Blue Jays Roy Halladay delivers in the first inning against the New York Yankees in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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Jon Heyman of SI.com is reporting that the Yankees will inquire about Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay.

Pujols, Mauer Headline Silver Slugger Winners

2009-11-12T23:54:10Z

by JACK DEMPSEY - AP

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There plenty of gripes to be had about the Gold Glove awards -- because nothing is more fun than proving how silly the Gold Gloves are -- but credit the Silver Sluggers: These awards are actually pretty spot on. Here's the full list for both leagues:

American League

C - Joe Mauer, MIN
1B - Mark Teixeria, NYY
2B - Aaron Hill, TOR
3B - Evan Longoria, TB
SS - Derek Jeter, NYY
OF - Ichiro Suzuki, SEA
OF - Torii Hunter, LAA
OF - Jason Bay, BOS

National League

C - Brian McCann, ATL
1B - Albert Pujols (who?), STL
2B - Chase Utley, PHI
3B - Ryan Zimmerman, WAS
SS - Hanley Ramirez, FLA
OF - Ryan Braun, MIL
OF - Andre Ethier, LAD
OF - Matt Kemp, LAD

The Dodgers and Yankees led their respective leagues with two selections each. Pujols, meanwhile, continues to take every award possible in the National League.

Tim Hudson Agrees On 3-Year Extension With Braves

2009-11-12T16:45:53Z

by Alan Diaz - AP

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Jason Varitek Will Play Back-Up Catcher For Another Season

2009-11-12T13:42:56Z

by Charles Krupa - AP

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Riggleman 'Confident' He Can Lead Nationals, Touches On Possibility Of Promoting Strasburg In 2010

2009-11-12T00:35:26Z

by Luis Alvarez - AP

about 1 month ago: FILE - In this Aug. 9, 2009 file photo, Washington Nationals interim manager Jim Riggleman waits in the dugout before the beginning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, in Washington. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez, FILE)

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Despite a relatively capable replacement in Jim Riggleman, the Nationals have been using the early part of the offseason searching for a new manager. After a coaching search that included the perhaps-sexier pick of Bobby Valentine and several other high profile candidates, it seems the Nationals have settled on Riggleman after all.

Riggleman took over 26-61 team at the halfway point of the season and led them to a 33-42 record down the stretch. Whether he's receiving too much of the credit for that improvement is almost beside the point: Riggelman is a quietly capable manager who will do just about as good a job as anyone else, which, given the minimal effects most managers seem to have on their clubs (at least measured in production), is just fine indeed.

SB Nation's MLB Award Winners: Forget BBWAA, Bloggers Know Best

2009-11-11T18:01:18Z

by Hannah Foslien - AP

Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer (7) hits a three-run homer against the Kansas City Royals in the fifth inning of a baseball game on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Hannah Foslien)

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While you await the official announcements of which players won the BBWAA awards, take a look at how SB Nation's MLB bloggers voted. You may be shocked to learn that most of them know more about baseball than, say, Woody Paige.

Are these the "official" '09 MLB awards? No. But are they more important than the BBWAA awards? Well, no, they aren't that either. But these were voted on by SB Nation's baseball bloggers, who are as knowledgeable about the game as any writers out there -- in our completely biased opinion, of course. Plus, our bloggers are fans. And you're a fan. And the players play for the fans, not the BBWAA. So we can all agree that these are better than the real awards, yes? Good. Glad we settled that. Now onto the results! (Note: Our bloggers' MVP winners will be posted here Thursday.)

AL Rookie of the Year

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Elvis Andrus	Texas Rangers	6	9	6	63
2	Andrew Bailey	Oakland Athletics	11	1	3	61
3	Jeff Niemann	Tampa Bay Rays	3	5	3	33
4	Rick Porcello	Detroit Tigers	2	7	2	33
5	Brett Anderson	Oakland Athletics	5	1	3	31
6	Gordon Beckham	Chicago White Sox	1	2	8	19
7	Nolan Reimold	Baltimore Orioles	1	-	1	6
8	Matt Wieters	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	3	6
9	Brad Bergesen	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	-	3
10	Ricky Romero	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3
11	Travis Snider	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3

NL Rookie of the Year

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tommy Hanson	Atlanta Braves	9	9	6	78
2	J.A. Happ	Philadelphia Phillies	6	9	7	64
3	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	8	3	5	54
4	Chris Coghlan	Florida Marlins	7	5	4	54
5	Dexter Fowler	Colorado Rockies	-	3	1	10
6	Randy Wells	Chicago Cubs	-	-	6	6
7	Garrett Jones	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	-	-	5
8	Casey McGehee	Milwaukee Brewers	-	1	2	5
9	Seth Smith	Colorado Rockies	-	1	-	3

AL Cy Young

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Zack Greinke	Kansas City Royals	28	1	-	143
2	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	-	17	6	57
3	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	-	8	9	33
4	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	1	2	11	22
5	CC Sabathia	New York Yankees	-	1	2	5
6	Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	-	-	1	1

NL Cy Young

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tim Lincecum	San Francisco Giants	18	13	-	129
2	Chris Carpenter	St. Louis Cardinals	9	4	7	64
3	Adam Wainwright	St. Louis Cardinals	4	4	10	42
4	Javier Vazquez	Atlanta Braves	-	5	7	22
5	Dan Haren	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	3	4	13
6	Ubaldo Jimenez	Colorado Rockies	-	1	1	4
7	Cliff Lee	Philadelphia Phillies	-	-	1	1
8	Jair Jurrjens	Atlanta Braves	-	-	1	1

AL Manager of the Year

Rk	Manager	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Mike Scioscia	Los Angeles Angels	9	8	3	72
2	Ron Gardenhire	Minnesota Twins	9	5	1	61
3	Don Wakamatsu	Seattle Mariners	6	3	8	47
4	Joe Girardi	New York Yankees	2	4	2	24
5	Ron Washington	Texas Rangers	1	4	4	21
6	Terry Francona	Boston Red Sox	1	1	3	11
7	Jim Leyland	Detroit Tigers	-	2	4	10
8	Joe Maddon	Tampa Bay Rays	-	1	1	4
9	Ozzie Guillen	Chicago White Sox	-	-	1	1
10	Trey Hillman	Kansas City Royals	-	-	1	1

NL Manager of the Year

Rk	Manager	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Jim Tracy	Colorado Rockies	24	1	2	125
2	Tony LaRussa	St. Louis Cardinals	3	7	10	46
3	Fredi Gonzalez	Florida Marlins	2	6	5	33
4	Joe Torre	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	9	2	29
5	Charlie Manuel	Philadelphia Phillies	-	3	5	14
6	Bruce Bochy	San Francisco Giants	1	1	1	9
7	Bobby Cox	Atlanta Braves	-	1	4	7
8	Bud Black	San Diego Padres	-	1	1	4
9	John Russell	Pittsburgh Pirates	-	1	-	3

NL Gold Glove Winners: Voters Like Them Some Phillies, Dodgers And Cardinals

2009-11-11T17:11:57Z

by Matt Slocum - AP

29 days ago: Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins warms up during practice at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia Friday, Oct. 30, 2009. The Phillies host the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the Major League Baseball World Series Saturday night with the series tied 1-1. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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Dodgers blogs claim to have the early scoop on this year's N.L. Gold Glove winners. Official announcements to come later today, but if this list is to be trusted, six of the nine winners play in Philly, St. Louis or L.A.

SB Nation's True Blue LA has the list of NL Gold Glove award winners, coming via a scoop by Memories of Kevin Malone. These aren't official yet, so if any turn out to be incorrect we'll just chalk it up to the internet. Or send me a strongly worded letter. Whichever. (UPDATE: These are now official.)

Pos	Player	Team	GG
P	Adam Wainwright	StL	1st
C	Yadier Molina	StL	2nd
1B	Adrian Gonzalez	SD	2nd
2B	Orlando Hudson	LA	4th
3B	Ryan Zimmerman	Was	1st
SS	Jimmy Rollins	Phi	3rd
OF	Matt Kemp	LA	1st
OF	Shane Victorino	Phi	2nd
OF	Michael Bourn	Hou	1st

Griffey Decides To Stick Around One More Season, Re-Ups With Mariners

2009-11-11T16:59:31Z

by Elaine Thompson - AP

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Giants Free Agency Do Not Want List Topped By Jason Bay

2009-11-11T00:26:41Z

by Elise Amendola - AP

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American League Gold Glove Winners Announced (Derek Jeter? Really?)

2009-11-10T21:43:23Z

by Elise Amendola - AP

about 1 month ago: New York Yankees' Derek Jeter can't make the play on a fly ball single by Los Angeles Angels' Chone Figgins during the eighth inning of Game 6 of the American League Championship baseball series Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009, in New York. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

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The 2009 MLB award season began today with the announcement of the American League Gold Gloves. Ichiro Suzuki and Torii Hunter are adding a Hamburger Helper-like golden statue to their mantle for the ninth straight year, and Derek Jeter, a shortstop who can't get to a ground ball up the middle to save his life, won his first Gold Glove since 2006. The release from MLB.com is full of scrappy-like adjectives, so, read with caution.

The dive-and-spin, dirty-uniform parade began with Mark Teixeira, who earned his third Gold Glove -- but first since 2006 -- for an often-overlooked aspect of his game that was every bit as vital to the Yankees' drive to a World Series title as his 39 home runs and 122 RBIs. Teixeira made only four errors in 1,275 chances, to say nothing of the errors by other infielders he prevented with his wide-ranging scoops of errant throws.

The Tigers' Placido Polanco earned the award at second base after it had been "borrowed" last year by Boston's Dustin Pedroia. Polanco earned the honors in 2007, when he made zero errors. Apparently, no one held his two errors of 2009 against him. In the two Gold Glove seasons, Polanco has made two errors in 1,414 chances.

First-time winners were 3B Evan Longora, OF Adam Jones, and P Mark Buehrle. A complete look at the winners:

Early winner for best analysis of the awards goes to Ken Tremendous, formerly of FireJoeMorgan.com:

Varitek Exercises 2010 Option With Red Sox

2009-11-10T03:41:59Z

by Tony Gutierrez - AP

4 months ago: Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz, front left, Dustin Pedroia and Jason Varitek, right, prepare to leave the dugout following their 3-1 loss to the Texas Rangers during a baseball game in Arlington, Texas, Wednesday, July 22, 2009. The Rangers win gave them the three-game sweep over the Red Sox. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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37-year-old catcher Jason Varitek will exercise his $3 million player option for 2010 to remain with the Red Sox that includes up to another $2 million in incentives.