Season 4 Awards and Playoffs Preview

First, I hope everyone here had a happy holiday, regardless of which one you celebrate. Mine was okay. I got a couple of Wii games, some LL Bean clothes and some really yummy scotch (Johnny Walker Blue Label...if you have never experienced this, you've led a wasted life). Got boxed at Christmas dinner on some expensive British beer. All in all, a good day.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the post-season awards and offer up some predictions...

AL MVP: Call me crazy. but I think that designated hitters should be considered for the MVP as long as their offensive numbers are gaudy. While Eli Reynoso hit well, his run production was meh. There is one player that put it together at the plate and on the field. That's Sammy Carr. While he should win, I think Orber Nieto will win.

NL MVP: It comes down to the always reliable Al Mendoza against heavy hitting Greg Ramirez. The latter has big stats, but a sub-1.000 OPS. You expect a little more from a .300+, 40+ home run hitter. Mendoza is playing for a hot playoff team and has been the veteran lynchpin of the club. He takes home the hardware.

AL CY YOUNG: I am, however, not one to award a closer the Cy. I mean, unless we're talking 70 saves or a crop of mediocre starters, the closer just doesn't get the love from me. Take them out of the conversation and we have a winner -- Alvin O'Brien.

NL CY YOUNG: The best pitcher this year was Dustin Keagle. Great OAV, K/9 and WHIP numbers and 18 wins. But, the Cy Young has nothing to do with the best pitcher and everything to do with the voters. Octavio Martin goes home with the honor.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: In the past, I've ripped the rookies for being nothing more than in the way. Like freshmen in high school. Anyhow, two of them made it easy -- Wayne Hardy and Julian Santana.

* * *

Bold predictions for the post-season. If I remember correctly, it is 5-5-7-7. I can never remember, you know, since I have never built a playoff team. Sonsabitches. Anyhow...

In the American League:
Boston beats Arizona, 4-3
Cleveland beats Tampa Bay, 4-2
Cleveland beats Boston, 4-2

In the National League:
Philadelphia beats D.C., 4-0
Cinci beats Portland, 4-3
Philadelphia beats Cinci, 4-3

In the World Series, Philadelphia beats Cleveland, 4-2.

Announcing The Ewads! Part II

First, I've gotten some shit (in the chat and on the forum) about choosing Merritt as the top starter. That's cool. Whatev. I copied six rows of stats on to a piece of paper and thought, who would be the most sought after pitcher if they were all on the market. I had Merritt marked at one and Al Posada as two. If he had run support and a decent bullpen, he'd probably have Posada numbers. No real methodology. Just a glass of Bailey's (or three) and the stats.

Anyhow, the second round of Ewads tonight.

THE KINGMAN AWARD: Given to player most resembling Dave Kingman's offensive prowess. Carlton Miller nudges Wayne Ramsey. Ramsey has more strikeouts, but I take Miller. He has one more home run and a batting average that is 42 points lower than Ramsey's. Plus, he has a dealbreaking .291 OBP.

THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION AWARD: Given to the closer who gives his manager reason to wear a portable EKG. Barry Hubbard takes this one easily. The eight blown saves aren't a league leader, but the 5.36 ERA among closers is.

THE TIM LEARY AWARD: Named after a mediocre pitcher who gave me headaches after going 9-19 in 1990. We're looking for the least effective starter here. Benji Santiago runs away here. 3-18 with a 8.09 ERA, 1.75 WHIP and .900+ OPS.

On to the important hardware...

LEAST VALUABLE PLAYER: Trey Daniels. A .564 OPS, a .249 BA. Then, add in four strikeouts per walk. Adding insult to injury, he has 0 home runs in 603 at-bats.

LEAST VALUABLE PITCHER: Santiago. I like piling it on.

Announcing The Ewads!

We here at the Onionball blog are bored. It's snowing like a motherfucker out (we live in Syracuse, N.Y. and received 13 inches of snow today...our office closed at 1 p.m.) and they haven't plowed in hours. So, with that in mind, we are going to crown our first-ever position-by-position player of the year awards — the ewads.

For those of you here in season one, you will remember our friend ewad. For our newer friends, let me just say that ewad was the textbook delinquent owner. At one point, he had one healthy starting pitcher -- Julian Nunez -- who threw more than 4,077 pitches.

So, yes, the award is tongue in cheek.

Anyhow, on to the ewads...

CATCHER: The ewad goes to James Gao. Batting .323 with a .938 OPS, including 30 home runs and 113 RBI. Threw out 61 basestealers. Has 44 doubles and has walked (66) more than he has struck out (61). Also nominated: Duke Harper/BUR, Tyrone Thomas/LR and Mark Yamamoto/MIL.

FIRST BASE: The ewad goes Al Mendoza. Hit .321/1.092 with 36 homers and 94 RBI. Walked nearly twice as many times as striking out (80 to 46). A stud. Also nominated: Greg Ramirez/WAS, Wayne Ramsey/CHI.

SECOND BASE: None. No one stood out to earn an award bearing the name of ewad. Nominated: Henry Cust/CHA, David Park/MIL.

THIRD BASE: Greg Lankford. Came over from Washington to hit .334 with 17 and 73. Almost even K:BB numbers. OPS of .955. Nominated: Philip Jacobs/CLE, Hunter Pierre/KC, Ramon Martin/SFE.

SHORTSTOP: Donovan Milligan. This was a toughy. Only hitting .292 with a .931 OPS, but 47 homers and 141 RBI push him over. Had the best defensive numbers of any of the better offensive shortstops. Nominated: Harpo Dunn/SF, Dennis Howell, SF, Gil Matthews/NY.

OUTFIELD: Ralph Ferguson. Had a nice season. Batting .327 with a .883 OPS, 17 homers and 82 RBI. Mixed in 53 steals with a .987 fielding percentage.

OUTFIELD: Orber Nieto. Hard to ignore his OPS (1.027). 44 homers and 119 RBI along with 43 steas put him on the radar.

OUTFIELD: Stubby Simon. Batting .294 with a .901 OPS. Has 35 homers, 115 RBI and 43 steals. Also, a nifty .994 fielding percentage.

Nominated: Nerio Turner/CLE, Andy Porter/MIL, Sammy Carr/LR, Hector Pettitte/BOS.

STARTING PITCHER: Kyle Merritt. Thank God he's in the NL. 13-8 this year with a 2.73 ERA, 216 Ks and a .216 opponent BA.

CLOSER: Tony Dodd. 52 appearances, 48 save opps, 46 saves. Edges Del Holtz/CLE and his perfect record in 42 save opps.

OnIoNDEX: Number Three

Whoops. Meant to do this a little more often this season. Anyhow, just 12 games to go and here's your power rating. Playoff teams are bolded. Teams in pennant or wild card chases are italicized.

Philadelphia Flash 0.667398496
Arizona Amberwoods 0.660097087
Tampa Bay Hurricanes 0.633690647
Cleveland Wahoos 0.633240157
Milwaukee Malt Liquors 0.613748428
Atlanta Mad Dogs 0.612877863
Boston Minutemen 0.600439655
Portland Beavers 0.600364807
Cincinnati Motorboaters 0.598584906
Washington D.C. Senators 0.566651515
Austin City Limit 0.545921053
Buffalo Hot Wings 0.52878
Charlotte Webs 0.528242424
Little Rock Voodoo Cats 0.527352
Colorado Springs Cricket Club 0.5271875
Kansas City Royals 0.520359375
Minnesota North Stars 0.509769231
Anaheim Asylum 0.501292683
Santa Fe Booze Hounds 0.500574257
New York Chechakos 0.468276596
Augusta Black Bears 0.460153226
Burlington Pitch Factory 0.42821875
Columbus Come from Behinders 0.413647482
Memphis In The Meantime 0.387374408
San Juan Epsteins 0.387020492
Seattle Steelheads 0.386846154
Chicago Cubbies, of course 0.373371951
Detroit Great Lake St 0.372971963
Pittsburgh Diamond Kings 0.372865385
Monterrey Surf Riders 0.372851133
San Francisco Slingers 0.367746988
Los Angeles Stars 0.347554054

S.4 Draft Review

With the number one pick in the draft, the San Francisco Slingers selected...

JORGE BENITEZ, DH (Unsigned)

So, let's talk about the man, the myth, the legend. Christened as the second coming of Nerio Turner, Timo Phillips and Jesus Christ, wrapped into a 6-2 frame, Benitez projects out to be a 90+ player. He has everything but a glove and speed, but maybe that's moot when you have the ability to park any pitch that comes near you. It's also worth noting that commish mark3313 stunned the world with this pick. I mean, he didn't take a shortstop?

2. ROYCE OLIVER, SS (Unsigned)

A five-tool, Timo Phillips-type player, Oliver also boasts at 29 control rating. You know, just in case reigny wants to make him into a pitcher. According to my scouting, Oliver's temper is projected to drop. That could be fun. Wouldn't it be cool to look at a box score one day and see:

Royce Oliver struck out on called strike three. Oliver ejected for punching ump in the nuts.

3. GIOVANNI THOMAS, P ($3.82m; RL assignment)

A power pitcher with Clemensesque temper numbers (I don't know what my problem is...I'm obsessed with the temper rating). Thomas' current rating is better than most of my starting pitchers. Given his ratings, has that Randy Johnson "The Early Years" feel. Dominant velocity but gives up spectacular home runs. With any luck, he'll reach his control projections. Also, has a cheezy mustache.

4. BRIAN TANAKA, P, (unsigned)

I've never seen a sinker-slider-change pitcher with velocity ratings as good as his. I would be a little concerned by the health ratings, but then again, my draft strategy was shit. Has a low temper number, which I'm sure has nothing to do with the fact that he grew up in Center City Philly. Also has cheezy mustache.

5. SCOOTER EASLEY, SS ($3,630,000; Rookie)

Has five-tool potential, but not with the same robust numbers as Royce Oliver. Also could be hampered by overuse of eye black (check his photo). Could be a better centerfielder than shortstop.

6. JESSE JACKSON, CF ($3,540,000; Rookie)

The Reverend...wait a second. They made Jesse Jackson a white guy. That's funny. Anyhow, another guy with five tool skills. What caught my eye was his bunt numbers, of all things. This guy has leadoff written all over him.

7. DANNY PHILLIPS, P ($4,000,000; LoA)

Phillips was the top player on my board, so I'm happy that he dropped to seven. He goes 90+ in stamina, control and velocity, has good health figs and could actually be a gold glove candidate on the hill. He won his debut for me.

8. BARRY HERNDON, P ($3,350,000; LoA)

A finesse pitcher, Herndon has all the makings of a good, reliable pitcher. A Jamie Moyer type. He's at LoA right now and has lost his first two. But, he's got SOOO much room between his current and potential numbers.

9. PASCUAL ALONSO, P ($3,250,000; Rookie)

This guy is all about placement. His velocity numbers are sub-50, but his control numbers could be the best in the draft. He projects 60+ on four different pitchers. And he's a lefty.

10. MATTY ORTIZ, SS ($3,160,000; Rookie)

Ortiz lacks the speed thing. I mean, he's not Benitez slow, but he doesn't have the five-tool speed. But, his glove will keep him in contention with the other shortstops in the top ten.

New Blog

We welcome back marauders299 this season. He has coverage of his team at our newest member to the Wailing Onion blog family. Hurricane Watch is listed to the left!

OnIoNDEX: Number Two

Not a big surprise here. Check the separation between Phila and Cinci, though...

Arizona Amberwoods 0.738849057
Tampa Bay Hurricanes 0.678313433
Philadelphia Flash 0.677990291
Atlanta Mad Dogs 0.677916667
Cincinnati Motorboaters 0.677628571
Cleveland Wahoos 0.632164706
Charlotte Webs 0.587804878
Colorado Springs Cricket Club 0.5864
Boston Minutemen 0.585763636
Milwaukee Malt Liquors 0.585508475
Washington D.C. Senators 0.58546
Austin City Limit 0.570095238
Portland Beavers 0.5253
Buffalo Hot Wings 0.524
Anaheim Asylum 0.523755556
Kansas City Royals 0.509517241
Minnesota North Stars 0.50775
Augusta Black Bears 0.4622
Little Rock Voodoo Cats 0.446083333
New York Chechakos 0.432029412
Santa Fe Booze Hounds 0.431912281
Burlington Pitch Factory 0.4315
Seattle Steelheads 0.401014706
Pittsburgh Diamond Kings 0.400943396
Memphis In The Meantime 0.400938272
Columbus Come from Behinders 0.386379747
Monterrey Surf Riders 0.386357724
San Francisco Slingers 0.372416667
Los Angeles Stars 0.355186667
Detroit Great Lake St 0.338590909
Chicago Cubbies, of course 0.309318681
San Juan Epsteins 0.309

On the DL

With my franchise arm going down on the 60-day today, I thought we'd take a look at the disabled list. I've added a new feature to the DL list. We'll list the player by team with the squad's training budgets. I just need to know that there is a direct correlation.

ARIZONA ($20)
Don Barkley, 60-day, elbow tendinitis

ATLANTA ($16)
Kip Davis, 15, bulging disk-neck

AUGUSTA ($14)
Larry Wilson, 15, strained shoulder

AUSTIN ($20)
Esteban Hernandez, 60, damaged soul

CINCINNATI ($17)
Fausto James, 60, ripped dick (groin tear)

CLEVELAND ($14)
Alan White, season, labrum tear

DETROIT ($11)
Travis Moller, 15, shoulder boo boo

LOS ANGELES ($18)
Sammy Paulson, 15, broken heart

LA (ANAHEIM) ($13)
Rob Mays, 60, ACL
Tanner Howard, season, ACL
Vic Alston, 60, wait for it...knee surgery

MEMPHIS ($16)
Darryl Standridge, 60, the clap

MONTERREY ($8...do you even get ice packs for $8m?)
Brian Atkins, 60, bone spurs
Troy Shumaker, 15, drank Mexican water

SANTA FE ($20)
Morgan Wells, 60, sunburn