My BBA awards picks for AL Cy Young, or why I didn't give a first place vote to King Felix (or CC)

There's a whole to-do over the fact that New York Post writer George King voted AL Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez fifth on his ballot, and put CC Sabathia first. Now, I didn't vote King Felix fifth, but he did not get a first-place vote from me in my Baseball Bloggers Alliance ballot for the Walter Johnson Award (equivalent to the AL Cy Young Award). Here was my ballot -- we voted for five picks:

1, David Price, Tampa Bay Rays
2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
3. C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees
4. Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox
5. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

Here's why I voted the way I did -- unlike Hernandez, Price actually pitched in pressure-packed, meaningful games in a pennant race, facing tougher competition in the most competitive division in baseball. That should count for something. After all, if we judge the MVP race by such standards, the same should go for the pitchers. (Yes, yes, I know that people will say that it's because of the names of the respective BBWAA awards -- Cy Young Award vs. Most Valuable Player. Well, Cy Young is known for having the most wins in baseball history, but wins are discounted more and more in these awards, despite the name!)

Hernandez got his recognition in the second-place vote for his great season. And as much I love CC, I couldn't bring himself to give him a first or second place vote, especially since Price outdueled him several times.

Tampa Bay Rays beat writer Tony Fabrizio had the same top three as me, and explained himself in a recent piece:

I thought he had the best combination of wins, winning percentage, ERA and a wide variety of other measurables when also factoring in the significance of his contributions.

Anyhow, my fellow Yankee cohorts in our local BBA chapter voted this way in the race:

1st place: CC Sabathia, New York Yankees
2nd place: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
3rd place: David Price, Tampa Bay Rays
4th place: Cliff Lee, Texas Rangers
5th place: Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance as a whole voted like this for our AL Pitcher of the Year:


Felix Hernandez, Seattle (18) 137
CC Sabathia, New York (3) 62
David Price, Tampa Bay (1) 57
Cliff Lee, Seattle/Texas 41
Jered Weaver, Los Angeles 22
Jon Lester, Boston 18
Clay Buchholz, Boston 14
Francisco Liriano, Minnesota 13
Trevor Cahill, Oakland 5
Justin Verlander, Detroit 5


And here's how the BBWAA made their choice for the AL Cy Young winner:

Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners    
David Price, Tampa Bay Rays    
CC Sabathia, New York Yankees    
Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox            
Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim        
Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox            
Cliff Lee, Seattle Mariners/Texas Rangers            
Rafael Soriano, Tampa Bay Rays                
Trevor Cahill, Oakland Athletics                
Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals                
Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins                    
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers    

What do you think? Tell us about it!

My awards picks for the Baseball Bloggers Alliance for AL Rookie of the Year

I voted on behalf of Subway Squawkers in the Baseball Bloggers Alliance's Willie Mays Award (equivalent to Rookie of the Year) for the American League. Here were my picks:

1. Neftali Perez, Texas Rangers
2. Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers
3. Wade Davis, Tampa Bay Rays

The Yankees chapter of the BBA voted like this:

1st Place: Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers
2nd Place: Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers
3rd Place: Danny Valencia, Minnesota Twins

The BBA as a whole chose these candidates:

1. Neftali Feliz, Texas (18) 102
2. Austin Jackson, Detroit (6) 78
3. Danny Valencia, Minnesota 16
4. Brian Matusz, Baltimore (1) 12
5. Brennan Boesch, Detroit 11
6. Wade Davis, Tampa Bay 3
7. John Jaso, Tampa Bay 3

So, how do these votes stack up with who the Baseball Writers Association chose for AL Rookie of the Year? Here's who they chose. The top three picks were identical, and the other four were the same names the BBA picked, albeit in a different order:

1. Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers
2. Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers
3. Danny Valencia, Minnesota Twins
4. Wade Davis, Tampa Bay Rays
5. John Jaso, Tampa Bay Rays
6. Brennan Boesch, Detroit Tigers
7. Brian Matusz, Baltimore Orioles

What do you think? Tell us about it!

My awards picks for the Baseball Bloggers Alliance for AL Manager of the Year

Subway Squawkers is part of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, and for the second year, we voted our own version of end-of season awards. Here were my picks for the BBA's Connie Mack Award (Manager of the Year) for the American League, and how my picks stacked up against the rest of the BBA, as well as the Baseball Writers Association of America's official awards:

My choices:
1. Ron Washington, Texas Rangers
2. Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins
3. Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox

I thought Washington did a great job with a team that was beset by bankruptcy and a team sale. Not only that, but given Washington's revelation that he failed a drug test, it could have been easy for him to lose control of the team. But he didn't. Thus, he deserved to win the award.

As for my other two choices, Gardenhire guided an injury-ridden team to the playoffs, and Francona kept his own injury-ridden team in the hunt until September.

My votes were identical to the New York Yankees Baseball Bloggers Alliance Chapter'schoices:

1st Place: Ron Washington, Texas Rangers – 26 points
2nd Place: Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins – 24 points
3rd Place: Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox – 20 points

Please note that even a Yankee-based chapter had enough respect for what Terry Francona did with Boston to pick him third.

As a whole, the BBA voted the following choices for our Connie Mack Award:

1. Ron Washington, Texas (10) 74
2. Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota (7) 67
3. Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay (4) 35
4. Terry Francona, Boston (3) 20
5. Cito Gaston, Toronto 9
6. Buck Showalter, Baltimore 9
7. Joe Girardi, New York 2

However, the Baseball Writers Association of America saw things a little differently, making the following picks:

1. Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins
2. Ron Washington, Texas Rangers
3. Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays

Terry Francona finished fourth in the BBA voting, with Cito Gaston of the Toronto Blue Jays fifth, and Joe Girardi sixth.

What would be your choices? Tell us about it!