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• I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again: Every time you think Billy Beane is going to zig,
he zags.
• Was this the most boring year ever for rookies of the year? There certainly weren't any surprises Monday, as the two winners collected
59 of 60 first-place votes. I wound up picking
Evan Longoria just like everybody else, though I was given brief pause by
Alexei Ramirez's four grand slams. I might even have supported him if his fielding metrics at second base weren't so lousy. In the NL, an oddity:
Edinson Volquez finished fourth in the balloting, which is odd for a couple of reasons. One, he was better than third-place finisher
Jair Jurrjens. And two,
Volquez wasn't a rookie in 2008. He got three second-place votes anyway, and
the BBWAA counted them. (Feel free to insert your own joke here.)
• You might think there have already been too many profiles of Nate Silver, but the guy predicted back in March that Barack Obama would win
and that the
Tampa Bay Rays would be really good this year. So you'll excuse me for being thrilled to read
yet another profile, this one in The New York Times. And this one gets bonus points for including a preschool anecdote and a Bill James quote.
• Hey, at least
somebody got to enjoy a
dramatic seven-game championship series.
• Preparatory to naming the worst hitter of 2008, Dugout Central's Steve Caimano sets out to identify
the worst hitter ever. I don't know if Caimano was surprised by the answer, but he came up with the answer everybody else has:
Bill Bergen. Now, when it comes to the worst hitter of 2008, it all depends on how much playing time it takes to qualify. But
Tony Pena Jr. is a glaring candidate.
• Who plays left field for the world champion
Philadelphia Phillies in 2009? Apparently they're going to let
Pat Burrell walk, and they're not going to swing a deal for
Matt Holliday. According to Todd Zolecki, new GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is
considering an in-house solution, employing some combination of
Geoff Jenkins,
Matt Stairs, and
Greg Dobbs. I'm not sure how Stairs weaseled his way into the conversation, but he'll be 41 soon and I think it's time to take away his outfielder's glove. Jenkins is coming off a lousy season with the bat, and Dobbs has spent very little time in the outfield in his career. I suppose it could work. But that would represent a serious downgrade in left field, and I'm not sure where else on the field they would make up for that.
• U.S.S. Mariner's Dave Cameron is
up for a scholarship, and the winner is decided by … you! So be like
Cook County in 1960 and put Cameron over the top.
• Bob Gibson turned 73 on Sunday. I mention this only because I recently saw him on HBO, in the audience for
Bob Costas' Hank Aaron and Willie Mays taped special. And Gibson looks fantastic and could easily pass for a man of 53. Here's hoping he lives forever.
Rob Neyer
