I’ve been sitting on this one a while, looking for a good reason to run it. My reason today? I couldn’t think of anything better to write. How’s that for brutal honesty?
Anyways, the Rays of Light staff held an internal poll to determine the Rays End-of-Season Awards, and I wanted to share those with you guys. Feel free to agree, disagree, discuss, and argue all of these picks. That’s why I post them, after all.
Rays MVP - Carlos Pena
Come on, now? Was there really a debate here? I suppose you could’ve made the argument that Greg Norton was the MVP for getting hurt and allowing Carlos the opportunity to play, but there was really no other choice than the man of a million nicknames.
He hit .282/.411/.627 this year for an OPS+ of 172. His VORP was a ridiculous 68.5 and he had a WARP1 of 10.0 on a team that only won 66 games. Holy crap was he good. The problem is, people are probably going to expect this out of him every year from now on, but I just don’t see how he can do it again.
He added a fluidity to the middle of the lineup that forced pitchers to work hard, and he solidified a position that many teams across baseball have struggled to figure out. He should get some votes for AL MVP behind A-Rod, and would likely get a few more if he played somewhere else.
Rays Gold Glove - Akinori Iwamura
Despite what Bill Chastain wants you to believe, Akinori Iwamura was superior to everyone else on the infield. Yeah, he looked better playing next to the “Human Error Machine” Josh Wilson and Brendan “Stiff as a Board” Harris, but he made some truly brilliant plays down at the hot corner this year.
There weren’t really very many candidates for this award, so Iwamura pretty much won in a landslide. Carl Crawford played his typically-good but sometimes-lazy left field, while Bossman Junior and Delmonster looked both brilliant at times and lost at others. Dioner Navarro made a few too many dumb errors. Pena played an excellent first base, and saved plenty of errors with his soft hands, but in the end, Aki’s our guy.
Rays Cy Young - Scott Kazmir
All “Kid K” did this year was improve in pretty much every area while leading the American League in strikeouts. He was particularly great after the All-Star Break when he threw 94.1 innings, allowing only 77 hits and striking out 124. He pitched to a 2.39 ERA in that time, allowing only 6 home runs. He was much better than his 8-3 record would have you believe. To think that he is only 23 is so terribly exciting, but it’s also kind of worrisome. There have been plenty of pitchers that have “thrown themselves out” at a young age, and you have to just hope that he isn’t one of them.
James Shields made a nice effort to earn this spot, but in the end, there was no one else that we could give this one to.
Rays Rookie of the Year - Delmon Young
Yeah, this one was kind of stupid, since there were only about 3 people who you could even consider, and Andy Sonnanstine and Jason Hammel certainly didn’t do nearly enough to even think about wrestling the title away from Delmon.
I know I give Delmon a hard time here, but he really didn’t have an awful season. If you consider that he just turned 22 last month and only has 4 years of pro ball under his belt, you’re willing to bet that he’ll improve upon his .288/.316/.408 as the years go by. Not only that, but he’s got an absolute CANNON of an arm in right field. Though its very difficult to assess the tangible effect that has, it’s certainly impressive. Will he ever be the guy who goes for an .880 OPS like he did in the minors, or hit for a .538 SLG like he did in 2004? Probably not, but is a .300/.340/.460 completely out of the realm of possibility? Absolutely not.
Rays Minor League Player of the Year - Evan Longoria
I’ve never been shy about my Evan Longoria man-love, and he certainly is the trendy pick for this award. The merits of including him on the Opening Day roster next year have been much-discussed in recent weeks on the site, but the best thing to know is that he just turned 22 years old and just played his first full season of pro ball, hitting .299/.402/.520 this season in AA/AAA, and he plays the hell out of third base. His plate patience is the one thing that you really have to be impressed with, as he walked 73 times in 558 plate appearances this year. Will these numbers translate to the big leagues? Who knows. Will he be up with the big squad sooner rather than later? You bet.
Rays Unsung Hero - Greg Norton
Greg Norton? Really? Why?
See Ex. A above: Carlos Pena, and you’ll see all you need to know.
October 25th, 2007 at 10:11 am
I don’t have a single problem with any of these awards. You could also make the argument that James Shields was the MVP. He pitched well during a long stretch where no one else was throwing well on the entire pitching staff. The middle of the season would have been even worse if Shields wasn’t throwing so well. He did a great job this season, and was our most consistent pitcher, and possibly the most consistent pitcher in the majors this year. It seemed like he went 6+ innings every start this year. Now, I know Kazmir was virtually unhittable the last 15 starts of the season, but Shields had it going all year long. So, he might get the nod over Kazmir for me in the Cy Young for the team. But like I said, Shields could have been considered the MVP for his carrying the pitching staff in the middle of the season while everyone else threw terrible. Pena is the offensive guy without a doubt, but Shields was awesome.
Next year, I think it could be a coming out party for this entire team. Could you imagine if Navarro continues to hit like he did the 2nd half? Upton repeating his offensive outburst? Young taking a few pitches and driving the ones in the strike zone? Longoria having everything click for his rookie campaign? Baldelli staying healthy and being a great DH and 4th OF’er? The bottom line is the sky is the limit for this team next year!!! We could possibly be in the playoffs if we get a solid #3 starter in here! There’s not a doubt in my mind. When I really think about it, I think this might be the most excited I’ve ever been about the Rays!
October 25th, 2007 at 11:38 am
not to be that guy… but…
that’s a lot of if’s that I have learned not to count on.
here is what we do know…
A. Carlos Pena has never had a great season like that- so either he will go back to trying to pull everything and hit closer to .250 with 20 hr or he will blow up again- my guess is
.266 28 90 for los next year
b. we had exactly 3 Starting pitcher with a whip under 1.40 (Shields, Sonny and Kazmir) any thing higher than that is UNACCEPTABLE, thus in my opinion we need 2 starting pitchers. Jackson has never had a WHIP under 1.50 in his life, I don’t think we can live with that any longer, I’d give him a short shot at the pen, because of his 1 good month last season. That’s it…
I’d go with Niemann in slot 4 and give Hammel one last shot at #5 until Price or Davis is ready-
c. we had exactly 0 relievers with the same statistic- take what you want out of that- we do have capable arms out there, but that just isn not going to cut it
* I do think better infield defense would help these statistics quite a bit*
d. We can put about 20% trust in Baldelli to even play, let alone produce, let us not forget when he did play last year, he was horrid at the plate. Getting his legs, bat and mind right might be a tall order-
e. What if Longoria wins the 3rd base job- the pulls an Alex Gordon? We need to make sure he hits relatively low in the lineup to start, so he can not be a focal point in the offense until he has to be…
I have no idea what to expect from this team and organization- part of me thinks that it can all come together-(us getting the right FA or trade and be healthy all year and win 85 or so games)
The other parts think we are what we are and will win 65-72…
they need some more maturity and growth, and to be healthy and we can do something special, if not it will be another hollow season…
October 25th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
I have no argument with any of your picks. I think A.J makes a good point about Shields. You could argue that his excellent pitching all year (except for a brief mid-year slump) trumps Kazmir’s brilliance in the second half. But in the end, Kazmir is probably deserving of the honor.
I think if there is any debate about MVP, and there isn’t, the other candidate would be Upton. He combined OBP, Power and Speed and filled in adequately at 2B and at times brilliantly, if erratically, in CF. While the prognosis for Pena is that he will probably regress a bit, for Upton the outlook is more optimistic that he will improve.
October 25th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
I understand your thinking Jason, but usually the ‘what ifs’ become true in some cases. Baldelli is a big one, but we have a contingency plan for him (Gomes, Guzman, maybe a FA) in the DH spot. Jackson threw like a typical #4-5 guy in the second half, a guy who is either on or off in his starts. He has dominant stuff when he’s on, and he’s just wild as can be when he’s off. I think he would throw in the 4-5 spot anyways, so he’s not going to kill us in that spot. Besides, you can’t just give up on a talent like him because he could end up making the organization look stupid for letting him go. This is an important year for him. When it comes to Pena, if he hits .260, most people are happy. I don’t think we’ll see the same year, but I do see a .270 30+ HR 100+ RBI guy again. While it’s still probably a big decline compared to last year, it’s still a very good year. I also agree that Longoria should bat lower in the order for the Rays if he starts in April-probably about the 6th or 7th hole. You don’t leave him in the middle to start his career because it’s just a lot of pressure for a young kid. Navarro didn’t hardly play in ST last year, and then it seemed like he got hurt every time he walked on thie field for the first couple months. So, maybe he just needs to get a lot of ABs in ST, and he might be a little bit of a slow starter, but he showed a lot of improvement in the second half. I am trying to be optimistic about the upcoming year, so don’t be hard on me here. The big ‘ifs’ on this team could happen in a realistic world. If they don’t, then we will be terrible again, but even if only a couple of them work out, this team will be much improved. We all know that we need help in the pitching department and with our defense. It’s beating a dead horse, and we know it. If the organization doesn’t address it, then it’s still going to be a bad team, but I think they know what the problems are, and they will address it. It just won’t be for anyone who will cost a lot of money. The trades for Santana and guys of that calibur just are simply not going to happen, so we don’t need to keep dreaming there.
October 25th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
I am done with Jack in the rotation, I love his arm (what’s not to love?), but he had one month with an ERA under 5. Sonnanstine is the #5 guy- he is the guy who take the ball and give himself a chance to win almost everytime out, as soon as he learns not to give up the 3 run home run Sonny’s ERA will come down to about 4 to 4.5, all the rest of his stats look spot on, Low WHIP, good K rate, good control. Better defense will help all of these things too… thats the kind of #5 I want.
I think Niemann’s best spot will be in the bullpen, but not yet, he will be a wonderful #3. I really think he was just getting over his shoulder injury all of last season, and will look a lot more polished this season and should DEFINATELY be in the rotatation in April.
I think Gomes in an adequate role-player, and I have no problem keeping him, I’d love him to learn 1b, his hustle is infectious. If he could just not K so high I’d love him for everyday.
I really really want Baldelli to be healthy next year, Ialso think he would be a wonderful story if he can put it together, and would really make the offense tough.
I really would also like to see davis get a real look see in ST and definately be called up should he hav ea special April in Durham…
just my two cents
oh an AJ I def won’t bust for being optimistic, this team just scares me too much to get too up if you know what I mean…
October 25th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
I understand Jason. I don’t want to be too optimistic, but this team just has so much talent and it just has to be a matter of time before it all clicks. It’s been here too long for it not to mesh together soon.