2014 Managers of the Year

The 2014 Managers of the Year Awards were handed out today. Who won the trophies? Read on and find out.

- 2014 American League Manager of the Year

Baltimore Orioles skipper Buck Showalter wins the 2014 AL Manager of the Year award for 3rd time while leading the Baltimore Orioles to a 96-66 record. This is Showalter's 3rd Manager of the Year Award with his 3rd different franchise. His previous two awards came with the New York Yankees in 1994 and the Texas Rangers in 2004. Since the award was first given out in 1983, Showalter is the sixth manager with three or more Manager of the Year awards. Bobby Cox, and Tony LaRussa have four awards while Dusty Baker, Jim Leyland, and Lou Piniella have three apiece.

Showalter received 25 first-place votes. Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia and Kansas City Royals skipper Ned Yost finished second and third, respectively. The voting was conducted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Showalter is the first Orioles manager to win the award since Davey Johnson in 1997.

- 2014 National League Manager of the Year

Washington Nationals first year manager Matt Williams wins NL Manager of the Year award. Like his contemporary up the Beltway in Baltimore, Williams led the Nationals to a National League best 96-66 record and NL East title. In doing so, Williams was the fourth manager to win the award in his first year joining Hal Lanier of the Houston Astros in 1986, Dusty Baker of the San Francisco Giants in 1993 and Joe Girardi of the Florida Marlins in 2006.

Williams received 18 of 30 first-place votes. Last year's National League Manager of the Year Clint Hurdle of the Pittsburgh Pirates came in second with eight first-place votes while Bruce Bochy on the World Champion San Francisco Giants came in third, earning three first-place votes. The voting was conducted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Williams is the second Nationals' manager to win the award after Davey Johnson who won the award in 2012. Williams is the fourth Manager of the Year when taking into account the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals history. Buck Rogers in 1987 and Felipe Alou in 1994 won the awards while the team was in Montreal.

The future looks bright for both teams that play in the Beltway Metropolitan area of Baltimore/Washington DC. Congrats to both managers on their awards.

Tomorrow the Cy Young Awards will be announced at 6 p.m.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

Beasts of the National League

Here's Part II of who I think the best team in each division in the National League.

National League East

 If yesterday's performance of Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg is any indication, the Washington Nationals and their fans are having dreams of October World Series baseball in Washington D.C. This team was loaded last season and as hard as it is to believe they actually improved themselves. Gone is Michael Morse in a trade with the Oakland A's right-hander A.J. Cole (who was the pitching prospect of the trade that brought Gio Gonzalez from the Oakland A’s to the Nationals). Added is Denard Span who will give veteran support to an outfield that is made up by phenom Bryce Harper and the bearded wonder Jason Werth. The Infield is anchored by Adam LaRoche who resigned with the Nationals after a career season along with Ryan Zimmerman, Danny Espinoza and Ian Desmond. Mid Season acquisition Kurt Suzuki will be manning the rotation from behind the plate.

If the starting rotation was good last season behind Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmerman it will only get better with the addition of Dan Haren. Haren comes over from the American League with something to prove. If he can stay healthy, this gives the Nats a formidable four man front. Ross Detwiller seems to be the fifth starter for now.

Where the Nats seemed to improve the most was with the signing of Rafael Soriano to be the closer. Soriano shined in his opportunity to close for the New York Yankees last season and will be backed up by 8th inning man Tyler Clippard and former closer Drew Storen.

With the innings cap removed from Strasburg and with Bryce Harper continuing to mature into the dominant player that many think he will be, the only real opponent the Nationals might have is themselves.

- 2013 Washington Nationals Projected Lineup

National League Central

The Reds will try to rebound from last season's collapse in the NLDS by once again winning the National League Central division. The team led by franchise player Joey Votto will be a dominant force in the NL. Backed up by Brandon Phillips, Shin Soo Choo, Jay Bruce and Todd Frazer, the Reds lineup is able to quickly pile up runs on opposing pitching. Ryan Ludwick is also a part of the force but after yesterday's injury to his shoulder while sliding into 3rd base, it remains to see if they lose him for a significant amount of time.

The rotation is headed by Johnny Cueto with Mat Latos, Bronson Arroyo and Homer Bailey. The team finally ended the experiment of Aroldis Chapman becoming a starter by definitively stating that he will be the closer. Enough is enough. Leave him in the pen where he belongs. He will be backed up by free agent signing Jonathan Broxton, Sean Marshall and Jose Arredondo.

Dusty Baker has himself a well rounded squad that barring injury should make quick work of the National League Central

- 2013 Cincinnati Reds Projected Lineup

National League West

The San Francisco Giants have quietly put together what you might call a dynasty for today's modern game with two World Series titles in the last three seasons with a young group of players who seem to be destined to play together for years to come. Led by NL MVP Buster Posey the Giants are the team to beat in the NL West. The youth of this team can be seen with their infield of Brandon Belt and Pablo Sandoval on the corners and Brandon Crawford at short. Veteran Marco Scutaro will be the everyday 2nd baseman for the Giants this season after having injury prone disappointment Freddy Sanchez at 2nd.

The outfield is led by Angel Pagan, who I have stated in my post Angel Pagan Esta Encendido (from my other  Baseball blogpage Latinoball) will have a breakout season based on the way he played last season and in this year's World Baseball Classic. Joining him is Hunter Pence, Gregor Blanco and the returning Andres Torres who spent a disappointing season with the New York Mets.

The rotation is the backbone that this team is built on. Led by Matt Cain, the rotation is made up of Ryan Vogelsong, Madison Baumgarner and the rejuvinated Barry Zito. I mean no disrespect whatsoever to two time NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum by not listing in above or next to Cain. But it seems that his troubles from last season (post season domination notwithstanding) seem to have carried over into this season. Coming into his final year of 2-year $40.5-million dollar deal there have been some rumors that he might not be with the Giants after this season. Though I would say losing Lincecum would be a mistake, if he doesn't pitch up to the standard that he established in the past his days in San Francisco might be numbered.

The closer role is Sergio Romo's with the seemingly upset Brian Wilson out of the picture. Wilson was not offered a contract by the Giants after only pitching one game for the Giants last season and season ending Tommy John surgery. Wilson rejected the team's minor league contract overture and remains a free agent. Backing up Romo is last year's bullpen group of Santiago Casilla, Ramon Ramirez, Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez.

As I have told many people in the last few weeks, the San Francisco Giants (and the Tampa Bay Rays to a lesser degree due to a lack of financial resources that the Giants have) are building the team in the proper way. They are building from within, locking in those homegrown players and filling the blanks with timely trades and budget free agent signings. This method will prove to be main reason the Giants keep winning titles.

- 2013 San Francisco Giants Projected Lineup

Just a few points on the rest of the National League. In the East, there is only one real threat to the Nationals and that's the Atlanta Braves. Though the addition of the Upton brothers will definitely help ease the loss of Chipper Jones to retirement I'm not sure that is enough to match up toe to toe with the Nats. They need Dan Uggla to have a rebound season in order to have a chance. The Phillies are slowing down as the seasons go by falling into the same kind of pattern as the Yankees have with the reliance on primarily older veteran players. The Mets are in a positive rebuilding mode and their young players will get considerate playing time this season that will help separate those who are ready for the big leagues from those who aren't. The Marlins? Let's just say that Giancarlo Stanton can't do it all on his own.

In the Central, the St. Louis Cardinals are always a threat. The injury to David Freese and the loss of Chris Carpenter might loom large, as well as the loss of Kyle Loshe to division rival Milwaukee Brewers. Speaking of the Brewers, they seem to be stuck in a homing pattern of sorts. I'm not sure they are ready to make the next step. The Pittsburgh Pirates are still taking their baby steps to respectability and I think this season is the year they finally finish over .500. The Chicago Cubs are starting from the bottom up and Theo Epstein has his hands full but does have shining stars in Starlin Castro, Anthony Rizzo and Jeff Samardzija.

In the West, the cash flush Los Angeles Dodgers are spending to win now with a flurry of free agent signings in addition to last season's blockbuster trade with the Red Sox. Is it enough to displace the World Series champs as NL West Champions? Time will dictate that. The Arizona Diamondbacks will try to play for the Wild Card while the Colorado Rockies will rest their hopes on the health of franchise players Troy Tulowitzski and Carlos Gonzalez. The San Diego Padres continue to rebuild and hope that 3rd baseman Chase Hedley doesn't miss more time to his thumb injury than is already expected.

So there you go folks. What do you think. Agree? Disagree? Drop me a line to my email.

Sisco Kid.

Jayson Werth Signs with The Washington Nationals

It was announced today that the Washington Nationals signed 32-year old OF Jayson Werth formerly of the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-year $126 million dollar deal for an average of $18 million a year. Manny Ramirez (8-year $160 million in 2000) and Alfonso Soriano (8-year $136 million in 2006) are the only outfielders to sign larger contracts than Werth. So what does this do for the Nationals.

First it causes the Nationals to create a big splash on the eve of the MLB Winter meetings. To be perfectly honest, of the teams that I had read that were interested in Werth the Nationals did not even come up in the conversation. For the Nats to sign a top free-agent from a division rival is key. The signing also helps to ease the loss of slugger Adam Dunn who signed a 4-year $56 million deal with the Chicago White Sox last week. 

Second, it gives the National some stability in the outfield and a veteran presence that has played on winning teams in the young clubhouse. This can already be seen with the Nationals in the case of Ivan Rodriguez who has had a definite positive effect on the Nationals. Sometimes a team on the cusp of moving up to the next level needs some experience. I think Werth can fit that role. And that's it for the positives. 

I think that for the splash made by the Nationals, they gave Werth way too much in terms of years. At the end of the contract, Werth will be 39-years old. Can he be productive at that age? Absolutely. Look at his former teammate Raul Ibañez for an outfielder to be productive at an older age. My question is how will Werth be after possibly three, four or five years of not being competitive. He has been used to playing with the Phillies who for the last four seasons has been in the post-season with two back-to-back World Series appearances in 2008 and 2009. Will he play the same on a team that (let's say for argument sake) is out of contention by August each year? Only time can answer that question.

I can't positively answer this next point but I think that we can take the Nationals out of the Cliff Lee race. They were mentioned early on as one of the possible teams that Lee might play for this upcoming season. As the San Francisco Giants proved this past season, productive pitching can overcome deficits in offensive production behind them. A rotation anchored by Cliff Lee and Stephen Strausberg with Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman providing some thunder from the offensive side makes the Nationals intriguing to say the least. Who knows, maybe the ownership behind the Nationals have a few more cards up their sleeves and pull out the trump card in the form of Cliff Lee. We'll know soon enough.

As for the NL East? Well the Werth signing is an example of the rest of the division gaining ground while the Phillies lose ground. The Braves are stronger with the pick up of Dan Uggla last month. The Marlins will remain pesky in the division. The Mets are something of an unknown as we won't know how Beltran, Bay and Santana come back from their injuries. What we do know is that the Phillies are a year older with a big hole to fill in the outfield. Are Domonic Brown and/or John Mayberry ready to play at the major league level? Thankfully Spring Training is only a few months away so we won't have to wait too long to see what happens. Plus, the winter meetings start tomorrow. There should be more fireworks in store.

FH

Curious Trivia Questions from Last Night

There weren't many game on last night and I saw two trivia questions that I found real curious and interesting. Here goes.

1. Which pitcher has the most wins for one franchise
The answer is Walter Perry "Big Train" Johnson. In 20 seasons with the Washington Senators (1907-1927), Johnson compiled a 417-279 record with a 2.17 ERA (WOW!!!!!!), 4913 Hits, 1363 BB, 3509 K's and a WHIP of 1.061. To make his numbers look even more astonishing, Johnson appeared in 802 games of which he started 666 and completed 531 of those games with 110 of those games being shutouts. Johnson had 10 consecutive seasons of 20 or more win seasons with his best being in 1913 when he was 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA with 232 Hits in 346 innings pitched. Johnson walked only 38 with 243 K's. Johnson started 48 games, completed 29 and threw 11 shutouts. Not surprisingly, Johnson won the first of his two MVP awards (1913 and 1924). Johnson is second in total wins just being Cy Young. Johnson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1936. His performance was truly amazing since in the 20 years he played in Washington, the Senators finished in 1st twice (1924/1925), in 2nd twice (1912/1913) and won only one World Series in two attempts (1924 against the New York Giants). Truly amazing.

2. Aside from the Arizona Diamonbacks, there are 4 other franchises that have not had a player win the regular season MVP award, who are they.
Myron and I sat there trying to guess who the teams were. I had guessed that at least two of the remaining four had to be part of the recent expansion teams. I chose the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays. I also figured the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals have never had an MVP and then I was stumped. I thought maybe San Diego or maybe the Milwaukee Brewers didn't have an MVP, but the answer truly surprised me: The New York Mets. The Mets have never had a regular season MVP.

Now I was a bit taken aback at that since I was sure that at the very least, the Mets would have had an MVP either in 1969 or 1986. But researching the MVP winners list, Willie McCovey won the award in 1969 and Mike Schmidt had won the award in 1986. Truly surprising indeed.

Mr. Strasburg Goes to Washington

Stephen Strasburg made his anticipated debut yesterday at a sold out Nationals Park in Washington D.C. against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Strasburg gave an impressive performance in his debut against the Pirates.

Pitching 7 innings, Strasburg gave up 2 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits striking out 14 while walking none. His control of the variety of pitches that he commands was amazing and showed amazing poise and resilience after giving up his first major league homerun.

Keep in mind folks that before we proclaim this kid a Hall of Famer, he did it against the young Pittsburgh Pirates. Let's see how he does against the big boys of the National League over the length of the entire season before we hand him the mantle that was held by such Hall of Famers as Koufax, Gibson and Ryan. For all we know he could be the next Kerry Wood and Brien Taylor as opposed to the next Nolan Ryan.

What I do find amazing is that the balance of power of Baseball has shifted from Baltimore to Washington D.C. to the chagrin of Orioles owner Peter Angelos. Maybe he should sell the team to Cal Ripken and put the Orioles back on the road to success. As it looks, with the drafting of Bryce Harper by the Nationals with the 1st pick, the arrival of Stephen Strasburg and the further development of a young team the Nationals look to be a beacon of hope for Baseball in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area.

FH