Just A Bit Outside

Sabermetrics are sharpening their swords, preparing for battle against the "uninformed" journalists. Those journalists are brushing up on their nerd insults in return. And all the while, regular fans have to deal with the constant bickering between both sides that often doesn't get anywhere.

Yep, it's MLB awards season all right. It's the time of year where my opinion is righteous and true and your opinion (if you disagree with me) is worthless and invalid.

If you disagree with my award picks, though, I don't think you're an idiot. There's room for debate in most of my picks, so if you disagree, speak up.

American League Cy Young: Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals

So Greinke only has 16 wins. So what? Greinke was unequivocally the best pitcher in baseball this year, striking out 242 batters in 229.1 innings with a 2.16 ERA. His K/BB ratio was an outstanding 4.75. And his FIP—which measures a pitcher's true success by removing defense from the equation—was a MLB-best 2.33, one point better than Tim Lincecum. Had Greinke pitched on a team with better offense and defense (the Royals had baseball's second-worst team UZR), his season would have gone down as one of the best ever.

Apologies to: Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez, Roy Halladay National League Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

Like Greinke, Lincecum didn't have a whole lot of wins. But like Greinke, he pitched on a team that had little offense, so wins shouldn't be a deal-breaker for his Cy Young candidacy. Lincecum's 261 strikeouts were the best in the National League and second-best in baseball to Justin Verlander and his 10.42 K/9 was the best in baseball. Despite a dip in velocity, Lincecum put together what was perhaps a more dominant season than 2008--a year in which he won the NL Cy Young. I see no reason why he shouldn't win it again this year.

Apologies to: Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Javier Vazquez

American League MVP: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins

This was actually a lot closer than I expected between Mauer and Derek Jeter, but there's no chance the Twins are playing in game No. 163 without Mauer. The 26-year-old catcher finally developed a power stroke this year, belting out 28 home runs all while maintaining a pristine .364 batting average and .442 OBP. His OPS going into game 163 sits at a career-high 1.027, too. And he did this all while handling the demanding duties of being a catcher very well, as usual. Just think of how much better Mauer's stats would have been had he not missed the first month or so of the season.

Apologies to: Jeter, Ben Zobrist (yes, Ben Zobrist), Verlander

National League MVP: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

There's not a whole lot of debate here. Pujols nearly won the "real" triple crown, leading the NL in on-base percentage and home runs while finishing six RBI behind Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard. And he was an above-average defender at first base to boot. There's not a whole lot of debate over this award--Pujols easily deserves it, as he's rated at 8.5 wins—0.9 more than the second-highest-rated player.

Apologies to: Prince Fielder, Hanley Ramirez, Chase Utley

American League rookie of the year: Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers

There's something to be said for defense, and Andrus rated as the second-best defensive shortstop in baseball in 2009 (Jack Wilson rated as the best). His offensive numbers may not have been very impressive, but he did swipe 33 bases--nothing to sneeze at. There's no telling where the Rangers would have been without Andrus' defense, as good defense was one of the main reasons why the Rangers had success in 2009. And I know this isn't the "most valuable rookie" award and Andrew Bailey deserves to win this too, but in the end, I'm going to stick to my guns and value Andrus' defense very highly.

Apologies to: Bailey, Gordon Beckham, Rick Porcello, Jeff Niemann, Nolan Reimold, Brett Anderson

National League rookie of the year: Andrew McCutcheon, Pittsburgh Pirates

This was my toughest pick to make. I waffled for a long time between McCutcheon, J.A Happ, Chris Coghlan, Casey McGehee, and Randy Wells before going with the Pirates outfielder. In 493 plate appearances in his rookie campaign, McCutcheon posted a .286/.365/.471 line, good for a .836 OPS. He hit 12 home runs, 26 doubles, and stole 22 bases all while playing about league-average defense in center. And really, that league-average defense was the deal-breaker for McCutcheon over Coghlan and McGehee. Happ and Wells both had excellent seasons and I strongly, strongly, strongly considered Happ...but in the end, my gut told me McCutcheon.

Apologies to: Happ, Coghlan, McGehee, Wells, Dexter Fowler, Tommy Hanson

American League manager of the year: Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The Angels could have folded after the tragic death of Nick Adenhart and nobody would have blamed them. They could have folded when their starting rotation was decimated by a slew of injuries and, again, nobody would have blamed them. And yet, the Angels perceived through all of that to hold off the upstart Rangers and win the AL West once again. Major credit is due to Scioscia for keeping his team together through all the rough times the Angels experienced this year.

Apologies to: Ron Gardenhire, Joe Girardi, Ron Washington

National League manager of the year: Jim Tracy, Colorado Rockies

The Rockies were dead in the water when Tracy took over May 29. Colorado was in last place in the NL West at 18-28, 14 games behind the Dodgers. All the Rockies did since then is go 74-42 to storm to winning the NL Wild Card for the second time in three years. I don't know how Tracy did it, but he energized a team that looked on pace to finish 2009 in disappointing fashion.

Apologies to: Tony La Russa, Fredi Gonzalez, Joe Torre