Tuesday Rockpile: Pujols to be crowned today

by Andrew T. Fisher on Nov 24, 2009 9:02 AM MST in Rockpile Comment 59 comments

The NL MVP award will be going back to St. Louis today at 11am MST. Albert Pujols won the award in 2005 and 2008. Aside from landslide drama, we might be interested to see where Troy Tulowitzki ends up on ballots. The MLB.com article made a serious mistake in appointing two Nationals as "dark horses" while leaving Tulo's name completely out of the article.

Tracy Ringolsby acknowledges the Rockies don't have a contender for MVP, but he still made sure purple would find its way on the voting tapestry with his vote:

1. Albert Pujols
2. Troy Tulowitzki
3. Chase Utley
4. Hanley Ramirez
5. Prince Fielder
6. Andre Ethier
7. Pablo Sandoval
8. Adrian Gonzalez
9. Huston Street
10. Adam Wainwright

Free agent talk

MLB Rumors recently posted their Offseason Oulook for the Rockies, coming to the conclusion we all know - they won't be spending much money this offseason.

Hat tip to RMN here: Jason Grilli has signed with a seventh team. Who that team is has yet to be announced, but we can be certain it isn't the Rockies. Grilli was 3-2 with a 2.94 ERA with Colorado in 2008, and after being traded to Texas for cash in June, he had an ERA under two for much of the season.

Buster Olney tweets that teams are being aggressive in their pursuit of Randy Wolf. That's not surprising given the weak FA class. Marc Hulet from Fangraphs warns that the lefty may be a a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. Perhaps he meant a sheep with a wolf's name.

It is looking likely that the Dodgers won't trade for Roy Halladay to replace Wolf, as Ned Colletti doesn't want to part with Chad Billingsley. A deal hear is widely considered "a long shot."

The Colorado native could still land in "Los Angeles" though. With J.P. Ricciardi gone, the Angels have renewed interest, as Toronto's new GM might not require Erick Aybar in return.

Lastly, Are Metrics Blinding Our Perception? - NYTimes.com "Welcome to the Age of Metrics - or to the End of Instinct."

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Grilli's

latest Twitter update is that he can reveal the team after Thursday.

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by Russ Oates on Nov 24, 2009 9:09 AM MST reply actions

nice

I love Grilli

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 24, 2009 9:28 AM MST up reply actions

Is it me, or is that same exact Randy Wolf article written somewhere every offseason?

by Muzia on Nov 24, 2009 10:04 AM MST reply actions

Big shocker of the morning

Rockies not interested in Mike Lowell.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/10357594

Wow, what crazy logic.

by mkorpal on Nov 24, 2009 10:21 AM MST reply actions

Now what if the Red Sox picked up $10M of his $12M salary...

by Muzia on Nov 24, 2009 10:26 AM MST up reply actions

Probably still no thanks

I doubt it would be worth the prospect. I’m sure we can find a healthier, cheaper backup out there.

by mkorpal on Nov 24, 2009 10:31 AM MST up reply actions

The Rockies will take Mike Lowell and his $12 mill per..

if Boston gives us the 2007 World Series.

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by Charlie77 on Nov 24, 2009 11:00 PM MST up reply actions

Too bad Lowell dosn't play 2nd

I wonder if Bud Selig will give the Yankees a receipt with their World Series purchase

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 24, 2009 12:11 PM MST up reply actions

Man, the Row's quiet today.

by biondino on Nov 24, 2009 11:35 AM MST reply actions

screams loudly

by WolfMarauder on Nov 24, 2009 11:53 AM MST up reply actions

I don't think I've ever seen a year where the choices for both Cy Young's and MVP's were so obvious

I wonder if Bud Selig will give the Yankees a receipt with their World Series purchase

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 24, 2009 12:15 PM MST reply actions

well, the nl cy young was hardly obvious

In fact, that was so close, it probably made up for the landslide trio

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

by Andrew T. Fisher on Nov 24, 2009 12:20 PM MST via mobile up reply actions

You're right

I don’t know what I was thinking including both Cy Youngs. i just like a good MVP race but this year the two choices were so obvious that you couldn’t even make a case for someone else and play devil’s advocate.

I wonder if Bud Selig will give the Yankees a receipt with their World Series purchase

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 24, 2009 12:28 PM MST up reply actions

Tulo finished 5th in the MVP voting

Not bad

I wonder if Bud Selig will give the Yankees a receipt with their World Series purchase

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 24, 2009 12:19 PM MST reply actions

sounds about right

Good job mlb.com listing over fifteen players and leaving tulo out

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

by Andrew T. Fisher on Nov 24, 2009 12:23 PM MST via mobile up reply actions

/slanders mlb.com

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 24, 2009 5:19 PM MST up reply actions

What's funny

is someone voted for Hawpe. That voter must have missed the 2nd half of the season.

by ddavis539 on Nov 24, 2009 12:33 PM MST up reply actions

Maybe they figured that the Rockies were so bad during the first two months

that if he wasn’t good they would have had a fire sale.

I wonder if Bud Selig will give the Yankees a receipt with their World Series purchase

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 24, 2009 12:46 PM MST up reply actions

That made my day :) Perhaps someone sees what I do :)

Dear Rockies - Thank you for a wonderful rollercoaster of a season! NL Wild Card Champs. Best turnaround in MLB history for a team to win the Wild Card. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Troy Tulowitzki - MLB's BEST shortstop..nuff said
Yorvit Torrealba - Re-sign!! he's en Fuego!!
Brad Hawpe- I hope I get to see you in a Rockies uniform again!
Dexter Fowler - prowling CF, WC in his talons, leaping Utleys in a single bound!

by SDcat09 on Nov 24, 2009 4:00 PM MST up reply actions

That's twice in the last three years..

that Hawpe has received MVP votes. Not bad. Better than Manny Ramirez and Eric Byrnes!!

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by Charlie77 on Nov 24, 2009 11:08 PM MST up reply actions

It's funny looking at Tulo's votes

24 of the 32 voters put him between 2nd and 6th while 6 left him off the ballot entirely. It was like most voters saw him among the elites while a few didn’t see him that way at all.

Also, check out the huge dropoff between 5th and 6th. It was like there was three tiers. Albert Pujols has his own personal tier. Second through 5th (233 points through 172 points) were pretty close to from a second tier while everyone on the third tier had 113 points or less.

I wonder if Bud Selig will give the Yankees a receipt with their World Series purchase

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 24, 2009 12:57 PM MST up reply actions

I was amused that Street was the only closer to get MVP votes

and that some voter thought Helton was the third most valuable player in the league.

Impossible not to have positive thoughts.

I want Sam Deduno to pitch already.

by bballrox4717 on Nov 24, 2009 1:25 PM MST up reply actions

I think 5th is correct

I actually thought that this would be the best-case scenario for Tulo. I’m happy to see that the voters gave him some love. He is indeed very valuable.

by controlled_slide on Nov 24, 2009 5:22 PM MST up reply actions

Never thought

I would see the day when Helton got more MVP votes than Holliday, although this probably has everything to do with Holliday’s teammate and the fact that he played the first half of the season in another league.

JFK

by jrockies on Nov 24, 2009 12:37 PM MST reply actions

I hope that voter who put Yunel Escobar 5th

put Hanley and Tulo in the top four beacuse there is no way he was a more valuable than them

I wonder if Bud Selig will give the Yankees a receipt with their World Series purchase

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 24, 2009 12:44 PM MST reply actions

I just found another reason to love love baseball reference

When I went there to take a closer look at Troy Tulowitzki’s stats I typed in Tulo instead of his whole name by mistake and it still took me right to his page. (I then tried the same thing with fangraph but it didn’t work) I don’t know why but it made my day to know that all I have to do to get to Troy Tulowitzki’s page a baseball reference is type in Tulo.

I wonder if Bud Selig will give the Yankees a receipt with their World Series purchase

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 24, 2009 1:05 PM MST reply actions

nice job by Tulo finishing 5th in MVP

next year he will be the MVP!!…hopefully

we seem to have gotten over that HURDLE

thanks for a great season Rockies!

LETS GO WINGS!

by TuLoRocks2008 on Nov 24, 2009 1:22 PM MST reply actions

yeah albert pujols will have to fall off of a building and Ryan ryan howard lose his eyesight

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 24, 2009 5:20 PM MST up reply actions

Tulo willl beat Howard.

130+ long days till we meet again...

by prettyinpurple on Nov 24, 2009 7:26 PM MST up reply actions

mvp rox

Nice showing by the rockies in the votes: tulo, helton, street & hawpe. Even though the overall rankings are pretty meaningless it’s great seeing some recognition of tulo. Was hoping cargo would get a throwaway vote at the bottom of a ballot though.

by phishbate on Nov 24, 2009 1:26 PM MST reply actions

I am meeting Joe Morgan today.

If anyone cares.

by WolfMarauder on Nov 24, 2009 2:05 PM MST reply actions

Huh

by holly96 on Nov 24, 2009 2:08 PM MST up reply actions

cool

JFK

by jrockies on Nov 24, 2009 2:21 PM MST up reply actions

RMN may have some talking points for you

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

by Andrew T. Fisher on Nov 24, 2009 2:30 PM MST up reply actions

Worst. Broadcaster. Ever.

Winners never quit, and quitters never win. But if you never quit *and* never win, you are an idiot

by squalene203 on Nov 24, 2009 2:31 PM MST up reply actions

why?

Dear Rockies - Thank you for a wonderful rollercoaster of a season! NL Wild Card Champs. Best turnaround in MLB history for a team to win the Wild Card. Can't wait to do it again next year!

by SDcat09 on Nov 24, 2009 3:25 PM MST up reply actions

He was a guest in my journalism class.

He said some interesting things.

by WolfMarauder on Nov 24, 2009 7:08 PM MST up reply actions

You should write a fanpost on it...

I would be interested in reading it.

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by Charlie77 on Nov 24, 2009 11:11 PM MST up reply actions

No time.

by WolfMarauder on Nov 24, 2009 11:15 PM MST up reply actions

later then

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 25, 2009 9:01 AM MST up reply actions

Affeldt

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/2009/11/24/breaking-down-my-nl-mvp-ballot/

For anyone curious how Jeremy Affeldt got an MVP vote, Andrew Baggarly makes his case.

So I think it’s completely harmless to give a tip of the cap to the relief pitcher who had the lowest ERA in the league while appearing almost exclusively in highly leveraged situations. Affeldt was an MVP in the bullpen, all right.

Even though I don’t agree, I can respect his reasoning.

by phishbate on Nov 24, 2009 2:49 PM MST reply actions

I fanposted this

pretty interesting, he breaks down his rationale well

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 24, 2009 5:20 PM MST up reply actions

I appear to be

Purple Row’s designated Chase Utley apologist, so here is today’s post:

Chase Utley didn’t even get a second place vote, and finished 8th in the MVP voting? Perhaps the voters believe that elite-fielding second baseman with .905 OPSs and 31 home runs grow on trees, but they do not. Ryan Howard is not the best player on the Phillies. This is mind-boggling. My mind is boggled.

I don’t know why this matters to me, but I think that Utley is now officially the most underrated player in baseball.

by controlled_slide on Nov 24, 2009 5:21 PM MST reply actions

chase Utley is the most underrated player in baseball

now that Mauer has finally won an MVP, Utley is officially it.

Best 2B ever, IMO.

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 24, 2009 5:22 PM MST up reply actions

I don't think you can go down that road just yet

He’s only had about 5 years under his belt. And Rogers Hornsby might disagree with you.

by controlled_slide on Nov 24, 2009 5:24 PM MST up reply actions

as does

Nap Lajoie
Eddie Collins
Sweet Lou Whitaker
Roberto Alomar
Ryne Sandburg
Craig Biggio

and….um what was that one guy? Oh…Jackie Robinson

by Redhawk on Nov 24, 2009 6:57 PM MST up reply actions

Also Joe Morgan

But I was just going with the current greatest ever, whom Utley would have to dethrone.

by controlled_slide on Nov 24, 2009 7:46 PM MST up reply actions

I pick Nap number one out of that group..

oh and that Robinson guy was pretty good.

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by Charlie77 on Nov 24, 2009 11:13 PM MST up reply actions

We'll see what Utley does over the next 5+ years

Alomar’s late-career power surges with the Tribe has me raising an eyebrow

Lou Whitaker probably shouldn’t be in the discussion nearly as strongly, although applause for his glove – dear lord what hands. Definitely a solid bat, but he doesn’t really stand out there like others do with their bats. Same goes for Ryno and Biggio – again, great 2B, but the best? (I’m not saying these guys are nice little 2B, they were fantastic baseball players. There’s no question.)

Holy crap Eddie Collins was good. Completely different style hitters, can we make a dead-ball vs live-ball distinction? Same kind of thing with Nap Lajoie, phenomenal batter, but it was the style at the time.

I never realized that Jackie Robinson was such a power hitter. I would LOVE to see his Negro Leagues numbers, it’s a shame nobody really thought to keep them.

If Utley keeps batting the way he has since 2005 and doesn’t decline too terribly until the tail end of his career, I think he’s near the top in the discussion.

Honestly, the way I’ve seen it discussed, it’s kind of up between Utley and Hornsby and sort of Robinson, if his lack of counting stats (due to his years not in MLB).

I might be completely wrong on this, also. This is my quick observation. I like this discussion.

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 25, 2009 9:19 AM MST up reply actions

Nap Lajoie, "It was the style of the time." What?

In 1904 Nap lead the AL in 19 different offensive categories and placed top 5 in every other offensive category except Plate Appearances and Games Played. He hit .376 in a season when only 4 other players cracked the .300 mark. His OPS+ of 205 is higher than Albert Pujols has ever achieved.

Naps worst season was 1908 when he hit ONLY .289 after nearly having his leg amputated. Nap was cleated so badly the wound became infected and the doctor nearly cut it off. Nap was so loved by Cleveland that the team was named after him from 1903-1914.

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by Charlie77 on Nov 25, 2009 8:51 PM MST up reply actions

nono, Nap Lajoie was absolutely mindblowingly good

I’m not really trying to take anything away from his fantastic career, there’s a reason Cleveland changed their name to the Naps, he was just that good.

But how do you compare Nap to Utley, Alomar, or Robinson?

One big thing that I also wonder about is the general talent level of baseball back in early 1900s.

Just looking at 1904, the AL slash line was as follows: .244/.295/.321/.616. Nap batted .376/.413/.552/.965. He was a giant among men.

Just by comparison, the AL batted .267/.336/.428/.764 in 2009.

I wonder if the pitchers have gotten worse or the batters have gotten better.

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 25, 2009 10:01 PM MST up reply actions

If 1904 Nap was a big fish in a small pond..

then there were some pretty big pitchers in that pond as well. Jack Chesbro led the AL in wins with a record of 41-12 and an ERA of 1.82, he had only 2 no decisions that year! Another little known pitcher named Cy Young finished at 26-16 with an ERA of 1.97 at the age of 37. Both Cy and Chesbro had identical WHIPs that year at 0.937, check out Young’s SO/BB ratio at 6.90

Pitchers of that era logged a lot of innings and were fairly successful. Rotations usually didn’t go beyond a 3rd or 4th pitcher. So a player like Nap had to face a lot of aces and very few 5th starters.

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by Charlie77 on Nov 26, 2009 12:04 AM MST up reply actions

Given he's that underrated...

….maybe we can talk the Phils out of his services for, say, Barmes/Deduno/Atkins/Spilly/fresh cooked holiday turkey. Any four of those five. I don’t think they’d take Atkins, though.

Watching the purple row from high atop the big brown monolith on California Ave

by Mondogarage on Nov 25, 2009 7:04 AM MST up reply actions