Music Monday: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - Low Road

Voter Ignorance Creates Potential For Something "Killer" in 2013

*Before I start this I just want to congratulate Barry Larkin on his induction into Baseball's Hall of Fame. His election is definitely warranted and it is because of guys like him and Cal Ripken Jr. that have led to the resurgence of great power hitting and great fielding shortstops like Derek Jeter and Jose Reyes. Congratulations Barry!

Unfortunately the voters did not elect the best player to be featured on this year's ballot, Jeff Bagwell. Bagwell's case is unfortunate because he happened to play during baseball's infamous "steroid era." Although never linked to any form of cheating, he was a big muscular guy and is something that may haunt his chances at ever getting into the Hall. Known users such as Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro haven't even garnered over 20% of the vote in the years they have been on the ballot. Luckily for Bagwell he earned a jump in votes this year and although it's painfully obvious that he is collateral damage from all of baseball's bad boys, he should eventually earn enshrinement. A leap from 56% to the necessary 75% may seem unlikely but if he does manage to earn enough votes there is the potential for him to be inducted with his former teammate Craig Biggio.

Bagwell's cumulative WAR begs for Hall of Fame consideration (Fangraphs)

Bagwell's numbers speak Hall of Fame volumes. A career .297/.408/.540 guy with 449 HRs, 1529 RBIs, not to mention winning the 1991 NL Rookie of the Year and 1994 NL Most Valuable Player. Most of Bagwell's prime production occurred in Houston's Astrodome, which was a notorious pitcher's park. For fans of sabremetrics, his career WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of 79.9 is certainly higher than a majority of Cooperstown's elite.

Craig Biggio without a doubt in my mind should be a first ballot Hall of Famer, especially with the prospects of having to vote for the likes of steroid beasts Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in the backs of voter's minds. Biggio has always been one of those stand up guys and put up the numbers to easily garner election. As you can see above in the cumulative WAR graph, Biggio's career lines up nicely with Barry Larkin's. Another lifetime Houston Astro, Biggio has put up Hall worthy numbers including 3060 career hits, 1175 RBIs, and 414 SBs. His 668 doubles gives him the record for most all-time as a right-handed hitter. Biggio did all this primarily as a leadoff hitter, who started his career as a catcher and earned an all-star selection as such. He has moved to second base for which he played most of his career and even played several outfield positions when the Astros acquired the likes of Jeff Kent and later Carlos Beltran. Add the fact that he is a 7-time all-star, 4-time gold glove winner, and 5-time silver slugger, and Biggio would certainly have my vote.

These two will should be inducted next year

If the "Killer B's" happen to be elected next year it would mark the first time that teammates were elected to the Hall since Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford were elected back in 1974. These two were the good guys during their respective careers and represented MLB and the city of Houston extremely well. The numbers that they both put up should alone earn them enshrinement into Baseball's hallowed hall and until anyone can prove that Bagwell ever came within an inch of a needle or any form of steroids, he should not be dragged into the torture chamber that current and future Hall of Fame candidates will be placed in.

Let's hope that the voters get it right in 2013, but if history serves as any indication, I won't be holding my breath on this one. Best of luck to Biggio and Bagwell, they certainly deserve it.

Picture of the Day: The Cutter

"Being able to throw like me is about as crazy as Tim McCarver being inducted into the Hall of Fame"

MLB's New Media Dress Code And Its Aim At Women

This past Tuesday on the second day of the General Manager Winter Meetings in Dallas, Major League Baseball announced a new dress code policy for members of the media. This new policy is the first of its kind in any of the four major sports (MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA), and it's an attempt to keep a more professional atmosphere in and around the ballpark during games. MLB is clearly trying to prevent any incidences like what had occurred in the NFL between Mexican TV reporter Ines Sainz and the Jets locker room. Her attire and beauty drew much attention to a room full of men which led to claims of harrassment. We could get into the whole Erin Andrews deal but that occurred in a hotel and not a ballfield.

Can't imagine anything she wears on the field is inappropriate

According to the guidelines, members of the media should dress "in an appropriate and professional manner." Clothing should be proper for a "business-casual work environment" when in clubhouses, press boxes and on fields. Muscle shirts, ripped jeans, visible undergarments, sheer clothing, one-shouldered and strapless shirts or clothing exposing bare midriffs will be banned. Skirts, dresses or shorts cut more than three or four inches above the knee will be deemed to be in violation. Never in my lifetime have I seen any male media members wearing muscle shirts or tank tops during a broadcast so clearly this policy was designed for the female media contingent. The thought of Jon Miller or Michael Kay in a muscle shirt leaves a tinge of vomit in my mouth.

The only real problem that has been mentioned in baseball has been around the Florida Miami Marlins where female reporters have been known to wear much skimpier clothing. I can't imagine why they would be wearing less in Miami. Maybe 100 degrees with 100% humidity is an issue. The real problem in Miami is the new player uniforms and not what their reporters are wearing. "This is not in response to any single incident," MLB spokesman Pat Courtney told The Associated Press. "It can be a fine line. What one person views as appropriate may not be seen the same way by someone else." They say that albeit the only incident in the big four of sports has been the Ines Sainz issue so clearly that had to be a major factor in creating this new policy.

In my opinion female baseball reporters have always been professional. Growing up in New England and watching NESN (The New England Sports Network) has provided us the opportunity see many classy female baseball reporters including Hazel Mae, Tina Cervasio, Kathryn Tappen, and Heidi Watney

All in all MLB has much more to worry about than some dress code so in honor of those female reporters that keep it classy and professional, lets take a look at them......

Heidi Watney

Kathryn Tappen

Tina Cervasio

Keep it classy ladies!!!....and thank you NESN!!

 

Rookies of the Year and the Rest of MLB's Award Predictions

Rookies of the Year. Craig Kimbrel (L), Jeremy Hellickson (R)

Yesterday Jeremy Hellickson and Craig Kimbrel won the 2011 Rookie of the Year award for the American and National Leagues respectively. Kimbrel won the award unanimously for a season which included setting a Major League record for saves by a rookie with 46 and was an easy choice for voters. Hellickson was also deserving of this award beating out Anaheim's Mark Trumbo for the honor. 

Today I believe the AL Cy Young Award winner will be announced. I'm going to list my predictions for the rest of the awards with a quick little explanation for each. Let's see how I do.

AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

This one is obvious and nobody even comes close to matching the performance from the big righty from Detroit. The man went 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA, pitched a no-hitter during the season, and led the Tigers to another AL Central crown. This should be a unanimous decision. 

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

Kershaw led the NL in Wins (21), ERA (2.28), K's (248). Leading the league in those categories means that Kershaw won the pitching triple crown in the senior circuit. Case Closed.

AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays

After losing Carl Crawford, Matt Garza, Rafael Soriano, Carlos Peña, and Joaquin Benoit, Joe Maddon still managed to lead his team to the playoffs. Maddon certainly had to work much harder to keep his team in games and had to deal with injuries to their best player, Evan Longoria. It took a collapse from the Boston Red Sox but Maddon kept his team playing hard through September and the season's last game to win the AL Wild Card. Job well done Joe!

NL Manager of the Year: Kirk Gibson, Arizona Diamondbacks

Leading a team to 94 wins and a NL West title after coming off of back to back 90-loss seasons is just remarkable. This was a team nobody expected to do well at the beginning of the season and most would have been content with a 3rd place finish let alone finishing 1st. Gibson was the right choice as manager for this young ballclub and deserves this award.

AL Most Valuable Player: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

This one gets controversial with Verlander being a pitcher. I may be biased as a pitcher myself but this guy just had one special season which should not be overlooked. The baseball purists won't vote for a pitcher out of general principle so this award will more likely be dished out to a hitter. The problem with this is that there are too many choices and the votes are going to be spread out so widely that a true MVP won't be decided on, turning this more into a popularity contest with Verlander sitting in the corner. Cases can be made for Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez and Ellsbury are going to split votes between baseball writers in the Boston market. If you go purely by stats then Jose Bautista should be the clear cut choice. This one will be interesting to see.

NL Most Valuable Player: Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers

Two men prevented Matt Kemp from winning the NL Triple Crown. Jose Reyes and Ryan Braun had batting averages higher than Kemp's .324 and other than that Kemp led the NL in HR (39) and RBI (126). Kemp was pretty much the only offense the Dodgers had which can explain how the team could have both the MVP and CY Young award winners on one team and still be a terrible team. Baseball is funny that way and just goes to show how a collective team effort is more important than individual performances.