MLB Managers of the Year Announced

MLB has announced the Manager of the Year for the AL and NL for the 2007 season. They are (drum roll please)...........

AL: Eric Wedge (manager of the Cleveland Indians). He really does deserve this award. The Indians were the second best team behind Boston. Sure, Boston's manager could have won this, but the Red Sox were already expected to be good. Very few people foresaw the Indians not only passing the Tigers, who previously went to the World Series the year before, for first in their division, but also tying Boston for the best record in baseball.

NL: Bob Melvin (manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks). I disagree with this pick. Yes, Melvin did lead a team of young, inexperienced players to the playoffs, BUT Clint Hurdle of the Rockies did the same thing. Except, Hurdle did it better. Putting together the tremendous winning streak that they did, making a late run for the playoffs, and entering the playoffs in such a dramatic fashion with a young, inexperienced team I think earns Hurdle manager of the year.

MLB Rookies of the Year Announced

MLB has announced the Rookie of the Year for the AL and NL for the 2007 season. They are (drum roll please)...........

AL: Dustin Pedroia - This name seems to show up a lot on this site, but with good reason. He is an amazing player and deserves this award. Not many players would be willing to play or tolerate the pain of having a broken bone in their hand during the last two months of the season. Pedroia won this vote without any second guessing.

NL: Ryan Braun - Ryan squeaked by Troy Tulowitzki to win the vote. If you examine the numbers since his call up to the MLB on May 25, his numbers would be remarkably similar to Alex Rodriguez's without the enormous paycheck. Braun had an average of .324 and 34 Home Runs while A-Rod had an average of .317 and 36 Home Runs. This goes to show you a team doesn't need big, expensive bats to get the job done. The Yankees, for example, should learn from this for next year. Braun will be a household name like A-Rod in the years to follow.

Around the NBA 11.3.2007

• Forget Boston's big three, how about New Jersey's big three, Carter, Kidd, and Jefferson. Richard Jefferson is off to an extremely fast start scoring at will against anybody. Jason Kidd is Jason Kidd. Mr. Triple Double recorded his 88th career triple double last night.
  

• Gilbert Arenas wishes he could have a redo on the beginning of this season. After promising a win against Boston, he goes out and plays horribly while his team gets blown out by the Celtics. Then he comes back with a 5-15 performance scoring 10 points against the Magic.

• Al Harrington had himself a game last night. He scored 38 points on 15-20 shooting. If he can play like this, Golden State is going to have a hard time getting all their players minutes.

• The Chicago Bulls are off to a horrible start this season. They had a promising squad that many thought, including myself, they were going to compete for the Eastern Conference title. I know its only a few games, but still they look terrible. They need to get Ben Gordon going, and they need to find some offense. Their defense hasn't been the problem, they need to put the ball in the hoop.