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Roy Halladay sweepstakes getting thicker

Roy HalladayThe Roy Halladay Sweepstakes Part Two have just became more interesting.  With rumors swirling that the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have both shown interest, joined by reports from the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this week, it seems like the Toronto Blue Jays – controller of the most sought after non-free agent – may have a tough decision ahead of them this winter. Reports say that the rumors now include the Chicago Cubs. The sad part is that this is not news. Any team with any interest in winning in 2010 is going to be looking at Halladay. The only question to be asked is who can afford him?

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The top of the AL crop

Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Athletes, Editorial, MLB, Rumors

Joe MauerWith the recent announcement that Tim Lincecum was the National League Cy Young Award winner, it leaves only two more 2009 Major League Baseball award winners to be announced, which will be done this coming Monday. One of those is the American League Most Valuable Player, and, like the NL Cy Young, the AL MVP race couldn’t be closer. With Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Miguel Cabrera, and Joe Mauer in the hunt, the award could go to anybody.

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Albert Pujols - The clear choice

Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Athletes, Editorial, MLB, Rumors

Albert PujolsThere are only two more awards to be awarded before the books on the 2009 MLB season can be officially closed – one of which is the National League Most Valuable Player. Last year’s winner, Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals, looks poised to repeat. If he wins, it will be his third NL MVP nod, as he also took home the hardware in 2005 after knocking off Barry Bonds and his four consecutive titles. What makes him the most obvious choice is that he greatly improved on many of his totals from last season.

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NL Cy Young Award winner - Tim Lincecum

Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Athletes, Editorial, Kudos, MLB

Tim LincecumTim’s done it again. Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants won his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award. Lincecum edged out the pair of St. Louis Cardinals aces, Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. He becomes the first pitcher to repeat as the winner since Randy Johnson did so with the Diamondbacks four times from 1999-2002. It makes sense that the number one pitcher of 2008 won again, as while Lincecum’s wins total was down in 2009, he improved in almost every other area.

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Selig proposes to make changes to MLB postseason

Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Editorial, Front Office, MLB, Playoffs

Bud SeligMajor League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has promised some changes to the current format – more specifically the sluggish pace – of the MLB postseason. The argument is pretty clear. The MLB regular season schedule is an every day affair; but the MLB playoffs schedule resembles more of an NBA or NHL schedule. The World Series champion New York Yankees played a 162-game schedule in 180 days then played 15 playoff games in 31 days. That’s a drastic change to what the players and their bodies were used to. The Yankees and the Angels also had four days off between the ALDS and ALCS after each team swept their respective opponents.

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AL Manager of the Year - Not Ron Gardenhire

Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Athletes, Editorial, Front Office, MLB

Ron GardenhireAn unexpected travesty has occurred. Mike Scioscia has been chosen as the American League Manager of the Year for leading the Los Angeles Angels to another successful season. His accomplishment overshadows now five-time bridesmaid Ron Gardenhire, whose success in Minnesota goes unrewarded yet again. Gardenhire, who has helmed the Minnesota Twins for almost a decade, is a record five-time runner-up for the award. In that time span, he’s accomplished much more than most managers ever hope to. But it wasn’t always so easy for the 52-year old manager from West Germany. Gardenhire will remain the Twins’ skipper at least through the 2011 season.

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NL Gold Gloves a golden joke

Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Athletes, Editorial, MLB

Ryan ZimmermanThe National League handed out their Gold Glove Awards, and as usual, there was a sense of comic relief because of some of the winners – specifically at third base. Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals took home his first Gold Glove, perhaps solely because the Nats needed anything with which to say 2009 was successful. He finished ahead of a much more deserving candidate from San Diego in Kevin Kouzmanoff. The suspicion is that Gold Glove winners – a defensive honor – are often chosen based on offensive statistics. A comparison between the two NL third basemen gives credit to that theory.

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Griffey to return to Seattle in 2010

Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Athletes, Editorial, MLB

Ken Griffey Jr.Ken Griffy Jr. and the Seattle Mariners reached another deal together on Wednesday, as the M’s signed Griffey to a one-year contract, likely similar to the $2 million base with $3 million incentive-laden deal he inked a year ago. Griffey is a legendary power hitter in Seattle, and spent the majority of his 2009 season in a DH role for the club. The beloved Pennsylvania-born slugger was invited to return by fans during the Mariners’ final homestand, with sentiments echoed by the club with a contract offer. While his playing time in 2010 remains to be determined, Griffey’s presence alone will be enough to ignite a rising Mariners franchise.

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Pedro’s padre, the New York Yankees, wins World Series

Pedro MartinezThe kings are dead. Pedro Martinez has re-discovered his daddy. The New York Yankees are World Champs. With a 7-3 defeat of the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night, the Yankees un-crowned the defending World Series winners and christened New Yankee Stadium in exactly the way – and perhaps the only acceptable way – that Yankee fans had hoped for. They managed to redeem the woes of 2008 with a runaway season this year and a dominating October. And what better way to finish it than by once again playing father to ‘the only man who can incite fear in Yankee fans without taking the mound’?

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Bring in the Robot Umpires!

Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Championship, Editorial, MLB, Playoffs

Umpires HuddleThe umpires have been heavily scrutinized in this year’s MLB playoffs, and Game 2 of the World Series was no exception, with each team benefiting from a blown double-play call. Whether or not the Philadelphia Phillies’ blown call was more harmful to the outcome of the game or not is irrelevant at this point, but the debate on whether wider use of instant replay in baseball is needed. Some argue that it’s more important to get the “right” calls; some argue that baseball needs a “human” element. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig argues that more instant replay would slow down the already sluggish-pace of the game.

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