MLB Players Vote Albert Pujols Player Of The Year
Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols has again been recognized by his peers. On Friday, Pujols was named Player of the Year in a vote by the MLB Players Association. The award is bestowed to just one player, regardless of league. On Thursday, Pujols won the Players Choice Award for Outstanding Player in the National League.
Detroit center fielder Curtis Granderson also claimed one of the league's highest honors. He won the prestigious Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award for his work on and off the field. The Major League Baseball Players Trust will honor Pujols and Granderson with donations of $50,000 each to the charities of their choice.
A favorite to be named the National League's MVP, Pujols is an eight-time Players Choice Award winner. The Cardinals first baseman paced the Major Leagues with 47 home runs and batted .327 with 45 doubles and 135 RBIs. Pujols, 29, has now hit at least .300 with 30 or more homers and 100-plus RBIs in nine consecutive seasons.
Other Cardinals winning 2009 Players Choice Awards for the National League are Chris Carpenter for Comeback Player and Adam Wainwright for Outstanding Pitcher.
All Major League players voted in September for the Players Choice Awards.
(c) FOX2now.
Happ, Beckham named top rookies by peers
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher J.A. Happ and Chicago White Sox infielder Gordon Beckham were named the top rookies by the Major League Baseball Players Association.
Happ started the 2009 season in the Phillies' bullpen and joined the starting rotation in late May. He finished the year with a record of 12-4 and a 2.93 earned run average for the National League champions. The 27-year-old lefty struck out 119 batters in 166 innings and posted a pair of shutouts.
Beckham didn't make his 2009 season debut until June 4 and finished the campaign with 14 homers, 63 runs batted in and a .270 batting average in 103 games.
Other finalists for the top rookie in the NL were Florida's Chris Coghlan and Atlanta's Tommy Hanson. AL finalists were Jeff Niemann of Tampa Bay and Elvis Andrus of Texas.
(c) The Bellingham Herald.
More on Mariano Rivera Spit-gate
We told you this morning about the video purportedly showing Yankees closer Mariano Rivera spitting on the ball. The commissioner's office checked it out, using additional video and still images, and cleared him.
Times staff writer Kevin Baxter spoke with Rivera a few minutes ago. Rivera laughed off the allegations, and we'll post a story on our website soon.
Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said neither he nor any of his players had suggested Rivera ever had cheated.
"Not at all," Scioscia said. "This is the first thing I'm hearing about this. I didn't even know that there was any indication that it's been looked at. Never.
"There are certainly some guys that might be suspect. Never Mariano, with anything that I've heard or been part of. And I'd be shocked if there was anything to that."
Yankees Manager Joe Girardi, who caught Rivera as a player, said he brushed off the allegations. Rivera throws only one pitch, a cut fastball.
"The one thing about a spitter is it consistently does not go one way like Mo's ball consistently goes one way," Girardi said. "So I kind of laughed at it.
"MLB has investigated. They have nothing about it. We just move on. To me, it's a dead story. I caught Mo for four years, and I know for sure he never did anything."
(c) Los Angeles Times.
Guillen eager to resume everyday role
DETROIT -- Carlos Guillen has changed positions three times in the past two years. Now, he wants to know where he fits with the Tigers for next year.
"I've been doing a lot of moves for the last two years trying to make this team better," Guillen told MLB.com Tuesday night before he returned home to Venezuela. "But I would like to be an everyday player. I would not like to be a part-time player."
During a lengthy telephone interview, Guillen made it clear that he has no issue with the organization. But he expressed frustration at what he saw as a part-time role down the stretch of this year's playoff race, and a lack of clarity over his future.
"I'm not trying to make big trouble," Guillen said. "I know we're coming off a tough year. I just want to make everything clear and prepare myself for the next year, because I don't know what [the Tigers are] going to do."
Team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said in response Wednesday that they see him as an everyday, nine-inning player. But he also said Guillen will have to put in time in left field next Spring Training to prepare, time that he didn't get last year because of a designated hitter role for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic and a shoulder injury that cost him 2 1/2 months.
"Both of our desires are the same," Dombrowski said by phone Wednesday from the Tigers' organizational meetings in Lakeland, Fla. "Carlos would like to play the full game, which he has expressed to [manager] Jim [Leyland]."
Guillen, who played at first and third base in 2008 after spending his first four years in Detroit at shortstop, opened the season as Detroit's everyday left fielder. He went on the disabled list in early May with a sore right shoulder, which was diagnosed as wear and tear from his years at short.
When he returned in late July, his shoulder wasn't yet at full strength, but it was strong enough for the switch-hitter to bat left-handed. The Tigers, urgently needing offense, brought him back as a designated hitter against right-handed starting pitchers.
Guillen continued to strengthen his shoulder until he began playing left field in late August. He began batting right-handed on his own again a couple weeks later after sitting for a stretch against several lefty starters. He finally started against a left-hander when he faced White Sox southpaw John Danks on Oct. 4. Guillen started again two days later in the American League Central tiebreaker against Twins right-hander Scott Baker.
He was the DH for both of those games. Before that, he played three consecutive complete games in left field. While he expressed some frustration about his time in left field, his issue seemed to be more about being lifted in games earlier that month, either for defensive purposes or for a pinch-hitter.
Being lifted for pinch-runner Wilkin Ramirez last Tuesday proved to be frustrating for Guillen, who said his shoulder has nothing to do with him running the bases.
"How are you going to get results," Guillen asked, "when you only get three at-bats or two at-bats? How are you going to feel better when they take you out for a pinch-runner in the fifth inning or sixth inning? I'm the kind of player [that] I want to play when the game's on the line. And that's why I went to [Leyland]."
Now that the season's over, the 34-year-old wants to erase the notions that he can no longer play all nine innings in the field, or isn't healthy enough to play every day, notions that clearly bother him.
"I heard a lot of things about my shoulder," Guillen said. "My shoulder's fine. The same play [early in the game] I could make in the ninth inning."
Several of Guillen's earlier exits in left field came when the Tigers had leads or three runs or more. He tended to play into the seventh inning or later in closer games.
Guillen played left field in full games during Detroit's three straight losses in the final week. He also went the distance in certain close games, such as Detroit's 2-0 loss at Chicago on Sept. 27. He played nine innings in two late-inning comeback wins vs. the Rays over Labor Day weekend.
"I'm just trying to be clear: I want to play," Guillen said. "I signed a long-term contract here [in 2007] to play every day. The last three years, I've been going to first base, third base, shortstop."
Dombrowski indicated the Tigers see Guillen as a good, everyday outfielder with time. The circumstances and the timing of Guillen's return, Dombrowski said, prompted the moves.
"When he came back, the stakes were high," Dombrowski said.
Leyland was asked in the season's final weekend, after Guillen slid for a ball tailing away from him in left field and mistimed it, how much the time Guillen missed with injury affected him in left this year. Leyland said he had no problem with the play.
"You just want to get him to where he's a good left fielder," Leyland said. "You don't expect him to be a great left fielder. If you get him to be good enough to match the advantage of the bat, then you're satisfied. That's basically how you equate."
Guillen believes he can do that.
"I made the plays I was supposed to make," he said.
After starting Guillen last Tuesday, Leyland was asked whether he views Guillen going forward as a full-time player from both sides of the plate. He said yes. Leyland said he went with Ryan Raburn in left field to cover more ground.
Dombrowski said in his end-of-season media session last Thursday that he saw Guillen and Magglio Ordonez as part of a potential mix at designated hitter when one or the other wasn't playing in the outfield. Dombrowski repeated that Tuesday, saying he'd love to have Guillen play every game if he can.
He said part of the reason for the way Guillen is feeling might come from disappointment over the way the season ended.
Guillen is under contract for two more seasons at $13 million per year. At no point Tuesday did he indicate any desire to change teams. If the Tigers don't feel comfortable with him in left field, however, he said, "I'd rather play another position."
More than anything, he's just looking for clarity on his role.
"I'm happy with the organization," Guillen said. "We have great players, great fans. But I think the best way I can help my team is on the field."
(c) 2001-2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Pujols ties Buckner for MLB assists record
ST. LOUIS --- With his flip to rookie reliever Blake Hawksworth in the eighth inning of this afternoon's game at Busch Stadium, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols tied an esoteric major-league record. The toss to Hawksworth at first base was Pujols' 184th assist of the season, tying Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner for the most ever by a player at that position. Buckner set the record in 1985.
Pujols leads all major-league players in double plays (150) and in putouts (1,457). He also leads the Cardinals with 13 errors this season.
(c) St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Zobrist at center of Rays' rally
ST. PETERSBURG -- Different day, different script, same result for Ben Zobrist, and once again, the Rays have a come-from-behind win.
A day after driving in four runs to lead a comeback victory in Texas, Zobrist led the Rays to a 7-6 win over the Orioles on Monday night with 10,352 watching at Tropicana Field.
The Rays moved to 80-76 on the season, leaving the team two wins short of ensuring a winning season. Meanwhile, the Orioles saw their losing streak extended to 11 games.
With the score tied at 6, Zobrist doubled to right field off Chris Ray to lead off the Rays' eighth.
"I'm just looking for a fastball there, a fastball to drive, really," Zobrist said. "It was away, and I just kind of got around it, pulled it into that right-center gap there. Hit it off the end a little bit, but enough to get it out there.
"And I think if I had read the throw a little better from right-center there, I could have gotten to third. But it was a hard read."
Zobrist advanced to third when the next hitter, B.J. Upton, grounded out to shortstop Cesar Izturis.
"I could tell that [Ray] was trying to stay with that slider against B.J.," Zobrist said. "So I'm just reading it off the bat. If it's a slow chopper or something like that, I'm going to try and make it to third if I can, so we have a better shot with one out over there. It worked out.
"I think if Izturis comes up and tries to make that play at third, it would have been a close play. Fortunately, he went to first with it."
Danys Baez entered the game to face Pat Burrell, who hit a pitch to center field that went deep enough to allow Zobrist to score the winning run from third.
In addition to scoring the winning run, Zobrist hit a home run in the first inning. He also started at first base, an unfamiliar position to him, and made a diving stab of a shot down the line by Brian Roberts to prevent extra bases. After moving to right field in the eighth, he robbed Ty Wigginton of a potential extra-base hit for the second out in the ninth.
"How about [Zobrist's] game? Let's think about all the things he did tonight," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He made the great play at first, great play in right field, great baserunning play. You're going to talk about the double, but advancing from second to third is absolutely, incredibly large. And that's what allowed us to score.
"You can't say enough about what he has done this year and how much he has grown as a player. He's playing as hard as if it was the first game of the season."
Zobrist's heroics in the eighth and ninth innings would not have been possible had Willy Aybar not come through as a pinch-hitter with two outs and two aboard in the seventh. The Rays trailed, 6-3, when the switch-hitting Aybar stepped to the plate to hit left-handed against Orioles right-hander Matt Albers. Facing a 2-2 count, Aybar sent a drive into the right-field stands to tie the game at 6.
"It has become a situation where no matter who you put in, no lead has been safe," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "What it's been is the third out. The third out has been elusive."
Lance Cormier finished out the eighth inning for the Rays and got the first two outs in the ninth before Roberts singled. Grant Balfour took over, and he retired Lou Montanez on a liner to Carl Crawford in left to preserve the win and earn his second save of the season.
The Rays took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on home runs by Gabe Kapler and Zobrist, which established a team record for homers in a single season with 191.
Jeff Niemann started for the Rays and never looked comfortable on the mound. During his 3 1/3-inning stint, he allowed four runs on seven hits, including a two-run homer by Roberts in the fourth.
"He was totally out of sync," Maddon said. "Nothing wanted to work. He just had no command today. I truly believe a large part of it is fatigue more than anything."
Evan Longoria hit his 32nd home run of the season on a 1-1 pitch from Mark Hendrickson in the fourth. His lined shot to the corner porch in left field cut the Orioles' lead to 4-3.
Jeff Fiorentino had an RBI single off Andy Sonnanstine in the fifth, and Melvin Mora added an RBI single in the sixth to push Baltimore's lead to 6-3.
"Right now, we're just trying to persevere to the end and keep playing hard and pull some wins out and finish with a winning record," Zobrist said. "Just finish the season well. We've played well at home. It was nice to come back yesterday on the road, but then to do the same thing at home, it definitely makes us feel good going into this last week. We want to finish strong really bad."
(c) 2001-2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Pujols is TSN's Player of the Decade
The Sporting News announced its Major League Player of the Decade on Thursday, and there was little in the way of surprise.
That honor was bestowed upon Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, the two-time National League Most Valuable Player who has topped a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in each of his nine seasons.
The new issue of The Sporting News features a 14-page tribute to the top athletes, coaches and teams since the dawn of the new millennium.
In addition to Pujols, baseball's best since 2000 includes former Yankees and current Dodgers skipper Joe Torre, who was named the best manager; the Red Sox, named best team after their World Series championships in '04 and '07; and Boston general manager Theo Epstein, named top executive.
The best performance went to Mark Buehrle, who hurled a perfect game against the Rays on July 23 of this year to become the only pitcher with two no-hitters this decade, and the contest of the decade was Game 7 of the '01 World Series, when Luis Gonzalez hit a walk-off single off Mariano Rivera to lead the D-backs to a 3-2, championship-clinching win over the Yankees.
The Sporting News honored one athlete in each sport by enlisting the help of teammates, coaches and former stars to make a case for the winner and runnerup.
Former Cardinals outfielder and Hall of Famer Lou Brock was definitely a supporter of Pujols, who was The Sporting News' Player of the Year twice -- in '03 and '08.
"There's an adage in baseball that the sound of the bat dictates how well a guy is going to play," Brock told TSN. "His first time in Spring Training, when Albert hit a ball, everyone stopped. All eyes turned to him. That sound just jerked you around. That in itself gave us a great indication of what was going to happen. The sound is hard to explain. It's just different -- like I hear people talk about when Tiger Woods hits a golf ball, and it's unlike anything they've heard.
"Babe Ruth, I'm told, had that sound. You don't hear that sound in every decade."
The team of the decade is composed of Joe Mauer (catcher), Pujols (first base), Jeff Kent (second base), Derek Jeter (shortstop), Alex Rodriguez (third base), Barry Bonds (outfield), Ichiro Suzuki (outfield), Manny Ramirez (outfield), David Ortiz (designated hitter), Randy Johnson (starting pitcher) and Rivera (closer).
(c) 2001-2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
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