IS KATE UPTON THE REASON VERLANDER BLEW HIS ALL-STAR START?

Women make you do crazy shit. I know, I was the nut that went with my girlfriend to a haunted house in October 26, 1996…that’s right, Game 6 of the 1996 World Series.  That night when we got home I watched the entire 9^th inning and the Yankees championship celebration on my VCR and cried like a little girl with joy until at least 3 o’clock in the morning.  It was the happiest night of my life. But I did that because of a woman, the same woman I married by the way, so it’s OK.  I made a sacrifice and it was worth it.

Now rumors are flying that Justin Verlander is the luckiest man in America and has been “spotted” with Kate Upton the Sports Illustrated supermodel. Read B.J Hammerstein of the Detroit Free Press HERE.  Well, I think I am with half of the American male population right now when I say, “Good for you pal, go get her!” The other half say “You are a son of a bitch! you suck V!” 

The bigger problem is now everyone is taking that rumor and going further... suggesting that the reason Justin Verlander gave up 5 runs in the All Star Game (read HERE) was because he’s got his mind on Kate Upton and didn't have it on the game... in other words, he was distracted a bit. Let me break this down to everyone reading this.  It’s an All-Star game and sure, if the American League wins, they get home field advantage in the playoffs, but there could be any number of reasons why Justin Verlander was tight the other night.  In this world of the Internet... rumors fly fast don’t they?

Let me give you my thoughts...Justin Verlander is a great pitcher and he wasn't distracted.  The All Star game loss, while unfortunate for him and the American League, didn't have anything to do with Kate Upton distractions and everything to do with a simple bad outing.  From what I've noticed from Justin Verlander, he's got an incredible work ethic, he's a gamer and yeah, so he and Kate Upton met on a commerical they
did together.
 
Hopefully he and her got together for his sake, but at the end of the day, he knows his job and does it well.  Look the All-Star game wasn't the playoffs, it was the All-Star game and I would suggest to you that I strongly doubt the dude was distracted by Kate Upton...that being said.... he should have been. (Some of this may be inappropriate for minors. Careful.)
 Look, I don't know if Kate Upton and Justin Verlander are dating. I hope for his sake they are and yeah, I want it to be the demise of his stellar pitching career so the Tigers can lose alittle, but bottom line, Verlander is too much of a stud to let some chick get between him and a championship.  Whatever the case...I'll be sure to follow this for you, it could be fun, don't you think?

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THE YANKEES BITE IT IN DETROIT

The Yankees faced a daunting task in the series opener against the Detroit Tigers.  The Tigers came in red hot, having won their last eight games at Comerica Park, plus Detroit was 22-11 in their last 33 games overall.  To compound the problem for New York, they were facing Tiger ace, Justin Verlander.  Verlander came into the game with some impressive numbers of his own.  His ERA stood at 2.63 and his WHIP was a meager 0.98.  Equally impressive, Verlander had yielded an opponents batting average of only .201 on the season.

Verlander started the game with a strong effort, yielding only three Yankee hits in the first four innings.  He seemed comfortable throwing 92-95 mph on his fastball.  Evidently Joe Girardi thought Verlander was also getting some help from home plate umpire Tony Randazzo.  In the middle of the third inning, Girardi went jaw to jaw with Randazzo after Raul Ibanez and Russell Martin had questioned the umpire's strike calling during their respective at bats.  Meanwhile, Yankee starter Ivan Nova was a bit shaky through four, having allowed two solo home runs, the first to Prince Fielder in the 3rd inning and then a 454-foot monster shot off the bat of Miguel Cabrera in the fourth.

 

Trailing 2-0 entering the fifth inning, the Yankees mounted a rally against Verlander.  Eric Chavez led off the inning with a double to left field.  Following strikeouts by Ichiro Suzuki and Russell Martin, Curtis Granderson reached first courtesy of a Verlander error.  The Yankees made Verlander pay for his transgression with back to back RBI singles from Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano to tie the game at 2-2.  Verlander rallied to strike out  Mark Teixeira to end the inning.

 

In the bottom of the fifth, Nova allowed five consecutive Detroit hits to start the inning.  The Tigers put up three runs as Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta scored on hits by Omar Infante and Austin Jackson.  The third run scored on a sacrifice fly by Andy Dirks.  The inning could have been even worse but lead-off hitter Delmon Young who singled to start the inning was erased by Martin and Jeter on a caught stealing.  The Tigers still led 5-2 entering the bottom of the sixth, but Nova imploded again by allowing three more hits in succession to Brennan Boesch, Delmon Young and Alex Avila.  Boesch scored on Avila's hit and Nova was out of the game with the Yankees down 6-2.

 

 

Joba Chamberlain relieved Nova, immediately yielded a hit to Peralta, and the Yankees were down 7-2 and appeared to be finished going to the seventh.  All seven runs were charged to Nova who lasted only 68 pitches into the game.  By the seventh inning, Verlander had upped the velocity on his fastball, throwing 98 mph on his 107th pitch of the game.

 

Justin Verlander made sure the Yankees were done by pitching eight strong innings, throwing 132 pitches (96 for strikes), and striking out 14 Yankee hitters. Verlander's fastball topped out at 100 mph on his 130th pitch of the evening.  He struck out Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, and Ichiro Suzuki three times each for nine of his 14 strikeouts.  Ichiro was also held hitless in the game and his Yankee hitting streak ends on a night that was totally dominated by Verlander's performance. 

 

Jose Valverde closed the night for Detroit by retiring the Yanks in order in the ninth inning.  Otherwise, Verlander's effort allowed the tired Detroit bullpen a night of rest.  The only Yankee bright spot was Eric Chavez who had two doubles and single off Verlander.

 

The sad final on Monday night was Detroit 7 - New York 2.     

 

 

--Frank Gentry, BYB Writer

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HUGHES TOSSES 1ST CAREER 9-INNING COMPLETE GAME; YANKS BEAT TIGERS 5-1

With Justin Verlander on the mound for the Tigers today all signs pointed toward another series lose for the Yankees.  Thankfully, Phil Hughes had other ideas and so did the Yankees offense.  Hughes took to the hill and did an amazing imitation of Justin Verlander.  Hughes pitched a complete game against Detroit only giving up one run on just four hits while striking out seven as the Yankees beat Detroit 5-1.  It was the first 9 inning complete game of Hughes' career.  He was just incredible today...just absolutely dominant.   Hughes looked more like the 2011 Justin Verlander than Verlander did himself today.  Speaking of Verlander...

(Jeter rounding the bases after hitting his 27th career leadoff HR this afternoon)

The Yankee bats struck early today against Verlander and it looked like it took him right out of his rhythm.  Derek Jeter led off the game with a solo shot and Mark Teixeira hit a sacrafice fly later in the inning to give the Yanks an early 2-0 lead.  It was all they needed today with the way Hughes was pitching but they did add on three more runs.  In the 3rd, Arod connected on an absolute A-bomb that made the score 3-0.  And then in the 5th, Robinson Cano tripled to deep right which knocked in Curtis Granderson and Cano scored the Yankees 5th and final run on a throwing error by second baseman Danny Worth.

(Phil Hughes pitches first career 9-inning complete game)

Overall, the Yankees had 10 hits; which included two homeruns, a pair of doubles and a triple.  The Yankees where once again awful with runners in scoring position (1-11) but thankfully today the long ball helped us out. And to their credit, they did get to Verlander early and took advantage of some terrible Detroit defense.  Plus, Hughes was lights out so the Yankees offense did what they had to do.  End result...Yankees take two-out-of-three in Detroit and wrapped up this nine game roadtrip with a very respectable 6-3 record.

Other game notes:

• Derek Jeter's leadoff homerun was his 27th leadoff HR as a Yankee, which puts him 3 ahead of Ricky Henderson.
• Jeter also scored his 1,799 run of his career which ties him with Ted Williams on the all-time list.
• ARod had a solid day at the plate.  Going 2-4 which an RBI and his 9th HR of the season.
• Verlander has now lost three straight starts for the first time since 2008

--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer
Email: DonnieBaseball2323@gmail.com
Twitter: @MikeyBlu23


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R.I.P. TO AL KALINE & VERLANDER STILL CAN'T GET A BREAK

When someone passes, it's important to give your respects, be it to the family, to friends of the deceased or just to let the world know how much you appreciated the person.  I for one can tell you that I met Al Kaline and he was a sweet man.

Nice, conversational and older when I met him. But I still liked the moment we had together. And sadly,  I can tell you that it's very sad to hear of his passing.  The Detroit Free Press has this:

"Al Kaline, who in a long and unique Detroit Tigers lifetime grew from youthful batting champion to Hall of Famer to distinguished elder statesman, died Monday afternoon at his home in Bloomfield Hills. He was 85.

A cause of death was not immediately available. John Morad, a close friend of the family, confirmed the news to the Free Press after speaking with Kaline's younger son, Mike.

His health had been declining over the past year. Kaline is survived by another son, Mark, and his wife, Madge Louise Hamilton."

Justin Verlander, a member of the 2017 cheating Houston Astros commented about Mr. Kaline's passing. After all, Verlander was a member of the Tigers too and had fond things to say about him.

But Verlander was crucified on Twitter, even though he did the right thing and paid his respects publicly.

Such a kind and generous man who meant so much to so many. I hope you knew how much I enjoyed our conversations about baseball, life, or just giving each other a hard time. I am honored to have been able to call you my friend for all these years. R.I.P. Mr Tiger, Al Kaline.

— Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) April 6, 2020

Do I side with Verlander as he grieves for Mr. Kaline?

100%.  I get it and respect it.

Do I feel bad about the anger coming Justin's way after the Astros Cheating Scandal? No. I don't feel bad about that.  Bad things come back to bite bad people in the ass. Justin Verlander was one of the most outspoken players when it came to cheating when he was with the Detroit Tigers.

He's said NOTHING since coming over to the Cheating Astros. Anger should be going his way for the rest of his playing days.  He's tainted.

But enough about that.  To the Kaline family. Prayers go your way.  To the Detroit fans, a Yankee fan from the Bronx is letting you know that I stand by you today.

Rest in Peace #6.

WHY MVP IS FOR PLAYERS, NOT PITCHERS

"There's nothing in the criteria that says a pitcher cannot receive the award, but at the same time, there's a couple of items that should eliminate a pitcher from receiving the award from the get go." --Jose Bautista

Good for Jose Bautista to say something that fans have been dying for players to say! (Read HERE.) Pitchers should NOT be awarded the MVP. That being said, Congratulations to Justin Verlander for being a terrific pitcher in 2011. We all knew he was capable of winning the Cy Young this season, after all, he’s a dominant pitcher who will probably have an incredible career. What he is not however, in my humble opinion of course, is the Most Valuable Player of 2011. That, my friends is an award for someone who plays an entire grueling season in the field and racks up over 600 At Bats, hits over 30 plus home runs and racks up over 100 plus RBIs. The Most Valuable Player award should be awarded to just that, the Most Valuable PLAYER. Yes, Pitchers are players but pitchers pitch and in Verlander’s case, he doesn’t even hit. You can sit there and say, well, he’s an American League pitcher, he doesn’t have to hit. I say to that… you just made my point.

I LIKE Justin Verlander just like I liked Dennis Eckerskley when he shouldn’t have won the MVP in 1992 and I liked Roger Clemens when he shouldn’t have won the MVP in 1986. I don’t believe that that award should be given to a pitcher and it would be a smart idea to really re-evaluate what the MVP actually means.

Now, not only am I not pleased about the outcome of today’s MVP, I’m going to go into a predictable step further and scream anti-Yankee bias! Here's the List:

1. Justin Verlander (280)
2. Jacoby Ellsbury (242)
3. Jose Bautista (231)
4. Curtis Granderson (215)
5. Miguel Cabrera (193)
6. Robinson Cano (112)
7. Adrian Gonzalez (105)
8. Michael Young (96)
9. Dustin Pedroia (48)
10. Evan Longoria (27)

Curtis Granderson finished 4^th? Seriously? Cano is 6th? Wait... Granderson is behind Jose Bautista? How is that possible? I predicted anti-Yankee bias before these awards happened and I’m sticking with it.

Now I’m going to say something crazy, nutty, and maybe even absurd…and I’m going to say it because while I am a Yankee fanatic, I am also a person who appreciates the game of baseball. You ready? Here it goes… Jacoby Ellsbury got robbed… and not only do I think so, I know he thinks so and so does Jose Bautista. You can’t sit there as a true baseball person and not believe that and I'll tell you, you're crazy.

So, while many have opinions on how this vote should have played out, there are many things wrong with it and very little right with it. There is no denying Justin Verlander is a terrific pitcher, but he just won an award that definitely should not be awarded to him. Sorry, that’s how I feel about it. How do you feel? Comment... keep it clean and sound off in this post.

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A RIDICULOUSLY SUBJECTIVE & SKEWED TOP 5 MLB PLAYERS LIST JUST CAME OUT...

Baseball is built on fandom and the players are there because they are talented. And picking guys as "top" guys is usually based on popularity, who's hot, who's not and once again... the fans.

Ben Verlander came out with a top 5 MLB players list today. I don't understand why we are hanging on every word Ben Verlander says but we are.  I mean, what are his credentials? He's Justin Verlander's younger brother. He played baseball. OK... and then what?  My point is why is he important? But this isn't actually about Ben. DON'T TROLL HIM. He's a good dude, has great ideas, he's a good-looking guy, smart.  

But to put his name on a "TOP 5 MLB Players" list is to just get this guy trolled and that's not fair to Ben. Why? Because look at the list FOX is getting behind.

First off, are these the Top 5 MLB Players of the Decade? Of the season? Of the week? Why do you ask? Here's why.  

Mike Trout may be the best player in baseball since he got into the pros. That's a fact. Bryce Harper had a great week last week, is he in the Top 5?  And we all know Cody Bellinger is a total gamer even though he's batting .202. What about him? Should he have been considered? And let's even go further as a baseball AND Yankee fan...

When you're talking the most meaningful hits with games on the line, bottom line is this year, at this moment, it's Aaron Judge! Hands down. 

Judge SHOULD be #1.  But you want to know why Ohtani is #1? Because MLB props this guy up because he's a two way player. But you know what? There should be more two ways in the Major Leagues. Here's the problem high schools and colleges make players 'pitchers only' or players and they don't have a choice. And so, by the time they get to the Majors they don't get to choose to be a two way. But Shohei Ohtani is an international player, signed a big contract and he was able to demand what he wanted.  And now, because of that, he's beloved.  But look at his numbers...

Ohtani is a .257 hitter this year. And pitching? His ERA is 2.78 and a 3-2 record this year. Strikeouts? 46 in 6 games. HARDLY THE BEST.

You know who's better? Several pitchers, but Max Scherzer is 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA and 55 strikeouts. 

And what about Justin Verlander? 5-1 with a 1.38 ERA? Those numbers alone move Ohtani down the list, maybe even knock him off the list. And what's worse is Justin was ignored. Why? Because Ben Verlander can't pick Justin because they're brothers.  And that's the ONLY reason, but we all know that Verlander is better than Ohtani.

Look, I in no way want to give Ben Verlander a hard time. But lists like this one are clearly political and strategic and orchestrated and silly.  And the biggest word? Subjective, especially if you're a baseball fan, because we all have lists.  

If we're making lists, here's my 19-year old's list, who, by the way, has no credentials other than he plays college ball and loves the game. 

1. Aaron Judge

2. Manny Machado

3. Mike Trout

4. Nolan Arenado

5. Rafael Devers

And by the way... YOU WILL HAVE DIFFERENT PICKS. That's my point... backing a list that is so skewed is madness.

And I'm curious... what's your list? If you're on Twitter, RT and list your top 5. I'd love to see it.

WHY THE YANKEES FELL SHORT

The Yankees started off aggressive in the Motor City. Not knowing what to expect from CC Sabathia tonight, we needed to strike early and we did. Yankees had a 2 -0 by the end of the first, but it was clear that CC Sabathia wasn't doing his best CC impersonation. Instead he was doing his best AJ Burnett. Not good and walks galore.

By the bottom of the 3rd, the game was tied at 2. It was the second time around in the Tigers order and CC clearly didn't have it. Luckily for us, he did what he does best... fake it and get through the innings, not giving up a ton of runs and he kepy his team in it. On the other side Justin Verlander started out not looking great either. But that's what makes baseball great... you never know what's going to happen. In what was billed as a pitching duel, it wasn't. 2 pitchers on short rest, but only one would look good. It wasn't CC. Michael Kay said that the umpire was calling the same game for CC and Justin Verlander. I disagree. Clearly I wanted CC on top, but I tell you what, the strike zone for CC Sabathia was mysteriously small tonight, no doubt. I noticed several pitches that were strikes, were never called strikes for the Yankees. I'm not saying Verlander wasn't throwing them in the zone, he was, but so was CC. Bottom line.

In the 5th, it was clear that CC was laboring. Ramon Santiago put the Tigers in the lead 3-2. Both he and Brandon Inge were 2 for 2. You know, it was strange, Verlander appeared better than CC later, like he had something in reserve, striking out the side in the top of the 5th inning, making Brett Gardner and Russell Martin look silly. To me, I felt terrible. Yes, CC was doing his best dance, but the stuff wasn't there. But say what you will about CC, the guy showed heart and never gave up and never let the runs get out of hand. He did his best under the circumstances, I give him that.In the 6th, Derek Jeter got his second hit of the night. Granderson struck out and was clearly over-matched. He looked like a Little Leaguer up there. ARod struck out and looked ridiculous. To be honest, back to calling balls and strikes, 2 pitches to ARod both were the same pitch, one was a ball, one was a called strike three. I don't get it.(Photo: Getty)
CC Sabathia got knocked out in the bottom of the 6th and Rafael Soriano came in and took care of business. At this point it was 4-2 Tigers and I felt confidence again, my stomach wasn't in knots. I know that if we have stability on the mound, we can get some runs... or can we? We've done nothing since the first inning.

The 7th was nerve racking but there was hope. Posada walked and Martin got hit by a pitch and suddenly Verlander didn't look so good. Of course we needed a base hit for Brett Gardner just to keep the rally going with 2 outs and take the Detroit crowd out of it. Gardy delivered big, 2 RBI double and the game was knotted at 4. I was screaming in my basement at that point, Detroit was silent. But, you know what ticks me off? The announcers sounded sad about it. What the hell is that all about? I thought maybe I'd blow it off,
then Rafael Soriano made a pitch that Delmon Young drove into the right field seats and Brain Anderson, the announcer, was overjoyed. What a dick. At this point, it's 5-4 and I am longing for Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling. I can't stand the way TBS does baseball.

The top of the 8th, Granderson gave one a ride, but it was an out. Cano struck out on a crappy high called third strike. Alex Rodriguez came up and walked. But he looked slow and disoriented the whole at bat. Teixeira came up with 2 outs and a man on first and popped out weakly to Inge. Again Brian Anderson, the announcer sounded thrilled. John Smoltz actually made a comparison of Justin Verlander to hall of famer Nolan Ryan saying he's never seen anything like "this" since Nolan. Are you kidding me? The guys pitching a good game, can't we just we just leave it there?
David Robertson came in in the bottom of the 8th inning. Robertson struck out the first batter but then nails Peralta. It happens.

Then, Valverde came out to try and close out the 9th against the Yankees. Nick Swisher came up and popped out. Unbelievable. One out and Jorge Posada stepped into the box. He's 4-8 at this point. Posada worked a walk. Man on first and 1 out. Running for Posada was Eduardo Nunez and when Russell Martin came up, he gave the pitch a ride, but it was caught in right and Nunez could not advance. 2 outs and Gardy came to the plate. Nunez stole second and now he's in scoring position. Next thing you know, Gardner works a walk and men are on 1st and 2nd for Derek Jeter. The table is set. But there was not joy in Yankeeland... Derek Jeter had struck out.

Final Score: Tigers 5 - Yankees 4

Tomorrow IS do or die.

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JUSTIN VERLANDER TO THE YANKEES?

He's back, but is he healthy? That's a fair question considering he's been out of the game for a long time now. He had workout last week that 25 teams attended and it looked like the missed time hasn't hurt him....so far. The Yankees were there and are considered to be a favorite to get Justin Verlander. So could this really happen?

The Yankees are always tied to every free agent so it is no surprise that we are tied to Verlander. Question is WHY and is there any legit connection there? Maybe. One thing that stood out to me was the location of his workout. Is it just a big coincidence that the owner of the facility where Verlander’s workout was held belongs to Eric Cressey, who is the Yankees' director of player health and performance? Don't forget, Corey Kluber also had his workout at Cressey Sports Performance as well and he ended up in pinstripes.

And what about the Gerrit Cole connection? Maybe not as big of a connection but it can't be ignored. They were co-aces for the Astros from 2018 and 2019 and the Yankees have been looking for a number two behind Cole since he signed here. He has the experience, and the Yankees have already proven that they like a reclamation project.

And that's where I am not excited at all. We already tried the reclamation project with Kluber and the Yankees should look for a different solution. Verlander was once a great pitcher but he will be 39 when the season starts and he has pitched a total of 6 innings since 2020. Verlander is going to want a multi-year deal after missing almost two full seasons and the Yankees should let someone else take that gamble.

The Verlander signing would've been great a decade ago. Why are the Yankees looking at older, past their prime pitchers? It's time to start looking at some of our younger talent and stop pouring big bucks in a guy like Verlander who just had Tommy John and says he wants to pitch until he is 45. It makes no sense whatsoever....but I can see Brian Cashman taking the risk.

If the Yankees learned anything at all from the Kluber signing they need to say HARD PASS and no to Verlander.

  --Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

     BYB Senior Managing Editor

    Twitter: @nyprincessj

WHY THE MOST VALUABLE PITCHER ROBBED THE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

"When I got the phone call, I couldn’t believe it." --Justin Verlander

Guess what Justin... we couldn't believe it either. (Read the story HERE.) In fact, I was outraged! This afternoon, Justin Verlander was named AL MVP. My immediate reaction was WTF?? I never thought in a million years he would win the MVP, after all, he is a pitcher and while it's been done twice before with Dennis Eckersley and Roger Clemens, I just didn't see it. There was a lot of great baseball played this season...by players, not pitchers. Jacoby Ellsbury, Grandy, even Jose Bautista had a good season and MVP worthy. It came as a complete surprise to me that a pitcher won.
Although Verlander had amazing stats that blew away every other pitcher's stats, he is still not deserving of the MVP. he's just not, in fact, as great as it is for him to win the award, it's clear to me that he robbed legit players. In my opinion, Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano or Miguel Cabrera should have taken it home. They completely led their teams to the playoffs and posted incredible numbers. Look, Justin Verlander is our AL MVP now, but I disagree with this decision because pitchers have their own award, the Cy Young and why they are even eligible for the MVP is something I cannot comprehend. Starting pitchers appear in 30 plus games a season... position players usually play anywhere from 140-162 games in a season. I just find awarding Verlander this award is disappointing.

Trust me on this, I'm being mild about this...be sure to check Bleeding Yankee Blue tomorrow morning for Casey's rant. Lord knows how he'll react...ha ha!



--Will Cohen, BYB Staff Writer

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PREDICTING THE MVP & CY YOUNG AWARDS

It’s hard to believe that it is already September, which means we are in the final sprint for post-season play and voting for the best of the best. There are a lot of deserving candidates out there, so there is no sure vote.

It’s no secret that good pitching is the key to winning games, and this is the year of the pitcher. Question is, which pitcher is going to be King of the mound this year?

NL Cy Young candidates

A: Cliff Lee: 16-7, 2.47 ERA, 204 strikeouts, 1.031 WHIP. Lee went 5-0 in August and had at least 10 strikeouts in eight games this year.B: Cole Hamels: 13-7, 2.63 ERA, 169 strikeouts, 0.97 WHIP. Hamels holds the best WHIP stats in the National league, would have more wins if his team gave him better run support.

C: Roy Halladay: 16-5, 2.49 ERA, 195 strikeouts, 1.06 WHIP. Halladay has 7 complete games this season and has walked only 25 batters this season. He also has the best strikeout to walk ration in the big leagues. Is there ever a year when this guy isn’t in the CY Young discussion?
D: Clayton Kershaw: 17-5, 2.45 ERA, 222 strikeouts, 1.02 WHIP. Kershaw trails only Halladay in complete games pitched; he also leads everyone in wins, innings pitched, and strikeouts. He is second in WHIP and ERA.

Cy Young prediction: Clayton Kershaw
Runner-up: Roy Halladay

AL Cy Young Candidates

A: Josh Beckett: 12-5, 2.49 ERA, 155 strikeouts, 0.98 WHIP. Beckett has bounced back nicely from 2010 but has a lower strikeout total than the other candidates. He has done well keeping runs scored to a minimum allowing no more than five in any game this season.

B: James Shields: 14-10, 2.77 ERA, 205 strikeouts, 1.02 WHIP. Shields has pitched 10 complete games this season for the Rays. He could become a free agent at the end of the season if they don’t pick up his club option, but I doubt this happens.C: CC Sabathia: 19-7, 2.97 ERA, 211 strikeouts, 1.17 WHIP. Sabathia should make 30 starts for the 10th time in his career. His strikeout ratio trails only Kershaw and Verlander and has the second most wins in the majors.

D: Jered Weaver: 16-7, 2.49 ERA, 176 strikeouts, 1.03 WHIP. Weaver is argued to be the second most consistent pitcher after Verlander this year. He also has the best ERA in the league.
E: Justin Verlander: 21-5, 2.34 ERA, 224 strikeouts, 0.91 WHIP. Verlander is first in wins, strikeouts, and WHIP in the league. He has also gone 18-2 since April and has a no-hitter this year.

Cy Young prediction: Justin Verlander
Runner-up: Jered Weaver

Pitching wins games, but you also need a good offense to give you the run support. Question is, who has been the most valuable player?

NL MVP Candidates

A: Joey Votto: .316BA, 26 HR, 90 RBI. Can he repeat? His home run, RBI and OPS totals will most likely fall short from last year. His team does not have a shot at repeating their division title, so this will probably cost him votes.B: Prince Fielder: .292BA, 31 HR, 108 RBI. Fielder is argued to be half of one of the better offensive duos in the majors, but a teammate has been more effective offensively and probably fairs better to win. He is a league leader in RBI’s.

C: Matt Kemp: .319BA, 32 HR, 107 RBI. His average, stolen bases (37), home runs and RBI’s look impressive, but his high strikeouts (137) will probably cost him. He also plays for the Dodgers, who have had a less than impressive season which will cost him some votes.
D: Ryan Braun: .333BA, 27 HR, 95 RBI. Braun has had an impressive year leading the league in OBP (.402) and slugging percentage (.590). He is also among league leaders in runs scored and batting average. He also is second with stolen bases (31).

MVP prediction: Ryan Braun
runner-up: Matt Kemp

AL MVP Candidates

A: Adrian Gonzalez: .342BA, 23 HR, 105 RBI. Gonzalez has the best batting average, and amongst leaders in OBP and SLG percentage; however….he is sure to split some votes between himself and another Red Sox candidate.

B: Jacoby Ellsbury: .312BA, 24 HR, 85 RBI. He has the second best batting average, and the most stolen bases; however he is sure to split some votes with Gonzalez .C: Jose Bautista: .304BA, 40 HR, 92 RBI. He’s having another great year, and can still come close to the same number of home runs as last year. The fact that his team is not in contention in a much more competitive AL East division than last year is sure to cost him votes.

D: Justin Verlander: Yes, the wins and ERA are impressive; however pitchers have their own award. He is worth a mention though.

E: Robinson Cano: .305BA, 24 HR, 105 RBI. Cano is quietly making a case for MVP again with his consistent hitting and offensive and defensive skills but will he split votes with another Yankee?
F: Curtis Granderson: .269BA, 38 HR, 109 RBI. His batting average is lower, however his consistency this year is amazing compared to last year. The changes he has made have helped the Yankees win, and the power numbers and RBI’s don’t hurt either. He also has more extra base hits.

MVP prediction: Curtis Granderson
runner-up: Adrian Gonzalez

Clearly we're Yankee fans, clearly we root. But as far as this post is concerned, I’m glad I get to predict who will win, rather than give the news when the voting is done. It will be interesting to see how far off these predictions are. But like they say, you can’t predict baseball…



--Jeana Bellezza --BYB Writer and Editor



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