Congratulations to Milwaukee third baseman Ryan Braun, who became the first Brewer since Pat Listach in 1992 to be named Rookie of the Year. Braun edged Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki in the closest voting in history.
Frankly, even though Brauny had arguably the greatest offensive season ever by a rookie, he had two things working against him:
-Arguably the worst defensive season ever by a rookie
-Tulo's team finished white-hot and he played great defense
So this one's nice. Not that it was necessary, but this award is validation of the great job the Brewers have done drafting these last few years.
Where does Braun play in years to come? Maybe we could trade a couple pitchers to Tampa Bay in return for an extra designated hitter spot or two. I'm not ready to give up on him at third - he doesn't look unnatural or uncomfortable out there, it's just a matter of him getting reps. Remember how bad Rickie Weeks looked at second two years ago? He's gotten much better. If improvement isn't shown, then you've got a decision to make, and left field seems the best spot.
Now, if Prince Fielder can somehow pull off MVP, that would really be something, but I see Colorado's Matt Holliday as the guy to beat there, deservedly so.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Ryan Braun, Rookie of the Year
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3 comments:
espn.com had an interesting graphic comparing Braun to A-Rod since Braun's callup on May 24th. Braun had a better average, more hits, more extra base hits, and 2 fewer HRs than A-Rod.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3106745
Has a team ever had both an MVP and ROY winner on the same team and not gone to the playoffs? There's your research question, T$. Just shows you how bad the bullpen was down the stretch.
Saw that article as well.
Bet that graphic is not going to be in A-Rod's stats binder that Boras creates for his clients?
As can be expected, the Braun vote has been ripped to shreds here by the media folk in Denver. I have been arguing repeatedly that Braun is the clear ROY here (and I'm being impartial on that -- I think Holliday deserves MVP over Prince if I'm being honest). I just don't see how you can deny what he did, bad fielding or not. Tulo is a hell of a player though.
Anyway, I did win a lunch from Arnie Stapleton on the Braun win -- just upset I didn't take him up on his offer to up the bet. Congrats to Ryan Braun, and thanks for the upcoming chicken burrito.
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