The Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) will soon announce the winners of the 2011 Walter Johnson Award, which is awarded to those judged to be the top pitchers in both the American League and National League.  The BBA is now nearing the end of its 2011 voting sessions, for all that remains is the Stan Musial Award, which shall be awarded to the players who are judged to be the most valuable in both leagues.

Being a member of the Philadelphia chapter of the BBA, my votes are restricted to the NL.  Unlike the other BBA Awards, the Stan Musial Award requires a 10-player ballot.  Listed below are my votes for the 2011 NL Stan Musial Award.

1.  Matt Kemp (Los Angeles Dodgers)
2.  Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers)
3.  Prince Fielder (Milwaukee Brewers)
4.  Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles Dodgers)
5.  Roy Halladay (Philadelphia Phillies)
6.  Albert Pujols (St. Louis Cardinals)
7.  Jose Reyes (New York Mets)
8.  Cliff Lee (Philadelphia Phillies)
9.  Troy Tulowitzki (Colorado Rockies)
10.  Joey Votto (Cincinnati Reds)

Kemp was an easy selection for me at the first place vote.  Late in the season, Kemp was a Triple Crown candidate until Reyes and Braun pulled away from him in the batting title race.  In addition to being a season-long Triple Crown threat, Kemp was one home run short of a 40/40 season (39 home runs and 40 steals).

My sixth place vote for Pujols will likely cause mixed feelings among my readers.  Some of you will probably wonder why I did not rank Pujols higher (I felt the others were more deserving); others might question why I have Pujols on my list at all.

To those who question why I have Pujols on my list at all:  Pujols is on my list because he was once again one of the best players in baseball this season, despite it being an “off” season by his incredibly high standards.  Pujols finished the season with a .299 AVG, 37 home runs, 99 RBIs and 105 runs.

Although the .299 AVG for the season is below the norm for Pujols and his high standards, he returned to form after the All-Star break and played a large role in helping the Cardinals turn their season around and sneak into the postseason.  In the crucial month of September, Pujols hit .355 with five home runs and 20 RBIs in 26 games (the Cardinals were 18-8 in those 26 games).

I hope those who criticze Pujols for his .299 AVG do not have the audacity to cast a vote for Ryan Howard of the Phillies.

Pujols:  .299 AVG, 37 HR, 99 RBI, .366 OBP, .906 OPS
Howard:  .253 AVG, 33 HR, 116 RBI, .346 OBP, .835 OPS

The .366 OBP by Pujols was remarkably a career-worst for him!  Pujols had an OBP of .400 or higher in nine of his 11 MLB seasons; Howard had only one season with an OBP of .400 or higher (.425 OBP with a .313 AVG in 2006).  Other than the .425 OBP Howard posted in 2006, the .392 OBP in 2007 was the only other season in which his OBP was higher than Pujols’ .366 OBP of the 2011 season.

This is not intended to be a Howard vs. Pujols debate; anyone with a brain knows that Pujols is a better baseball player than Howard.  I merely brought up the Howard/Pujols comparisons to not only justify my vote sixth place vote for Pujols, but to also silence the Ryan Howard apologists who often accuse me of not giving him enough credit.

I am sick and tired of his apologists saying “look at the home runs and RBIs!”  First of all, Pujols has more home runs (so there goes your precious home runs argument).  Secondly, RBIs are the byproduct of how well your teammates get on base for you to drive them in; with Pujols having more home runs and slaughtering Howard in AVG (and yet having fewer RBIs), it is obvious that Howard had more help from his teammates than Pujols did in the RBI department.

Here is another statistic for you Ryan Howard apologists:  Howard hit .266 against right handed pitching and a pathetic .224 against left handed pitching; Pujols hit .300 against right handed pitching and .295 against left handed pitching.  Howard simply has too many flaws in his game to warrant a vote for the Stan Musial Award.

The 10 players displayed above are my votes for the 2011 NL Stan Musial Award.  I have made it perfectly clear why Pujols was worthy of a vote and also why Howard was not worthy of a vote.  I am quite confident I chose the 10 best players for this award.  The order these 10 are placed in will surely differ among the voters; however, I would be surprised if Kemp or Braun do not win.

Christopher Wenrich is a senior fantasy baseball contributor for BaseballDigest.com and can be reached at philliesmuse@yahoo.com.  You can follow him on Twitter @DuggerSports.

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) recently announced Craig Kimbrel (Atlanta Braves) and Jose Valverde (Detroit Tigers) as the winners of the 2011 Goose Gossage Award, which is awarded to the top relief pitchers in both the National League and American League.

Being a member of the Philadelphia chapter of the BBA, my votes are restricted to just the NL.  Displayed below are my votes for the 2011 NL Walter Johnson Award, which is awarded to the top starting pitcher in baseball.

1st place:  Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Kershaw led the NL in wins (21), ERA (2.28), WHIP (0.98), Strikeouts (248) and batting average against (.207)

In my opinion, Kershaw should be the BBA’s unanimous choice for the 2011 NL Walter Johnson Award.

Kershaw led the NL in wins (21), ERA (2.28), WHIP (0.98) and strikeouts (248).  Kershaw also had the best batting average against (.207) in the NL.

Kershaw’s 233.1 innings trailed only Roy Halladay (233.2) and Chris Carpenter (237.1).

Kershaw was especially dominant in his wins.  In 21 wins, Kershaw had a 0.69 ERA.  Kershaw led the NL in wins, ERA, WHIP, strikeouts and batting average against; the dominance of his overall body of work this season cannot be denied.  Kershaw is worthy of a first place vote.

Second place:  Roy Halladay (Philadelphia Phillies)

Once again, Halladay was dominant in 2011 for the Phillies.  Halladay ranked third in the NL in wins (19), second in ERA (2.35), second in innings pitched (233.2), third in strikeouts (220) and fourth in WHIP (1.04).  Halladay ranked 12th in batting average against (.239); however, he was stingy against right-handed hitters, as they only hit .206 against Halladay.  Halladay again led the NL in complete games (no surprise) with eight.

In my eyes, Halladay is the best starting pitcher in baseball.  His statistics certainly make him worthy of a vote for the Walter Johnson Award; however, he receives my second place vote because Kershaw was the leader in virtually every pitching statistic.

Third place:  Cliff Lee (Philadelphia Phillies)

Another vote, another ace from the Phillies.  Lee finished fourth in the NL in wins (17), third in ERA (2.40), fourth in innings pitched (232.2), second in strikeouts (238) and third in WHIP (1.03).  Lee also ranked sixth in batting average against (.229) in the NL.  Lee’s six complete games trailed only Halladay’s eight; however, Lee led the NL with six shutouts (no other pitcher had three).

Lee’s 2011 season will be mostly remembered for his incredibly hot stretches of pitching.  In the month of June, Lee went 5-0 in five starts with a 0.21 ERA.  Lee again dominated in August with a 5-0 record and a 0.45 ERA.  Lee’s hot pitching continued through the month of September, in which he went 2-1 in five starts with a 1.42 ERA.  After the All-Star break, Lee went 8-2 in 13 starts with a 1.79 ERA.

Fourth place:  Cole Hamels (Philadelphia Phillies)

Among my top four votes for the Walter Johnson Award, Hamels is the third Phillies pitcher on my ballot.  It would be an understatement to say that the Phillies’ deep pitching made them World Series favorites for the 2011 season.  Although the Phillies fell short of their goal, their pitchers were certainly not to blame.

Hamels was a victim of a lack of run support at times; however, he put together a very strong season.  Hamels ranked ninth in the NL in wins (14), sixth in ERA (2.79), 10th in innings pitched (216), 10th in strikeouts (194) and second in WHIP (0.99).  Hamels also ranked second in batting average against (.214) in the NL.

Fifth place:  Ian Kennedy (Arizona Diamondbacks)

Kershaw, Halladay, Lee and Hamels were expected to be superstar pitchers in the 2011 season; however, Kennedy and the Diamondbacks were not expected to have a superb season and win the NL West.

Kennedy’s 21 wins (first in NL) and 2.88 ERA (seventh in NL) were definitely big surprises (and new career-bests for Kennedy).  Kennedy also finished fifth in the NL in innings pitched (222), eighth in strikeouts (198), sixth in WHIP (1.09) and fifth in batting average against (.227).

These five starting pitchers posted dominant seasons in 2011; however, Kershaw’s numbers stick out the most, as he was the league leader in everything.  I would be stunned if Kershaw were to NOT win the 2011 NL Walter Johnson Award.

Christopher Wenrich is a senior fantasy baseball contributor for BaseballDigest.com and can be reached at philliesmuse@yahoo.com.  You can follow him on Twitter @DuggerSports.

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) recently announced Craig Kimbrel (Atlanta Braves) and Eric Hosmer (Kansas City Royals) as the winners of the 2011 Willie Mays Award, which is awarded to the top rookie in both the NL and AL.  In the next round of BBA voting, we shall determine the winners of the Goose Gossage Award, which is awarded to the top relief pitcher.

Being a member of the Philadelphia chapter of the BBA, my vote is restricted to the NL.  With all due respect to great relief pitchers in non-closing roles, I believe only closers should be nominated for the Goose Gossage Award.  Closers often find themselves being counted on to preserve very slim leads in precarious positions.  It takes incredible poise to be an elite MLB closer.  Below are my votes for the 2011 NL Goose Gossage Award.

First place:  John Axford (Milwaukee Brewers)

Axford (1.95 ERA) converted 46 of 48 saves (95.83%) and allowed zero earned runs in 63 of his 74 appearances (85.14%)

Axford had an NL-best 46 saves to accompany his 2-2 record and 1.95 ERA.  Axford had 46 saves in 48 opportunities for an incredible 95.83% save rate.  Axford also struck out 86 batters in 73.2 innings (10.51 K/9).

More importantly, Axford allowed zero earned runs in 63 of his 74 appearances (85.14%).

A closer who can pitch innings without conceding runs not only preserves the lead for his team, but also the sanity of his manager, his teammates and his fans.

In the 2011 MLB season, the Brewers were 81-1 when leading after eight innings; their lone loss when leading after eight innings was at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds on opening day!

Axford’s miniscule 1.95 ERA and his 10.51 strikeouts per nine innings speak great volumes about his dominance; however, his incredibly high percentage of saves and percentage of outings without allowing an earned run cement his status in my eyes as the best closer in the NL.  Axford is indeed worthy of the Goose Gossage Award.

Second place:  Craig Kimbrel (Atlanta Braves)

Kimbrel had a 4-3 record to accompany his 2.10 ERA and NL-best 46 saves (tied with Axford).  Kimbrel was perhaps the best strikeout pitcher in baseball this season, as he struck out 127 batters in 77 innings (14.84 K/9)!

Kimbrel’s amazing strikeout rate and his incredible hot stretch from June through August (26 saves, 0.70 ERA) were what made him the overwhelming first-place choice among BBA voters in the Willie Mays Award voting; however, I hope voters do not allow these numbers to tempt them again.

While Kimbrel’s numbers are amazing, his 2.10 ERA does not defeat Axford’s 1.95 ERA, nor do his 46 saves in 54 opportunities (85.19%) match Axford’s 46 saves in 48 opportunities (95.83%).  Furthermore, Kimbrel allowed zero earned runs in 67 of his 79 appearances (84.81%); however, he again is bested by Axford, who allowed zero earned runs in 63 of his 74 appearances (85.14%).

Third place:  Joel Hanrahan (Pittsburgh Pirates)

Hanrahan had a 1-4 record to accompany his 40 saves and 1.83 ERA.  Hanrahan is an excellent closer who tends to be overlooked by the media and the fans because he pitches for the Pirates.

Deciding whom to vote for in third place was a tough decision for me, as I considered Hanrahan and J.J. Putz (Arizona Diamondbacks) for the vote.  Both men had similar numbers.  Hanrahan’s 1.83 ERA bests Putz’s 2.17 ERA; however, Putz’s 45 saves in 49 opportunities was a higher save rate (91.84%) than Hanrahan’s 40 saves in 44 opportunities (90.91%).

Although Putz blew four saves in 49 opportunities and Hanrahan blew four saves in 44 opportunities, one could speculate that Hanrahan could have possibly converted his next five opportunities if he had them (thus tying Putz in save rate).  Nevertheless, the numbers are what they are, and that gives Putz the edge in saves and save rate; however, Hanrahan has the edge in ERA.

To break the tie for my third-place vote, I looked at their game logs to determine who was more successful in achieving appearances with zero earned runs against them.  In this category, Hanrahan is the victor, having allowed zero earned runs in 59 of his 70 appearances (84.29%); Putz allowed zero earned runs in 49 of his 60 appearances (81.67%).

Some of you readers might be thinking, “Wait, they both had 11 appearances in which they allowed at least one earned run; one could speculate that Putz may have 10 consecutive scoreless appearances to tie Hanrahan.”  You would be correct in stating that one could speculate such a thing; however, I do not view that as ammunition against my vote for Hanrahan because my speculation of Hanrahan possibly converting five more consecutive saves is a greater likelihood (due to possible multi-run leads) than Putz achieving 10 more consecutive scoreless outings (not an easy task).

All three of these closers had an excellent 2011 season and are worthy of praise.  As evidenced by his overwhelming victory in the Willie Mays Award voting, Kimbrel will obviously get his share of votes; however, I hope I am not alone among the BBA voters in giving Axford his fair due and awarding him first place.  Likewise, I hope I am not alone in giving Hanrahan some recognition for his stellar play.

Christopher Wenrich is a senior fantasy baseball contributor for BaseballDigest.com and can be reached at philliesmuse@yahoo.com.  You can follow him on Twitter @DuggerSports.

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) announced Kirk Gibson as the 2011 winner of the NL Connie Mack Award.  In the BBA’s next round of voting, we shall determine the winner of the Willie Mays Award, which is awarded to the top rookie.  Below are my votes for the 2011 NL Willie Mays Award.

First place:  Freddie Freeman (Atlanta Braves)

I believe no rookie in the NL had a bigger impact on his team’s success than Freeman this season.  Freeman hit .282 with 21 home runs and finished second on the Braves with 76 RBIs (Dan Uggla had 82).  Freeman’s 161 hits led the team and he was second on the Braves with a .351 OBP.

Freeman led the Braves in hits (161), was 2nd in RBIs (76) and 2nd in OBP (.351)

Freeman’s steady hitting proved to be valuable to the Braves, especially with Dan Uggla hitting only .185 at the All-Star break and Jason Heyward hitting .226 at the break (Heyward finished the season with a paltry .227 AVG).  Martin Prado also had an off year, hitting only .260 on the season.  Freeman hit .274 before the All-Star break and hit .292 after the break.

Freeman’s success was vital to the Braves, as he hit .316 with 16 home runs and 56 RBIs in 86 wins and only .240 with five home runs and 20 RBIs in 71 losses.

Freeman’s strong hitting kept the Braves in NL East contention with the Philadelphia Phillies for much of the season.  His .362 AVG and .433 OBP earned him NL Player of the Month honors in the month of July.

Second place:  Craig Kimbrel (Atlanta Braves)

Voting for the 2011 NL Willie Mays Award was a proverbial coin toss for me; however, I gave my first place vote to Freeman because I felt his impact on the Braves was greater than Kimbrel’s.  Kimbrel had an amazing season with a 4-3 record, 46 saves and 127 strikeouts in 77 innings (14.84 strikeouts per nine innings).

Despite Kimbrel’s superb numbers, he does not receive my first place vote because the Braves had a strong bullpen with and without Kimbrel.  Although the spotlight did not shine on them, Johnny Venters (1.84 ERA in 88 innings) and Eric O’Flaherty (0.98 ERA in 73.2 innings) pitched brilliantly alongside Kimbrel.  It is conceivable that if Kimbrel had not been available to serve as the closer, Venters or O’Flaherty could have closed with success.

There is no denying how great Kimbrel’s numbers are; however, I believe Kimbrel’s success was not more valuable to the Braves than Freeman’s success was.

Third place:  Vance Worley (Philadelphia Phillies)

The NL East sweeps the board for my top three votes in the Willie Mays Award ballot.  Prior to the 2011 season’s start, Worley was not even a blip on the Phillies’ radar for the starting rotation.  The projected rotation for the season was Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt and Joe Blanton.  Lingering injuries to Blanton and Oswalt paved the way for Worley’s trip to the MLB roster.

Worley pitched impressively with an 11-3 record in 21 starts; Worley also had a 3.01 ERA in 131.2 innings.  Oswalt – 10 years Worley’s senior – went 9-10 in 23 starts with a 3.69 ERA in 139 innings.  Blanton pitched in 11 games (eight starts) and had a 5.01 ERA on the season.

Halladay, Lee and Hamels received much of the credit – and rightly so – for the Phillies’ 2011 success; however, Worley’s success brought stability to the back end of the rotation and enabled the Phillies to pull away from the Braves to win their fifth consecutive NL East title.  Without Worley’s strong pitching in the back end of the rotation, it is unlikely that the Phillies and their streaky/inconsistent offense would have finished an MLB-best 102-60.

In his 11 wins, Worley had a 1.82 ERA and 0.97 WHIP; in his 11 no-decisions, Worley had a respectable 3.67 ERA and a 6.89 ERA in his three losses.

These three rookies played a large role in the success of their respective teams and are expected to do so in the future.  Freeman and Worley especially had to carry more of the load than was initially expected of them, and they delivered with great success.

Christopher Wenrich is a senior fantasy baseball contributor for BaseballDigest.com and can be reached at philliesmuse@yahoo.com.  You can follow him on Twitter @DuggerSports.

October is a magical time of the year for baseball fans.  If you are lucky, you have the opportunity to see your favorite team contend for the World Series while you sit on the edge of your seat as postseason drama unfolds.  The month of October is also a time to reflect on regular season performances and determine who is worthy of winning awards.

As a National League representative of the The Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA), I will unveil my votes for the BBA Awards for the National League and will also share the results once all voters’ votes are tabulated. 

We start off with the NL Connie Mack Award.  The Connie Mack Award is awarded to the manager adjudged to be the best in baseball.  My votes are as follows:

First place:  Kirk Gibson (Arizona Diamondbacks)

Kirk Gibson had the Midas touch with the Diamondbacks in 2011; the only thing he did not do was hit another memorable pinch-hit walkoff home run for them.

I believe it came as a surprise to many that the Diamondbacks finished first in the NL West (94-68) in the 2011 season.  The Diamondbacks were a team full of surprises and statistical oddities.

Nobody could have expected Ian Kennedy to finish the season with 21 wins and a sub-3.00 ERA.  The Diamondbacks’ top three hitters among those who qualified for a shot at the batting title were Justin Upton (.289 AVG), Miguel Montero (.282 AVG) and Ryan Roberts (a paltry .249 AVG).

Upton led the team with 88 RBIs; of the 11 MLB teams who failed to have a 90-RBI player, only the Diamondbacks reached the postseason.

The Diamondbacks finished last in their division in the 2010 season with a 65-97 record; the sudden turnaround in Gibson’s first full season as the team manager is impressive.

The turnaround is especially impressive because starting shortstop Stephen Drew missed 76 games with a season-ending injury; Drew last played on July 20.  The Diamondbacks appeared to be doomed for another losing season after an 11-15 start; however, Gibson maintained a positive attitude.  I believe his attitude fostered a winning attitude among the players and enabled them to play their way into a positive groove.  A manager’s attitude can have a great effect on a clubhouse.

If you were to observe the offensive statistics of many of the players, you may be asking yourself, “How the heck did they win 94 games?”  I am not taking anything away from the players, but I believe Gibson deserves credit for his team’s surprising results.  Gibson is my choice for the 2011 NL Connie Mack Award.

Second place:  Ron Roenicke (Milwaukee Brewers)

Ron Roenicke and the Brewers took the NL Central title from the favored Reds and Cardinals.

Although the Brewers (96-66) winning the NL Central did not come as a complete surprise, it was still somewhat unexpected to many.

Although the Brewers were talented and competitive, many baseball pundits expected the high-scoring Cincinnati Reds or St. Louis Cardinals to win the division.

Voting for managers is more difficult than voting for players because you cannot quantify a manager’s effect on a team unless you correlate the W-L column to a team’s managing.

I find Roenicke worthy of a second place vote because his Brewers were able to take the division title from the Reds and Cardinals.

If memory serves me correctly, the Brewers are the first team in baseball to win a division title in both the AL and NL (Brewers last won a division title in the AL in 1980).

Third place:  Fredi Gonzalez (Atlanta Braves)

Despite many obstacles, Fredi Gonzalez and the Braves had a tremendous season prior to their September collapse.

Your future Hall-of-Famer third baseman (Chipper Jones) misses 36 games with an injury, your top prospect and future superstar (Jason Heyward) misses 34 games and sports a .227 AVG; meanwhile, your all-star catcher (Brian McCann) misses 34 games and has an off year.

Do you think the above scenarios sound like a recipe for disaster?  It gets worse:  your top free agent acquisition (Dan Uggla) is hitting .185 at the All-Star break.

For all statistical intents and purposes, the Braves were a team doomed to failure.  Surprisingly, the Braves gave the Philadelphia Phillies a run for their money in a tight NL East race for much of the season.

Rookies Freddie Freeman (first base) and Craig Kimbrel (closer) played a large role in the Braves’ success this season.  Uggla also had a strong second half (.296 AVG after All-Star break) and led the Braves with 36 home runs and 82 RBIs.

Many will remember the 2011 Braves for their monumental September collapse in which they blew a nine-game lead over the Cardinals in the MLB Wild Card race; I choose to remember the 2011 Braves for their resilience and their ability to compete with the NL’s best for much of the season in spite of the obstacles they had to overcome.

One can only wonder what they could have accomplished if Uggla hadn’t slumped so badly and if Heyward had been healthy and productive this season.  Despite their September failure, Gonzalez deserves credit for the Braves’ resiliency and competitiveness; therefore, I find Gonzalez worthy of a third place vote.

Although we cannot directly quantify a manager’s effect on a baseball team, I like to correlate their performances as managers to whether or not a team exceeded its expectations.  I believe good managers are those who are lucky enough to make the right decisions at the right time and bring out the best in their players.  These three managers helped their teams exceed expectations and deserve recognition for it.

You can visit the official BBA website by clicking here.  You can also follow the BBA on Twitter at @baseballblogs.

Christopher Wenrich is a senior fantasy baseball contributor for BaseballDigest.com and can be reached at philliesmuse@yahoo.com.  You can follow him on Twitter @DuggerSports.