Many Red Sox Win Many Awards

by Ben Buchanan on Nov 2, 2011 7:24 PM EDT in News

BOSTON, MA - AUGUST 31: Jacoby Ellsbury #2 of the Boston Red Sox is congratulated by teammate Adrian Gonzalez #28 after Ellsbury hit a two run homer in the sixth inning against the New York Yankees on August 31, 2011 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Despite the way things ended, it turns out that the Red Sox were pretty good last year. Some of them enough to win awards--even multiple ones.

First, in a surprisingly reasonable (see: Jeter-free) set of Golden Gloves, the Sox were named three times. Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia were named the best at first and second base, while Jacoby Ellsbury grabbed one for his work in the outfield.

By both the numbers and simple observation, all three seem like the right choice. All three players led the league in UZR at their positions (though DRS begs to differ in each case), and were clear defensive stalwarts throughout the season. Even Ellsbury, who had come under fire for bad reads in seasons past, seemed to have put everything together. The mistakes became noticeable due to their rareness rather than their egregiousness, leaving his quick feet free to cover large amounts of ground in the outfield. There seemed to be somewhat fewer dives than in years past, but in many ways that's a good thing.

Two of those names also earned themselves a silver slugger, though arguably all three should have. Ellsbury and Gonzalez became the first pair of teammates to win both awards (hat tip to Pete Abe), while David Ortiz made his much-deserved return to the top of the heap with a year reminiscent of the Papi of yore.

For once, there's not much complaining for us to do regarding this award. Yes, Pedroia's wOBA was higher than Robinson Cano's, but it was a small difference and Cano had the big power numbers which draw votes. Really, the Sox can't be ones to make noise given how badly Gonzalez robbed Miguel Cabrera.

Now to wait for the MVP. Can Jacoby Ellsbury make it a clean sweep?

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I understand the Sox usually avoid going to arbitration

I am wondering if the general feeling is that Boras/Ellsbury will insist on it. I suppose it depends on what exactly the Sox offer in terms of a raise. It’s probably unrealistic to think that a long term deal could be worked out, at least until the middle of next season. If next year his numbers are looking comparable to his 2011 work, how likely are the Sox to offer something along the lines of 5 years/75-90 mm, and do you think he/Boras would take it?

by Fromalabama on Nov 2, 2011 8:54 PM EDT reply actions

Boras won't take anything short of a bumper contract right now. Almost 100% sure he will be a FA after 2013.

But it’s not unlikely that they’ll agree pre-arb. Last year Theo basically gave Papelbon top dollar for the year, so it seems like the Sox are happy to give the players their side of the argument just to avoid having the battle.

That being said, the two sides are already on questionable ground. If Boras goes for massive numbers for a 2nd-year arbitration player they could just throw in a reasonable bid and save a few million (which, for the record, is why Boras probably won’t).

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by Ben Buchanan on Nov 2, 2011 10:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Of course, who knows what Cherington's feelings are about going to arb

it’ll be interesting to see if that’s any different.

by wolf9309 on Nov 3, 2011 8:24 AM EDT up reply actions

Usually

the comeback player of the year award winner doesn’t win the MVP. I think Ells should, though.

by aubatron2011 on Nov 2, 2011 11:19 PM EDT reply actions

Usually.

But if he is the best offensive player, he should also win the MVP award. I don’t care how good Verlander did. There’s an award for pitchers. It’s called the Cy Young.

The Red Sox suck, and I am the dirt that was sucked in, I am a dirty.

I'm narcissistic, nihilistic, and arrogant. That's me in a nutshell.

by outofleftfield on Nov 3, 2011 1:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Bautista

was the better offensive player.

by aubatron2011 on Nov 3, 2011 10:18 AM EDT up reply actions

True but there is another side to the ball

by BobZupcic on Nov 3, 2011 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Bautista was better offensively

Although not by a huge margin. Ellsbury had slightly more production in terms of R and RBI, but was quite a bit better defensively.

by Fromalabama on Nov 3, 2011 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Ellsbury

stayed healthy. Bautista’s numbers could have been even better had he not got hurt a couple times this season.

by aubatron2011 on Nov 3, 2011 1:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Ells played in 9 extra games

Not a huge difference. +77 PA in all (and of course he was batting leadoff much of the year). It’s entirely reasonable to assume Bautista could have exceeded Ells total production if he got those 9 games back, but on the other hand, when discussing an award like MVP, naturally any player who stays healthy all year would have an edge in that regard, since they are able to play more (making them more valuable in total, even if they are not the most productive per plate appearance).

by Fromalabama on Nov 3, 2011 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions

But here's what

will really hurt Ellsbury, who I think should be the MVP, but won’t. The collapse, he put great numbers this year, but many voters will say “If Ellsbury was so valuable, why couldn’t have put the Sox in the playoffs?” Where as Bautista raised the win total of the Blue Jays to levels some people didn’t think they would be.

by aubatron2011 on Nov 3, 2011 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions

If the team's failure is enough to keep Ells from winning

Then the fact that the Jays were a .500 team is not credit for Bautista. If being in the postseason is the tie-breaker (and I agree it often is), Miguel Cabrera would be the winner. His offensive numbers are comparable to both Ells and Bautista, and Detroit came pretty close to the WS. I suppose the same goes for Verlander, though that makes for a very apples and oranges comparison.

by Fromalabama on Nov 3, 2011 5:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Also, Ian Kinsler had a fantastic season

At a premium defensive position to boot. I didn’t even realize it until I looked it up. Not quite as good as Pedey but still very impressive.

by Fromalabama on Nov 3, 2011 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions

he has absolutely zero shot whatsoever

his batting average is way too low probably to even garner a vote.

by wolf9309 on Nov 3, 2011 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Probably not

Although voters that look beyond avg may give him some consideration. His babip was only .243, for example, and he still managed to put up some very good numbers despite that. I don’t think anyone is going to buy that, or not enough, but if he did somehow sneak in he wouldn’t be an unworthy choice. Unconventional, but reasonably deserving.

by Fromalabama on Nov 3, 2011 9:40 PM EDT up reply actions

But if you take Bautista out of the lineup,

how many games do the Blue Jays actually win? Take Ellsbury out the Sox line up and they probably would have been very similar in their win total. That’s the value in Bautista.

by aubatron2011 on Nov 3, 2011 10:13 PM EDT up reply actions

I dunno

I think taking Ells production out would probably have cost the Sox around 6 wins or so, especially considering that his replacement most of the year would have been Darnell McDonald. Of course, if lacking him cost the team even a single win, the wild card race wouldn’t have been as close as it was. From that perspective, his contribution wasn’t quite enough to carry them to the postseason, but it kept them in contention to the very (bitter) end. Taking Bautista out of the Jays lineup kind of turns them into the Orioles.

by Fromalabama on Nov 3, 2011 10:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Exactly.

I’ve stated I think Ellsbury should win it, but I don’t think he will because Bautista is arguably the reason the Blue Jays are somewhat respectful. Where as the Red Sox have Pedey, Gonzo, Youkilis et al.

by aubatron2011 on Nov 3, 2011 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Eh

It comes down to Bats making his team mediocre instead of miserable, and Ells making his team a contender instead of mediocre. If he really did provide 6 wins difference, the Sox could have been 84-78 instead. If Fangraphs WAR rating is accurate, at 9.4, lacking Ellsbury turns the Sox into… the Jays.
It’s certainly going to be interesting to see which point of view prevails, or if Cabrera gets it. Of course, in his case, his contributions, if removed, would not realistically have altered the final results of the Tigers, either in terms of seeding or their division championship.

by Fromalabama on Nov 3, 2011 10:51 PM EDT up reply actions

The Closest

Blue Jay to Bautista in terms of WAR is Yunel Escobar, at 4.3, whereas the closest Sox is Pedroia at 8.0. Ellsbury should win it, but I don’t think the writers feel the same way.

by aubatron2011 on Nov 3, 2011 11:15 PM EDT up reply actions