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Chicago writer angry Beckham was snubbed

There's a writer in Chicago who is throwing a tantrum over Gordon Beckham not getting more support for the Rookie of the Year Award.  Some key excerpts:

Granted, the writers got it right by electing Oakland Athletics closer Andrew Bailey the 2009 AL Rookie of the Year. Bailey had a phenomenal year, start to finish and deserved the honor.

But they flubbed by giving Beckham zero first-place votes and two second-place votes.

Red flags should be raised when the Sporting News - in a players' poll - voted Beckham the AL Rookie of the Year last month. Around that same time, Beckham's peers in the players' association also selected him as the top AL rookie.

Players, what do they know?

All they do is study the competition from top to bottom, face these guys on the same field and gossip like a bunch of retirees in Florida.

Given a choice between trusting the opinion of a major league player or that of a ''baseball writer'' - and that term includes sports editors, columnists, general-assignment reporters and retired journalists who rarely, if ever, get to a major league ballpark but still get BBWAA ballots - well, the players win in a landslide.

* * *

Two ''writers'' in each AL city get a vote. And it's hard to see how they could believe Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus had such a vastly superior rookie season to Beckham.

* * *

Beckham had his struggles in the field, committing 14 errors for a .952 fielding percentage, but Andrus led all regular AL shortstops with 22 errors and had a .968 fielding percentage.

This wasn't about defense.

Beckham impressed most at the plate. Behind the numbers, he proved to be a clutch performer - a tall task for any rookie. With runners on base, Beckham hit .307. With runners in scoring position, he hit .323. And with two outs and runners in scoring position - ask any manager the importance of this stat - he hit .348.

Andrus, with two outs and runners in scoring position, hit .217. That's about what you would expect from a rookie.

Everyone, grab your torches and pitchforks and head for Chicago!!!

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Comments

Display:

lol. colbert is great

A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.

by NothinG on Nov 17, 2009 10:56 AM CST up reply actions  

he's right

the only way to judge defense is by looking at errors and fielding percentage. it’s clear that elvis is the worst defensive shortstop.

duh

" This is the inning that propels us to the playoffs. Mark it down."
- Rohn Warshington on Jul 27, 2009 9:19 PM EDT
5th inning against the Tigers

by gossamer on Nov 17, 2009 10:53 AM CST reply actions  

Im assuming you are the commenter below the story ha

"More than likely JW never played sports above the youth level. It amazes me that he seems to have no concept on the common reactions of an adult athlete or their normal interactions between each other." - laxonto

by Michael Cave on Nov 17, 2009 11:11 AM CST up reply actions  

Exactly

More errors and a higher fielding percentage.

Higher’s worse, right?

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.

by WyoRanger on Nov 17, 2009 11:15 AM CST up reply actions  

dude

range factor and zone rating? You couldn’t have done a little better?

by ab03 on Nov 17, 2009 11:16 AM CST up reply actions  

+1

range factor sucks. Use UZR and +/-

"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.

by Kinslerhomer on Nov 17, 2009 11:21 AM CST up reply actions  

Please don't hold that idiot against my city.

For the record, my first-place vote went to Andrus in my network’s ROY award voting.

Chicago White Sox Examiner — I wish I could cuss right now.

by UribeAuction on Nov 17, 2009 10:54 AM CST reply actions  

I don't think anyone does

Sportswriters for news papers are usually just out to stir up controversy, other than the beat writers.

I honestly consider it amazing that the BBWA got it about halfway right this year with ROY. I would argue against Bailey getting it because of the general uselessness of the save, but that Andrus got 2nd is actually somewhat encouraging. Normally I would have expected a below 270 average, with little power and a ton of errors to get no respect from the writers at all.

What do voluntary mean?

by JKolar on Nov 17, 2009 12:08 PM CST up reply actions  

You clearly haven't read some of the Dallas writers,

They match or top that level of incompetence almost every day.

"You'll meet them again on their long journey to the middle." -Lester Bangs

by BAC on Nov 17, 2009 12:44 PM CST up reply actions  

exactly

I cant imagine what people think of our city after reading Randy Galloway

Feliz says his greatest thrill was striking out Boston Red Sox DH David Ortiz, one of his heroes. Yet, when he called to tell his parents, his mother had a request: Strike out New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, too.
"So when I did that," Feliz says, "I told my mom, 'There you go. There's your present. Don't ask me to strike anyone else out, OK?'

by blalock84 on Nov 17, 2009 4:12 PM CST up reply actions  

We don't

there are stupid writers everywhere. Look further than a writer named Jean Jaques Taylor of the DMN.

After Fuentes blows a save and an Angels loss to the Indians:
"Angels still in first place" - UCI Halo
"Hey you know who would have gotten those 3 outs in the 9th?
Darren O’Day." - FirebatM3
LOL

by MayurP on Nov 17, 2009 12:45 PM CST up reply actions  

Relievers are more valuable than starters because they pitch more games

Oh, and no one obsesses over the Rangers.

"Dying ain't hard. It’s living in the wake of a thorough public humiliation that’s hard.--JDT217

Internet greatness http://www.lonestarball.com/2009/11/10/1125340/will-carroll-calls-out-josey-wales

by WestTxAg06 on Nov 17, 2009 4:48 PM CST up reply actions  

Hey Uribe.

What do tigers dream of when they take a little tiger snooze? Do they dream of mauling zebras, or Halle Berry in her Catwoman suit?

by ghtd36 on Nov 17, 2009 3:48 PM CST up reply actions  

when someone says something like

“it isn’t about defense”

and then makes the point that it isn’t about offense (which it clearly wasn’t), then what is he actually thinking? Is he thinking conspiracy? Some sort of Texas bias (that would be the first)? He clearly knows it is about defense but it’s like he can’t really write the article if he says that so he has to just cite errors and say “it isn’t about defense.” Right? I wonder if he’s just really flummoxed and questioning the world around him.

by ab03 on Nov 17, 2009 11:15 AM CST reply actions  

I like this
Behind the numbers . . . .

So what he’s saying is people really need to look past superficial numbers? You first, bud.

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.

by WyoRanger on Nov 17, 2009 11:20 AM CST up reply actions  

ha

Feliz says his greatest thrill was striking out Boston Red Sox DH David Ortiz, one of his heroes. Yet, when he called to tell his parents, his mother had a request: Strike out New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, too.
"So when I did that," Feliz says, "I told my mom, 'There you go. There's your present. Don't ask me to strike anyone else out, OK?'

by blalock84 on Nov 17, 2009 4:13 PM CST up reply actions  

"Players, what do they know?"...

…they know that every year they think Michael Young is one of the best players in the league. That alone should make people skeptical of player voting for anything.

I have no objection to man walking on the moon.

by Chad Crudup on Nov 17, 2009 11:22 AM CST reply actions  

when players have votes, they don't do well

look at the NFL pro bowl.

A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.

by NothinG on Nov 17, 2009 11:25 AM CST up reply actions  

Look at the All-Star game reserves

"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.

by Kinslerhomer on Nov 17, 2009 11:27 AM CST up reply actions  

the players select the reserves

i thought it was the manager. wow

A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.

by NothinG on Nov 17, 2009 2:04 PM CST up reply actions  

"All [players] do is study the competition from top to bottom"

No. No they don’t.

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.

by WyoRanger on Nov 17, 2009 11:28 AM CST up reply actions  

This guy is a moron

I bet he’s never seen Elvis play outside of when Texas played the White Sox.

by Agreen07 on Nov 17, 2009 11:37 AM CST reply actions  

nice

Grieve: The Yanks have struggled so far. - Lewin: Yeah, cry me a bag of money.
Dykstra has all the money!
ElectricOkra.com

by WhipSmart on Nov 17, 2009 11:46 AM CST up reply actions  

Fucktard.

Scott Feldman – "The greatest Hawaiian-born Jewish baseball player to ever set foot on the mound."

by Pocket Ninja on Nov 17, 2009 11:45 AM CST reply actions  

Talk about meta.

A writer writing about other writers who don’t know what they write about.

Well, at least he proved his point that writers shouldn’t vote on these awards.

by jwiscarson on Nov 17, 2009 12:06 PM CST reply actions  

Though he did prove that the players shouldn't either

Beckham wasn’t the best rookie in the AL this year, he just didn’t play enough games or wasn’t so massive in the games he did play.

What do voluntary mean?

by JKolar on Nov 17, 2009 12:09 PM CST up reply actions  

No doubt.

The idea that players should vote on these awards is a terrible one. This is like saying that cars should be voting on the best car of the year.

by jwiscarson on Nov 17, 2009 12:50 PM CST up reply actions  

Murray Chass is on the phone

He says to tell that boob in Chicago to stop stealing his bit.

Neftali Feliz says sit your 5 dollar ass down before he makes change...

Hi, Keith. Is this the year Edinson Volquez finally wins RoY?

by Brian Thomas on Nov 17, 2009 12:57 PM CST reply actions  

Ahh the great Murray Chass, he who does not have a blog

"Dying ain't hard. It’s living in the wake of a thorough public humiliation that’s hard.--JDT217

Internet greatness http://www.lonestarball.com/2009/11/10/1125340/will-carroll-calls-out-josey-wales

by WestTxAg06 on Nov 17, 2009 4:49 PM CST up reply actions  

my god he is an awful writer

he and gerry fraley probably would like each other’s company.

"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan

by Dirk Diggler on Nov 17, 2009 10:43 PM CST up reply actions  

Controversy

The last resort of the unfulfilled. If you can’t get attention any other way, espouse a cause that has little merit and rant about it. Chicago is a great city, well except for its’ politics, its’ weather, its’ population density, and the kind of insanity that cold weather regions generally exhibit. See? Then you can write an editorial that the best thing that ever came out of Chicago is an empty truck, and although a few million people will disagree, you’ve stirred the pot and generated response. That Beckham was included in the voting at all is a kind of honor, and baseball is better off that there were six or eight legit candidates for rookie of the year – as vaporous as that reward has traditionally been.

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912) also -

"Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance."
~Ambrose Bierce

by Ed Coffin on Nov 17, 2009 12:57 PM CST reply actions   1 recs

BOO THIS MAN!

The bloggerformelyknownasBigBaddBubbaJ

by NYTXFAN on Nov 17, 2009 1:05 PM CST reply actions  

haha, tantrum is right.

is it his contention that Andrus is a subpar defender?

by SteveP on Nov 17, 2009 1:08 PM CST reply actions  

I appreciate him calling himself out BEFORE he expresses his opinion, though
trusting the opinion of a major league player or that of a ‘’baseball writer’’ – and that term includes sports editors, columnists, general-assignment reporters and retired journalists who rarely, if ever, get to a major league ballpark

by BuckyB on Nov 17, 2009 1:53 PM CST reply actions  

that is classic

A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.

by NothinG on Nov 17, 2009 2:07 PM CST up reply actions  

Thiiiiiiiiiiiis.

What do tigers dream of when they take a little tiger snooze? Do they dream of mauling zebras, or Halle Berry in her Catwoman suit?

by ghtd36 on Nov 17, 2009 3:49 PM CST up reply actions  

damn you

right when I’ve finally gotten over the end of FJM, you’ve got to come in and bring back all the memories

by kevinkinsler on Nov 17, 2009 4:26 PM CST up reply actions  

Never forget, man

Never forget.

Look at the comments under Jeff Wilson's blog post on dallasnews.com. What a bunch of rocket scientists.- Keith Law

by Keynes on Nov 17, 2009 4:35 PM CST via mobile up reply actions  

Jealousy

I bet he’d love to have Elvis on his team.

by Big50 on Nov 17, 2009 4:57 PM CST reply actions  

OT: The history channel is doing an awesome series right now

WWII in HD.

Check it out, history buffs.

Neftali Feliz says sit your 5 dollar ass down before he makes change...

Hi, Keith. Is this the year Edinson Volquez finally wins RoY?

by Brian Thomas on Nov 17, 2009 5:28 PM CST reply actions  

I'll be in front of my tv with a glass of brandy

in a couple of hours watching that.

G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....

by t ball on Nov 17, 2009 5:32 PM CST up reply actions  

The Smithsonian one over the weekend

had some cool footage too, but yeah, this is really good.

by Brett Perryman on Nov 17, 2009 5:36 PM CST up reply actions  

It's about time

They get back to history stuff—it seems like every time I turn by it’s some stupid show about a meteor destroying Earth or about the mythological allusions of the Lord of the Rings books.

by brettgardner on Nov 17, 2009 5:37 PM CST up reply actions  

How about what's happened

to the damned Sci-fi channel? Jeez, what a pile of crap now.

G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....

by t ball on Nov 17, 2009 11:07 PM CST up reply actions  

And don't my cranky old ass started

on the “Arts” & Entertainment network. PBS and the Ovation channel are the only ones that actually broadcast the arts with any regularity.

G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....

by t ball on Nov 17, 2009 11:08 PM CST up reply actions  

BSG ended

"It's kind of a new stat that's in vogue" - Joe Buck on OPS

"...he wasn’t a good hitter, just a good middle of the order bat that hit a lot of homers." - NYTXFAN on Mark McGwire

by LSJ on Nov 17, 2009 11:22 PM CST up reply actions  

hmm

they finally decided to show something history-related again.

by Smoakin in the Boys Room on Nov 17, 2009 5:37 PM CST up reply actions  

Been watching it but thanks for point it out for everyone else

Missed the first hour last night. Probably won’t get home in time to catch the beginning. It’s been good.

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.

by WyoRanger on Nov 17, 2009 7:39 PM CST up reply actions  

too many logical inconsistencies

in that story to mention but it cracks me up that he can in one sentence praise Bailey as the correct choice, then in the next sentence huff about Beckham not getting any first place votes.

And to cite the players as better arbiters of performance is also faulty. These guys don’t get a chance to see what the rest of the league does in any comprehensive way because guess what – they sort of have a job that gets in the way. The few times a year they get to see a guy is scarcely informative and Im guessing they are focusing on the game at hand rather than trying to parse the difference in defensive range between a given player on the field and some guy who plays a different position on a team they faced months ago. This is not to say the BBWAA has the greatest track record (Ted Williams was left off of 20 HoF ballots!), but Id hardly give the players credit for being better selectors.

by Smoakin in the Boys Room on Nov 17, 2009 5:37 PM CST reply actions  

I'm not sure whether to laugh, scoff or facepalm in reaction to this

"It's kind of a new stat that's in vogue" - Joe Buck on OPS

"...he wasn’t a good hitter, just a good middle of the order bat that hit a lot of homers." - NYTXFAN on Mark McGwire

by LSJ on Nov 17, 2009 7:18 PM CST reply actions  

I peed.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

"Especially stinkbeetles!!!" -God.

by thedirkatron on Nov 17, 2009 11:39 PM CST up reply actions  

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