The Mark Graham Sports Blog's posts tagged Roy Halladay

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• TMG Sports Blog 2012 MLB Predictions: NL East

  March 08, 2012

  

  Yesterday, we finished the American League and now move onto the National League. The NL East to be exact. The Marlins have a new name, new stadium, and a new team, but will that be enough? Can the Phils repeat? How will the Braves respond to their epic collapse?

  So let's do this thing!

  1st- Philadelphia Phillies

  The Phillies are the five time defending NL East champions and there's no reason they can't make it six.

  The Phillies have a great pitching rotation even though Roy Oswalt is gone. Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Cliff Lee might have the best top three arms in the game. They made a risky signing in Jonathan Papelbon in the offseason. Papelbon is one of the best closers in the games, but he was signed to a contract much to long for a closer of his age.

  Ryan Howard is coming off an Achilles injury from the playoffs, so we shall see how he recovers from that. Chase Utley is looking to rebound from an off year and has been going downhill the past three seasons. They did sign Ty Wigginton and he could replace Placido Polanco at third.

  2nd- Miami Marlins

  New name, new uniforms, new stadium, new players it's all coming together for the Miami Marlins.

  The Marlins somehow found some money and went on a spending tear equivalent to a teenage girl with a new credit card. The Marlins signed Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Heath Bell to fill holes on this Marlins team. Buehrle and Josh Johnson will make a formidable one-two punch down in South Beach.

  Jose Reyes will unseat Hanley Ramirez at shortstop as Hanley moves to third. Ramirez is upset at the move to third and could prove to be a distraction to this team. John Buck and Gaby Sanchez are solid players that will contribute to this suddenly good Marlin offense.

  The outfield looks pretty good, too. Giancarlo Stanton is a star and Logan Morrison is a solid starter, although his batting average dipped a bit last year. Chris Coghlan and Emilio Bonifacio will platoon in center field.

  Ozzie Guillen will provide the fire and intensity that the Marlins need. Unfortunately, the Marlins are in the NL East and have to get past the Phillies and Braves. It's a good start, but still need some help.

  3rd- Atlanta Braves

  After the Braves collapse, the Braves pretty much stayed pat this offseason. When the Marlins upgraded and the Phillies still have the great pitching that they do, it's going to be hard to win the East.

  Tim Hudson is getting older, but is still the clear ace of this Braves staff. Tommy Hanson had a so-so ERA last year (3.60 ERA) and Jair Jurrjens is back, despite the Braves wanting to unload him. Brandon Beachy led the Braves in strikeouts last season and will be the fourth starter for the Braves.

  Chipper Jones is 40 years old and will most likely make a trip or two to the DL. Dan Uggla needs to get off to a good start, the Braves can't afford another slow start from Uggla. Jason Heyward needs a good year to prove he isn't a one hit wonder.

  They still have a young and talented closer and set up man in Craig Kimbrel and Jonny Venters, respectively. So there is still hope for the Braves, but the Marlins made major strides and the Phillies are still the Phillies.

  4th- Washington Nationals

  Strasburg is back!

  The Nationals are improving every year, but are stuck in the deep NL East. The Nats added Edwin Jackson to be the number three behind Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez. Jackson is an iffy pitcher with flashes of greatness, but he will be inconsistent this season. Gonzalez will be the workhouse of this Nats staff with Strasburg most likely on a pitch count.

  Jayson Werth needs a bounce back season to shut up the naysayers, but I just don't see it happening. Other than Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse, the Nationals lineup seems pretty pedestrian, so it is imperative that Werth needs a great season.

  Bryce Harper could see some playing time this season in the outfield while moving Morse to first.

  5th- New York Mets

  The Mets are in a tough division and have a team that slashed payroll and lost their best player to a division rival.

  Hunker down, Mets fans, it's going to be a long season.

  Other than David Wright, the Mets have no one to help him. Jason Bay has been a monumental bust for the Mets (So glad the Sox didn't sign him now). Ike Davis is a good player, but needs to be consistent in order for the Mets to be respectable this season. Andres Torres is a weak starting center fielder and Ruben Tejada will replace Reyes at shortstop, but he is no Jose Reyes.

  Johan Santana hasn't pitched well in years and Mets fans shouldn't expect much from him this year. The rest of the rotation is below average and in a division that has deep pitching, it's going to hurt the Mets badly this year.

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• The 1st Annual Marky Awards

  October 13, 2011

  Ladies and gentlemen, this is the 1st annual Marky Awards for baseball, the most prestigious award of any kind since the Cable Ace. After tabulating all the votes, The Mark Graham Sports Blog has come up with the winners in the following fields:

  • AL Pitcher of the Year- Tigers P Justin Verlander

  Verlander just dominated this year going 24-5 with a league leading 2.40 ERA. Verlander was a big part of the Tigers success this season ans should be a shoo in for (a less prestigious) Cy Young

  Honorable Mention- Yankees P CC Sabathia, Tigers P Jose Valverde

  • NL Pitcher of the Year- Diamondbacks P Ian Kennedy

  It would be real easy to go with Roy Halladay and one could make a real argument for him, but my vote goes to Kennedy. Kennedy went 21-4 with an ERA of 2.88. Before this season, Kennedy's career high in wins was 9 in 2010. Kennedy seems to be in the prime of his career and only will get better. His pitching helped propel the Diamondbacks to a surprise NL West title and was easily the best player on his team this season.

  Honorable Mention- Phillies P Roy Halladay

  • AL Most Valuable Player- Tigers P Justin Verlander

  Again, Verlander is deserving of this award. Verlander's pitching this season was lights out and was the only starting pitcher on his team with an ERA under 4. With the starting pitchers ERA being so high the Tigers still won the AL Central and defeated the Yankees because of Verlander. Verlander is the MVP, period.

  Honorable Mention- Red Sox CF Jacoby Ellsbury, Yankees CF Curtis Granderson

  • NL Most Valuable Player- Brewers LF Ryan Braun

  I had three players in mind when thinking about this. Matt Kemp was the best player on his team, but the Dodgers were a non-factor. Prince Fielder had a great year but another player on his own team I thought was more valuable. So Ryan Braun wins the NL MVP. Braun hit .332, 33 HR, 111 RBI and was one half of probably the best 1-2 punch in baseball. I chose Braun over Fielder simply because Braun was an overall better hitter. Fielder may have had a higher on base percentage but Braun had the higher batting average. Although, I would not be surprised if Fielder wins the MLB NL MVP, Braun gets the more prestigious Marky Award.

  Honorable Mention- Dodgers CF Matt Kemp, Brewers 1B Prince Fielder

  • Brien Taylor Award (Biggest Disappointment)- White Sox DH Adam Dunn

  Red Sox fans everywhere would probably say Carl Crawford but Crawford eventually got out of his slump. Dunn however did not. After signing a four year, $56 million deal with the South Siders, Dunn hit .159, 11 HR, 42 RBI, and had a mind boggling 177 strikeouts. Many players would be sent down to the minors, but the White Sox signed Dunn for that much money they just simply couldn't do it. Dunn is now untradeable because of this season and the White Sox are now stuck with him for three more seasons. Good signing, Kenny.

  Honorable Mention- Red Sox P John Lackey

  • AL Manager of the Year- Rays manager Joe Maddon

  Any reason I need to explain? Maddon led the Rays to an epic comeback erasing a Red Sox nine game lead in September. It seems like every button Maddon pushes seems to be the right one. For example, when the Rays were down in the ninth on the final game of the year, he called upon Dan Johnson to pinch hit and he proceeded to hit the game tying home run. Maddon also won with a razor thin payroll and it goes to show you with the right leadership you can win with anything.

  Honorable Mention- Rangers manager Ron Washington

  • NL Manager of the Year- Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson

  The Diamondbacks were not supposed to win the NL West, but try telling that to Kirk Gibson. Gibson led the Diamondbacks to a 94-68 record, a 29 win improvement from last season. The Diamondbacks didn't really make any big changes during the offseason, so it was almost the same team as last year. Gibson was a hard nosed player back in the day and expects the same from his team and it payed of this year. With Gibson at the helm, good days are ahead for the D-Backs.

  Honorable Mention- Brewers manager Ron Roenicke, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle

  • AL Rookie of the Year- Rays P Jeremy Hellickson

  Hellickson was a solid starter for the Rays this past season going 13-10 with a 2.95 ERA. He also threw two complete games with one being a shutout. Hellickson was pretty good down the stretch when the Rays needed him. That is a pretty tall order for a rookie.

  Honorable Mention- Yankees P Ivan Nova

  • NL Rookie of the Year- Braves P Craig Kimbrel

  The Braves had a few good rookies this year, but none was better than Kimbrel. Kimbrel led the NL in saves with 46 and he is only a rookie. Kimbrel was as good as they come in terms of relief pitchers (except for the blown save against the Phillies). Kimbrel still has time to grow as a closer and could be one of the greats.

  Honorable Mention- Braves 1B Freddie Freeman, Phillies P Vance Worley

  That is all for this year's Marky Awards for Baseball Excellence (except for Dunn) don't forget to tip your waitresses and have a good night.

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