Thor'sLinks: Deep Cy

Today's the day. I suggest keeping some very nice Sotol handy for afterwards. It will apply regardless of the outcome.

Interestingly, we Angels fans are both spoiled, AND frustrated.  We are spoiled inasmuch as we start every season anymore knowing that we have the player who will most likely finish no worse than 2nd in the annual MVP vote, and he will probably achieve more on the field of play than any other player, regardless of the defiant ignorance of a shrinking camp of thought. And that will be joyous to watch. We are frustrated because, year after year, we are denied the opportunity to applaud our hero as he is granted his rightful spot atop the pantheon of our cherished sport.

But let's just be obnoxiously smug about it all, We know history will be on our side, and will look back on these years with disdain towards the arbitrary mistakes made by the shepherds entrusted by MLB. Even if they accidentally get it right tonight, they have gotten it wrong enough times so far, and probably will still error over Trout several times in the future, to mark them forever for their foolishly bad judgement. And all this is just glorious piling on.

So have some Condescending Smugness of Superiority Links:

If there is one single General Manager in all of Major League Baseball that does not have to lose a single wink of sleep over whom to protect in the upcoming Rule 5 draft, it should be Billy Eppler.. Even counting the 25 guys on the Active Roster, we have proven over the past year or so that there are not 40 qualified Big league players in our entire franchise. At this point, even having 40 would be a major upgrade...........

Et tu, Shane? That clarion call of Free Agency riches are overwhelming your chance to enjoy te pleasures of Salt Lake City? And neither shall you get to face off against the Baby Cakes..........And, because of you, we choose to punish Ramon Flores..........

Before we get to the AL MVP vote result (or maybe you will need this afterwards), have yourself a little bit of therapy and read (thanks to Jeff Fletcher) this explanation of his CYA voting rational from a new BBWAA voter. Note the tools the voter pulls forth to figure out how to select the worthy. And know hope..........

AL Cy Young Award Winner is Rick Porcello of the Red Sox. That's an outcome that spells doom for any of you still thinking that Mike Trout has a chance to do any better than 2nd place tonight.Compared to Justin Verlander, Porcello threw fewer innings, had a worse ERA, had a worse WHIP, had far fewer K's, had a much lower WPA, and identical fWAR. Porcello did lead in ERA+. But Porcello and was on a playoff team. And, never forget, Red Sox. And "Wins"........... Verlander actually outpulled Porcello for 1st place votes, 14 to 8. Porcello won it mostly by virtue of taking so many 2nd place votes, besting Verlander there 18 - 2..........You could make an excellent case that since Verlander lost by only 5 total points, the blame goes to the Baltimore writers who both penciled in reliever Zach Britton in 1st and  Porcello 2nd. On one ballot Verlander was listed 3rd and the other ballot he was listed 4th. Or, just as easily, you could blame our own LAA writers. Mark Whicker went Britton-Porcello-Verlander and Tim Brown went Porcello-Kluber-Sale-Verlander............Or, as Kate Upton points out, we could possibly blame the writers assigned to rep Tampa Bay, who both failed to ballot Verlander at all, except that even if both of them placed Verlander 5th, or even 4th, he still would have lost..........By the way, if you needed any further evidence that the BBWAA is full of lazy, sloppy, retrograde neanderthals, look not further than right here. They cannot even get the names right on their fucking ballots...........

NL Cy Young Award Winner is Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals. This topped both Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs, who are getting shut out of these post-season awards. If it weren't for that World Series win, we would have some pretty nasty fans in Chicago by now. Their final hopes rest on the shoulders of Kris Bryant as NL MVP tonight..............

Clayton Kershaw received some first place votes, too. You might recall he was 14-1 with an ERA of 1.57 and BA against of only .174 before he got hurt, tanked in his June 26th start, and was on the DL until September 9th. That CYA was his before be broke, and maybe even the MVP. His two 1st place votes were from J.P. Hoornstra of the SoCal News Group, and Dave Cameron of FanGraphs. Yes, FanGraphs has a BBWAA vote! Anyway, this outcome has allowed Kershaw to realize something unique. He is the first player ever to receive a 1st place CYA vote for 6 consecutive seasons...........

Tonight is our 5th Annual Evening of Incongruity, when the Baseball Writers Association of America present the results of their intensive deliberations and attempt to explain to us all why their thinking skills are to continue being considered credible. Ironically, the MSM is ignoring their annual MVP failings and are busy trying to find a way to get Joe Maddon elected MoY more often. Can't have all that west coast bias screwing up the National League awards..........

Vin Scully will be honored next week with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I notice that within the entire list of honorees is Newt Minow. Newt's the guy who originated the phrase that defined television as a vast wasteland. If only Newt knew then how the Internet of today would make that vastness seem little more than a dust bunny in the corner of one's family room..........

You don't have to be a statistical whiz to realize that the Angels are one of the team who have almost nothing to lose to Free Agency this winter. The Dodgers, on the other hand...........

The Duffle Bag