OT: Manager of the year

[uconngb]

In yet another example, albeit in a different sport, of how far the media has its head up its ass, the biggest joke about Francona being named Manager of the Year in the AL, is not that he won it, it is that Farrell didn't win it unanimously. Seriously, Red Sox went from last place to the BEST record in ALL of baseball!!! How much better could a manager do??? And this was his FIRST year managing the team!! (I know, same for Francona.....and I also know this was voted on before the playoffs).

If I find out that one of the voters was Goodman, it will all make perfect sense.....thank god championships get settled on the field, or UConn would still be O-fer

 

[UCONNfan1]

I was stunned as well. It seems like it should have been a no brainer. But maybe the feeling was Francoma did it with mostly the same players as last year whereas the Red Sox did more retooling? That's the only logical thing I can think of. A truly mystifying result. Still, I think Farrell would take his hardware any day over what Francoma "won" this year...

 

[nomar]

Biased, but I think Farrell deserved it. Total dysfunction to WS champs.

 

[IMind]

It's typical baseball writer BS... Francona never won it when he was with the Red Sox. I'm disgusted but not surprised.

 

[HooperScooper]

I just read the ESPN.com article and it seemed to indicate that Francona got more votes than Farrell because the Indians had a really low payroll compared to the Red Sox.

What were the expectations for the Indians this year? I seriously don't remember. I know the Red Sox were picked last in the AL East by almost everyone and usually the teams that over achieve the most based on expectations are usually the ones whose managers win this award.

The AL had 3 really good candidates so no big deal. The World Series trophy is the only prize that matters.

By the way, if over achieving expectations and payroll are the barometers then how the heck did Mattingly come in 2nd in the NL?

 

[zyron]

By the way, if over achieving expectations and payroll are the barometers then how the heck did Mattingly come in 2nd in the NL?

Kemp played less than half a season, Ramirez played half a season and Crawford missed like the first 30-40 games. That and the way they played after the all-star break.

 

[HooperScooper]

Kemp played less than half a season, Ramirez played half a season and Crawford missed like the first 30-40 games. That and the way they played after the all-star break.

I think Crawford missing at least 30-40 games is in his contract! Happens every year. Guy is the biggest whiner and loser in baseball. So glad the Sox rid themselves of that mistake.

 

[dsturdy5]

Two ballots left Farrell off all together...

 

[mcs333]

The vote is before the post season. They should wait and vote after the playoffs and before te WS.

 

[zyron]

I think Crawford missing at least 30-40 games is in his contract! Happens every year. Guy is the biggest whiner and loser in baseball. So glad the Sox rid themselves of that mistake.

I can understand why Sox fans don't like him but he played with an arm that needed Tommy John surgery until he had to have it. It's not like he wasn't trying.

 

[mauconnfan]

Unbiased for sure, Farrell and easily. I see some votes for Tito but not the winner. Clearly last to first with a bunch of misfits is a great job.........

 

[HooperScooper]

Christins Kahrl of ESPN.com and Asuka Iinuma Brown of Jiji Press didn't vote for Farrell either 1, 2 or 3. Which seems crazy.

Full breakdown of voting: http://bbwaa.com/13-al-mgr/

Kahrl explained that she didn't vote for Farrell at all because the Red Sox finished where they were predicted to. I guess she was that 1 person on earth who predicted the Sox would finish first and win 97 games! Because I didn't see anyone else who had those projections.

 

[nomar]

Christins Kahrl of ESPN.com (ESPN Chicago) and Asuka Iinuma Brown of Jiji Press didn't vote for Farrell either 1, 2 or 3. Which seems crazy.

Full breakdown of voting: http://bbwaa.com/13-al-mgr/

Kahrl explained that she didn't vote for Farrell at all because the Red Sox finished where they were predicted to. I guess she was that 1 person on earth who predicted the Sox would finish first and win 97 games! Because I didn't see anyone else who had those projections.

Not "predicted to," but "supposed to." Which is slippery but just as wrong.

So, what about Farrell, you ask? With the Red Sox always commanding outsized attention, win or lose, Farrell’s worst-to-first pitch for top skipper was easy to latch onto after the Sox clambered back from their disastrous 93-loss season in 2012. You might think Farrell’s case sort of resembles those of Bobby Cox and Tom Kelly in 1991, when those two men won manager of the year awards in their respective leagues while skippering the Braves and Twins to the all-time awesomeness of the 1991 World Series.

Not so much, though. Those two teams were genuine surprises. In contrast, with the Red Sox committing a franchise-record $175 million or so to payroll, they were supposed to win, and they did. With most of their success falling within the realm of the expected in terms of player performances, the midseason injury to Clay Buchholz was about the only thing that represented a significant setback, which they amply compensated for by acquiring Jake Peavy.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/42166/my-al-manager-of-the-year-ballot-explained

 

[HooperScooper]

Not "predicted to," but "supposed to." Which is slippery but just as wrong.

So, what about Farrell, you ask? With the Red Sox always commanding outsized attention, win or lose, Farrell’s worst-to-first pitch for top skipper was easy to latch onto after the Sox clambered back from their disastrous 93-loss season in 2012. You might think Farrell’s case sort of resembles those of Bobby Cox and Tom Kelly in 1991, when those two men won manager of the year awards in their respective leagues while skippering the Braves and Twins to the all-time awesomeness of the 1991 World Series.

Not so much, though. Those two teams were genuine surprises. In contrast, with the Red Sox committing a franchise-record $175 million or so to payroll, they were supposed to win, and they did. With most of their success falling within the realm of the expected in terms of player performances, the midseason injury to Clay Buchholz was about the only thing that represented a significant setback, which they amply compensated for by acquiring Jake Peavy.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/42166/my-al-manager-of-the-year-ballot-explained

So I guess no manager of the Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Angels, etc. should ever win Manager of the Year then.

 

[tentoes4rings]

Not "predicted to," but "supposed to." Which is slippery but just as wrong.

So, what about Farrell, you ask? With the Red Sox always commanding outsized attention, win or lose, Farrell’s worst-to-first pitch for top skipper was easy to latch onto after the Sox clambered back from their disastrous 93-loss season in 2012. You might think Farrell’s case sort of resembles those of Bobby Cox and Tom Kelly in 1991, when those two men won manager of the year awards in their respective leagues while skippering the Braves and Twins to the all-time awesomeness of the 1991 World Series.

Not so much, though. Those two teams were genuine surprises. In contrast, with the Red Sox committing a franchise-record $175 million or so to payroll, they were supposed to win, and they did. With most of their success falling within the realm of the expected in terms of player performances, the midseason injury to Clay Buchholz was about the only thing that represented a significant setback, which they amply compensated for by acquiring Jake Peavy.
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/42166/my-al-manager-of-the-year-ballot-explained

I can't believe some of these people get paid to be so incompetent. So I guess losing their top 3 relievers to season ending surgeries wasn't a "setback" at all and filling those three spots and making the perfect decision to move Koji to closer is just what any manager was supposed to do. I'm okay with Tito getting MOY but not having Farrell as a close second is ridiculous.

 

[Danzz]

Two ballots left Farrell off all together...

That is the most shocking part for me.

 

[champs99and04]

Manager of the year is probably the most useless award in baseball - there is really no way to gauge how many wins a manager is worth. For all we know, Ferrell could be the tenth best manager in the AL (I'm not saying whether he is or isn't, just that the 2013 Red Sox winning a lot of games doesn't prove much). But because the 2012 Red Sox were a complete disaster, that somehow adds to his value. It's all very convoluted and nonsensical. In general, managers have very little to do with how many games their baseball team wins. It's conceivable that the best manager in the league could have a team that wins 70 games, but he could get fired. They should just re-name it the "Guy who happened to manage the team that surprised the most people" award.

 

[ctchamps]

If this is the rational than KO should have gotten coach of the year last season based on all the adversity including injuries, no post season, and down schollies. These things are subjective. The trophy that counts is the one that doesn't require judgment.

 

[Waquoit]

Christins Kahrl of ESPN.com and Asuka Iinuma Brown of Jiji Press didn't vote for Farrell either 1, 2 or 3. Which seems crazy.

Kahrl explained that she didn't vote for Farrell at all because the Red Sox finished where they were predicted to. I guess she was that 1 person on earth who predicted the Sox would finish first and win 97 games! Because I didn't see anyone else who had those projections.

What an idiot. No one had the rotation pegged as being as effective as they were. At the All-Star break the pundits were wondering out loud if Lester was cooked. He ends up being the best pitcher in the game during the post-season. Farrell doesn't get any credit for that?

 

[60'sfan]

I read where the two writers from Toronto picked Tito. Could they have been influenced by John Farrell leaving Toronto for Boston? Tito did have a great year with the Indians and I think he should have been high in the balloting but I don't know how anyone could have had a better year than Farrell. He was a solid rock in the dugout and handled the press very well. Not an easy thing in Boston.

 

[mauconnfan]

Manager of the year is probably the most useless award in baseball - there is really no way to gauge how many wins a manager is worth. For all we know, Ferrell could be the tenth best manager in the AL (I'm not saying whether he is or isn't, just that the 2013 Red Sox winning a lot of games doesn't prove much). But because the 2012 Red Sox were a complete disaster, that somehow adds to his value. It's all very convoluted and nonsensical. In general, managers have very little to do with how many games their baseball team wins. It's conceivable that the best manager in the league could have a team that wins 70 games, but he could get fired. They should just re-name it the "Guy who happened to manage the team that surprised the most people" award.

It is useless like the Gold Glove has become!

 

[joober jones]

How about Terry Collins? Hey, a delusional Mets fan can dream, can't he?