More photos » by Ed Zurga - AP

5 months ago: Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Zack Greinke throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, June 17, 2009, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

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The BBWAA got it right today as they voted Zack Greinke the 2009 AL Cy Young Award Winner. He seemed a lock for many all year but I never quite trust those guys to vote as they should.

I have a major soft spot for Zack Greinke and the Kansas City Royals (as evidenced by my road trips...we're already discussing where the 3rd Annual Impersonate a Royals Fan weekend should take place in 2010), so even if the numbers were close I'd probably favor him. But the numbers weren't close, not the numbers that counted. Royals Review is celebrating, of that I'm sure.

Well done, Zack. I hope you are second in the voting behind Brian Matusz next year.

More photos » by Ed Zurga - AP

You're the MVP, Joe. High Five. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

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Regardless of what happens with the actual MVP award, SBN baseball writers got it right as Joe Mauer won the MVP in a landslide. Mauer's OPS+ of 170 is the second highest by a catcher in history (Mike Piazza posted an OPS+ of 177 in 1997). Mauer led baseball in Batting Average, On-Base Percentage, and Slugging Percentage. Mauer's WAR was 8.2, best among catchers. Second best? Victor Martinez at 4.9. If you're one who likes to hear about those "clutch" stats, Mauer hit better with 2 outs and RISP than any other time. But let's face it, when your OPS is 1.031 you hit well in every situation.

Mauer's ridiculous batting average of .365 topped Nick Markakis by 72 points. His OBP of .444 was 79 points higher than Nolan Reimold. His .587 SLG was 99 points higher than Luke Scott. Those three were the Orioles leaders in those categories.

Mauer is a free agent after next season and the Twins have said time and again that they want to keep him. I hope that they do, because I'd hate to have to start disliking Mauer because he's a Yankee.

I think that it's a possibility that Derek Jeter is awarded the real MVP despite not even coming first on his team in this contest. There was a very real belief among many that Derek Jeter was robbed of the MVP when Justin Morneau won in 2006. It's possible that he won't be denied again. If that happens this year when Mauer had the year that he had I'll....well it won't shock me at all actually. But I'll be annoyed. It'd be nice for Mauer to enjoy his season as the best catcher in the league since beginning in 2010, Matt Wieters will go on a 25 year run of being the best catcher in the league history of baseball.

Albert Pujols, who I'm pretty sure might be an alien from some other galaxy where everyone has giant thighs and finds baseball to be as easy as a game of Soduku, won for the National League. Because the lists are so much longer this time I put them both below the jump. Click through to see the complete rankings.

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Pfc. Preston Snook leans back and waits for his pitch during a pick-up baseball game on Camp Fallujah’s sandlot baseball field. Marines from Regimental Combat Team 5 gather weekly to play ball, a way to relieve the stress of being deployed and relive their dreams of one day being a Major League Baseball player. (Photo by: Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva, 1st Marine Division)

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Thanks to all of our veterans and active duty military who have dedicated their lives to the safety of our country. There's really nothing that can be said to appropriately capture your importance, but know that I'm appreciative.

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

2 months ago: Fans note Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Zack Greinke's 15th strikeout of the baseball game, during the eighth inning against the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009, in Kansas City, Mo. Greinke set a new franchise record for most strikeouts in a game. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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As is to be expected, Zack Greinke took home the SBN Cy Young in a landslide. If the results had gone any other way I would have been astounded. The fact that one person gave a first place vote to Roy Halladay is actually annoying me. Here are your complete rankings:

When I was deciding who to vote for, it all came down to four names. Greinke, Halladay, Felix Hernandez, and Justin Verlander. I ended up giving my first place vote to Greinke, 2nd place to Justin Verlander, and 3rd place to Felix Hernandez. Looking back at the numbers I probably should have voted King Felix with my second place vote. I must have been dazzled by Verlander's K numbers. They didn't glamor duck, though, as his votes went to Greinke, Hernandez, and Halladay. 

To get an idea of just how good Greinke and his runners up were in 2009, here are their stats: 

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More photos » by Gail Burton - AP

This is Jones' first GG, and the first for an Oriole since Mike Mussina won in 1999. The Orioles haven't had a GG in the outfield since Paul Blair in 1975. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

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Congratulations to Adam Jones. It's very exciting to have a Baltimore Oriole recognized for anything positive, especially when the accolades are so few and far between these days. Adam is an exciting young player and I couldn't be happier to have him on my team. According to the Bill James Handbook and Fielding Bible, he had the highest range factor of any center fielder and led in home run saving catches and outfield arm saved runs. Adam Jones is a very good defensive baseball player and I believe he'll only improve. Here are some of his great plays from 2009:

August 29th: Two great catches against the Indians

August 18th: Hauling in Reid Brignac's drive

August 16th: Stealing a Grand Slam from Mike Napoli

July 31st: Throwing out Big Papi

July 29th: Helping out Chris Tillman

July 12th: Robbing Alex Rios

June 29th: Robbing Youk while Gary Thorne makes a fool of himself

May 19th: Not so fast, Robinson Cano

May 7th: Diving catch against Justin Morneau

May 3rd: Blowin' bubbles, making leaping catches, it's what he does

April 28th: Take a seat, Chone

He's amazing, right?

However.

There is a reason the Gold Gloves are considered a joke by a lot of people. Anyone who pays attention to baseball knows that the best outfielder this year was actually Adam Jones' replacement in Seattle, Franklin Gutierrez. He was the best and it wasn't even close. Additionally, Carl Crawford has been one of the best defensive outfielders for years but he's never won a Gold Glove. That guy playing next to Crawford in Tampa Bay, B.J. Upton, is also deserving.

Torii Hunter and Ichiro Suzuki have had the two-thirds of the OF Gold Gloves locked down for years. If Adam had won instead of Hunter I'd feel a lot better about the award. If Crawford or Gutierrez had won instead of Hunter or Ichiro, I'd feel a lot better about Adam Jones winning.

I really hate that I can't feel awesome about this. But I can't. I love Adam Jones and there is no doubt in my mind that one year, probably in the near future, he will play centerfield at such a level that he deserves the GG. But this year isn't it.

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More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Elvis Andrus, SBN's AL Rookie of the Year. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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Below are the results for Rookie of the Year as voted by the SBN baseball writers. Elvis Andrus, the slick fielding shortstop from Texas, narrowly beat A's pitcher Andrew Bailey in the American League and Braves starting pitcher Tommy Hanson solidly won in the National League. 

My votes in this category were as follows: Elvis Andrus, Brad Bergesen (the only one to give our boy a vote!), and Gordon Beckham. duck was even more of a homer than me as his votes were for Nolan Reimold, Matt Wieters, and Elvis Andrus. 

Andrus wasn't too mighty with the bat, hitting just .267/.329/.373, but his fielding was so impressive that he ended 2009 with a WAR of 3.0. 

My vote for Brad Bergesen was a sentimental one, for sure, but I do think he deserves the recognition. Despite not throwing a pitch after July 30th (thanks a LOT, Billy Butler), Bergesen still ended the season with a WAR of 2.3. There's no doubt in my mind that if 3E1N hadn't gotten in the way of the Butler line drive that he'd be much closer to the top of this list, if not number one. 

Check out the National League list below the jump. The results for Cy Young voting will be posted tomorrow. 

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More photos » by Jae C. Hong - AP

Manager of the Year? You don't say! (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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The SBN baseball writers have voted on Manager of the Year for the National and American Leagues. The AL award goes to Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the NL award to Jim Tracy of the Colorado Rockies. Each blog was given two ballots for the awards that correspond with the league of the team it writes for. Votes were placed this year by myself and duck for the AL. 

Whenever I'm asked about managers I'm never entirely sure the criteria on which I should judge them. I'm always capable of noticing the things I dislike about managers (especially Orioles managers), but it's harder to detect what makes a good manager, especially when the talent on the teams varies so greatly.

When smart people are asked about good managers, Mike Scioscia is usually near the top of the list. Scioscia, as has been noted by several people here, tends to get the best out of his teams. He effectively uses "small ball" and consistently runs fundamentally sound teams. 

I didn't vote for him, though. Well, not for first place. I think that Mike Scioscia is a very good manager, don't get me wrong. But it's hard to determine how much of an affect a manager does or doesn't have on his team. The Angels are a well funded team with talented, high-paid players. I don't hold that against Mike Scioscia, certainly, but it does make his job easier. There's no way to know what he'd do with a different team, which is one of the things that makes choosing a MoY so tricky. My heart and head said to vote for a manager who took a team with less than optimal resources kept his team going strong throughout the year and got them to do things they didn't seem capable of. That's why my first place vote when to Rod Gardenhire. 

On August 15th the Minnesota Twins were 56-60, in third place, and 6 games behind the first place Tigers. A good offense couldn't keep up with the ineffectiveness and injuries of the starting rotation, and it looked like 2009 wouldn't be the Twins year. But from August 15th to the end of the season the Twins buckled down and went 31-16, including a tie-breaking game against the Detroit Tigers the day before the Division Series started. What did Ron Gardenhire have to do with this? Who knows for sure. But the Twins didn't fade down the stretch and didn't lose their motivation, despite a rotation being filled with rookies, despite losing Justin Morneau on September 12th, when they were still 5.5 games out of first. Without Morneau, their 2nd best hitter, they'd lose just four more games over the final 21 games of the year. 

Picking the best manager is hardly a science. The Twins weren't the most talented and they didn't have much luck, and Ron Gardenhire kept them going over 163 games and got them into the postseason. I think there's something to be said for that. 

My second place vote went to Mike Scioscia and my third place vote went to Jim Leyland (although I don't really know why I voted for Leyland). Strangely enough, duck voted exactly the same way. I didn't vote for the NL Manager of the year, but check out the results below the jump. And keep an eye out over the next few days for the SBN Rookie of the Year, MVP, and Cy Young. 

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The New York Yankees are the World Champions for 2009, their 27th World Series win. Yup, they were the best team money could buy all right. Congrats to Jerry Hairston, Jr. at any rate.

With the 2009 season officially over we can now turn our attention to the Hot Stove and what Andy MacPhail will do to improve the Orioles for the 2010 season. I find the off season to be great and frustrating at the same time. The idea of trades and free agents and building a team is exciting, but sometimes it all seems so slow as we wait for Spring Training.

2010 is going to be a very big year for the Orioles development into a contender. The youngsters will have to show improvement and the front office will have to find ways to fill the holes. Next year is the time for getting better. Much better.

So let's get started! There are just 152 days until Opening Day.