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Have you seen these photos?  Courtesy of @OctagonBaseball, here are shots from an ESPN Mag shoot of the Mariners' Garrett Olson and Felix Hernandez dressed as Pulp Fiction's Jules and Vincent.

Felix is the best.  Enjoy.

It occurred to us last night that at the conclusion of this year's regular season, we posted our picks for the Cy Young and MVP winners but failed to enter a ballot for the AL and NL Rookies of the Year.  I guess R.O.Y. voters get a ballot with room for five names.  When it comes to predictions, I guess that Austin Jackson will win in the American League and it's basically a toss up between Heyward and Posey for the NL.  If we had a vote, our ballots would look like this:

National League
1. Jason Heyward, Braves
Heyward hit a homerun in his first Major League at bat against Carlos Zambrano on Opening Day.  He showed some of the finest "tools" ever seen from a 20-year old.  He showed power with 52 extra base hits.  Heyward led all NL rookies in runs scored (83), walks (91), onbase percentage (.393), stolen bases (11), BB% (14.6%), OPS+ (131), wOBA (.376), Wins Above Replacement (5.0), and more statistics like wRC, wRAA, wRC+, RAR, blah, blah, blah...

Expect many more great returns from Jason Heyward the rest of his career.

2. Buster Posey, Giants
Something tells me that Buster wont be bothered at all if he doesn't take home the Rookie of the Year hardware, since he'll be getting a World Series ring in April.  It will be interesting to see if his leadership characteristics and winning will continue for the Giants, leading to more Jeter comparisons.  That would be amazing for Giants fans, and for the rest of us could be a little fun for a while.

3. Stephen Strasburg, Nationals
Strasburg was given an opportunity in the Big Leagues, and he didn't miss.  In a National League rookie class for the ages, there is no doubt that Stephen Strasburg would have won this award had he stayed healthy.  There was talk that he could be in a discussion for the CY Young award, even if he only pitched around 100 Major League innings, since we all seemed so certain those future innings pitched would be sparkling.  In twelve Major League starts, Stephen Strasburg pitched 68 innings, giving up 56 hits and 17 walks with 96 strikeouts.  The Nationals went 8-4 in his starts, and his last three starts of the year were after a DL stint and probably shouldn't have even happened.

4. Ike Davis, Mets
In the toughest sports market un the United States, Ike Davis provided a steady presence, displayed a winning attitude (for whatever that's worth), and played what seems to be much better than average, perhaps even world class defense, at first base.  In fact, he lead all National League first basemen in UZR by a lot.

National League 1st Basemen by UZR
Ike Davis, Mets: 10.1

Ike Davis is better with his glove than his bat.

Adam LaRoche, D'backs: 5.2
Derek Lee, Cubs/Braves: 2.1
Joey Votto, Reds: 1.6
Albert Pujols, Cardinals: 1.5
James Loney, Dodgers: 1.3
Adrian Gonzalez, Padres: 1.1
Gaby Sanchez, Marlins: -0.1
Todd Helton, Rockies: -1.9
Adam Dunn, Nationals: -3.1
Garrett Jones, Pirates: -6.2
Prince Fielder, Brewers: -7.4
Troy Glaus, Braves: -8.3
Ryan Howard, Phillies: -12.6

So, there you go, Mets fans.  The next time an obnoxious Phillies fan gives you a hard time about how much the Mets stink, you should tell them that Ike Davis is the best defensive 1st baseman in the National League and Ryan Howard is the worst.  Oh yeah, and you may also mention that Ryan Howard turns into a really dreadful player if the Phillies are facing a lefthanded pitcher.  Oh right, and don't forget that Ryan Howard has one of the worst contracts in all of baseball as he is owed 20 million dollars each season in 2011, 2012, and 2013 AND 25 million dollars in 2014, 2015, and 2016.  Ryan Howard is still a good player, but he's not getting better.  Ryan Howard turns 31 years old on Friday, and the Phillies will be paying him $145 million (with his $10 mil buyout) for the next six seasons.

It's not much, Mets fans, but there is something there.

5. Starlin Castro, Cubs

"Como se dice 'new helmet'?"

Batting Average is a lame statistic with deep rooted ties to the ancient box scores and the heyday of baseball cards.  Still, Starlin Castro is still four months away from being 21 years old, and he hit .300 in the Major Leagues in over 500 plate appearances.  Being so young last season, it would not have been a terrible disappointment if young Starlin had been overmatched.  Instead, he showed flashes of brilliance and certifiable skills while resembling the natural characteristics of a kid who's still learning to play the game as a professional.

Even as a Cubs fan, I was surprised that Castro persuaded me to include him on the ballot.  Initially, I thought I was going to vote for one or two of the Marlins' Logan Morrison, Gaby Sanchez, and Mike Stanton.  LoMo didn't play in enough games, Gaby just missed getting in ahead of Ike Davis and/or Starlin Castro, and Mike Stanton needs to show me even more before I can overlook his 34.3% strikeout percentage.

Honorable mention: Gaby Sanchez, Mike Stanton, Logan Morrison, Pedro Alvarez, Jamie Garcia, Mike Leake, Jonny Venters, Madison Bumgarner, and Tyler Colvin.

American League
1. John Jaso, Rays
Who?  What?  What's a John Jaso?  He was a key part of the Rays successful season.  When Dioner Navarro and Kelly Shoppach brought basically nothing to the team this year, John Jaso stepped in and produced wonderfully.  The Rays won baseball's best division, the AL East, and Jaso was 4th on the team in Offensive Wins Above Replacement behind Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, and BJ Upton.  Jaso had a .372 OBP and 110 OPS+ while playing Catcher and Designated Hitter for the Rays.

Does John Jason even know he's nominated for Rookie of the Year?

3. Austin Jackson, Tigers
The short explanation on why we don't support Austin Jackson for Rookie of the Year is too many strikeouts.  Period.  He did have a very good season for the the Tigers, when you think of him as a 23-year old rookie playing Centerfield, with 48 XBH, 27 stolen bases, and a 102 OPS+.  Much like how we penalize Mike Stanton in the National League for his K%, Austin Jackson strikes out over 25% of the time and has an unsightly ratio of 170 strikeouts to 4 Homeruns.

5. Neftali Feliz, Rangers

We've been Neftali fans for too long to forget about him now.

There were a couple of other rookie relievers who really impressed us, but we decided to recognize Neftali's ability to take over the closer's job for the AL Champion.  Daniel Bard and Sergio Santos are going to be outstanding relievers for years to come, but Neftali had the more remarkable season.

All three of these guys had very good strikeout and radar gun numbers, but Neftali differentiated himself with his control.

Neftali Feliz's K/BB ratio (3.94) was much better than Bard (2.53) and Santos (2.15).

Honorable mention: Brennan Boesch, Wade Davis, Daniel Bard, and Sergio Santo.

Last week, we took on the challenge of finding the best team to miss out on playing in the World Series.

When looking at teams of the past 100 years, the discussion begins and ends with the 2001 Seattle Mariners.  Throughout the history of the game, or at least since the World Series was invented, the 2001 Mariners still look like the best team to not showcase their game in the Fall Classic.  In 2001, they set all time records with 116 wins and a +1.85 Run Differential per Game (Rdiff).

Only the 1909 Cubs having a higher Pythagorean Winning Percentage, but as you'll see in a minute that's the only metric by which they compare favorably to the M's.

There are a few lists included here.  Newspaper articles and blogs that have lists are easy to read, often popular, but too frequently lazy fluff pieces of this and that.  We aren't advancing the list of great human achievement over here, but at least our lists merely skim the surface of thorough information gathering.

I think what's interesting here, if there's anything at all, may be found in the journey to these conclusions.  Trying to retrace our steps, and provide quick snapshots until the overall rankings list at the the bottom of the post, let's take it from the top.

After 116 Wins, Ichiro's Mariners didn't get a chance to face Schilling & Johnson in '01

Greatest Winning Percentage
2001 Mariners .716
1909 Cubs .680
1942 Brooklyn Dodgers .675
1954 Yankees .669
1998 Braves .654
1915 Tigers .6493
1994 Expos .6491
1993 Braves .642
1928 Phil A's .641
2002 Yankees .640
1908 NY Giants .6364
1908 Pirates .6364
1980 Yankees .6358
1993 SF Giants .6358
2002 Oakland A's .6358

Some fans believe in the predictive value of the Pythagorean Winning Percentage.  I'm not sure if it should carry much more weight than run differencial, for our purposes, but it is better to have more information than less.

Sadly, this is where's where the Cubs' 102+ year Championship drought began.

Pythagorean Winning Percentage
1909 Cubs .712
2001 Mariners .673
1909 Phil A's .667
1942 Brooklyn Dodgers .662
1954 Yankees .656
1908 NY Giants .656
1998 Braves .654
1998 Astros .654
1993 Braves .642
2001 Oakland A's .642
1976 Phillies .642
1922 StL Browns .636
1954 White Sox .636
1928 Phil A's .634
1972 Pirates .632

If you believe deeply in the Pythagorean formula, then you may argue the 1909 Cubs should have won more games than any of these teams, that the 2001 Mariners were lucky, and the Cubs trying to 3-pete World Series titles in 1909 were foreshadowing a century of bad luck.  It's incredible to think of the Cubs as a powerhouse team a hundred years ago.  They won it all in 1907 and '08, and arguably had the 2nd best team ever to not play in the World Series.

Pitcher, Orval Overall, wasn't as famous as Mordecai Brown, but he got it done for the Cubbies a hundred years ago.

It's pretty typical, I guess, that only a Cubs fan would spend a few hours writing a post on a topic as mundane as the best team ever to not appear in the World Series.  I mean any really good Cubs team of the past hundred years should appear on this list, and yet those teams are probably worse than dozens of others that actually won pennants.  Red Sox fans, White Sox fans, Giants fans... they've all celebrated long droughts that lasted at least a lifetime.

Here is a grouping of non-World Series teams, sorted by Run Differential.

Greatest Run Differential/Game (Rdiff)
2001 Mariners 1.85
1909 Cubs 1.58
1998 Astros 1.56
1954 Yankees 1.56
1922 StL Browns 1.52
1998 Braves 1.51
1932 Phil A's 1.49
1942 Brooklyn Dodgers 1.48
2001 Oakland A's 1.48
1949 Red Sox 1.46
1928 Phil A's 1.40
1921 Indians 1.38
1935 Cardinals 1.32
1930 Wash Senators 1.32
1976 Phillies 1.31

The '98 Astros made one of the best trade deadline moves when they got Randy Johnson

We like Run Differential a lot, but not enough to consider it as the entire story.  Which gets us to our next list, using Wins Above Replacement.  This time, we're using information solely from Baseball Reference because Fangraphs does not have WAR information on pitchers throughout history.

Wins Above Replacement
2001 Mariners 66.6
2001 Oakland A's 57.0
1998 Braves 54.7
1998 Astros 53.9
2002 Yankees 52.9
1988 Mets 52.6
1922 StL Browns 52.5
1909 Cubs 51.3
1930 Wash Senators 51.1
1996 Indians 50.3
1942 Brooklyn Dodgers 50.0
1932 Phil A's 49.8
1951 Brooklyn Dodgers 49.8
1976 Phillies 49.7
1908 NY Giants 49.6

A lot could have been different for the 2001 Oakland Athletics.

That 2001 season and those 2001 Oakland A's really were something, huh?  This A's team was the only Wild Card team to ever win 100 games.  Wouldn't it be interesting if the two best teams, at least by WAR measurements, to miss the World Series were both in the AL West in 2001?  That's kind of bizarre.

We ranked seventy-four teams that looked like they had a chance to be in the discussion.  We compiled various statistics including the four shown above, plus Rtot and UZR/150 for defense and Fangraphs' WAR to have just another perspective on contemporary clubs.  While we looked as all statistics, the following list primarily uses Rdiff/game, WAR, and Pyth% because they are all encompassing enough and extend all the way back to the first World Series in 1903.

More than likely, there are some other teams out there that could probably crack the Top 40 of the list below, which has 74 teams.  This was not the most scientific of studies, but we are confident that we have found at least the top 12 or 20 teams for sure.  Finally, here is our list of the day; we present our overall study rankings and conclusions...

Greatest Teams to miss World Series
1.) 2001 Mariners
2.) 1909 Cubs

I struggle to maintain perspective with this pennant drought.  On one hand, it's years and years of mismanagement.  On the other hand, there have been decades of bag luck.  Recent eras have had teams that succumbed to extraordinarily intense postseason pressure.

Is Mike Quade the right choice for the Cubs or the Cubs' payroll?

Now, we have new ownership, very expensive tickets, additional revenue streams with ads on the behind-the-plate bricks, but a philosophy to keep the payroll level for next season.  How does a disastrous team making lots of money, with a rabid fan base, and a 102 year old Championship drought tell those fans that payroll will not be increased to improve the Major League club?  Without increasing the payroll, there is virtually no chance the Cubs will be able to compete for at least 3 or 4 seasons.  It's infuriating.  Their team stinks, and it looks a lot like Mike Quade was chosen because he's the cheap route for a team looking to save money wherever they can.  Infuriating, yet, I maintain efforts to keep things in perspective.

3.) 1998 Braves
4.) 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers
5.) 1998 Astros
6.) 2001 Oakland A's
7.) 1954 Yankees
8.) 2002 Oakland A's
9.) 1993 Braves

This tells us a lot about the Braves of the 90's and the Moneyball A's.  Two teams in the top 9 of this list really is a bitter acknowledgement.

Darryl... Darryl... Darryl...

10.) 1928 Philadelphia A's
11.) 1908 NY Giants
12.) 1915 Tigers
13.) 1976 Phillies
14.) 1988 NY Mets

If memory serves, this '88 Mets team was outstanding.  That alone tells me a lot about the thirteen teams listed above them in these results.

15.) 1909 Philadelphia A's
16.) 1949 Red Sox
17.) 1922 St. Louis Browns
18.) 1932 Philadelphia A's
19.) 1930 Washington Senators
20.) 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers
21.) 1977 Royals
22.) 1977 Phillies

23.) 1935 Cardinals
24.) 1980 Yankees
25.) 1996 Indians
26.) 1993 SF Giants
27.) 1994 Expos

Interestingly, the 1993 Giants were immediately nominated for this award, and they placed just outside of our Top 25, tied for 26th with the purgatorial fated 1994 Montreal Expos.  This Expos team may have won the World Series that was canceled due to the '94 strike.  They were the best of those old Expos teams with amazing homegrown talent who'd go on to excel for other teams.  This team was loaded.  The lineup was fueled by Moises Alou, Larry Walker, Marquis Grissom, Cliff Floyd, and Wil Cordero.  Starters Ken Hill, Pedro Martinez, and Jeff Fassero set the table for a solid bullpen anchored by Mel Rojas and John Wetteland.

28.) 2002 Yankees
29.) 1921 Indians
30.) 1941 Cardinals
31.) 1972 Pirates
32.) 1973 Orioles
33.) 1949 Cardinals
34.) 1985 Blue Jays
35.) 1912 Pirates
36.) 1961 Tigers
37.) 1962 LA Dodgers
38.) 1934 NY Giants
39.) 1935 Yankees
40.) 1954 White Sox
41.) 2002 Braves
42.) 2005 Cardinals
43.) 1945 Cardinals
44.) 1980 Orioles
45.) 1971 Oakland A's

Around here is where I think there is a bunch of room for more teams to enter the discussion.  Someone may say something like "Hey, I remember growing up this one team we had was great, but they didn't end up doing anything.  They collapsed.  Or, that happened to be the year that so-and-so won 104 games, so they missed the postseason.  If you think any other teams come to mind, they very likely would fall somewhere in the 40-75 range on our list.

46.) 1997 Orioles
47.) 1983 White Sox
48.) 1952 Indians
49.) 1908 Pirates
50.) 1919 NY Giants
51.) 1970 Twins
52.) 1942 Red Sox
53.) 2010 Yankees
54.) 1969 Twins
55.) 1950 Tigers
56.) 2002 Diamondbacks
57.) 1920 White Sox
58.) 2010 Rays
59.) 1973 Reds
60.) 2003 SF Giants
61.) 1991 Pirates
62.) 2008 Angels
63.) 1969 Cubs


Chicago folklore holds the '69 Cubs in great regard.  This was the Cubs team that inexplicably collapsed, at least until we heard about Steve Bartman and the Renegades.  Growing up listening to stories of Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, and Ron Santo made me think this was an All Time Great Team that didn't make it.  Therefore, it should be easy to imagine my surprise when this team rated worse than 62 others, including the 2008 Angels.  Who remembers the 2008 Angels as a team that could've/should've done better?  Outside of the Scoscia household, the answer is not many people.

64.) 1977 Rangers
65.) 2010 Phillies
66.) 1979 Expos
67.) 2006 Twins
68.) 1981 Reds
69.) 1979 Brewers
70.) 1916 Phillies
71.) 2010 Reds

It would make sense to expect that looking back on history, there could be 40 or 50 teams who didn't make the World Series but were better better than the 2010 Reds.  These Reds didn't capture the imagination of fans all over the country, yet, we found them in the Top 75 of our informal study.  I just think that's interesting.  What can I say?  Maybe I need to find a new book to read if this stuff fascinates me and no-one else.

72.) 1999 Rangers
73.) 1986 Astros
74.) 1996 Padres

So, whom did we miss?  Please let us know in the comments section of other teams that come to mind as great clubs that never got to show it in the World Series.

Last night's Ravens @ Falcons game got us into an 0-1 hole to start our Week 10 Picks.  The point spread was not even an issue, as I got this tweet out a couple of hours before game time:

"Although I love the "You are still Cleveland to us. You still stink" sign, I would take the #Ravens tonight."

This gambling thing is really a big hoax.  Over time, every consistent gambler should basically be up or down within a standard variation of their average gambling amount.  The hook is with the addiction of impulsion.  For the most part, we love the adrenaline, the rush.  So, it's rare to handle the required discipline to know when to say when.

"I just have this chemical imbalance almost like an allergy to alcohol. It just makes me crazy!"

Just as Kim Basinger would lose control if she drank in Blind Date, most people gambling lose control.  They reach that tipping point somewhere along the line.

Most people take a team they shouldn't, back the wrong cards at a table, or build a parlay that's a little too ambitious.

With a healthy dose of self control, we present to you our Week 10 NFL Picks, brought to us by our proud sponsor: Prestige Worldwide, wide... wide... wide...

"Investors?  Maybe You!"

It' looks odd that we're only taking three home teams.

Our locks this week are a collection of road warriors, the Titans, Seahawks, and Rams.

We got virtual money on you, Hass!

Season Record: 30-23-2 (.566 W%)
Locks: 6-4-2

Remember, don't gamble money you can't afford to lose, and parlays are sucker bets.  Enjoy the games!

About a month ago, we listed the Top Free Agents by position.  Our opinions haven't changed much in the past month, but here we are going to try and rank the whole group.  Go grab a drink and settle in, here we go...

No. Player

I kind of feel like Lee is going to stay in Texas.

1.) Cliff Lee
2.) Carl Crawford
3.) Jayson Werth
4.) Adrian Beltre
5.) Victor Martinez
6.) Adam Dunn

There's very little doubt that the six players above are the most coveted free agents on the market.  The trade market can obviously complicate the decision to heavily invest in any of these players.  For example, how much is Adrian Beltre worth, if you can cheaply trade for Aramiz Ramirez?  Do you want to give Adam Dunn upwards of $40 million if you want to get into the Adrian Gonzalez Sweepstakes?  Cliff Lee may be signed very soon to a HUGE deal from the Rangers or Yankees, but it's interesting when managing a budget to consider that the money going to Cliff Lee may be better spent after trading for Zack Greinke or during next offseason's Yu Darvish Derby.

7.) Jorge de la Rosa
8.) Rafael Soriano
9.) Andy Pettitte
10.) Jake Westbrook
11.) Orlando Hudson

I like the upside in Jorge de la Rosa's left arm, but the other guys in the 7-11 group are mostly known commodities who will provide close to their 2011 projections.

Joaquin is ready to get PAID

12.) Joaquin Benoit
13.) Aubrey Huff
14.) Hisashi Iwakuma

Joaquin Benoit may be the next big thing for relief pitchers.  His 2010 numbers were staggering: in 60.3 innings, he gave up 30 hits, 11 walks, and struck out 75.

15.) Lance Berkman
16.) Paul Konerko
17.) Manny Ramirez

Once again, we're Bullish on Big Puma

Aging sluggers, probably competing for DH roles, but Berkman and Konerko can don a first baseman's glove on occasion.  I'm very bullish on Berkman and expect a nice year, if he can be healthy.  Konerko had an outstanding season, but I don't see why he's a surer bet to have a better year than Big Puma.  ManRam can probably only be worth the hassle if he signs a 1-year deal, on a good team, and he has about 3 months where he catches fire.  He probably cannot be counted on for 5 or 6 good months anymore.

Putz had a bounceback year with the White Sox

18.) J.J. Putz
19.) Carlos Pena

If I could do the little arrow graphics, with a green arrow pointing up and a red arrow pointing down, I'd have the Up one with Putz and the Down one with Pena.

20.) Javier Vazquez
21.) Carl Pavano
22.) Kerry Wood
23.) Scott Downs
24.) Grant Balfour
25.) Jeff Francis
26.) Hiroki Kuroda
27.) Brad Penny

If this were a draft board, we could look for a run on pitchers at the end of the first round.  Some of these players are coming off good years (Pavano, Wood), others are not (Vazquez).  Who will bounce back in 2011.  If I were one of these guys, I would really hope that Jed Hoyer, Sandy Alderson, or Jim Hendry called.

28.) Juan Uribe
29.) Adam LaRoche
30.) Vladimir Guerrero
31.) Jim Thome

It seems like we are going to have about 15 or 20 hitters looking to fill about 6 or 7 DH spots in the American League every year.

The rest of the list is essentially a bunch of old hitters and oldish pitchers for Major League teams to gamble on.  The market has been in flux the past several years, and it'll be interesting if veteran contracts are easier or harder to come by this year, after the Giants showed you can win the whole bleeping thing by building a terrific pitching staff and basically throwing together a hodgepodge, veteran lineup.

It feels like Harang will either be outstanding or terrible.

32.) Brian Fuentes
33.) Koji Uehara
34.) Aaron Harang
35.) Pat Burrell
36.) Johnny Damon
37.) Frank Francisco
38.) Jason Frasor
39.) Derrek Lee
40.) Hisanori Takahashi
41.) Miguel Olivo
42.) Magglio Ordonez
43.) Jon Rauch
44.) Hideki Matsui
45.) Nick Johnson
46.) Rich Harden

We like Takahashi for a few more years.

47.) John Buck
48.) Bill Hall
49.) Jesse Crain
50.) Ramon Hernandez
51.) Troy Glaus
52.) Matt Guerrier
53.) Jose Contreras
54.) Miguel Tejada
55.) Dan Wheeler
56.) Jon Garland
57.) Pedro Feliciano
58.) Marcus Thames
59.) Brad Hawpe
60.) Jorge Cantu

Capuano looks like a good buy low candidate.

61.) Xavier Nady
62.) Russell Branyan
63.) Yorvit Torrealba
64.) Chris Capuano
65.) Randy Choate
66.) Eric Hinske
67.) Reed Johnson
68.) Kevin Millwood
69.) Arthur Rhodes
70.) Octavio Dotel
71.) Dennys Reyes
72.) Chan Ho Park
73.) Corey Patterson
74.) Austin Kearns

I may be the last Corey Patterson fan.

75.) Bruce Chen
76.) A.J. Pierzynski
77.) Ty Wigginton
78.) Andruw Jones
79.) Nick Punto
80.) Vicente Padilla
81.) Lyle Overbay
82.) Guillermo Mora
83.) Elmer Dessens
84.) Kyle Farsnworth
85.) Jeremy Bonderman

Webb's fastball lives in the mid-80's. How heavy can he make his sinker at batting practice speeds?

86.) Brandon Webb
87.) Chris Young
88.) J.C. Romero
89.) Joe Beimel
90.) Orlando Cabrera
91.) Jerry Hairston
92.) Jarrod Washburn
93.) Melvin Mora
94.) Chad Qualls
95.) Justin Duchscherer
96.) Erik Bedard
97.) Kelvim Escobar
98.) Edgar Renteria
99.) Rocco Baldelli
100.) Willie Harris

Honorable Mention: Cesar Izturis, Gregg Zaun, Jason Giambi, Chad Durbin, Miguel Cairo, Henry Blanco, Kevin Gregg, Rick Ankiel, Matt Stairs, Mark Hendrickson, Omar Vizquel, Melky Cabrera, Will Ohman, and Craig Counsell.

Since these Yankee fans became folk heroes, there have been a few GIF images created of the moment.  I think I liked this one the most (let's hope this works):

Just about everyone was dumbfounded to see Derek Jeter win his fifth Gold Glove yesterday.  Do the National League Gold Glove awards have any surprises in store for us this afternoon?  The results will be released at 2:30pm Central Times.

Courtesy of stltoday.com, here is what the Cardinal's coaches NL Gold Glove ballot looks like:


If we had a vote, our ballot would look like this:

Ike Davis excelled in the field in 2010.

C: Miguel Olivo, Rockies
1b: Ike Davis, Mets
2b: Chase Utley, Phillies
SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies
3b: Scott Rolen, Reds
OF: Angel Pagan, Mets
OF: Andres Torres, Giants
OF: Jay Bruce, Reds
P: Tim Hudson, Braves

Our predictions for who will win are:

"For all you youngsters out there..."

C: Yadier Molina, Cardinals
1b: Albert Pujols, Cardinals
2b: Brandon Phillips, Reds
SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies
3b: Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
OF: Chris B. Young, Diamondback
OF: Jayson Werth, Phillies
OF: Andrew McCutcheon, Pirates
P: Adam Wainright, Cardinals

Like we said, results will be out in a couple of hours.

Have a nice afternoon.

So, who's the best team to miss out on a World Series appearance?  It could be the same question as which are the biggest postseason upsets, but we're going to look at it from this perspective.  Which are the best teams, historically, to not make the postseason?  A brilliant reader in the comment section of JoePo's Weakest World Series Winners post brought it up and suggested the 2001 Mariners and 1993 Giants should be on the list.  Who else is worth mentioning?  I think the 1969 Cubs should be considered.  We're going to look into it this week and hope to have a post done by Friday.  We'll probably use real Win/Loss figures, as well as team's Pythagorian Win-Loss.  Please include suggestions in the comments section below.  Thanks!