In the On Deck Circle…
What to expect at THE 1 CONSTANT leading up to Opening Day…
- Updates on the current State of the Roster for the New York Mets. Our next update, January 31, will focus on the Bullpen.
- The Prime 9 Mets Questions (on-the-field) going into the 2012 season will be posted in mid-February.
- Our Defending Champion (St. Louis Cardinals) preview will be posted in early March.
- Our Mets preview will also be posted in early March.
- Our 2012 MLB Season Preview and Predictions concerning the entirety of baseball including the AL East, AL Central, AL West, NL East, NL Central, NL West, All-Star Game, Postseason, and Individual Awards will be posted during the week leading up to the First Pitch of the season.
State of the Roster – Tuesday 01/17/12
The signing of Miguel Batista RHP as a non-roster invite this past week looks to be the “swingman” the New York Mets were supposedly coveting to complete their presumed mediocre at best pitching staff. Assuming Batista makes the team then there are 24/25 players accounted for in the current State of the Roster. The one remaining roster spot will be reserved for a LH hitting outfielder with the competition so far boiling down to non-roster invitees Mike Baxter and converted pitcher Adam Loewen.
State of the Roster – Tuesday 01/10/12
The New York Mets roster became a little clearer this week with the re-signing of Scott Hairston OF and the acquisition of free-agent Ronny Cedeno INF to fill out the bench. The Mets still need another bench player who is at least serviceable in the OF defensively and another bullpen arm whether it be a specialist or a swingman type.
State of the Roster – Tuesday 01/03/12
Every Tuesday from today to Opening Day we will take a look at the State of the Roster for the New York Mets and discuss concerns from a health and/or performance standpoint regarding player personnel and any potential changes to the projected 25-man roster. To get 2012 started lets get a basic look at the roster and a simple outlook as it stands today.
2011 NL MVP
Major League Baseball announced the MVP Award in the National League for the 2011 season. Ryan Braun was named NL MVP after helping lead the Brew Crew to their first division title since 1982. Braun hit .332 AVG, .397 OBP, .597 SLG, .994 OPS, 77 XBH, and 111 RBI with 33 SB. Braun, who was selected as the The 1 Constant NL Impact Player of the year which you can read about by clicking here, edged out Matt Kemp, who was selected by The 1 Constant as the NL Position Player of the Year which you can read about by clicking here, for the award.
A few thoughts on the process of selecting the MVP, in my opinion the award should go to a player whose team reached the postseason which in my awards I declared as the Impact Player of the Year which is different from the Hank Aaron Award or my version the Position Player of the Year for the most outstanding player in each league no matter if the player’s team reaches the postseason. This year I thought Kemp just edged out Braun as the overall best position player in the NL while Braun was the MVP because he impacted his team by having the great year he did while reaching the postseason as well.
2011 AL MVP
Major League Baseball announced the MVP Award in the American League for the 2011 campaign. Justin Verlander was named the AL MVP after winning the Triple Crown for pitching and also taking home the Players Choice award for AL Pitcher of the Year and overall MLB Player of the Year as well as being the recipient of the AL Cy Young Award. It was the first time a pitcher had won the award in the AL since 1992(Dennis Eckersley) and the first time a starting pitcher had won the award since 1986(Roger Clemens). The 1 Constant selected Verlander as the AL Starting Pitcher of the Year which can read about by clicking here.
While not taking anything away from Verlander as he had an obvious remarkable year but I have to say I think his teammate, Miguel Cabrera, was just as deserving for the award after hitting .344 AVG, .448 OBP, 1.033 OPS, 30 HR, 100+ RBI, while putting up splits and clutch stats that were also off the charts. Considering, somehow, Cabrera was not awarded the Silver Slugger for first baseman in the AL I am not surprised with what I believe was an oversight of an incredible and MVP-type worthy year produced by one of the true elite hitters in the game. Looking back there have been numerous pitchers, Doc Gooden and Pedro Martinez come to mind, who have had unbelievable seasons and in some cases superior to Verlander’s while playing on highly competitive teams in which they did not win an MVP Award.
2011 NL Cy Young
Major League Baseball announced the National League Cy Young Award winner for the 2011 season. There was no surprise with the selection as lefty Clayton Kershaw ran away with the voting. Like his American League counterpart, Kershaw won the Triple Crown for pitching in the NL. Kershaw led the NL with 21 wins, a 2.28 ERA, 248 SO, 0.977 WHIP, and 6.7 H/9. While there are a lot of young phenom type pitchers in the game today and a “changing of the guard” of sorts taking place I believe Kershaw has risen to the top of that group and will stay there for some time. He is one of the true elite pitchers to take the game by storm. The 1 Constant picked Kershaw as the pre-season favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award and selected him as the NL Starting Pitcher of the Year for this past season which you can read about by clicking here.
2011 Manager of the Year
Major League Baseball announced the Manager of the Year winners for both leagues during the 2011 season. Joe Maddon of the Tampa Bay Rays was named the American League winner while Kirk Gibson of the Arizona Diamondbacks took home the award in the National League.
Maddon helped the Rays into the postseason for the third time in four years by overtaking the collapsing BoSox. While the Rays trip to the playoffs was an interesting one considering the path they followed to get there I was a bit surprised that the award was not given to a team that was a bit more steady throughout the season in the AL but he is a deserving winner regardless. Gibson, in his first full season as a manger, went from last to first with the Snakes in winning the NL West division. The Diamondbacks were a team in need of discipline both through preparation and in-game and they got a huge dose of that with the hard-nosed ex-MVP. Congrats to both.
2012 Mets Uniforms
The Amazins announced changes to their uniforms for the 2012 season in a presser at Citi Field this morning. The main change is the elimination of the drop shadow and a more traditional look with both the main home and away uniform attire. In what would seem like a popular decision, we will once again see the all blue hats worn on the road as well as at home and the elimination of the two-tone(black and blue) hat. The Mets will still wear a black jersey and all black hat from time to time but are rumored to be phasing those out completely in favor of a blue alternate jersey in 2013 similar to their new blue batting practice jersey. Below you can check out each uniform and an up close view of the patch the Mets will be wearing in 2012 in honor of their 50th Anniversary.
2011 AL Cy Young
Major League Baseball announced the American League Cy Young Award winner for the 2011 season. After winning the Triple Crown for pitching in the AL and dominating the Players Choice Awards earlier in the month there was no surprise with the announcement that Justin Verlander was the recipient of the AL Cy Young Award. Verlander led the AL with 24 wins, .828 WPCT, a 2.40 ERA, 170 ERA+, 34 GS, 251 IP, 250 SO, 0.920 WHIP, and 6.2 H/9 for a truly remarkable campaign. It was the first such award in the 28 year old’s career. The 1 Constant selected Verlander as the AL Starting Pitcher of the Year which you can read about by clicking here.
2011 Rookie of the Year
Major League Baseball announced the winners of the Rookie of the Year award in both leagues for the concluded 2011 season. Starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson took home the award in the American League while closer Craig Kimbrel did the same in the National League. Hellickson helped lead the Tampa Bay Rays to the AL Wild Card by winning 13 games with a 2.95 ERA in 189 innings of work. His counterpart, Kimbrel, saved 46 games(an NL record for rookies) for the Atlanta Braves who fell just short of reaching the postseason. The 1 Constant selected Hellickson as the AL Rookie Pitcher of the Year and also Kimbrel as the NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year which you can read about by clicking here.
2011 Players Choice Awards
Major League Baseball announced the Players Choice Awards for the 2011 season. Highlighting the awards was the overall MLB Player of the Year and American League Oustanding Pitcher honoree, Justin Verlander. While Verlander had an incredible year I think you could have just as easily given the overall Player of the Year award to Miguel Cabrera, Jacoby Ellsbury, or Matt Kemp. Southpaw, Clayton Kershaw, and Triple Crown Winner took home the honor of Outstanding Pitcher in the National League. Curtis Granderson was named Outstanding Player in the AL while Kemp won the NL honor. While Granderson had a fine season I believe there were numerous other players in the AL more deserving.
2011 Silver Slugger Winners
Major League Baseball announced the Silver Slugger winners for the 2011 season. The Silver Slugger award is awarded to the best offensive player at each position in both leagues. Overall, there were nine first time winners of the award. In the American League I am not sure how they came to the conclusion that Adrian Gonzalez had a better year than Miguel Cabrera (comparison) at the first base position and in the National League you could make a case for Miguel Montero having a better overall season than Brian McCann (comparison) from the catching position.
American League
| POS | PLAYER (Career SS) | |
| C | Alex Avila (1) | |
| 1B | Adrian Gonzalez (1) | |
| 2B | Robinson Cano (3) | |
| 3B | Adrian Beltre (3) | |
| SS | Asdrubel Cabrera (1) | |
| OF | Jose Bautista (2) | |
| OF | Jacoby Ellsbury (1) | |
| OF | Curtis Granderson (1) | |
| DH | David Ortiz (5) | |
National League
| POS | PLAYER (CAREER SS) | |
| C | Brian McCann (5) | |
| 1B | Prince Fielder (2) | |
| 2B | Brandon Phillips (1) | |
| 3B | Aramis Ramirez (1) | |
| SS | Troy Tulowitzki (2) | |
| OF | Ryan Braun (4) | |
| OF | Matt Kemp (2) | |
| OF | Justin Upton (1) | |
| P | Daniel Hudson (1) | |
