The LoHud Yankees Blog

The official announcement of today’s winner will be at 2 p.m. Until then, here are my thoughts and predictions. Feel free to chime in with your own.

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American League Cy Young

The favorite: Zack Greinke (Royals)

The contender: Felix Hernandez (Mariners)

The dark horses: Justin Verlander (Tigers), Roy Halladay (Blue Jays)

The Yankee with a chance: CC Sabathia (and, if Sabathia does, so too should Mariano Rivera)

Morning analysis: Greinke was ridiculous this season and his 2.16 ERA – in the AL! – will likely be the determining factor in the race against King Felix (2.49 ERA). After all, it’s hard to go wrong with picking the guy who allows the fewest runs per nine innings, right? Oh, and for those who have a problem with Greinke only having 16 wins, consider that those are 16 of the 65 total wins the Royals had – in other words, Greinke won nearly a quarter of his team’s games this season. Not bad.

The pick: It’s gotta be Greinke.

The record: 1-for-2 (hit on Coghlan; missed on Bailey)

Oakland general manager Billy Beane has been willing to swap closers year in and year out, more or less operating under the assumption that his team can eventually find someone capable of handling the ninth inning. Beane let Jason Isringhausen walk away via free agency. He traded Billy Koch and Huston Street. Not every team has the luxury of Mariano Rivera — if Rivera were in Oakland, I’m betting Beane would change his closer strategy — so they have to go searching for ninth-inning relievers.

The A’s found a gem in Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey, who just last year had a 6.18 Double-A ERA at the all-star break. After the break, the A’s told Bailey they were going to do one of two things: Convert him to the bullpen or move him down to High-A. They went with the bullpen idea and he finished the season with a 0.92 ERA as a reliever, still in Double-A.

“It was my first big league spring training camp (this spring) so my goal was just to make an impression on the organization and the major league coaching staff,” Bailey said during this afternoon’s conference call. “… Hopefully when September call-ups came around or they needed help in the bullpen, my name was one of the first to come out of their mouth.”

Bailey said he was nervous facing Double-A hitters. He went away from his aggressive nature and started trying to sink the ball and hit corners. Moving to the bullpen got him out of that mode.

It’s a story worth remembering this spring. The Yankees aren’t going to be looking for a closer, but they might be looking for someone to jump into that eighth inning role. We can try to dissect the candidates all winter — and we probably will — but the fact is that very few people would have guessed that Phil Hughes would fill that role this season. Every one brought into camp can become a legitimate candidate. Things can suddenly click for a pitcher. I have no idea why or how, but we’ve all seen it happen, and it could happen again.

UPDATE, 3:41 p.m.: Speaking of surprises. Florida’s Chris Coghlan had also never played above Double-A before this season, he had never played the outfield until the day before he was called up from Triple-A and he had never been a lead-off hitter until Florida put him at the top of the order.

Out of spring training, Coghlan was sent to Triple-A where he opened in the infield. During today’s conference call, Coghlan said he was told that the Marlins were going to move him to the outfield with hopes of a possible call-up in a week or so. He played one game in left field, caught no fly balls, and joined the Marlins in Colorado the next day.

“I felt like I had an opportunity to make this team (out of spring training),” Coghlan said. “Obviously that didn’t work, I went to Triple-A. I didn’t want to go to Triple-A, but it was a blessing for me.”

When he got to the big leagues, Coghlan hit .212 for the first month. After the all-star break he hit .372, batting better than .380 in each of the last two months.

“There wasn’t any doubt,” Coghlan said. “This game, I feel like always confidence is such a huge thing. Even though I had never done anything in the major leagues, I was confident in what I had done in years past.”

Understandably, I’ve always gotten a lot of questions about who from Triple-A can help the big league team. There are always one or two names tha jump to mind immediately, but I like to say — and I honestly believe — anyone who gets to Triple-A has enough talent to help at the big league level. It’s a matter of opportunity, and it’s usually a matter of one or two things coming together.

Be excited about Austin Jackson and Jesus Montero, but don’t discount the rest. Remember that Francisco Cervelli was pretty awful in Trenton before his call-up this season. Baseball is a long season and player development is a long process. Help can come from just about anywhere.

A’s pitcher Andrew Bailey and Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan are the AL and NL Rookies of the Year.

UPDATE, 2:03 p.m.: Here’s the breakdown of the AL balloting (1st-2nd-3rd place votes – total points):

Andrew Bailey, Oakland Athletics (13-6-5 — 88 points)
Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers (8-6-7 — 65 points)
Rick Porcello, Detroit Tigers (7-8-5 — 64 points)
Jeff Niemann, Tampa Bay Rays (0-5-6 — 21 points)
Gordon Beckham, Chicago White Sox (0-2-4 — 10 points)
Brett Anderson, Oakland Athletics (0-1-1 — 4 points)

And here’s the breakdown of the NL ballotting:

Chris Coghlan, Florida Marlins (17-6-2 — 105 points)
J.A. Happ, Philadelphia Phillies (10-11-11 — 94 points)
Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves (2-6-9 — 37 points)
Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates (2-5-0 — 25 points)
Casey McGehee, Milwaukee Brewers (1-3-4 – 18 points)
Randy Wells, Chicago Cubs (0-1-0 — 3 points)
Garret Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates (0-0-2 — 2 points)
Everth Cabrera, San Diego Padres (0-0-1 — 1 point)
Dexter Fowler, Colorado Rockies (0-0-1 — 1 point)
Gerardo Parra, Arizona Diamondbacks (0-0-1 — 1 point)
Colby Rasmus, St. Louis Cardinals (0-0-1 — 1 point)

UPDATE, 2:12 p.m.: Well, 1-for-2 for me in predictions so far. I’m not surprised by Bailey’s win since he did have a great season, but if it was going to go to a pitcher, I think what Porcello did as a starter was more impressive. Still, you can’t knock 26 saves and a 1.89 ERA — Bailey had a great year.

As for the NL, it was interesting to see such a large gap from the top two (Coghlan and Happ) to the third-place finisher, as well as the sheer number of players who got votes. I thought Hanson deserved more votes, but that’s me. Coghlan certainly looks like a stud.

As a reminder, these awards are voted on by members of the BBWAA, with two writers from each city being assigned to each award. I did not vote this year; Pete voted for, I believe, the AL MVP, and he kept his vote since he left so close to the end of the season. Check back in a little while for anything interesting out of the conference calls with the winners.

The official announcement of today’s winners will be at 2 p.m. Until then, here are my thoughts and predictions. Feel free to chime in with your own.

American League Rookie of the Year

The favorite: Elvis Andrus (Texas)

The contenders: Rick Porcello (Detroit), Jeff Niemann (Tampa Bay), Brett Anderson (Oakland), Andrew Bailey (Oakland), Gordon Beckham (Chicago)

The dark horses: Ricky Romero (Toronto), Matt Wieters (Baltimore)

The Yankee with a shot: Brett Gardner

Morning analysis: Andrus is the favorite in name only – truth is, this is a wide-open race that could be won by someone I didn’t even list here. I’ve always been more impressed with rookie pitchers that do well, so I’m more moved by Porcello, Niemann and Bailey.

The pick: Bailey was the only rookie All-Star on either roster but Porcello was a stud to the point that he got the ball in the playoff tiebreaker against the Twins and didn’t buckle at all. I’ll go with Porcello.

National League Rookie of the Year

The favorite: Chris Coghlan (Florida)

The contenders: Andrew McCutchen (Pittsburgh), Tommy Hanson (Atlanta), J.A. Happ (Philadelphia)

The dark horses: Dexter Fowler (Colorado), Garrett Jones (Pittsburgh)

The (former) Yankee with a shot: So … is Ross Ohlendorf a rookie? No? OK,  um …

Morning analysis: As I said above, rookie pitchers who shine make me take notice and so it’s hard to ignore what Hanson, in particular, did in Atlanta. Twenty-one starts and an ERA of 2.89 is absolutely legit and Happ (2.93) was nearly as impressive. Coghlan, though, can’t be overlooked – his 113 second-half hits made him the first rookie ever to lead the league.

The pick: If it were me, I’d go with Hanson. In a prediction, though, I’ll go with Coghlan.

The Yankees hosted the first Damon Runyon 5K for Cancer Research this afternoon at the Stadium, with more than 2,500 participants helping raise more than $300,000 for scientists trying find a cure.

Check out this story for details on the race, which saw runners using the entire park – they circled the concourses and the field itself. Kudos, too, to the Yankees for being part of such a worthy cause.

When the new Stadium was built there was a lot of talk about how it needed to be more than just a baseball stadium. Football and hockey events will certainly be nice to see in the Bronx, but events like this one are even better.

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That may be it for the blogging tonight. Enjoy the football game and check back tomorrow for the first of our award preview posts and then the announcement of the Rookies of the Year.

Although the Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers have been given out, baseball still has some individual hardware to distribute beginning Monday. The Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, Cy Young and MVP awards for each league will be announced by MLB and the Baseball Writers Association of America (whose members vote on the honors) over the following eight days. Here’s the schedule:

Monday: AL & NL Rookie of the Year
Tuesday: AL Cy Young
Wednesday: AL & NL Manager of the Year
Thursday: NL Cy Young
Nov. 23 (next Monday): AL MVP
Nov. 24 (next Tuesday): NL MVP

We’ll have a preview post for each award in the morning before it’s announced (including predictions), then get you the winner and instant analysis as soon as it comes down.

I’ve had a few emailers asking about Alex Rodriguez and a second potential hip surgery, since it had been originally said that he might need a follow-up procedure to the one he had back in spring training. Remember, though, that A-Rod’s doctor said during the playoffs that he did not believe Rodriguez would need that second procedure since Rodriguez has healed so well.

Meanwhile, David Waldstein did a great piece about another medical procedure – the one on Hideki Matsui’s knees – that was meaningful to the Yankees this season. It’s interesting to hear that Matsui may well need another operation to keep playing, though a doctor seems to think he could still be a part-time outfielder if a team wanted that. As we know, the Yankees – if they keep him – see Matsui as a DH-only.

The season is over but Alex Rodriguez still draws a crowd. A-Rod joined several teammates and former Yankees at an autograph-signing session in New Rochelle yesterday, and the fans packed in to get his signature. Greg Clary has the story.

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As it turned out, Derek Jeter sat in one of the prime “always on-camera” rows right behind the ring at last night’s Pacquiao/Cotto fight. The Captain was alongside his movie buddies, Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell, and sat next to a producer from the HBO show “Entourage.” CC Sabathia was said to be in the house as well, but wasn’t shown on camera in ringside seats. Giants running back Brandon Jacobs was also there.

For those who missed it, check out the replay on HBO next week or whenever they show it. Great fight. I was a few rounds off; I said Pac-Man in eight and he ended up winning in the 12th.

While there are admittedly less boxing fans now than in years past, anyone who has even a passing interest in the sport knows about the big fight tonight in Las Vegas. Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao is fighting Miguel Cotto on pay-per-view, and celebrities – including several Yankees – are expected to be in attendance.

As you may remember, CC Sabathia is a big boxing fan. When the winter meetings were in Vegas last year, Sabathia attended the Pacquiao vs. Oscar De La Hoya fight in between talking to teams. He could be in the house tonight along with Derek Jeter, who is believed to have also asked for tickets.

I’ve always liked boxing, and some of the most sane conversations I’ve ever had with Gary Sheffield had to do with the sport. Sheff is good friends with several Tampa-area boxers, including Roy Jones Jr. and Winky Wright. Sheff once told me that he, Winky and Jeff Lacy actually went bowling together quite often, and even had shirts made up with their names on them. Seeing those guys in bowling shoes must have been quite a sight.

As for tonight, like most people I’m leery of paying 50 bucks to watch TV, so I’m not totally sure I’ll see the fight live. If you don’t mind the fee and/or find a bar to watch it, you’re in for some action – Pacquiao’s punching speed is blinding. I’ll pick him in an 8th round knockout.

For everyone else, enjoy the rest of your Saturday night.

The Yankees aren’t having their internal meetings until next week, but that doesn’t – and shouldn’t – stop the speculation about who and what they’re going to be going after once the Hot Stove gets cooking. For now, Curtis Granderson is the popular name being floated around the trade market and – not surprisingly – there are plenty of teams (including, perhaps, the Cubs and Angels) interested in him.

Should the Yankees be one of them? Obviously it depends on what kind of value would have to go to Detroit in return, but there are also two questions that you have to answer before you get to whether you want Granderson or not:

1. Do you want Johnny Damon back playing left field?

2. Do you believe Melky Cabrera and/or Brett Gardner is an everyday center fielder?

If you want Damon back and if you like Cabrera (or Gardner) in center, then there isn’t much room for Granderson this winter, especially if Austin Jackson is waiting in the wings. There could be a hybrid situation, I suppose, where Granderson is a platoon-type player since his splits against lefties are atrocious. But if that’s true, then how much could the Yankees reasonably give up in a trade for a guy who wouldn’t play all the time?

I’ve always liked Granderson as a player and neither one of the two questions I posed above would keep me from acquiring him (I’m not married to Damon in left and I’m not convinced about either guy in center), so the question would hinge on what was being sent out.

If Jackson was in the deal, I’d at least listen though I’d probably want more back than just an outfielder. If we were talking young pitchers, though, like Hughes or Chamberlain? Not interested. Pitching is what wins and outfielders just aren’t as important.