Taking frustration out on another columnist

Well, there isn't much else to say about the A's these days, so I decided to vent a little, based on a friend's stunned reaction to the recent SI article, and an article based out of Chicago, claiming Tadahito Iguchi as the "Runaway Favorite" for the Rookie of the Year Award. I wrote this letter to the Chicago columnist and I'm going to edit it a bit and send it to Sports Illustrated, as well.

Do I really care about the ROY award? No, not really. But it has annoyed me no end that people are claming that Iguchi is the indisputed ROY simply based on the White Sox's record. And because I felt like venting, and maybe starting a discussion other than A's baseball, I thought I'd kick out a diary for AN. :)

Disclaimer: The "New York spotlight" quote was supposed to be ironic.

Dear Patrick,

Just had a chance to read your article on the Chicago White Sox, and while I find it admirable that you are backing this year's Chicago team by highlighting an obvious up-and-coming steady presence on the White Sox in Tadahito Iguchi, I must take umbrage with your word choice in this line of your article.

"They still have the frontrunner for the league's Cy Young Award in Mark Buehrle, and a runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year in Iguchi."

I object to the use of the following words in the sentence: 'runaway' and 'favorite'. Frontrunner, fine. Great rookie, fine. Best rookie in the Central Division. Okay. Runaway favorite last year? Sure, maybe. But by making the blanket statement that Iguchi is the 'runaway favorite' for the 2005 ROY award, you basically imply that he does not have any competition, which I think baseball fans on both coasts might strenuously object to.

Perhaps you caught the recent Sports Illustrated article, which does, in fact, list Iguchi as their current top pick for ROY, which is based on, as they put it, "he's the No. 2 hitter for the best team in baseball". That's nice, but what happens when the White Sox do not have the best record in baseball anymore and he has to be judged on his numbers alone? Would that change your opinion of this 'runaway favorite'?

Using the logic that the record of the team that the rookie plays for--or the city the team plays in--matters in individual player performance, I would think that you would have to take a long look at Robinson Cano for the New York Yankees, who also plays second base, but unlike Iguchi, plays under the spotlight of the tough New York media on a team that is always supposed to win. If Iguchi gets extra credit for being on a good team, then so must Cano for playing in New York. Even giving Iguchi the defensive advantage, their individual offensive numbers break down as follows:

Cano: .275, 8 HRs, 43 RBIs, 1 SB, .304 OBP,  .413 SLG
Iguchi: .278, 12 HRs, 48 RBIs, 14 SB, .343 OBP, .442 SLG

I wouldn't call that matchup exactly a 'runaway', but that's not really my argument, since I would, in fact, pick Iguchi over Cano in ROY balloting. However, there are four other players who I believe are at least, if not more qualified for the Rookie of the Year honors than Iguchi, and will have a good chance for the ROY win, depending on how the last month of the season shakes out.

1) Huston Street - Oakland Athletics
Maybe you haven't had a chance to watch this barely-22-year-old rookie who was pulled pretty much straight out of college to have his turn at the show, who was baptized by fire as the A's closer in late May, following the season-ending surgery of Octavio Dotel. Armed with a wicked arsenal of pitches, and composure well beyond his years, Street has been mentioned in the elite company of Oakland pitchers like Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersely, and not with a "someday he'll be as good" mentality, but instead: "right now he is as good". Let's compare Street to other rookie closers. Oh wait, there are none. Let's compare him to closers of the top teams in AL baseball instead, just for fun.

Street: 4-1, 1.31 ERA, 62 IP, 16 SV, 38 H, 2 HR, 19 BB, 61 SO
Rodriguez (Angels): 2-3, 2.96 ERA, 48.2 IP, 29 SV, 32 H, 5 HR, 24 BB, 66 SO
Rivera (Yankees): 6-3, 1.52 ERA, 59.1 IP, 33 SV, 37 H, 2 HR, 11 BB, 64 SO
Hermanson (White Sox): 0-2, 1.76 ERA, 46 IP, 30 SV, 36 H, 4 HR, 14 BB, 26 SO

The numbers speak for themselves. If the Oakland Athletics can break out of the slump they are currently in, and finish strong down the stretch, with Street recording at least five more saves, he should be the clear standout candidate and your 'runaway favorite' for the ROY award.

2) Gustavo Chacin - Toronto Blue Jays
11-6, 3.40 ERA, 153.2 IP, 156 H, 15 HR, 57 BB, 90 SO
He's been a solid member of the Blue Jays rotation, putting up a nice showing in his rookie campaign with a very respectable ERA, and leads the team in innings pitched, while posting eleven wins and fifteen quality starts. Is it harder for a rookie to be a consistent pitcher on a starting rotation than a starting infielder? I don't know, but I'm sure Toronto values him every bit as highly as Chicago does Iguchi, especially after the injury to Halladay.

3) Dan Johnson - Oakland Athletics
.308, 10 HRs, 34 RBIs, 0 SB, .389 OBP, .500 SLG
Called up two months into the 2005 campaign to replace an injured Erubiel Durazo, Dan Johnson has not only brought his high OBP and excellent batting average to the Athletics offense, but he has also been something that they haven't had in recent years; an better-than-average-fielding first baseman. Johnson's rookie numbers match up well with Iguchi's, and although Iguchi has played more games, Johnson certainly can be considered a legitimate candidate.  

4) Nick Swisher - Oakland Athletics
.253, 16 HRs, 60 RBIs, 0 SB, .324 OBP, .466 SLG
Although his batting average is nothing remarkable (albeit fifteen points higher than teammate Bobby Crosby when he won the award last year), he is tied for rookie homeruns, and has been one of the only sources of offensive power in the Athletics power-light lineup. The most amazing statistic is the Athletics' record without him in the lineup: 5-24. If the award is based on 'contribution to a team', then you've got to consider Swisher.

Please don't misunderstand me. Tadahito Iguchi has had an amazing rookie season. The Chicago White Sox organization should be very proud of him and what he has accomplished. But to say that he is a 'runaway favorite' for the rookie of the year award, in large part because he plays on a good team, is not only incorrect, but it's also insulting to the rest of the candidates, who have put up great numbers themselves, and in some cases, in spite of their ballclubs. I think the ROY race is far from over, and it will probably shake out as follows: If Oakland goes on a torrid hot streak and wins a bunch of close games, allowing Street to rack up enough saves to please the voters, he will win it.  If Toronto resurrects its playoff chances with the amazing arm of Chacin backing every fifth start, he'll win it. If the White Sox stop freefalling, then, yes, Iguchi will have a great shot at being ROY. I think Swisher and Johnson are out of the running, simply because of their own teammate. But who are we kidding? Cano plays for the Yankees, in the big scary media town of New York, on a $210 million dollar team that is supposed to win. If the Yankees make up the eight games that separate their record from the White Sox's before the end of the season, I wouldn't be surprised to see Cano's name back at the top of the mix.

And that's the ROY wrap. It will come down to the last month of individual player performances, sadly influenced by overall team performance, and the clear choice, if there is one at all, won't be defined until the end of the season. That's baseball.

Sincerely,

Christy Hofmann
baseballgirl1976@hotmail.com