AL MVP: Justin Verlander

Way back in August, in one of my first posts on this blog, I wrote about the chances of Justin Verlander winning the MVP award. It was a somewhat fanciful notion then, as it wasn't yet clear he had the Cy Young Award sewn up. But he indeed pick up the MVP hardware yesterday, in a fractured vote.

What has created such a stir is the notion that somehow starting pitchers can't be MVPs. They have their own award, they only pitch in one-fifth of the games, yada yada yada. The last to do it was Roger Clemens, 25 years ago. But Verlander had three things going for him: he had awesome numbers, he was on a playoff team, and there was no other consensus every-day player that deserved the award.

In fact, six different players received first-place votes. If the writers were skeptical about Verlander's credentials, they didn't show it en masse. He got 13 of 28 first-place votes, not a majority, but except for being left off of one ballot and on another finishing eighth, he did no worse that a sixth-place vote. Jose Bautista, finishing third, actually had the second-most first-place votes, with five.

This seems to me to be completely reasonable. Yes, if there's an awesome every-day player, he trumps a starting pitcher, but there just wasn't one this year. Perhaps Jacoby Ellsbury, who finished second, was hurt by the Red Sox collapse, as ballots were turned in the day after the season ended, and the Boston carcass was still fresh. Or perhaps the writers realized that Verlander was amazingly "valuable" to his team.

As noted in an article below, Verlander becomes the fourth Tiger to win both the Cy Young and MVP in the same season. I should also point out that all of the Tiger MVPs have been pitchers, save for the two Hank Greenberg won, in 1935 and 1940. Of course, before the invention of the current award, Ty Cobb won a Chalmers Award in 1911, which was the first such award voted on by baseball writers.

That's Hockey: Colgate 6, Princeton 4

Charissa Stadynk

As I mentioned in my last post, Princeton tends to play to the level of their competition. That was true again on Saturday, as after a night in which they hung in with Cornell, the second-ranked team in the country, they played a woeful two periods against Colgate, which, statistically speaking, is mediocre at best. No disrespect to Colgate, but they caught the Tigers napping.

But not in the first period. If the Tigers had tired legs after chasing Cornell all over the ice on Friday night, they didn't show it in the first period. Princeton led after the first stanza, 3-0. Two goals were scored surrounding a Colgate penalty, as the Tigers netted one on the delayed call (by Denna Laing) then added the extra-attacker goal (by Danielle DiCesare). For the Tigers' struggling power play, it was an embarrassment of riches. Princeton added a third goal in the period on a lovely feed from Julie Johnson to Charissa Stadnyk, who maneuvered her way through the slot and tucked one just inside the post.

Princeton sat back and expected the rout to continue, but perhaps a troubling sign was that the Tigers got those three goals on only eight shots. Colgate clearly made some adjustments, their goaltender, Kimberly Sass, bore down, and the Tigers only got one more goal the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Colgate chipped away, tying the game on three unanswered goals. Two were on power plays, which is normally a Tiger strength, and the rest were on defensive breakdowns or bad goaltending by Rachel Weber. Johnson, a forward-turned-defenseman due to injuries, was badly outclassed by Jocelyn Simpson, just minutes after Sally Butler had put the Tigers ahead 4-3 on another power play goal.

It looked like overtime until Colgate's Katie Case scored with less than three minutes to go. The Red Raiders added an empty net goal to finish the humiliation.

I did take away more admiration for Stadnyk, who started her career as a defensive forward, was then moved back to the blue line, and this year is co-captain. She scores very rarely, so to see her make moves like Bobby Orr on her goal in this game was revelatory. She also showed determination when she took a puck off the boot, necessitating her trying to crawl toward the bench. She went to the lockerroom, but was back the next period, showing no signs of wear.

I was talking to a Princeton player's parent, who had come a long way to see this weekend's games. He was disappointed but philosophical. "That's hockey," he said.

The Level of Competition: Cornell 3, Princeton 1

Danielle DiCesare

In the 11 years I've been attending Princeton women's hockey, there has only been one coach: Jeff Kampersal. On the whole, I think he does a great job--since realignment of the ECAC in 2001-02 he has taken the Tigers to the playoffs every year, and never with a seeding lower than fifth. He has taken a lot of heat on the USCHO forum for his inability to win playoff games, but considering that Princeton is primarily a basketball school, not a hotbed of hockey, I think on balance he is steady and a winning presence.

There are certain characteristics I've noticed of the teams he's coached over the years that are not great, though. For one, his offenses have never been sterling. At times this team goes through long stretches unable to score. I'm not an expert enough on the game to understand why. Is it that scorers are hard to find and recruit? That his offensive schemes are pedestrian? Don't know. The Tigers had one of their scoring drought road trips last week, scoring only one goal over two games in losses to St. Lawrence and Clarkson.

The other bugaboo about Kampersal's teams are their tendency to play to the level of the competition. They hardly ever get blown out; against great teams they can really show off their good side. But against mediocre teams they can look listless--they rarely blow other teams out, the game against Yale an exception.

Cornell, which is unquestionably the best team in the ECAC, came into Baker Rink last night. A friend asked me what chance I gave Princeton, and I said slim, though with a great game by goaltender Rachel Weber anything was possible. They got the great from Weber, and played their hearts out, but ultimately they didn't have enough and fell, 3-1.

The Big Red dominated the game, controlling the puck most of the time and out shooting the Tigers 39 to 18. Interestingly, Weber made several outstanding saves, but the two goals she allowed (the third was an empty-netter) were on soft goals. The first, in the second period, glanced off her right pad. The Tigers fought back, though, getting a goal by Danielle DiCesare, later in the period.

Shortly afterward the Tigers were whistled for a penalty. I said at the time that if they could kill off this penalty it would be a great momentum booster. But, with five seconds left in the advantage, Cornell slipped one past Weber. I didn't get a good look at what happened, and I don't think Weber did, either. She appeared to be screened on the goal, and the puck went untouched and hit the back of the net.

The Tigers, despite the Big Red's buzzsaw attack, had plenty of chances. I counted at least four breakaway with odd-man rushes, but none of them converted into goals. At times I wonder if Kampersal has his charges ready for such instances, because on these breakaways the Tigers sometimes act like the dog that catches the car: now what?

Still, they did themselves proud against a team that has a chance to win a national championship.

Verlander Wins Cy Young Unanimously

As expected, Tiger pitcher Justin Verlander unanimously won the A.L. Cy Young Award today, getting all 28 first-place votes. Angels hurler Jered Weaver was second; Tigers' reliever Jose Valverde was fifth. Since the inception of the Cy Young Award in 1956, all pitchers who have won the "triple crown" (wins, strikeouts, E.R.A.) have won the award.

What will be more interesting is how Verlander fares in the MVP voting next week. No starting pitcher has won the award since Roger Clemens did in 1986, and there seems to be a reluctance by some writers to bestow the award on a pitcher, since they have their own award with the Cy Young. It's kind of like not voting for an animated film for the Best Picture Oscar for the same reason.

But pitcher are eligible for the award, so a knee-jerk response is unprofessional. I don't say that Verlander is a slam dunk for it, but he's certainly a worthy candidate. Many say that a starting pitcher shouldn't get it because they play only every fifth day--a regular will play in excess of 150 games, while a starting pitcher, less than 40. Fine. But I heard a different attitude about this. A regular, say an outfielder like Curtis Granderson, who figures to be one of Verlander's top competitors, may play every day, but he gets maybe five at bats a game, and fields maybe ten to fifteen balls all game. A starting pitcher, on the hand, is heavily involved in every pitch while he is on the field. Something to think about.

I think Verlander has a good chance to win. Granderson is a possibility, but a trio of Red Sox probably lose out after their collapse--Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, and Adrian Gonzalez all suffer the prejudice against nonplayoff teams.

The last Tiger pitcher to win the Cy Young was Willie Hernandez, in 1984. He also won the MVP. Before that, it was Denny McLain, in 1968. He also won the MVP, after winning 31 games (the last to win over 30 games in a season). He was, in fact, the first American League pitcher to win both awards in the same season. The only starting pitcher to win back-to-back A.L. MVP awards? Hal Newhouser, of the Tigers, in 1944-45.

With God on Our Side: Princeton 7, Yale 1

Ali Pankowski

When I covered college hockey for a few years it was always a lot easier to get a 500-word article out of a game with a lot of scoring (there was once a 0-0 tie against Colgate I had to write about--try coming up with 500 words on a game with no scoring!). So yesterday's goal outburst against Yale would fill an entire article just with a recitation of scoring.

Five different players had at least three points in the dismantling of the Bulldogs, but this was slow to develop. For a while it looked just like the Brown game, with Princeton overwhelming the opposition without cashing in; after one period the score was only 1-0, on a goal by Denna Laing. But in the second the Tigers tallied three more goals, and added three more in the third.

The scoring so far this season is being dominated by the line of sophomores, (I suggested calling them the "Jinx Line," a play on the saying "sophomore jinx," but this was not met with enthusiasm) Laing, Sally Butler, and Olivia Mucha. They had half of the points in the Yale game, and for the season have 25 of the team's 44 points. Laing added a second goal and an assist, Butler and Mucha had a goal and two assists each. Senior co-captain Paula Romanchuk, who once upon a time was the Tigers' biggest scorer, got things going with her first goal of the season plus two assists, and Alex Kinney, who was all around the net against Brown, got on the board, sliding one in from the corner.

Also with three points was freshman Ali Pankowski, who had two assists and her first career goal, a blast from outside the face-off circle that went just inside the post. So far Pankowski is the most impressive rookie--she has a heavy shot from the point, which should make her a natural for power play opportunities, and she plays a solid D. Before the game I had the chance to chat briefly with her aunt, who is an honest-to-goodness nun. I imagine it isn't often you see a nun at a hockey game. The Sister was at both games this weekend, and the Tigers had wins in both contests. I hope she comes to more games, because having a nun on your side can't hurt.

When Is a Rout a Squeaker? Princeton 1, Brown 0

Olivia Mucha

The Princeton Tigers had a three-point weekend last weekend, beating Union 2-1 and tying RPI 1-1. They are back home this weekend against fellow Ivies Brown and Yale, and the game against Brown had an extra interest because it was the first return of former long-time assistant coach Amy Bourbeau in her new position as Bear head coach.

The game was probably the most one-sided 1-0 game I've ever seen. Princeton won the game by that tight score, but otherwise overwhelmed the Bears. They out shot them 39-9, but only one goal, a power play shot by Olivia Mucha, snuck through. Thus, in a game that Princeton was handling with relative ease, there remained the possibility that a fluke goal could lead to heartbreak.

The final minute of the game provided that opportunity. With the Brown goalie pulled, and Brown already up an attacker, Denna Laing was whistled for slashing. For 45 seconds Brown was skating up 6-4, but Princeton and their goalie, Rachel Weber, was up to the task, and hung on for the victory.

Princeton should have won this game by about 5-0. Several shots came close. Sally Butler clanged one of the post in the second period, and poor Alex Kinney had several opportunities (including missing an empty net in the final seconds). Part of this was due to a solid presence of Brown goaltender Aubree Moore, but Princeton has got to learn to take better shots--too many of them were straight into the goalie. Butler, I find, has a better knack of hitting the corners, and in addition to her post shot she just missed a top-shelf goal in the first period. Division I goalies can stop point-blank shots if they are right in their bread basket. Good scorers learn how to find a goalie's weakness, which Princeton must do to be competitive.

Adios, Mags

Tiger GM Dave Dombrowski announced that it was unlikely that Detroit would resign free agents Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Gullen. This is not a surprise, as both were hampered by injuries this year and had severe reductions in production. But, especially in the case of Ordonez, it calls for a reflection on Tiger glory of the past.

As best as I can figure, the departure of these two means that only Justin Verlander and Brandon Inge remain from the 2006 pennant-winning team (Joel Zumaya is still on the roster, but his return from injury is doubtful). Both were key elements of that team, with Guillen having the highest batting average that year, and Ordonez providing the power. Ordonez, following the signing of Ivan Rodriguez, gave the Tigers legitimacy in their attempt to resurrect from the debacle of the 119-loss season in 2003. He had been a perennial power hitter for the White Sox, but a knee injury scared teams away. The Tigers took a chance, and it paid off hugely.

Ordonez would win the first batting title for a Tiger since 1963 in 2007, and finished second in the MVP balloting. He also hit what is arguably the biggest home run in the team's history, the walk-off shot in game 4 of the 2006 ALCS, which won the pennant over the Oakland As.

Guillen, who ended up playing several positions, never could shake the injury bug. He only hit three homers and drove in 13 runs this year (though I saw one of his home runs, off Jered Weaver). Whenever he came back, though, he always seemed to be able to hit. I think a team with a need could make good use of him.

Ordonez's last game with the Tigers will end up being game 1 of this year's ALCS. He had talked about retirement after breaking his ankle in 2010, and it was that same break that resurfaced and caused him to sit for the rest of the post-season. It isn't impossible to imagine him retiring. I looked at his career numbers, and while he's short of Hall of Fame numbers, he had a great career, with 294 home runs and about 2200 hits.

It's amazing how fast a team can turn over while still remaining competitive. Ordonez and Guillen will be missed, but the time comes to move on. Brennan Boesch will replace Ordonez full time in rightfield, while a search is on for a second baseman. Though they will be gone, the memories will linger, though.