Happy Halloween, folks. Hopefully it's as dry for you as possible, and the kiddos can get their candy.
- Gold Gloves went out last night (during a televised ceremony worthy of ESPN2), and we all know the big winner - Darwin Barney, at second base in the NL. John Kruk, of the aforementioned ceremony, called it the biggest upset of the night, believing instead that Brandon Phillips should have won. You can make a case for Phillips, but to call it the biggest upset of the night suggests that somebody hasn't really been following much defense this year. The other winners in the NL were Mark Buehrle (P), Yadier Molina (C), Adam LaRoche (1B), Jimmy Rollins (SS), Chase Headley (3B), Carlos Gonzalez (LF), Andrew McCutchen (CF), and Jason Heyward (RF). In the AL, the winners were Jake Peavy & Jeremy Hellickson (P, tie), Matt Wieters (C), Mark Teixeira (1B), Robinson Canó (2B), J.J. Hardy (SS), Adrián Beltré (3B), Alex Gordon (LF), Adam Jones (CF), and Josh Reddick (RF).
- Rob Neyer notes some strangeness in the winners, particularly in the NL (he calls Rollins' win "sort of a joke"), but says, overall, there were fewer misses this year than in years past. To me, Jones over Mike Trout was the most glaring surprise. The numbers say Carlos Gonzalez was terrible this year (far worse, for example, than Alfonso Soriano), but he always looked pretty good to me. Of course, that's the problem with fan interpretations of these awards: how many times did I actually see CarGo play? What do I really know about his ability over the course of a season?
- Among the notable transactions in the last couple of days: the White Sox declined their 2013 option on Kevin Youkilis, but signed Jake Peavy to a two-year, $29 million extension. The Mets, as expected, picked up their 2013 options on David Wright and R.A. Dickey, each of whom they'll presumably try to extend beyond 2013 (particularly Wright). The Dodgers paid big to keep reliever Brandon League (three years and $22.5 million), and the Yankees elected to pick up their options on Robinson Cano (duh), Curtis Granderson and David Aardsma. You can keep up with the latest transactions on the MLBDailyDish Transaction Tracker.
- The San Francisco Giants used nothing but scouts and eyeballs to piece together their championship team. I mean, just listen to Bruce Jenkins: "The San Francisco model is based on visual evidence, not statistics, and it clearly works - but it will fail, miserably, in the hands of organizations cutting their scouting staffs and stocking computers. Those people wouldn't understand what the Giants saw in Gregor Blanco, a longtime disappointment, as he tore up the Venezuelan winter league. They wouldn't necessarily spot the massive heart inside Sergio Romo, or what Hunter Pence's relentless energy brings to a contending team. The Giants look at the face, the demeanor, the background, the ability to play one's best under suffocating pressure - all the components 'Moneyball' lamely holds up to ridicule." Suggesting that any MLB organization in this day and age doesn't employ both statistical analysis and traditional scouting is, in the truest sense of the word, ignorant. BP's Colin Wyers obliterates Jenkins for his sloppy (or, worse, intentionally obtuse) article.
- Hunter Pence is a Katy Perry fan.
Brett Taylor is the Lead Writer at Bleacher Nation, and a Contributor here at Bleed Cubbie Blue.