Buehler? Buehler? Anyone?

Did Snoopy really think I was mad at him? Is he mad at Dave Roberts for making out lineups he doesn't agree with? Or is he just pointing out where he thinks Dave is wrong?

The thing is if you habitually find fault with EVERYONE else, you should have thicker skin when the favor is returned. I so happened to truly believe Snoopy was wrong in this particular case. It was the last game of the series. We still had Jansen, Madson & Kershaw. Obviously Urias too because he was used. Ferguson had thrown 3 pitches the day before. Floro had thrown 14. Win this game & you get a couple of days off. Snoopy was in error when he insinuated Roberts had used up our bullpen in a futile gesture. I was the one to point it out.

I'm certainly not deleting an account over something that small. Maybe those other guys would. But then I banned them.

Buehler makes history with 7 scoreless IP

By Jesse Sanchez MLB.com @jessesanchezmlb
2:50 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES -- Walker Buehler etched his name in the record books with one of the most impressive performances in franchise history Friday night in Game 3 of the World Series. His first pitch was clocked at 97.9 mph. Seven innings later, Buehler's 108th and final pitch hit 98.2 mph.

In between, Buehler dominated the Red Sox, and in the early hours of Saturday morning, his teammates finally put Boston away with a 3-2 victory in 18 innings to cut the Sox's series lead to two games to one.

"There have been a few games when I had similar feelings, but obviously, this one tops the list," Buehler said.

Buehler's 26 pitches in the first were the most thrown in a 1-2-3 inning in postseason history. He also became the youngest Dodgers pitcher to throw six or more scoreless innings in a World Series game since Johnny Podres did it in 1955.

In addition, Buehler joins Roger Clemens (Game 2, 2000) and Don Larsen (Game 5, 1956) as the only pitchers to throw seven or more scoreless innings while allowing two hits or fewer without any walks in a World Series game.

"I just got into some good counts and made pitches when I needed to," Buehler said. "It's how we have been all year. Obviously, being down 2-0, and people [were] saying our backs are against the wall, but we've been here and done that before."

Overall, the hard-throwing rookie allowed only two hits and struck out seven in seven scoreless innings, reaching a career-high pitch count. Buehler was replaced by Kenley Jansen in the eighth with his team up, 1-0.

Buehler, who also threw 100 pitches against the Brewers in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, joins Justin Verlander, who fired 102 pitches in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, and Hyun-Jin Ryu, who tossed 104 pitches in Game 1 of the NLDS, on the short list of starters to throw 100 pitches or more during this postseason.

"We needed his best effort, and we needed him to go deeper than their starter, log some innings," manager Dave Roberts said. "And some guys run from it. Some guys can't answer the bell. But this guy, he's got an overt confidence, a quiet confidence, a little combo. He's got tremendous stuff, and he lives for moments like this."

After the busy first inning, Buehler threw 13 pitches in the second, 16 in the third, 12 in the fourth and 11 in the fifth. He cruised through the sixth and seventh, retiring the final 14 batters he faced.

As expected, the young right-hander relied heavily on his fastball. Buehler's 39 four-seam fastballs averaged 97.9 mph and topped out at 100.1. His two-seam fastball averaged 97.2 and maxed out at 100 mph. Buehler also mixed in his changeup and slider.

It was unclear how Buehler was going to match up against Boston, but he rose to the occasion with his team trailing in the Series two games to none. The Red Sox entered the game as MLB's best hitting team against fastballs this year.

"It was fun to play behind him," Joc Pederson said. "He pounded the zone and kept us off our feet as long as he could. Our bullpen came in huge today, and it was a huge win."

ROY Finalist. Do we get third in a row? Kid had a helluva year. Thoughts?

GO DODGERS!!!

BBWAA Awards Week to honor game's best

ROY, MOY, Cy Young, MVP winners will be unveiled

By Anthony Castrovince MLB.com @castrovince
Nov. 11th, 2018

With a sense of duty, honor and tradition -- and with the knowledge that their choices will be subject to scrutiny and, sometimes, the subject of controversy -- the members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) cast their votes at the end of the regular season for four of the game's highest individual accolades. And then, for four fun nights in November, the results are unveiled, one by one, in the peak week of Major League Baseball's awards season.

BBWAA awards week is upon us, beginning with tonight's 6 ET announcement on MLB Network of the American League and National League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year winners.

The subsequent announcements of the AL and NL Managers of the Year (Tuesday), Cy Young Awards (Wednesday) and Most Valuable Player Awards (Thursday) are all scheduled for the same time and channel.

For now, we know the top three vote-getters on each ballot. Remember: Postseason performance does not factor into consideration for these awards.

Here are the finalists for each of these prestigious honors:

AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Miguel Andujar, 3B, Yankees: To go with his 27 homers, which tied the White Sox outfielder Daniel Palka for the Major League lead among rookies, Andujar also set a Yankees rookie record with 47 doubles, surpassing Joe DiMaggio's 44 in 1936.

Shohei Ohtani, RHP/DH, Angels: Billed as the "Japanese Babe Ruth," Ohtani delivered, becoming the first player since Ruth with 10 pitching appearances and 20 homers in a season. Though a right elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery prevented him from pitching in the second half, he was above average both in 51 2/3 innings pitched (126 ERA+) and in 367 plate appearances (152 OPS+).

Gleyber Torres, 2B, Yankees: Though Andujar eventually overtook him in several key categories, Torres finished with a solid .271/.340/.480 slash line to go with 24 homers and 16 doubles.

NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Ronald Acuna Jr., OF, Braves: The 20-year-old had the third-highest OPS of any player in baseball in the second half (1.028) and finished with 26 homers, 16 steals and a .552 slugging percentage. His ascension to the leadoff spot after the All-Star break sparked the Braves in the NL East race.

Walker Buehler, RHP, Dodgers: The votes came in before Buehler truly flipped the star switch with a terrific postseason. But his regular season had plenty of highlights, too. Buehler's 2.31 ERA as a starter was the lowest by a rookie with at least 130 innings since Jose Fernandez's 2.19 mark in 2013.

Juan Soto, OF, Nationals: The 19-year-old wound up in the teenage-season record books for second-most homers (22, tied with teammate Bryce Harper from 2012), most multihomer games (three), most walks (79) and highest OBP (.406) and OPS (.923).

AL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Mookie Betts, OF, Red Sox: With a .346 average, 32 homers and 30 stolen bases, Betts became the first 30-30 batting champ in history, and he also led the Majors in slugging percentage (.640) and runs scored (129). He had the Major League-leading Wins Above Replacement mark in both the FanGraphs (10.4) and Baseball Reference (10.9) calculations. Many thought teammate J.D. Martinez might join him as a finalist, but he missed the cut.

Jose Ramirez, 3B, Indians: Ramirez actually beat Betts to the 30-30 club entrance, notching his 30th steal in early September and becoming the first player since 2012 (and only the fourth third baseman) to reach 30-30 status. He became just the 25th player in MLB history with at least 30 homers and 30 steals and at least 100 runs and 100 RBIs.

Mike Trout, OF, Angels: After Trout delivered a career-high OPS (1.088) and on-base percentage (.460), to go with 39 homers, 24 doubles and 24 steals, the question, as usual, is how many first-place votes his team standing (the Angels finished 80-82) cost him. He may have finished in the top two of the AL MVP Award voting for the sixth time in seven seasons.

NL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Nolan Arenado, 3B, Rockies: For the third straight season, Arenado had an OPS over .900 (.935, to be exact). For the third time in the last four years, he led the NL in homers (38). For the sixth straight year, his all-world defense at third was recognized with a Gold Glove. Whatever the exact result, this will be his highest finish in the NL MVP Award voting.

Javier Baez, 2B/SS, Cubs: The NL RBIs leader (111) became the first player in Cubs history to reach 40 doubles, 30 homers and 20 stolen bases in a single season. He finished second in the league in extra-base hits (83). Baez's defensive versatility (he played 104 games at second base, 65 at short and 22 at third) added to his value.

Christian Yelich, OF, Brewers: The NL Hank Aaron Award winner led the league in the FanGraphs (7.6) and Baseball Reference (7.6) WAR calculations, batting average (.326), OPS (1.000) and total bases (343). A September surge in which he slashed .370/.508/.804 while the Brewers stormed to the top of the NL Central might have sealed this award for him.

AL CY YOUNG

Corey Kluber, RHP, Indians: After winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2014 and '17, Kluber is a finalist for the third straight year. He won 20 games for the first time, led the league in innings (215) and had the third-best WHIP (0.99) and fifth-best ERA (2.89) among qualifiers.

Blake Snell, LHP, Rays: Snell didn't have the typical volume of a Cy Young Award winner, but he made his 180 2/3 innings count. He led the Majors with 21 wins and a 219 ERA+, and his 1.89 ERA was the best among AL qualifiers.

Justin Verlander, RHP, Astros: Verlander's 159 ERA+ was the best by a qualified pitcher aged 35 or older since Roger Clemens' 226 mark in 2005. Verlander led the AL in strikeouts (290) and led the Majors in WHIP (0.90) across 214 innings, with a 16-9 record and 2.52 ERA.

NL CY YOUNG
Jacob deGrom, RHP Mets: To focus on deGrom's 10-9 record would be to ignore the 1.70 ERA that was the best in the NL by 67 points. He had 18 starts in which he went at least six innings and allowed one or zero earned runs, and he set a record with 29 straight starts allowing three runs or fewer. There was talk of deGrom making his way into NL MVP Award consideration, but he was not one of the finalists.

Aaron Nola, RHP, Phillies: The ace of an improved Phillies team, Nola tied deGrom atop the NL in total WAR via the Baseball Reference tally (10.0). He was second in the league in ERA (2.37), third in innings (212 1/3) and third in WHIP (0.97).

Max Scherzer, RHP, Nationals: Vying for his third straight NL Cy Young Award (and his fourth Cy Young Award overall), the Nats' indefatigable ace led the Majors in innings (220 2/3) and strikeouts (300) and tied deGrom with a 0.91 WHIP. He finished third in the NL in ERA (2.53).

AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR

Kevin Cash, Rays: In the last year, the Rays traded away established talent like Chris Archer, Evan Longoria, Corey Dickerson, Jake Odorizzi and Alex Colome. And they tasked Cash with implementing a revolutionary pitching plan that involved not just routine bullpen days but the "opener" strategy. Despite all this, Tampa Bay won 90 games.

Alex Cora, Red Sox: Becoming just the fifth rookie manager to win the World Series might have cemented this award for Cora had the voting taken place at the end of October. As it stands, the winningest regular season in Red Sox history (108 wins) is still pretty solid for a first-timer.

Bob Melvin, A's: The A's were the first team on record to reach the postseason despite beginning the year with the lowest payroll in MLB. Melvin has already won a Manager of the Year Award in both leagues (with the D-backs in 2007 and the A's in '12), but this might have been his finest work yet.

NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR

Bud Black, Rockies: Though Black's Rockies weren't able to down the Dodgers in Game 163, they went an NL-best 53-30 after June 28 to grab a Wild Card spot for the second straight season.

Craig Counsell, Brewers: Counsell finished fourth in this voting last year, after Milwaukee fell one game shy of a postseason berth. With the Brewers having gotten over the hump by defeating the Cubs in Game 163 to win the NL Central title, Counsell is firmly in the running this year.

Brian Snitker, Braves: The longtime organizational guy proved to be the right person to take the Braves to the next level. Atlanta took over the top spot in the NL East ahead of schedule and hung tough in the second half.

Ima gonna go with DiMaggio first, Williams second. Damn Yankees!

GO DODGERS!!!

Ohtani AL Rookie of Year; Acuna wins NL honor

MLB.com

6:50 PM EST

Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani was named the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year, and Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was named the National League Rookie of the Year on Monday night. Ohtani bested a pair of Yankees infielders -- Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres -- while Acuna topped Nationals outfielder Juan Soto and Dodgers right-handed hurler Walker Buehler.

Both Ohtani and Acuna ran away with the vote, with Ohtani receiving 25 first-place votes among the 30 ballots and Acuna getting 27 first-place votes. Andujar, who was runner-up to Ohtani, was the only other AL rookie with first-place votes, with five. Soto finished second in the NL, with two first-place votes, while Buehler, who finished third in the Senior Circuit, got one first-place vote.

One of the big signings over last offseason, Ohtani was under the microscope well before Opening Day. And it was justified, as he was trying to do something no player had done since Babe Ruth's 1919 season: be a starting pitcher and a full-time hitter.

In the end, perhaps the most remarkable thing is that he needed only a few weeks to show that he had the skillset to do both. Until a torn ligament was discovered in his right elbow in early June, he'd had one of the most remarkable seasons in history.

He and Ruth (1919) are only players in history with 10 pitching appearances and 20 HRs in the same season, and Ohtani is the first player in MLB history with at least 20 home runs as a hitter and 50 strikeouts as a pitcher in the same season.

Ohtani was 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA and 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings on May 19 when he began to experience elbow issues. He was also hitting .321 with six home runs and a .986 OPS in 24 games (21 starts) as the Angels designated hitter.

He pitched in just three more games after that, missing most of June, but he returned to serve as DH and continued to be productive. He finished with 22 home runs, 21 doubles and a .925 OPS in 104 games.

Like Ohtani, Acuna's rookie season was magical from the start -- though it started a bit later than his AL counterpart. He had an electrifying Spring Training and had risen to MLB Pipeline's No. 2 prospect when he made his debut for the Braves on April 25. He proceeded to fulfill every bit of promise by helping Atlanta make the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

Acuna homered in his second Major League game and went on to lead the Braves with 26 long balls -- and a .917 OPS -- in 111 games. He's one of five players in history to hit 26 home runs before his 21st birthday and the 10th to have at least 25 homers and 15 steals during his rookie season.

Acuna's 55 extra-base hits in his first 100 games are the sixth most in history on a list that includes Joe DiMaggio, the all-time leader at 69.

Acuna's most impressive stretch came after the All-Star break, when Braves manager Brian Snitker moved him to the top of the batting order. Acuna hit 19 home runs in the final 68 games of the season and had the NL's third-highest OPS at 1.028 over that span.

His 3.4 WAR after the All-Star break was the second highest in the NL, trailing only Christian Yelich's 5.4. In addition, Acuna's 171 Weighted Runs Created Plus after the break ranked third highest in the NL.

Acuña and Ohtani were the only MLB rookies with at least 20 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 2018.