Some big news for other AL Central clubs today:
Terry Ryan named interim GM of Twins, replacing Bill Smith | MLB.com: News
This was a shock, especially given the timing. Usually a GM is canned either towards the end of the regular season or right after it. The Twins had their first losing season under Smith in 2011, but apparently the 63-99 record (with a $113M payroll) was horrible enough to justify removing Smith. Terry Ryan, who was Minnesota's GM from 1994-2007 will take over on an interim basis.
Royals get Sanchez from Giants for Cabrera - KansasCity.com
The Royals dealt Melky Cabrera for talented but wild Jonathan Sanchez and Ryan Verdugo, a left-handed relief prospect. Both Cabrera and Sanchez are one year away from free agency. The Royals will probably use Lorenzo Cain to replace Cabrera in the outfield next season. Sanchez struck out 9.1 per 9 innings in 2011, but also walked 5.9 per 9, and spent time on the DL.
SBN AL Rookie of the Year Results
Once again, the bloggers of the SB Nation baseball blogs voted on their version of the baseball post-season awards. Here's the results for the AL Rookie of the Year:
| Num | Name | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Pineda | 9 | 4 | 3 | 60 |
| 2 | Jeremy Hellickson | 4 | 5 | 4 | 39 |
| 3 | Eric Hosmer | 5 | 4 | 3 | 40 |
| 4 | Dustin Ackley | 1 | 5 | 3 | 23 |
| 5 | Ivan Nova | 5 | 5 | 20 | |
| 6 | Alexi Ogando | 2 | 1 | 13 | |
| 7 | Mark Trumbo | 1 | 3 | 8 | |
| 8 | Desmond Jennings | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| 9 | Brett Lawrie | 1 | 1 | 6 |
My ballot was Pineda, Nova, and Hellickson, in that order.