It's not that Chris Coghlan(notes) and Andrew Bailey(notes) don't deserve to be the majors' top rookies this season.

Well, neither probably does. But it's understandable how baseball writers reached those conclusions today.

Coghlan hit .372 in the second half, when everyone pays attention a little closer, and that stat was just too good to pass up. Three-seventy-two? Wow! And, presto, you have the NL Rookie of the Year.

Bailey had 26 saves and a 1.84 ERA. Great numbers, flashy. But also decisive-looking. How can you vote against them? Voila!

If voters took a closer look at Coghlan's stats and Bailey's stats, they might have seen some flaws and changed their votes. But, they didn't. The awards have been sent out and there's no going back; Coghlan and Bailey are winners, and we can't take it away.

And, why would we want to? It's just an award. There are worse, actual injustices in the world.

The best rookies of 2009 will get a chance to prove how good they are over the long haul of their careers.

Players such as Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen(notes) (right). Give all of the ROY awards to Chris Coghlan, because McCutchen's future is brighter. His combination of hitting, hitting for power, speed and defense leave Coghlan in the dust.

• Baseball America pegged McCutchen as its top rookie at the end of the season.

• Walkoff Walk rails against Coghlan's bloated batting average.

• Aaron Gleeman of NBC Sports touts McCutchen here.

On the other side, folks are wondering how Elvis Andrus(notes) failed to take home the hardware in the AL. Really, Elvis fans should be happy that Andrus finished second; that means the voters were taking his defense into account.

In 10 years, the bigger question will be how Brett Anderson(notes) lost the AL ROY to his teammate.

Welcome to Dave's Dozen (because Kaduk's not here, man), a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your e-mail submissions or tips via Twitter.

1. MLB names its Rookie of the Year in the AL and NL at 2 p.m. EST. Nobody, not even the Rangers' Elvis Andrus(notes) (above left) or the Marlins' Chris Coghlan(notes) is a clear favorite in either league. MLB.com
2. White Sox infielder Gordon Beckham(notes) won the AL ROY from the Sporting News and from the Major League Baseball Players Association, but isn't guaranteed of a triple crown. WhiteSox.com
3. One view in Oakland is that Andrus, the best-fielding shortstop in the majors according to many defensive metrics, is "the clear favorite." OaklandAthletics.com
4. One view in Texas is, if anybody can spring a surprise on Andrus, it's A's closer Andrew Bailey(notes), who had 26 saves and a 1.84 ERA. TexasRangers.com
5. Elsewhere deep in the heart of Texas, fatalism reigns for Andrus' chances — even if he's the best candidate in the AL. Dallas Morning News
6. Porcello is the clear front-runner, Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. MLive.com
7. Andrus and Braves' right-hander Tommy Hanson(notes) won in a vote of blogs. SB Nation
8. Hanson led NL rookies in ERA, K's per nine innings, WHIP and opponents batting average. MLB.com
9. Coghlan could become the Marlins' third ROY already. FloridaMarlins.com
10. But Coghlan doesn't deserve the honor as much as others. South Florida Sun-Sentinel
11. Nah, Coghlan's the favorite — but J.A. Happ(notes) did lead rookies in victories and, like Beckham in the AL, has rookie awards from the Sporting News and the Players' Association. Phillies.com
12. Brewers infielder Casey McGehee(notes) would be proud to finish second or third. Brewers.com

As happened yesterday in the AL, the Gold Glove Award winners in the NL were announced today. There seems to be someone missing from the list. Our guest blogger, the Leprechaun, will explain.

Just who is it that's been stealin' Chase Utley's(notes) Glove o' Gold? Was it you, Brandon FitzPhillips, who turned 100 double plays and stole the Glove o' Gold last year from ol' Chase? Those look like blue diamonds in your pocket! No? Quit your thievin' ways, have ya'?

How about you, wee Davie McEckstein, who led NL second basemen in fielding percentage, making only two errors all season? You're short enough to be devious — you little green clover-picker — but not that short.

It was you, O'rlando Hudson! You stole Chase Utley's Glove o' Gold! It's the end of the rainbow for you, my purple horseshoe-wearing friend.

It might not have looked like it during the World Series when he got a case of the yips, but Chase Utley has been and still is the best defensive second baseman in the majors for a number of seasons.

The geniuses over at Fangraphs, with their UZR and their uzis, not only call Utley the best second baseman in baseball but its best player at any position on defense over the past three seasons. Yet, willfully ignorant voters are always stealin' Chase's Glove o' Gold! Do they not judge my boyo by the light of the yellow moon? His mates Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino won awards, so it's not some kind of anti-Phanaticism.

Next season, if Utley is good enough — again — the electorate ought to find it in their pink hearts to vote properly. So far, it's just not in the orange stars.

It started with accusations of PEDs down in Florida. It ended with a parade up in New York.

Yes, the 2009 season of Alex Rodriguez was one of the weirdest years ever staged by a Major League Baseball player. Containing both the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows, every headline that A-Rod managed to make always ended up being interesting. 

Big League Stew was there the whole way, chronicling the surreal twists and turns of the country's most scrutinized athlete. From his awkward press conferences and photo shoot to his championship celebrations, here's a look at some of the best Stew posts involving A-Rod.

Read More »

CC Sabathia(notes) continued the Yankees' late night TV domination with a spot on Jay Leno's awkward 10@10 segment on Friday night. The appearance was a cringeworthy one — not Sabathia's fault, of course — but I did enjoy the pitcher's inner video game nerd coming out and revealing how he's spending a little of that $160 million in contract cash. 

You can watch the entire satellite-crippled bit here, but since I've included the clip's other highlight — Jay referring to recent guarantee-giving guest Jimmy Rollins(notes) as Jimmy "Role-ins" — there's really no need. (There's also no need to thank me, I'm paid to suffer through bad pop culture moments as they pertain to baseball.)

A big BLS head nod to Walkoff Walk after Iracane watched Leno for us.

And the tradition continues. With another postseason in the history books, I run down the 10 moments I'll remember most. Have a few of your own? Leave 'em in the comments below.

Read More »

Yahoo! Sports MLB editor Steve Henson is checking in with periodic updates from today's Yankees victory parade in Manhattan.

11:22 a.m. ET Commerce has pretty much shut down in Lower Manhattan today. Thousands of members of the work force are showering ticker tape and toilet paper from their high-rise office windows all over the Yankees as the World Series champions and their families inch up Broadway from the U.S. Customs House on Battery Place to City Hall Park.

Kids all over the city who stayed up too late Wednesday night to watch their Yankees win the World Series skipped school Friday to catch a glimpse of their heroes riding in cars and pinstriped-themed floats that mostly New Jersey-based fans began assembling after the Yankees took a 3-games-to-1 lead over the Phillies.

Read More »

With the World Series win in the bag, New York's late night television shows wasted no time in appropriating some of the Yankees stars for a ratings boost like the one Fox received. 

A couple of the clips from Thursday night are below and if you're a Yankees fan who can't get enough (or a non-Yankee fan who's already cringing) don't worry: This is only the start.

Read More »

Over his seven seasons with the New York Yankees, Hideki Matsui seemingly blended into the background of the Yankees universe, his talent drowned out by the star power of those in the lineup around him. In Japan, he has always played second banana to Ichiro, the face of all things Major League Baseball to the Japanese population.

But after Wednesday's big performance against the Phillies, Matsui turned into the king of both spheres, making the World Series a bit more true to its name by becoming the first Japanese player to be named World Series MVP.

Read More »

Guiding his team to its 27th World Series championship tells us little about the character of manager Joe Girardi.

Especially when the feat is compared to what Girardi did after the party at Yankee Stadium ended.

Police say Girardi stopped in the wee hours Thursday to help a motorist who crashed her car into a wall after losing control on the Cross Country Parkway in suburban Westchester County.

The crash happened at a particularly dangerous section of roadway, so it not only surprised police to see Girardi on the scene jumping up and down and waving his arms to flag them down, but it also worried them.

From Lohud.com: 

The area is notorious for its blind spots and Girardi, who parked his car along the right side of the parkway, and then ran across the traffic to get to the injured motorist, put his life at risk, police said.

"He could have gotten killed," county Sgt. Thomas McGurn said, adding that responding police units take extra precaution in that area because of the blind curve and speeding cars. "Traffic goes by at 80 mph."

The driver was stunned from the accident and otherwise unhurt, but Girardi probably didn't know that as he became a human Frogger, rushing into traffic to reach the accident scene. The motorist didn't realize who was helping until police told her afterward.

Shortly after the cops arrived, Girardi said he "had to get going." And then he darted across traffic again, got into his car, and presumably drove home.

"The guy wins the World Series, what does he do? He stops to help," said Westchester County police officer Kathleen Cristiano, who was among the first to arrive at the accident scene. "It was totally surreal."

And revealing about what kind of person Girardi is. Baseball fans can forever debate about Girardi's managerial decisions — and sometimes, he makes rather curious ones.

But when it comes to real life, he's going to do the right thing.

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