On Thursday came the announcement of the 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) provisional rosters and we find four members of the Boston Red Sox represented.

New OF Shane Victorino will represent the United States while P Alfredo Aceves will represent his home country of Mexico.

The other two players are part of the Red Sox minor league system.

SS Xander Bogaerts will play for the Netherlands and P Jose De La Torre will play for Puerto Rico.

The WBC takes place from March 2, 2013 to March 19, 2013 in Fukuoka, Japan, Taichung, Tawain, Puerto Rico, and Phoenix, AZ (pool play). The second round will take place in Tokyo, Japan and Miami, FL while the finals will be held in San Francisco, CA at AT&T Park.

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For the first time since 1996 and eighth time in history, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) has elected no one to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

There were 37 players on the ballot with 569 ballots cast. They needed to receive 75% of the vote to get in.

Craig Biggio came the closest with 68.2% (338). Jack Morris, in his 14th year on the ballot, was the next closest with 67.7% (385).

One time Boston Red Sox farm hand and Connecticut native Jeff Bagwell was third in the voting with 59.6% (339).

Other players with Red Sox ties on the ballot were Lee Smith (272 votes, 47.8%), Curt Schilling (221, 38.8%) and Roger Clemens (214, 37.6%).

In order to stay on the ballot, the players needed to receive at least five percent of the votes. There was 19 players who didn't receive the required five percent.

Atlanta Braves great, Dale Murphy, in his final year of the ballot only received 106 votes (18.6%). His only chance of induction will come through the Veteran's Committee.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on July 28th where umpire Hank O’Day, New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert and 19th-century player Deacon White will be inducted. Paul Hagen, the J.G. Taylor Spink Award winner for baseball writing, and the late Tom Cheek, the Ford C. Frick Award winner for broadcasting will also be honored over the weekend.

For a full look at the voting totals, please click on the continue button below if you're on the home page.

This time of year everyone who is a 10-year member of the Baseball Writers Association of America gets to vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Unfortunately I am not a member of the BBWAA and therefore do not get a vote but it doesn’t mean that as a fan I don’t have an opinion on who should.

First as a baseball fan of 40 years I have seen the entire careers of all these players with my own two eyes.  I am not relying on stories, hearsay, bad grainy video or scratchy radio recordings to tell me about the players up to induction.

Secondly we are now starting to get into the players who were most influenced by the PED era of the game.  Like many writers who are starting to come around I feel that there is a PED era to game that spans from at least 1990-2005, if not slightly before and beyond those years.  In fact some feel it still exists today, as there is no agreement between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association to test for HGH.  There are HGH tests out there but like the other PED and standard drug testing it must be negotiated into the collective bargaining agreement.

With this I feel the PED era should be looked at as any other era in baseball or any other sport.  Are Football Hall of Fame voters going to not vote for Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Drew Brees because they played in an era that featured the pass more than any other and they totally obliterated existing records?  No they wont so why should baseball voters exclude players from the PED era?

Some of the players on the ballot or that will be on the ballot in the next few years are admitted PED users.  Some were caught, some admitted after the fact.  Other players fall under the bubble of speculation of using PED’s.  Their names have been linked to various sources, trainers or teams that had heavy PED use but there is no failed test, no smoking gun or needle to actually label them as a PED user. 

Then there are players who were no doubt clean but will pay in Hall votes because their numbers don’t pop off the page like another alleged PED user’s numbers.  These guy sin any other era would be Hall members but they may lose out because some writers/voters are refusing to vote for anyone in the era regardless or whether they were linked to PED’s or not.

Would I rather see a clean game with no one using PED’s and let the numbers fall where they may?  Sure I would but that is impractical as we’ve already experienced at least a decade and a half or an entire generation or players, who played in all or part of the PED era.  I think these players should be voted for but that their plaques contain the note in it that played in an era when PED’s ran rampant in the game and that the numbers may be slightly higher than other eras.  We already have “live ball” and “dead ball” eras so why not a PED era?

To continue reading and see the 10 players, please click on the continue reading button below if you're on the home page.

It's now time to put the finishing touches on the 2012 MLB season as Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) are presenting their 2012 end of the year awards.

On Monday, it was the 2012 American League and National League Rookie of the Year. On Tuesday, it was the 2012 AL and NL Manager of the Year. On Wednesday, it was the 2012 AL and NL Cy Young Awards. And on Thursday, it's their final awards, the 2012 AL and NL MVP Awards.

In the AL, the BBWAA has selected Detroit Tigers 3B Miguel Cabrera. And in the NL, they have chosen San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey.

Cabrera, who won the AL Triple Crown, hit .330 with 44 home runs and 139 RBIs in 161 games for the Tigers. He was the first Triple Crown winner since 1967 when Boston Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski won it.

Posey's MVP award caps off a season in which his Giants team won the 2012 World Series. In 148 games, Posey hit .336 with 24 home runs and 103 RBIs.

That's a wrap on the 2012 BBWAA award season. Now we can keep our eyes on the free agent market and of course the trade market.

For a full look at the 2012 AL and NL MVP Award voting totals, please click on the continue reading button below if you're on the home page.

It's now time to put the finishing touches on the 2012 MLB season as Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) are presenting their 2012 end of the year awards.

On Monday, it was the 2012 American League and National League Rookie of the Year. On Tuesday, it was the 2012 AL and NL Manager of the Year. And on Wednesday, it's the 2012 AL and NL Cy Young Awards.

In the AL, the BBWAA has selected Tampa Bay Rays LHP David Price as the winner of the 2012 AL Cy Young. And in the NL, they chose New York Mets RHP R.A. Dickey.

Price made 31 starts for the Rays and was 20-5 with a 2.56 ERA. The 20 wins and 2.56 ERA led the American League. He made five starts against our Boston Red Sox and was 2-1 with a 2.94 ERA.

Dickey is the first knuckleballer to win the award. He made 34 appearances (33 starts) for the Mets and was 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA. Given that the Mets only won 74 games, Dickey had 34.3% of their wins this season.

On Thursday, the BBWAA will present their final awards of the 2012 season when they announce the winners of the 2012 AL & NL MVP Awards.

For a full look at the 2012 AL & NL Cy Young Award voting totals, please click on the continue reading button below if you're on the home page.

It's now time to put the finishing touches on the 2012 MLB season as Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) begin presenting their 2012 end of the year awards.

On Monday, it was the 2012 American League and National League Rookie of the Year. On Tuesday, it is the 2012 AL and NL Manager of the Year.

In the AL, the BBWAA has selected Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin. And in the NL, they have selected Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson.

Melvin led his A's squad to a 94-68 record and the AL West crown. Johnson led his Nationals squad to a 98-64 record and their first NL East title.

On Wednesday, the BBWAA will announce their winners of the 2012 AL and NL Cy Young Awards.

For a full look at the 2012 AL and NL Manager of the Year voting totals, please click on the continue reading button below if you're on the home page.

It's now time to put the finishing touches on the 2012 MLB season as Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) begin presenting their 2012 end of the year awards. First up are the 2012 American League and National League Rookie of the Year.

In the AL, the BBWAA has selected Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim OF Mike Trout. And in the NL, they have selected Washington Nationals OF Bryce Harper.

Trout took the AL by storm after being called up on April 28th. He played in 139 games, hitting .326 with 30 home runs, 83 RBIs and 49 stolen bases.

Ironically enough, Harper was also called up by the Nationals on April 28th. He played in 139 games, hitting .270 with 22 home runs, 59 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.

Next up in the BBWAA Awards will be the AL and NL Manager of the Year Awards which will be announced on Tuesday.

For a full look at the 2012 AL & NL Rookie of the Year voting totals, please click on the continue reading button below if you're on the home page.

For the first time in a long while, no members of the Boston Red Sox were honored as a winner of the Silver Slugger Awards presented by Louisville Slugger.

But here is the list of the 2012 AL & NL Silver Slugger Awards:

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For the first time ever, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) has decided to release the finalists for the 2012 end-of-the-year MLB Awards.

The BBWAA awards process gets started next Monday (Nov. 12) and will end on Thursday (Nov. 15).

Here are the finalists:

Rookie of the Year  (Nov. 12)

AL - Yoenis Cespedes, Yu Darvish, Mike Trout
NL -  Todd Frazier, Bryce Harper, Wade Miley

Manager of the Year (Nov. 13)

AL - Bob Melvin, Buck Showalter, Robin Ventura
NL - Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy, Davey Johnson

Cy Young Award (Nov. 14)

AL - David Price, Justin Verlander, Jered Weaver
NL - R.A. Dickey, Gio Gonzalez, Clayton Kershaw

MVP (Nov. 15)

AL - Adrian Beltre, Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Josh Hamilton, Mike Trout
NL - Ryan Braun, Chase Headley, Andrew McCutchen, Yadier Molina, Buster Posey

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The 2012 Rawlings Gold Glove Teams for each league came out on Tuesday night and while the Boston Red Sox had two nominees in Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia, neither won the award.

Below is the full list of winners from each league (# of Gold Gloves)

The 2012 American League Rawlings Gold Glove Team:
C - Matt Wieters, Baltimore (2)
1B - Mark Teixeira, New York (5)
2B - Robinson Cano, New York (2)
SS - J.J. Hardy, Baltimore (1)
3B - Adrian Beltre, Texas (4)
LF - Alex Gordon, Kansas City (2)
CF - Adam Jones, Baltimore (2)
RF - Josh Reddick, Oakland (1)
P - Jeremy Hellickson, Tampa Bay (1)
P - Jake Peavy, Chicago (1)

Hellickson and Peavy both win the award at pitcher since there was a tie in the voting.

2012 National League Rawlings Gold Glove Team:
C - Yadier Molina, St. Louis (5)
1B - Adam LaRoche, Washington (1)
2B - Darwin Barney, Chicago (1)
SS - Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia (4)
3B - Chase Headley, San Diego (1)
LF - Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado (2)
CF - Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh (1)
RF - Jason Heyward, Atlanta (1)
P - Mark Buehrle, Miami (4)

Fans can vote for the Rawlings Platinum Glove Award winner, given to the top defender among the nine Rawlings Gold Glove winners in each league, at Rawlings Facebook page (www.facebook.com/rawlings). Voting ends on November 6th at 12 p.m. ET.

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