With Major League Baseball about to enter its official awards season, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at some players who will not be regaled with hardware but who performed admirably under the radar. These players were sneakily effective, eliciting “he was that good” reactions much more frequently than confident head nods upon glancing at their end-of-season statistics. In some cases, the players derived much of their success in the field while others managed to put together all-around great campaigns while lacking publicity. Others might not have performed at a star level but finished with noteworthy numbers relative to their production a year ago.

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Yesterday we took a look at several batters who may be forced to sign a minor-league contract this winter to have a chance at playing in the major leagues next season. The minor-league contract is a safeguard from a financial standpoint for the teams, as they can stash away players that might contribute in the future without using a spot on the 40-man roster. Additionally, teams do not have to commit to the much higher salaries players in the major leagues receive. Should one of these signees make the team, he would of course be paid at the higher rate, but because of the level of uncertainty surrounding the player’s health or talent, minor-league deals have become quite prevalent over the last several years.

Now that the World Series has ended—and a hearty congratulations to the Giants and their fans—baseball has officially entered its off-season. In the very near future, teams will begin to sign or trade players or cut them loose after deciding they are not worth an arbitration raise. Not every signing is created equally, however, as these transactions can range anywhere from the high-profile free-agent inking a monster deal to Willy Taveras being given a shot at making a major-league roster.

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Lance Berkman had a down year. I know that isn’t exactly earth-shattering news, but he did not perform up to the level we have come to expect given his career numbers. At 34 years old, he is unlikely to continue to hit like he did in the early part of his career, but his 2010 numbers paled in comparison to those produced a year ago, when he hit .274/.399/.509 with a .314 TAv. In 2010, Berkman put up a .288 TAv while hitting .248/.368/.413. Though his season was plagued by injuries, he managed a mere 14 home runs, and that slash line looks strange when attached to his name. The numbers were not terrible, but rather different, considering that he has never posted a BA below .274, an OBP below .386, an SLG below .509, or a TAv below .300.

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The day after the Rangers took a commanding 3-1 lead in the ALCS, the Yankees bats finally awoke from their lengthy slumber and relieved their frustration on lefty C.J. Wilson. With the win, the Yankees kept the series going, forcing at least one more game in Arlington. Home-field advantage has been largely irrelevant this postseason, but the Yankees could face one major hurdle should they force a seventh game: Cliff Lee. If Phil Hughes can outduel Colby Lewis, the prize for the Yankees is another matchup with Lee, who is looking more and more like this generation’s Curt Schilling with every playoff start. To get to that juncture, however, the Yankees will need to keep their bats hot. Does PECOTA see this is as a likely possibility? Or does the series end after six games?

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The World Series is around the corner at this point, and with the ALCS taking an off day for travel purposes, the lone game on the docket could very well be the last the Phillies play this season. The Giants took a commanding 3-1 lead in the NLCS on Wednesday night in a game filled with questionable managerial decisions from Charlie Manuel and good ones from Giants skipper Bruce Bochy. Prior to the game, most thought it made more sense to send Roy Halladay to the hill than Joe Blanton given that, well, that is why the likely Cy Young Award winner was brought to Philadelphia.

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First off, I would like to apologize for being out of commission with these previews the last couple of days. Colin Wyers and I discovered a bug that recently surfaced in the projections that caused the slugging percentages of everyone to inflate. Fortunately, the effect was equal for both teams, so while it would not be prudent to publish the slash lines until the bug is fixed, the actual odds of winning the games is not affected. Therefore, until we feel comfortable with the individual projections, I am going to bring you the odds for each matchup with a bit of a what-to-watch-for preview.

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A couple of weeks back, I wrote an article called ‘The Turnaround Kids’ which identified the players with the most substantial improvements from 2009 in TAv, WARP, SNWP, and WXRL. Everyone loves a good turnaround, and it was interesting to see how Aubrey Huff’s 6.1 WARP was not only high, but representative of a vast improvement from a year in which he fell below replacement level. Similarly, Brad Lidge might not have put together the greatest season in 2010, but he was solid, and his numbers look masterful when compared to the dreck he put on display a year ago. In all likelihood, Josh Hamilton experienced the greatest turnaround, improving from a disappointing and injury-plagued campaign that found him at the replacement level into the odds-on favorite to win the American League’s Most Valuable Player award.

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Wait, the Yankees won?! I decided to turn in for the night as C.J. Wilson led comfortably, 5-1. Even though Robinson Cano had just homered, the game had that feel of being practically over. I wake up and lo and behold, I see a headline about being able to hear pin drops as the Yankees stunned the Rangers. That will teach me to make assumptions about games before they actually end! Today we get to see a game from each series, as the Rangers look to even things up at home, while the Phillies and Giants kick off their championship series with, hyperbole included, possibly the greatest playoff pitching matchup of the last decade: Tim Lincecum vs. Roy Halladay.

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After what felt like an eternity off, post-season play resumes tonight with the Yankees visiting the Rangers in the first game of the American League Championship Series. The Yankees should be well-rested after easily dispatching of the Twins in a three-game sweep in the Division Series, while the Rangers are “forced” to go with their second best-starter in C.J. Wilson due to finishing their LDS on Tuesday night. As with the Division Series, we will be producing PECOTA projections for this tier of the playoffs in an attempt to more accurately assess what the major players for each team bring to the table in the form of a true talent level.

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While the postseason is in full bloom, the winners of the regular season awards will be revealed next month. At that juncture some fans will cheer, some will cry, and others will inevitably write articles about how the BBWAA messed up by not voting Justin Morneau as sixth in the AL MVP race, or why James Shields deserves Cy Young consideration because his predictive numbers were much better than his ERA would indicate; as the co-creator of SIERA, I think I can joke about its usage in award voting. I know from experience what it’s like to write such articles, as I once nastily opined that it was a sham how Roy Halladay finished out of the top three on the AL Cy Young Award ballots of some writers in 2008. Then again, even if Cliff Lee deserved the award, how in the world did Halladay fall out of the… never mind, this is no time to dwell.

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The fourth and final division series will come to a close tonight when the Rays host the Rangers and try to come all the way back from a 2-0 deficit to win the best-of-five series and advance to the American League Championship Series to face the Yankees. The Giants took care of the Braves last night with a 3-2 win in their National League Division Series, ending the managerial career of Bobby Cox. The game provided a touching moment, in which the Giants halted their celebration on the field to deliver a round of applause to the curtain-calling Cox. The legendary manager went out in style, guiding his team to the postseason and getting ejected early in Game Two, both key characteristics of his career.

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