Senior VP Mark Newman Honored

Yankees Senior VP of Baseball Operations Mark Newman has been honored by minor league baseball with the Chief Bender Award.

Here's the official press release:

Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award: Mark Newman, New York Yankees Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations

The Bender Award is presented to someone with distinguished service who has been instrumental in player development. Newman recently completed his 11th season of overseeing the drafting and acquisition of prospects for the Yankees. Entering the 2010 season, more than half of the players on the club's 40-man roster were either drafted or signed as non-drafted free agents.

"There are some exceptional people that are in this industry that do great work," Newman remarked. "I always assume some other people deserve recognition. I am certainly honored by it, but surprised."

"Mark Newman's résumé is virtually unparalleled in player development," Minor League Baseball President Pat O'Conner said. "The success of the Yankees farm system is often overshadowed by their storied success at the Major League level. You cannot overlook the long list of league championships and Major League players produced under Mark Newman's watch with the Yankees. Mark epitomizes the characteristics of Chief Bender in producing players and a winning atmosphere for the organization."

Newman has been with the Yankees for 22 years. He joined the organization in 1989 as Coordinator of Instruction, responsible for supervising all Minor League managers and coaches and planning Major and Minor League spring training.

He was promoted to Director of Player Development and Scouting in 1996 and then to Vice President of Player Development and Scouting a year later.

Oakland Director of Player Development Keith Lieppman received the award last year. Minnesota Twins Senior Director of Minor League Operations Jim Rantz was honored as the first Bender Award recipient in 2008.

Awards Week on the 4:30 Movie

Ah, we miss those days...Godzilla Week, Elvis Week on WABC-TV in the metro area. But back to now. MLB starts handing out its regular season awards today, so its time to give our awards, as well as take a look back at our pre-season predictions and where we ended up.

Rookie of the Year (11/12)

Pre-season Predictions: AL - Delmon Young NL - Chris Young
We literally went "Young" for our picks, and although both had pretty good seasons, neither is our choice for Rookie of the Year.

AL - Dustin Pedroia. It pains us to say so, but the little gnat shook off a horrendous April to hit .317 with 50 RBI and 86 runs scored. He did the job much more than his over hyped teammate, Dice-K. It has nothing to do with selecting this award, but his post-season play showed that this guy is going to be a pest for a long time to come.

NL - Ryan Braun. This is a close pick over Troy Tulowitzki. You can't go wrong with either choice, but Braun's numbers are just too hard to look past - .324-34-97, 91 runs scored and 15 stolen bases in just 113 games. He and Prince Fielder could provide an incredible 1-2 punch for years to come.

Cy Young (11/13, 11/15)

Pre-season Predictions - AL - Johann Santana NL - Carlos Zambrano
Both picks had their Cy Young moments, but Santana had some very un-Santana moments, and Zambrano was consistent in his inconsistency.

AL - Josh Beckett. Beckett dominated and wins this award easily, ahead of C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, and Chien-Ming Wang. Beckett compiled a 20-7 mark with a 3.27 ERA. He posted an amazing 194/40 strikeout to walk ratio.

NL - Jake Peavy. The Pads right-hander couldn't get it done against the Brewers on short rest, but he dominated the season. A 19-6 record to go along with a 2.54 ERA and 240 K's. Peavy only walked 68 batters as he won the pitching triple crown (Wins, ERA, K's).

MVP (11/19, 11/20)

Pre-season Predictions - AL - Travis Hafner NL - Chase Utley


AL - Alex Rodriguez. While our pick had an off-year, A-Rod exploded in his walk year. We won't bother to repeat the numbers. An easy win over Magglio Ordonez.

NL - Jimmy Rollins. Had the right team, just wrong part of the DP combo. Utley could have been had he not gotten hurt. Meanwhile, Rollins hit .296-30-94 with 139 run scored. He, along with the Tigers' Curtis Granderson, joined the exclusive 20-20-20-20 club, matching at least that total in doubles, triples, home runs, and steals (41). Rollins talked the talk and backed it up with his play. 2nd place - Prince Fielder.

Manager of the Year (11/14)

We didn't make any pre-season guesses here, since it's kind of silly.

AL - Eric Wedge. The Indians bounced back from a disappointing (of course we weren't disappointed because we knew they would take a step back last year) '06 season, and were the hottest AL team entering the post-season.

NL - Charlie Manuel. A lot of people are handing this award to Clint Hurdle, but this is manager of the year, not of the last 3 weeks of the season. We give it to Charlie Manuel, who kept his team close with a subpar pitching staff and thru injuries, to win the NL East over the heavily favored Mets. Manuel came this close to getting fired during the year. We give 2nd place to the Brewers Ned Yost.

Awards Week on the 4:30 Movie

Ah, we miss those days...Godzilla Week, Elvis Week on WABC-TV in the metro area. But back to now. MLB starts handing out its regular season awards today, so its time to give our awards, as well as take a look back at our pre-season predictions and where we ended up.

Rookie of the Year (11/12)

Pre-season Predictions: AL - Delmon Young NL - Chris Young
We literally went "Young" for our picks, and although both had pretty good seasons, neither is our choice for Rookie of the Year.

AL - Dustin Pedroia. It pains us to say so, but the little gnat shook off a horrendous April to hit .317 with 50 RBI and 86 runs scored. He did the job much more than his over hyped teammate, Dice-K. It has nothing to do with selecting this award, but his post-season play showed that this guy is going to be a pest for a long time to come.

NL - Ryan Braun. This is a close pick over Troy Tulowitzki. You can't go wrong with either choice, but Braun's numbers are just too hard to look past - .324-34-97, 91 runs scored and 15 stolen bases in just 113 games. He and Prince Fielder could provide an incredible 1-2 punch for years to come.

Cy Young (11/13, 11/15)

Pre-season Predictions - AL - Johann Santana NL - Carlos Zambrano
Both picks had their Cy Young moments, but Santana had some very un-Santana moments, and Zambrano was consistent in his inconsistency.

AL - Josh Beckett. Beckett dominated and wins this award easily, ahead of C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, and Chien-Ming Wang. Beckett compiled a 20-7 mark with a 3.27 ERA. He posted an amazing 194/40 strikeout to walk ratio.

NL - Jake Peavy. The Pads right-hander couldn't get it done against the Brewers on short rest, but he dominated the season. A 19-6 record to go along with a 2.54 ERA and 240 K's. Peavy only walked 68 batters as he won the pitching triple crown (Wins, ERA, K's).

MVP (11/19, 11/20)

Pre-season Predictions - AL - Travis Hafner NL - Chase Utley


AL - Alex Rodriguez. While our pick had an off-year, A-Rod exploded in his walk year. We won't bother to repeat the numbers. An easy win over Magglio Ordonez.

NL - Jimmy Rollins. Had the right team, just wrong part of the DP combo. Utley could have been had he not gotten hurt. Meanwhile, Rollins hit .296-30-94 with 139 run scored. He, along with the Tigers' Curtis Granderson, joined the exclusive 20-20-20-20 club, matching at least that total in doubles, triples, home runs, and steals (41). Rollins talked the talk and backed it up with his play. 2nd place - Prince Fielder.

Manager of the Year (11/14)

We didn't make any pre-season guesses here, since it's kind of silly.

AL - Eric Wedge. The Indians bounced back from a disappointing (of course we weren't disappointed because we knew they would take a step back last year) '06 season, and were the hottest AL team entering the post-season.

NL - Charlie Manuel. A lot of people are handing this award to Clint Hurdle, but this is manager of the year, not of the last 3 weeks of the season. We give it to Charlie Manuel, who kept his team close with a subpar pitching staff and thru injuries, to win the NL East over the heavily favored Mets. Manuel came this close to getting fired during the year. We give 2nd place to the Brewers Ned Yost.