Over the last week, we have taken many, many pictures of Jillian.  I am still sorting thru them all, but I have at least gotten a few of them online.  I have placed a link to the location of the pictures at the top of this page.  Please click that link to be taken to the photo albums of Jillian.  And please check back often, as new pictures will be continually added.

 

Well, Jillian is now more than one week old.  Everybody is happy and healthier, and Maggie and I can't be more thrilled.  Sure, we are a little low on sleep, but it hasn't been too bad.  Everything is definitely worth it!

 

Our baby finally arrived!  Jillian Eliza Mann was born at 12:42am on Tuesday October 16, 2007.  She weighed 6lb 9oz, and was 18 3/4" long.  Mother and daughter are both doing fine!

 

Maggie had to deliver by C-section.  After pushing for a couple of hours, it was determined that the baby was upside down, and that it would be extremely difficult to conitnue.  So Maggie opted for the C-section, and the procedure went just fine. 

Yes, we are getting very close to the due date of Oct 10.  So Jillian could be born at any minute, really.  At Maggie's last doctor's appointment, however, she was told that it appears she isn't ready to deliver and that it looks like the baby might be late.  So while we are prepared to leave for the hospital at any time, we aren't expecting anything to happen for at least a few more days. 

 

Maggie has had some elevated blood pressure for the last month or so, and because of that, the doctor doesn't want her to go beyond 41 weeks, i.e. one week past the due date.  Therefore, if she doesn't go into labor by Oct 17, labor will be induced then.  So no matter what, it looks like we'll have a daughter within 9 days.

 

Keep your eyes on this site, because I will certainly make an announcement here and post some pictures as soon as I can.

Below are my picks for the 2007 Major League Baseball awards. I compile this every year and figure I might as well post it here. 

First, a little info on how I make my picks. I tend to fall in line with the SABR guys who value thing like OPS (on base plus slugging percentage), TB (total bases), RC (runs created) and WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) more than "traditional" stats like runs and RBI and wins. I look at MVP and Cy Young awards as individual awards, so I focus on stats that only measure individual acheivement. A htiter can't get an RBI or a run scored without help from his teammates (unless he hits a home run). A pitcher can't get a win unless his teammates score runs. Things like OPS and WHIP measure only what the player himself does.

Similarly, I don't eliminate a player from consideration just because his team missed the playoffs. Making the playoffs is a team acheivement, so I won't hold a single player to blame if his team loses a couple more games than someone else's team and misses out by a couple game. I will, however, hold it against a player if his team absolutely stinks and he plays with no pressure all year long.

Also, I fill out my "ballot" just like the baseball writers fill out theirs. That means listing the top ten choices on the MVP ballots, and top three for all others. And that means I probably spend WAY more time putting the top ten MVP candidates in each league in order than is necessary, but so be it.

Lastly of course, I am a Red Sox fan, although I do try to keep that from clouding my judgement.  Anyway, here goes:

American League MVP
1) Alex Rodriguez NYY .314BA, 54HR, 156RBI, 1.067OPS, 153.8 RC
2) Magglio Ordonez DET .363 BA, 28HR, 139RBI, 1.029OPS, 140.6 RC
3) David Ortiz BOS .332BA, 35HR, 117RBI, 1.066OPS, 143.0 RC
4) Jorge Posada NYY .338BA, 20HR, 90RBI, .970OPS, 110.6 RC
5) Vladamir Guerrero LAA .324BA, 27HR, 125RBI, .950OPS, 119.2 RC
6) Curtis Granderson DET .302BA, 23HR, 74RBI, .913OPS, 124.5 RC
7) Victor Martinez CLE .301BA, 25HR, 114RBI, .879OPS, 102.9 RC
8) Mike Lowell BOS .324BA, 21HR, 120RBI, .879OPS, 105.7 RC
9) Ichiro Suzuki SEA .351BA, 6HR, 68RBI, .827OPS, 119.8 RC
10) Carlos Pena TB .282BA, 46HR, 121RBI, 1.037OPS, 125.1 RC

I don't think there's any surprise with the #1 choice here. It's pretty obvious in just about every area. Frankly #2 is pretty obvious as well. Not many people will have anybody else in those spots, so there's not much to explain. Ortiz goes #3 on my list pretty much because his OPS and RC are way ahead of anyone else down the list.

National League MVP
1) Jimmy Rollins PHI .296BA, 30HR, 94RBI, .875OPS, 133.4RC
2) Matt Holliday COL .340BA, 36HR, 137RBI, 1.012OPS, 142.2RC
3) Prince Fielder MIL .288BA, 50HR, 119RBI, 1.013OPS, 135.5RC
4) David Wright NYM .325BA, 30HR, 107RBI, .963OPS, 138.4RC
5) Chipper Jones ATL .337BA, 29HR, 102RBI, 1.029OPS, 121.4RC
6) Chase Utley PHI .332BA, 22HR, 103RBI, .976OPS, 121.3RC
7) Ryan Howard PHI .268BA, 47HR, 136RBI, .976OPS, 119.2RC
8) Albert Pujols STL .327BA, 32HR, 103RBI, .997OPS, 126.9RC
9) Hanley Ramirez FLA .332BA, 29HR, 81RBI, .948OPS, 136.5RC
10) Miguel Cabrera FLA .320BA, 34HR, 119RBI, .965OPS, 126.2RC

This is a much tougher call, and I think a good case could be made for any of the top three guys. I went with Rollins, who seems to be the popular pick. I don't normally go for a guy whose OPS is so far below the other candidates. But Rollins' RC total is right in line with the others. Plus, he set NL records for runs scored and extra-base htis by a shortstop, as well as becoming only the second player in Major League history to have 20 doubles, 20 triples, 30 homers and 30 steals in a season. Doing something that only Willie Mays has done means being in good company.

American League Cy Young
1) CC Sabathia CLE 19-7, 3.21 ERA, 209K, 1.14 WHIP
2) Josh Beckett BOS 20-7, 3.27 ERA, 194K, 1.14 WHIP
3) John Lackey LAA 19-9, 3.01 ERA, 179K, 1.21 WHIP

Another tough call, this time between the top two. The Sox fan in me is pulling for Beckett. But I do think that Sabathia deserves to win. The numbers are pretty close right across the board. But Sabathia threw 241 innings to Beckett's 200.2, which means he was on the field more, and was thus of more help to his team. It's not much, but it's enough to put him over the top for me. Lackey is an easy pick at #3.

National League Cy Young
1) Jake Peavy SD 19-6, 2.54 ERA, 240K, 1.06 WHIP
2) Brandon Webb ARZ 18-10, 3.01 ERA, 194K, 1.19 WHIP
3) Aaron Harang CIN 16-6, 3.73 ERA, 218K, 1.14 WHIP

This pick is as easy as the AL MVP. Peavy won the pitching Triple Crown, and it's pretty much impossible not to choose a Triple Crown winner as the Cy Young. And like the AL MVP race, #2 is also pretty clear-cut. Webb's 42 consecutive scoreless inning this summer didn't hurt either. I had a little trouble at #3 deciding between Harang and Brad Penny. John Smoltz also rated some brief consideration for that spot.

American League Rookie Of The Year
1) Dustin Pedroia BOS .317BA, 8HR, 50RBI, .822OPS
2) Brian Bannister KC 12-9, 3.87 ERA, 77K, 1.21 WHIP
3) Hideki Okajima BOS 3-2, 2.22 ERA, 5 Sv, 0.97 WHIP

It wasn't an amazing year for rookies in the AL, but Pedroia's numbers aren't bad. In fact they're pretty good.  He started off very poorly, but later was an integral part to Boston's division winning summer.

National League Rookie Of The Year
1) Ryan Braun MIL .324BA, 34HR, 97RBI, 1.004OPS
2) Troy Tulowitzki COL .291BA, 24HR, 99RBI, .838OPS
3) Josh Hamilton CIN .292BA, 19HR, 47RBI, .922OPS

I think this is another fairly easy call. Braun may lose some points because he started the year later than Tulowitzki. But his offensive numbers are so impressive, that he's impossible to pass up. The NL has a much more impressive crop of rookies than the AL.

American League Manager Of The Year
1) Eric Wedge CLE
2) Mike Scioscia LAA
3) Terry Francona BOS

At the beginning of the year, many people thought Detroit was the best team in the majors, not just in the AL Central. Yet Cleveland won the division by 8 games and tied for the best record in the majors. That spells Manager Of The Year to me.

National League Manager Of The Year
1) Bob Melvin ARZ
2) Lou Pinella CHC
3) Clint Hurdle COL

It would be nice to include Charlie Manuel and Ned Yost on this list somewhere as well, but somebody had to be left off. Arizona was picked by many to finish 3rd or 4th in the NL West, yet they finished with the best record in the NL.