Pedroia and Braun are voted rookies of the year

Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia was an easy pick for American League rookie of the year, while Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Ryan Braun barely edged Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki for the National League honor Monday.

Generously listed at 5 feet 9, Pedroia became a fan favorite at Fenway Park with his all-out style. Plus, few knew he played with a broken left hand down the stretch.

“Everyone doubted me at every level I’ve been to, saying I’m too small, I’m not fast enough, my arm’s not strong enough,” Pedroia said. “There’s a lot of people that have stuck by me and knew deep down . . . that there’s something about me that makes me a winning baseball player.”

Pedroia hit .317 with eight home runs and 50 runs batted in. He got 24 of the 28 first-place votes to outdistance Tampa Bay outfielder Delmon Young in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America.

Braun finished two points ahead of Tulowitzki.

Braun, who attended Granada Hills High, said he had trouble sleeping Sunday night, then woke up early at his condo in Santa Monica and went for a jog to ease his “nervous energy.”

“I had no idea what the vote would be based on,” he said. “I knew that it would be a close vote.”

Braun received 17 of 32 first-place votes and finished with 128 points. Tulowitzki, who went to Long Beach State, got 15 first-place votes and 126 points. Ballots were completed by the end of the regular season, before Pedroia and Tulowitzki met in the World Series.

Called up from triple A in late May, Braun hit .324 with 34 home runs and 97 RBIs. Braun’s .634 slugging percentage led NL players and was the highest by a rookie in major league history. He did not have enough plate appearances, however, to qualify for the title. His big offensive numbers were enough to overcome 26 errors, tied for most in the majors with Minnesota shortstop Jason Bartlett.

“Everybody has things they need to work on,” Braun said on a conference call.

Tulowitzki led big league shortstops in fielding percentage. He also set an NL rookie record for home runs by a shortstop (24) and batted .291 with 99 RBIs.

In the AL, Young finished second with three first-place votes and 56 points, and Kansas City pitcher Brian Bannister received the other first-place vote. Boston pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka finished fourth, followed by Angels outfielder Reggie Willits and Red Sox reliever Hideki Okajima.

The New York Yankees and Jorge Posada agreed to a $52.4-million, four-year contract that keeps the catcher off the free-agent market. A person familiar with the talks confirmed the deal with the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team didn’t announce it. Posada’s $13.1-million average salary becomes the highest for a catcher, topping the $10 million Detroit’s Ivan Rodriguez and Boston’s Jason Varitek are guaranteed.

Closer Todd Jones and the Detroit Tigers agreed to a $7-million, one-year contract. Jones had 38 saves for the Tigers last season, a year after saving 37 games to help Detroit make the playoffs for the first time since 1987. He turns 40 in April.

“He’s done a quality job for the last couple years and for us, a real big need for him to come back and fill that closer role,” Tigers President Dave Dombrowski said.

Re-signing Jones became even more important for Detroit when hard-throwing reliever Joel Zumaya had shoulder surgery.

Earlier in the day, the Tigers acquired outfielder Jacque Jones from the Chicago Cubs for utility player Omar Infante.

Jones, who took over as Chicago’s starting center fielder in the second half of the 2007 season, batted .285 with five homers and 66 RBIs in 135 games. Infante batted .271 with two home runs and 17 RBIs in 66 games with Detroit this year.

TENNIS

Federer loses second match in a row

Top-ranked Roger Federer lost consecutive matches for the first time in 4 1/2 years, falling to No. 7 Fernando Gonzalez, 4-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5, at the Masters Cup at Shanghai.

The defending champion lost for the first time in 11 meetings against Gonzalez. It ended Federer’s 15-0 record in round-robin play at the season-ending tournament, which features the top eight men’s singles players and doubles pairs.

“It was a tough loss,” Federer said. “I thought I played pretty good. I wish I had an excuse.”

Andy Roddick overcame a second-set lapse and beat fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Federer has won three Grand Slam titles in 2007 and already has clinched the No. 1 ranking for the fourth straight year. But he has been vulnerable over the last month, falling twice to David Nalbandian, first in Madrid, then again in the third round at Paris, his last match before Monday’s loss.

MISCELLANY

Oklahoma St. dismisses Collins from team

Linebacker Chris Collins was permanently dismissed from Oklahoma State’s football team six days after he pleaded guilty to felony aggravated sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in Texas. Coach Mike Gundy met with Collins to inform him of the dismissal, according to a statement released by the university.

Collins will be permitted to keep his scholarship and remain in school.

Ryan Briscoe replaced Sam Hornish after the three-time IndyCar Series champion moved to Penske’s NASCAR team.

Briscoe will team with two-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves.