AL
Comeback Player
1. Jim Thome
Biggest one horse race of all time, if Thome doesn't win comeback player of the year than I'll be completely shocked.
Rookie of the Year
1. Francisco Liriano
2. Jonathan Papelbon
3. Justin Verlander
4. Joel Zumaya
5. Ian Kinsler
Poor Justin Verlander, the kid has a miniscule ERA in the low threes and almost any other year he would be the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year but right now he's not even a contender. The battle between Paps and Liriano is neck and neck and will be a very intriguing watch down the stretch.
Cy Young
1. Francisco Liriano
2. Roy Halladay
3. Jonathan Papelbon
4. Johan Santana
5. Mike Mussina
There have been plenty of fantastic performances by pitchers in the first half but no one has better more phenomenal than Liriano. Since moving into the starting rotation Liriano has made a total of ten starts, 10. In those games he has pitched 61 innings and given up a total of 10 runs. That's an ERA of 1.48 for a starter. In those 10 games he's thrown a quality start every time and is 9 - 1. Honestly, the only question is what the heck was he doing in the bullpen at the beginning of the year.
Halladay and Santana have put up great numbers and Moose might be having his best season in a Yankee Uniform, but really they just don't measure up at the midway point, Liriano has won 90% of his starts that is unfathomable.
MVP
1. Jonathan Papelbon
2. Derek Jeter
3. Vernon Wells
4. David Ortiz
5. Jim Thome
This award was by far the hardest to decide. There really isn't a single player who's carried his team. Ortiz has Manny by his side. Thome has both Konerko and Dye having terrific years. Jeter has Arod and Giambi. Designated Hitter is definitely an easier on your body and mind and has plenty of advantages over playing difficult positions like SS and CF which is why I give the edge to Jeter and Wells over Thome and Ortiz who are having terrific seasons. But the MVP comes down to what you believe is the most important player in the league to their team. Who if he was not on the roster this year they would have not been anywhere near where they are in the standings. And even though I do not believe that Papelbon has been the best pitcher in the league this season, (Closely Contested), I believe he is the reason why the Red Sox are in first place. If you look at the Red Sox what does their roster have, a terrific lineup starring David Ortiz but including a Hall of Famer in Manny, a terrific leadoff guy in Youkalis all the way down to a viable batter on the bench in Wily Mo, if he's healthy. The Red Sox also have a solid top of the rotation in Schilling, Wakefield, and Beckett even though their last two spots might be suspect. But their bullpen is in shambles. Foulke is out and even when he was in he was nothing like 2004. Timlin is ancient. And forget about Tavarez or Saenez. Without Papelbon the Red Sox would have the worst bullpen in the league, bar none, they would be in at best 3rd place in the division but with Papelbon the game is now 8 innings long and sometimes only 7 a Red Sox fans are getting a taste of what its been like for Yankee fans having Mariano for the past 10 seasons. Paps is my MVP.
Manager of the Year
1. Jim Leyland
2. Ozzie Guillen
3. Joe Torre
This is really a one horse race. The only way Jim Leyland coughs this up is if the Tigers have a historic collapse. One way or another he is certainly the midseason Manager.
NL
Comeback Player of the Year
1. NOMAAAAAH
He's got the midseason award, but might lose it due to a Hammy pull that is due sometime in the coming weeks.
Rookie of the Year
1. Ryan Zimmerman
2. Dan Uggla
3. Josh Johnson
4. Prince Fielder
5. Hanley Ramirez
This is a tough battle between any player on the Marlins and Ryan Zimmerman. If you could combine the seasons of Uggla, Ramirez, Johnson etc. the Marlins would easily win the college World Series. I lean towards Zimmerman because he is A) My Boy B) Has two walkoff homers and a walkoff single C) He probably should win the Gold Glove at third base this season, he's on web gems every week.
Cy Young
1. Trevor Hoffman
2. Brandon Webb
3. Chris Capuano
4. Brad Penny
5. Tom Glavine
There have been a lot of terrific starters thus far in the NL. Namely Brandon Webb, Chris Capuano and Penny, but little seperates these pitchers as to their excellence this season. And even though closers rarely win this award and despite his terrible All Star game blip Trevor Hoffman has been the foundation for the Padres leading the NL West at the All Star Break. Hoffman has a a straight 1 ERA has saved 24 of 25 opportunities and his sole blown save came on an unearned run after a Khalil Green error. So pretty much he's been the perfect closer this season.
MVP
1. Lance Berkman
2. Albert Pujols
3. David Wright
4. Carlos Beltran
5. Nomar Garciaparra
Similar to the AL I look at this category as who if they were dropped would be completely different. Pujols has been phenomenal and will probably end up winning the MVP but he was on the roster when they lost basically every game to the AL and he also has Scott Rolen having a terrific season batting behind him. David Wright and Carlos Beltran have had great seasons but the Mets lineup is the best in the NL. Lance Berkman is the Astros offense. Ensberg is batting below .240, Preston Wilson strikes out every other at bat and Biggio is elderly. I know the Astros don't have a terrific record, but if Berkman was not on this team they would have absolutely zero chance of pulling off the second half storm that they have gone on for the past few seasons and I expect them to do the same this year.
Manager of the Year
1. Willy Randolph
2. Jerry Narron
3. Clint Hurdle
Credit it to a horrible division or to Willy, but the Mets have smooth sailing throughout the 2nd half of the season and are going to need a double digit losing streak in order to be threatened by any of their atrocious rivals in the NL East. Hurdle and Narron have the Rockies and Reds respectively, in contention so they deserve some praise but Randolph's got 12 game lead thats huge.
Comeback Player
1. Jim Thome
Biggest one horse race of all time, if Thome doesn't win comeback player of the year than I'll be completely shocked.
Rookie of the Year
1. Francisco Liriano
2. Jonathan Papelbon
3. Justin Verlander
4. Joel Zumaya
5. Ian Kinsler
Poor Justin Verlander, the kid has a miniscule ERA in the low threes and almost any other year he would be the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year but right now he's not even a contender. The battle between Paps and Liriano is neck and neck and will be a very intriguing watch down the stretch.
Cy Young
1. Francisco Liriano
2. Roy Halladay
3. Jonathan Papelbon
4. Johan Santana
5. Mike Mussina
There have been plenty of fantastic performances by pitchers in the first half but no one has better more phenomenal than Liriano. Since moving into the starting rotation Liriano has made a total of ten starts, 10. In those games he has pitched 61 innings and given up a total of 10 runs. That's an ERA of 1.48 for a starter. In those 10 games he's thrown a quality start every time and is 9 - 1. Honestly, the only question is what the heck was he doing in the bullpen at the beginning of the year.
Halladay and Santana have put up great numbers and Moose might be having his best season in a Yankee Uniform, but really they just don't measure up at the midway point, Liriano has won 90% of his starts that is unfathomable.
MVP
1. Jonathan Papelbon
2. Derek Jeter
3. Vernon Wells
4. David Ortiz
5. Jim Thome
This award was by far the hardest to decide. There really isn't a single player who's carried his team. Ortiz has Manny by his side. Thome has both Konerko and Dye having terrific years. Jeter has Arod and Giambi. Designated Hitter is definitely an easier on your body and mind and has plenty of advantages over playing difficult positions like SS and CF which is why I give the edge to Jeter and Wells over Thome and Ortiz who are having terrific seasons. But the MVP comes down to what you believe is the most important player in the league to their team. Who if he was not on the roster this year they would have not been anywhere near where they are in the standings. And even though I do not believe that Papelbon has been the best pitcher in the league this season, (Closely Contested), I believe he is the reason why the Red Sox are in first place. If you look at the Red Sox what does their roster have, a terrific lineup starring David Ortiz but including a Hall of Famer in Manny, a terrific leadoff guy in Youkalis all the way down to a viable batter on the bench in Wily Mo, if he's healthy. The Red Sox also have a solid top of the rotation in Schilling, Wakefield, and Beckett even though their last two spots might be suspect. But their bullpen is in shambles. Foulke is out and even when he was in he was nothing like 2004. Timlin is ancient. And forget about Tavarez or Saenez. Without Papelbon the Red Sox would have the worst bullpen in the league, bar none, they would be in at best 3rd place in the division but with Papelbon the game is now 8 innings long and sometimes only 7 a Red Sox fans are getting a taste of what its been like for Yankee fans having Mariano for the past 10 seasons. Paps is my MVP.Manager of the Year
1. Jim Leyland
2. Ozzie Guillen
3. Joe Torre
This is really a one horse race. The only way Jim Leyland coughs this up is if the Tigers have a historic collapse. One way or another he is certainly the midseason Manager.
NL
Comeback Player of the Year
1. NOMAAAAAH
He's got the midseason award, but might lose it due to a Hammy pull that is due sometime in the coming weeks.
Rookie of the Year
1. Ryan Zimmerman
2. Dan Uggla
3. Josh Johnson
4. Prince Fielder
5. Hanley Ramirez
This is a tough battle between any player on the Marlins and Ryan Zimmerman. If you could combine the seasons of Uggla, Ramirez, Johnson etc. the Marlins would easily win the college World Series. I lean towards Zimmerman because he is A) My Boy B) Has two walkoff homers and a walkoff single C) He probably should win the Gold Glove at third base this season, he's on web gems every week.
Cy Young
1. Trevor Hoffman
2. Brandon Webb
3. Chris Capuano
4. Brad Penny
5. Tom Glavine
There have been a lot of terrific starters thus far in the NL. Namely Brandon Webb, Chris Capuano and Penny, but little seperates these pitchers as to their excellence this season. And even though closers rarely win this award and despite his terrible All Star game blip Trevor Hoffman has been the foundation for the Padres leading the NL West at the All Star Break. Hoffman has a a straight 1 ERA has saved 24 of 25 opportunities and his sole blown save came on an unearned run after a Khalil Green error. So pretty much he's been the perfect closer this season.
MVP
1. Lance Berkman
2. Albert Pujols
3. David Wright
4. Carlos Beltran
5. Nomar Garciaparra
Similar to the AL I look at this category as who if they were dropped would be completely different. Pujols has been phenomenal and will probably end up winning the MVP but he was on the roster when they lost basically every game to the AL and he also has Scott Rolen having a terrific season batting behind him. David Wright and Carlos Beltran have had great seasons but the Mets lineup is the best in the NL. Lance Berkman is the Astros offense. Ensberg is batting below .240, Preston Wilson strikes out every other at bat and Biggio is elderly. I know the Astros don't have a terrific record, but if Berkman was not on this team they would have absolutely zero chance of pulling off the second half storm that they have gone on for the past few seasons and I expect them to do the same this year.Manager of the Year
1. Willy Randolph
2. Jerry Narron
3. Clint Hurdle
Credit it to a horrible division or to Willy, but the Mets have smooth sailing throughout the 2nd half of the season and are going to need a double digit losing streak in order to be threatened by any of their atrocious rivals in the NL East. Hurdle and Narron have the Rockies and Reds respectively, in contention so they deserve some praise but Randolph's got 12 game lead thats huge.
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