First Half Awards

Yes, we're a little more than halfway home and more importantly, the finest All-Star festivities in all of pro sports are just days away, so I'd like to give out my first-half awards now if I may, with the understanding that I missed the "end of July" awards on purpose.

MVP, AL - Alex Rodriguez (.319, 29, 82, 9)
You really can't go wrong here with A-Rod or Magglio Ordonez, but for me it was #13's stellar June, after a simply silly April that gets him my vote. He's on a pace to flirt with 60 homeruns and 160 RBI, while hitting over .300, and oh by the way, he might end up with 20 steals too. Ordonez may be the trendier pick here because the Tigers aren't 36 games out of first in their division, and he's hitting .370, but A-Rod's crushing him in every other category (including "I got it's").

MVP, NL - Prince Fielder (.282, 27, 66)
This is where I make no sense. Because with this pick, I am definitely going with the best player on a good, if-not-surprising team, over some arguably better players on non-contenders (i.e. Magglio over A-Rod). Yes, Matt Holliday, Chase Utley, and Hanley Ramirez have had fantastic seasons. But if you look at what the Crown Prince of Fielder (CPOF) has done for the middle of the Milwaukee order, he is one of the main reasons they're so good. Let's put it this way, CPOF still has fewer than a thousand career AB's and he's already better than his daddy. By the way, remember when Jose Reyes was running away with this award, both literally and figuratively? His monthly steal totals have gone from 17 to 12 to 10 and his runs scored totals have nose-dived from 26 to 16 to 13. The scary part is, he may still steal 80 bags and score 120 times.

Cy Young, AL - Dan Haren (10-3, 2.30, 101 K)
There are certainly plenty of qualified applicants for this particular honor (Beckett, Sabathia, Lackey, Verlander, Santana) but Haren gets the award because even after two so-so starts, his ERA is still almost half the league average. Realistically, DH should have at least 13 wins at this point, which would make him come to mind as quickly as the other five guys, one of whom will likely get the nod to start the All-Star game, over the most deserving hurler.

Cy Young, NL - Jake Peavy (9-3, 2.19 ERA, 125 K)
Peavy's only real competition for this award comes on his own team, where Chris "Right Hook" Young and Trevor "Closing Time" Hoffman have had fine seasons. But Peavy's been better all year. Forget about the 4-straight 10+ K starts, he's had the dealer's vest on all season and after a sub-par 2006, he really looks like he's ready to be a year-in, year-out stud for the rest of this decade, and the early part of the next one too. He just turned 26 too.

ROY, AL - Daisuke Matsuzaka (10-5, 3.53 ERA, 119 K)
I've heard more than one person marvel at the fact that, despite all the hype surrounding Dice-K this spring, he's still managed to have a really good, under-the-radar season. And those people are right because if he puts together a July, August, and September that are somewhere between his April and June (and far from his May), he'll get a whole lot of votes for Cy Young too. In his last 6 starts, he's lowered his ERA by 1.30, he hasn't allowed more than 2 runs in any given start, and he's recorded either 8 or 9 strikeouts. Granted that's been against Oakland, Arizona, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle and Tampa Bay, but it's still progress. The real test, in my opinion, will be in late August or early September when he starts to enter 210, 215, 220 innings pitched territory. Will he hold up? If he doesn't, Jeremy Guthrie, Reggie Willits or Delmon Young if he has a big second half could just swoop in and steal this award. Stay tuned.

ROY, NL - Ryan Braun (.342, 10, 31, 8)
Perhaps I'm a little biased because I have this guy on every one of my fantasy teams, but c'mon...he's sweet. He runs, he hits, he hits for power, and he has the CPOF protecting him, so what's not to like? At the end of the year, I wouldn't be surprised if he's in .310, 25, 80 territory with 20 steals. However if Braun falters or gets hurt, Hunter Pence will gladly walk away with the award. The reason I give the edge to Brawny here is because Pence's numbers are virtually identical, but he's had 100 more AB's, plus Pence's 5 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio may be cause for concern (Braun's is 3 to 1). It's really a shame the Brew Crew doesn't have any good, young players.

Manager Of The Year, AL - Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox
Ho hum, best record in baseball, an 11-game lead in the division, likely the team to beat in the postseason, and all without Manny, Papi, or Schilling contributing as significantly as the have in years past. Give him credit for sticking with Dustin Pedroia at second, after an awful April, and for turning Hideki Okajima into the best setup man in the game. It also wasn't a bad idea to keep Papelbon in the bullpen and relegate Joel Pineiro to mop-up duty.

Manager Of The Year, NL - Ned Yost, Milwaukee Brewers
Whatever he's selling, the Brewers are buying and he has a young, talented team clicking. They quietly have the best record in the National League and even after their recent surge, a comfortable lead over the Cubs. Moving Dave Bush back to the starting rotation seems to have worked, he's straightened out what was a nightmarish bullpen situation last year, and he's letting Corey Hart and Ryan Braun blossom. Well done.

LVP, AL - Jermaine Dye (.214, 12, 39)
Dye seems to be an appropriate name for a man who leads baseball's most anemic offense. Most people predicted he wouldn't repeat last year's career bests of 44 dingers and 120 RBI, but this year he's not even on pace to hit 25 or drive in 80. Plus his average is the third lowest in the American League, behind Julio Lugo and Nick Punto. Say it with me now...eeeeeew.

LVP, NL - Pat Burrell (.209, 10, 36)
I have a hard time believing the Phillies couldn't get better production out of "Joe Triple-A Outfielder" and do so at a fraction of the cost (Burrell's making $13.25M this season, tops on the team). Pat the Pop-Up has the second lowest batting average in the NL, he's tied for 30th in homeruns...among outfielders...and has fewer RBI than Ichiro, Jason Kubel, and Julio Lugo (who only has 56 hits all year!). Want an even crazier stat? Burrell has more walks (58) than strikeouts (57). I have no idea how given his lack of production, but there you go. Either way, he turns 31 in October, he's never hit .285 in a season, never topped 37 homeruns, and never driven in 120. Anybody know how he got the nickname "Pat the Bat" in the first place?