Before the season began, I went out on a limb and made some bold predictions on this year's regular season award winners. Now that we've reached the half-way point (in terms of games played), it's time to look back, and forward.
MVP
In the National League, I thought Matt Holliday would be a clear-cut obvious choice based on his history and what he did last season with the Rockies. But the Rockies are off to a horrid start, and despite hitting .337 up to now, his over-all numbers are well below where he would normally be at this point, in large part of the rest of the team's struggles. The nod up to this point goes to Atlanta's Chipper Jones. All he's done is hit .393, and is chasing a mark no one has touched since Ted Williams lsat did way back in 1941: hit .400 in a season. Can it be done? Sure. Will he do it? That remains to be seen. Staying healthy and avoiding any long slumps will help.
In the American League, the pre-season choice will always be Alex Rodriguez. There's really never much of an argument here. But having spent part of the season on the DL, he's fallen behind a bit and is playing catch-up. The Rangers' Josh Hamilton is having an insane season, already with 80 RBI. He's tied for the league lead in home runs with 19, and he's on a ridiculous RBI pace that could get him close to 160. he probably won't keep that up, but it will be fun to watch him from here on out.
CY YOUNG
Brandon Webb was my pre-season choice, and you could make a strong argument for him up to this point. Webb leads the league with 12 wins, and his ERA is a very respectable 3.21. He was 10-0 before the chairs were warm, but he's struggled of late, going just 2-2 in June with an ERA near 5. That has slowed him down and allowed someone else to enter the picture. Enter Ben Sheets. Sheets only has 9 wins by comparison, but he's been more consistent and has kept his ERA down (2.83). His team has also been more consistent as well, and he has a better chance of getting to 20 wins at this point for that reason. This one is a toss-up, but because of the team factor, I'm leaning slightly towards Sheets now.
In the American League, Eric Bedard was my pick going into the season, simply because of what he's done in the past, and the fact he would be pitching in a premier pitcher's park in Seattle. But he has struggled some and spent much of April on the DL and is playing catch-up, as well. Plus the Mariners are off to the worst record in the American League, and that makes it hard to get wins. That said, with 11 wins and an ERA of 2.26 despite pitching on a decent-at-times last-place team, Cleveland's Cliff Lee gets the award to this point.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
I figured Florida's Cameron Maybin would get enough playing time to be considered in the NL, but he's been down in AAA most of the season. But the Cubs' Geovany Soto, someone I overlooked before the season started, has emerged as the ROY winner to this point. All Soto has done is hit .284 with 13 home runs and an .886 OPS while playing a very tough position behind the plate. And this will earn him a starting nod in the All-Star game next week, as well. In the American League, I went with Evan Longoria before the season started, and despite Tampa Bay stunning everyone and starting him in AAA, he got his call and hasn't disappoint. Longoria is hitting .268 with 15 home runs and a .864 OPS for the league's best team. Soto and Longoria get the nods.
MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Of the two managers I thought would win the award in each league in pre-season, one is already gone: Seattle fired John McLaren two weeks ago. The other, Atlanta's Bobby Cox, has seen his team hover around .500 most of the season and currently sits at 40-44, but, just five games back of first place. That said, the two Florida managers have done what many thought couldn't be done through the first-half of the season: one has the league's best record, and the other spent a good chunk of the first-half in first place and are currently just one game back in their division. That said, kudos to Tampa Bay's Joe Maddon and Florida's Fredi Gonzalez for a job well done so far!
MVP
In the National League, I thought Matt Holliday would be a clear-cut obvious choice based on his history and what he did last season with the Rockies. But the Rockies are off to a horrid start, and despite hitting .337 up to now, his over-all numbers are well below where he would normally be at this point, in large part of the rest of the team's struggles. The nod up to this point goes to Atlanta's Chipper Jones. All he's done is hit .393, and is chasing a mark no one has touched since Ted Williams lsat did way back in 1941: hit .400 in a season. Can it be done? Sure. Will he do it? That remains to be seen. Staying healthy and avoiding any long slumps will help.
In the American League, the pre-season choice will always be Alex Rodriguez. There's really never much of an argument here. But having spent part of the season on the DL, he's fallen behind a bit and is playing catch-up. The Rangers' Josh Hamilton is having an insane season, already with 80 RBI. He's tied for the league lead in home runs with 19, and he's on a ridiculous RBI pace that could get him close to 160. he probably won't keep that up, but it will be fun to watch him from here on out.
CY YOUNG
Brandon Webb was my pre-season choice, and you could make a strong argument for him up to this point. Webb leads the league with 12 wins, and his ERA is a very respectable 3.21. He was 10-0 before the chairs were warm, but he's struggled of late, going just 2-2 in June with an ERA near 5. That has slowed him down and allowed someone else to enter the picture. Enter Ben Sheets. Sheets only has 9 wins by comparison, but he's been more consistent and has kept his ERA down (2.83). His team has also been more consistent as well, and he has a better chance of getting to 20 wins at this point for that reason. This one is a toss-up, but because of the team factor, I'm leaning slightly towards Sheets now.
In the American League, Eric Bedard was my pick going into the season, simply because of what he's done in the past, and the fact he would be pitching in a premier pitcher's park in Seattle. But he has struggled some and spent much of April on the DL and is playing catch-up, as well. Plus the Mariners are off to the worst record in the American League, and that makes it hard to get wins. That said, with 11 wins and an ERA of 2.26 despite pitching on a decent-at-times last-place team, Cleveland's Cliff Lee gets the award to this point.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
I figured Florida's Cameron Maybin would get enough playing time to be considered in the NL, but he's been down in AAA most of the season. But the Cubs' Geovany Soto, someone I overlooked before the season started, has emerged as the ROY winner to this point. All Soto has done is hit .284 with 13 home runs and an .886 OPS while playing a very tough position behind the plate. And this will earn him a starting nod in the All-Star game next week, as well. In the American League, I went with Evan Longoria before the season started, and despite Tampa Bay stunning everyone and starting him in AAA, he got his call and hasn't disappoint. Longoria is hitting .268 with 15 home runs and a .864 OPS for the league's best team. Soto and Longoria get the nods.
MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Of the two managers I thought would win the award in each league in pre-season, one is already gone: Seattle fired John McLaren two weeks ago. The other, Atlanta's Bobby Cox, has seen his team hover around .500 most of the season and currently sits at 40-44, but, just five games back of first place. That said, the two Florida managers have done what many thought couldn't be done through the first-half of the season: one has the league's best record, and the other spent a good chunk of the first-half in first place and are currently just one game back in their division. That said, kudos to Tampa Bay's Joe Maddon and Florida's Fredi Gonzalez for a job well done so far!
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