I didn't get around to doing my quarterly rankings in August or at the end of the season, so since the World Series is about to get underway in a few days, I thought now would be an ideal time to do my year end one, as well make my picks for the individual awards. Keep in mind these rankings DO NOT reflect what has transpired in the playoffs. These are for regular season only! So without further ado...
YEAR END RANKINGS
1. TAMPA BAY - From worst to first in the league's best division with 97 wins.
2. L.A. ANGELS - Quietly finished season with most wins (100), a franchise record.
3. CHICAGO (N.L.) - Were set to make a deep run through playoffs with best team in years and 97 wins.
4. BOSTON - Reigning champs win Wild Card looking to repeat.
5. PHILADELPHIA - Second hottest team in N.L. heading into post-season with 18 September wins.
6. L.A. DODGERS - Turned season around on Aug. 30 and coasted through September with 19 wins and West title.
7. CHICAGO (A.L.) - Came up with three big wins on last weekend to oust Twins from playoff contention.
8. MINNESOTA - Surprise team came up a win shy of postseason after trading Johan and letting Torii walk.
9. MILWAUKEE - Struggled en route to playoffs, including firing manager Ned Yost with 12 games left.
10. N.Y. YANKEES - Finished with respectable 89 wins but missed postseason for first time 13 seasons
11. N.Y. METS - Crumbled during last two weeks of season for second straight year and missed postseason again.
12. TORONTO - Made valiant run in early September only to fall short in the end with 86 wins.
13. HOUSTON - Was on fire and closing in on Wild Card when Hurricane Ike displaced them and hot streak ended.
14. FLORIDA - Salvaged decent season by knocking Mets out of postseason contention on last weekend of season.
15. ST. LOUIS - Despite a red hot Pujols, injuries caught up and team fell short in Wild Card chase.
16. CLEVELAND - Turned season around with 42 wins after trading C.C. and finishing a respectable .500.
17. ARIZONA - After torrid April and 4½ game lead in August, hit skids in September and lost division to L.A.
18. TEXAS - Finished season 21 games behind first place after flirting with Wild Card in July.
19. COLORADO - Made last ditch effort at Wild Card before faltering and finishing with 74 wins.
20. KANSAS CITY - Finished season as one of hottest teams in baseball and 75 wins.
21. OAKLAND - Was on a roll in late September before finishing season with 5 straight losses.
22. SAN FRANCISCO - Despite one of league's worst offenses, finished with 72 wins thanks to good pitching.
23. CINCINNATI - Seemed to play much better after trading both Junior and Adam Dunn late in season.
24. ATLANTA - Struggled mightily after trading Teixeira to Angels to finish with just 72 wins, lowest since 1990.
25. DETROIT - Disappointing season ended with Tigers finishing in last place when many predicted first place.
26. PITTSBURGH - Played decent baseball even after trading Nady and Bay to Yankees and Red Sox, respectively.
27. BALTIMORE - Finished dismal season losing 9 of 10 and last place in league's best division.
28. SAN DIEGO - Avoided 100 losses with a .500 record last 10 games to finish with 99 losses.
29. SEATTLE - Avoids the infamous 30th ranking with decent finish to 101 loss season.
30. WASHINGTON - Finished season with dismal 1-9 record and league worse 102 losses.
**********
This season might have been the most interesting when it comes potential MVPs and Cy Young winners. There have been a lot of debates about players such as Manny Ramirez and C.C. Sabathia whether or not they should be considered for N.L. MVP and Cy Young, respectively. Since enough people have discussed them both as possible winners for the awards, I will take them into consideration as I make my year end predictions. Remember, the awards are based only one regular season and not post-season. The ballots have been casted and were due before the playoffs began on the Wednesday after the regular season ended.
MVP
N.L. - Manny Ramirez, L.A. You can make an argument for a number players here, Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun, Ryan Howard, even C.C. Sabathia. But what Manny did to the Dodgers after his arrival was unheard of and he single-handedly carried the entire Dodger team on his shoulders and right into the post-season. (Yes, I'm homering up on this one, even though I know full well that Pujols will really win this award.)
A.L. - Dustin Pedroia, Boston. Same as N.L. You can make an argument for Josh Hamilton and Carlos Quentin, but Pedroia stepped up and anchored what was a somewhat inconsistent offense by Red Sox standards.
CY YOUNG
N.L. - Tim Lincecum, S.F. Two months ago, it looked like Brandon Webb and Ben Sheets were in a dogfight here. Then C.C. Sabathia entered the picture, but as Webb started to struggle and Sheets got hurt again, Lincecum continued to pitch his way past the trio and eventually set himself up as the clear cut winner of the award.
A.L. - Cliff Lee, Cleveland. There is no one else who should even be mentioned after the season Lee had.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
N.L. - Geovany Soto, Chicago. No change from my mid-season pick.
A.L. - Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay. Same - no change from mid-season.
MANAGER OF THE YEAR
N.L. - Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia. My choice at mid-season was Florida's Fredi Gonzalez, but this was when Florida was contending for the division and Philadelphia was struggling. All the Phillies did was reclaimed the East over the Mets during a late September run again and win 92 games.
A.L. - Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay. No change from mid-season prediction. Tampa went from worst to first in just one year and have set themselves up to be serious contenders for years to come.
YEAR END RANKINGS
1. TAMPA BAY - From worst to first in the league's best division with 97 wins.
2. L.A. ANGELS - Quietly finished season with most wins (100), a franchise record.
3. CHICAGO (N.L.) - Were set to make a deep run through playoffs with best team in years and 97 wins.
4. BOSTON - Reigning champs win Wild Card looking to repeat.
5. PHILADELPHIA - Second hottest team in N.L. heading into post-season with 18 September wins.
6. L.A. DODGERS - Turned season around on Aug. 30 and coasted through September with 19 wins and West title.
7. CHICAGO (A.L.) - Came up with three big wins on last weekend to oust Twins from playoff contention.
8. MINNESOTA - Surprise team came up a win shy of postseason after trading Johan and letting Torii walk.
9. MILWAUKEE - Struggled en route to playoffs, including firing manager Ned Yost with 12 games left.
10. N.Y. YANKEES - Finished with respectable 89 wins but missed postseason for first time 13 seasons
11. N.Y. METS - Crumbled during last two weeks of season for second straight year and missed postseason again.
12. TORONTO - Made valiant run in early September only to fall short in the end with 86 wins.
13. HOUSTON - Was on fire and closing in on Wild Card when Hurricane Ike displaced them and hot streak ended.
14. FLORIDA - Salvaged decent season by knocking Mets out of postseason contention on last weekend of season.
15. ST. LOUIS - Despite a red hot Pujols, injuries caught up and team fell short in Wild Card chase.
16. CLEVELAND - Turned season around with 42 wins after trading C.C. and finishing a respectable .500.
17. ARIZONA - After torrid April and 4½ game lead in August, hit skids in September and lost division to L.A.
18. TEXAS - Finished season 21 games behind first place after flirting with Wild Card in July.
19. COLORADO - Made last ditch effort at Wild Card before faltering and finishing with 74 wins.
20. KANSAS CITY - Finished season as one of hottest teams in baseball and 75 wins.
21. OAKLAND - Was on a roll in late September before finishing season with 5 straight losses.
22. SAN FRANCISCO - Despite one of league's worst offenses, finished with 72 wins thanks to good pitching.
23. CINCINNATI - Seemed to play much better after trading both Junior and Adam Dunn late in season.
24. ATLANTA - Struggled mightily after trading Teixeira to Angels to finish with just 72 wins, lowest since 1990.
25. DETROIT - Disappointing season ended with Tigers finishing in last place when many predicted first place.
26. PITTSBURGH - Played decent baseball even after trading Nady and Bay to Yankees and Red Sox, respectively.
27. BALTIMORE - Finished dismal season losing 9 of 10 and last place in league's best division.
28. SAN DIEGO - Avoided 100 losses with a .500 record last 10 games to finish with 99 losses.
29. SEATTLE - Avoids the infamous 30th ranking with decent finish to 101 loss season.
30. WASHINGTON - Finished season with dismal 1-9 record and league worse 102 losses.
**********
This season might have been the most interesting when it comes potential MVPs and Cy Young winners. There have been a lot of debates about players such as Manny Ramirez and C.C. Sabathia whether or not they should be considered for N.L. MVP and Cy Young, respectively. Since enough people have discussed them both as possible winners for the awards, I will take them into consideration as I make my year end predictions. Remember, the awards are based only one regular season and not post-season. The ballots have been casted and were due before the playoffs began on the Wednesday after the regular season ended.
MVP
N.L. - Manny Ramirez, L.A. You can make an argument for a number players here, Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun, Ryan Howard, even C.C. Sabathia. But what Manny did to the Dodgers after his arrival was unheard of and he single-handedly carried the entire Dodger team on his shoulders and right into the post-season. (Yes, I'm homering up on this one, even though I know full well that Pujols will really win this award.)
A.L. - Dustin Pedroia, Boston. Same as N.L. You can make an argument for Josh Hamilton and Carlos Quentin, but Pedroia stepped up and anchored what was a somewhat inconsistent offense by Red Sox standards.
CY YOUNG
N.L. - Tim Lincecum, S.F. Two months ago, it looked like Brandon Webb and Ben Sheets were in a dogfight here. Then C.C. Sabathia entered the picture, but as Webb started to struggle and Sheets got hurt again, Lincecum continued to pitch his way past the trio and eventually set himself up as the clear cut winner of the award.
A.L. - Cliff Lee, Cleveland. There is no one else who should even be mentioned after the season Lee had.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
N.L. - Geovany Soto, Chicago. No change from my mid-season pick.
A.L. - Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay. Same - no change from mid-season.
MANAGER OF THE YEAR
N.L. - Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia. My choice at mid-season was Florida's Fredi Gonzalez, but this was when Florida was contending for the division and Philadelphia was struggling. All the Phillies did was reclaimed the East over the Mets during a late September run again and win 92 games.
A.L. - Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay. No change from mid-season prediction. Tampa went from worst to first in just one year and have set themselves up to be serious contenders for years to come.
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