Midseason Awards

With the All-Star game on Tuesday I thought I would hand out my mid-season awards. So here they are:

AL MVP

Winner: Josh Hamilton, Rangers – 21 HR (3rd in AL) 95 RBI (1st in AL) .306 AVG (9th in AL). Hamilton is not only having a great year but is also a great story as well as only 2 years ago many people believed he would never play baseball again due to his drug addiction. These days the only thing Hamilton is addicted to is hitting dingers and driving in runners.

Runner Up: Carlos Quentin, WhiteSox – 22 HR (1st in AL) 70 RBI (2nd in AL) .276 AVG (really hurts him). Another great turnaround story as last year the Diamondbacks gave up on him. Now he is a solid player and earning a spot on the All-Star team.

NL MVP

Winner: Hanley Ramirez, Marlins – 23 HR (4th in NL) .311 AVG (9th in NL) 23 SB (6th in NL). Might be able to reach the very elusive 50-50 club HR-SB if he keeps at his current pace. Keep in mind all of these numbers come from the lead-off spot and all the while playing for the Florida Marlins.

Runner-Up: Chase Utley, Phillies – 25 HR (3rd in NL) 69 RBI (6th in NL) and a .291 AVG. Utley has cooled off as of late which is why he doesn’t get my vote as consistency is an important quality. Also he hits in a dangerous Phillies line up in front of Ryan Howard which means he see quality pitches.

AL Cy Young Award

Winner: Cliff Lee, Indians – 12 Wins (2nd in AL) 2.31 ERA (2nd in AL) 20 BB (2nd fewest among pitchers with 100 Innings Pitched). Lee has become the ace of a staff that boasted CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona and for most of the 1st half had an ERA close to 1. He spent some time last year in the minors and went 5-8 with a 6.29 ERA. Talk about improvement.

Runner-Up: Roy Halliday, Blue Jays – 11 Wins (3rd in AL) 2.71 ERA (5th in AL) 7 Complete Games (1st in AL). Halliday is the definition of a workhorse as he has more complete games by himself than most teams do. His W:L ratio would be much better if he actually got some run support as well so he gets my vote.

NL Cy Young Award

Winner: Tim Lincecum, Giants – Hands down the easiest award to give out of them all. Tiny Tim has 11 Wins (3rd in NL) a 2.57 ERA (2nd in AL) and 135 Ks (1st in Majors). He has 11 wins pitching for the Giants! That right there should be enough to win him the Cy Young.

Runner-Up: Edinson Volquez, Reds – 12 Wins (2nd in AL) 2.29 ERA (1st in AL) 126 Ks (3rd in AL). I realize Volquez’s numbers look a bit better than Lincecum’s but come on Lincecum pitches for the Giants and has 11 wins! 11!

AL Rookie of the Year

Winner: Evan Longoria, Rays – 16 HR, 53 RBI, .513 SLG and a .275 AVG for a rookie is unreal. Not to mention the best part of his game is his defense. Longoria is the real deal and Tampa Bay knew it all along -- thus, the six-year, $17.5 million contract.

NL Rookie of the Year

Winner: Geovany Soto, Cubs – 16 HR, 56 RBI, .522 SLG and a .288 AVG equals a solid rookie catcher. Soto is also responsible for calling games for the likes of Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, and Ryan Dempster. A tall order for a rookie but he has made it look easy.

AL Manager of the Year

Joe Maddon, Rays – The Tampa Bay Rays are 55-39 going into the All-Star break and if it wasn’t for their current 7 game losing streak they would still be in 1st place in the AL East. That means they are 16 games above .500. Their former record was 4 games above.

NL Manager of the Year

Winner: Fredi Gonzalez, Marlins – He has the Marlins at 5 games over .500 and playing great baseball. Going into the break they are only 1.5 games back of 1st and they are a dangerous team in the second half. This is a team that everyone thought would occupy the basement for the season but with the emergence of Dan Uggla and Mike Jacobs to compliment Hanley Ramirez the Marlins look to be for real.

AL GM of the Year Award

Winner: Billy Beane, A’s – This might be a little biased because I love money ball and love the A’s but how can you argue with what he has accomplished. His payroll is still next to nothing and yet the A’s are 7 games above .500 when everyone thought they would suck. In one year he traded Rich Harden and Dan Haren and the team hasn’t skipped a beat. Billy Beane you are a genius.

NL GM of the Year Award

Winner: Pat Gillick, Phillies – The trade for Brad Lidge makes Gillick look like a genius as Lidge, who everyone gave up on, has been lights out this season. 20 for 20 in Save Opportunities with a 1.13 ERA. Now if Gillick can bring in another quality starting pitcher then he should wrap up the award no problem.

AL LVP (Least Valuable Player)

Winner: Richie Sexson, ex-Mariner - Sexson was recently released by the Mariners, and with good reason. He is batting .218 with 11 HR and 30 RBI. These are terrible numbers and all at the cost of $50 million. When the worst team in baseball doesn't want you that should be a sign that there is a problem and that you are now officially a bum.

NL LVP

Winner: Barry Zito, Giants - 4-12 5.62 ERA and 60 BB to 62 K earns Barry Zito $126 million. Life just isn't fair.

AL Anti-Cy Young

Winner: Joe Blanton, A's - Last year Blanton was 14-10 with a 3.95 ERA and was a great story in Oakland. If only Billy Beane had traded him when he got the chance. This year Blanton is 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA. Usually Billy Beane is a genius but he seems to have dropped the ball on this one.

NL Anti-Cy Young

Winner: Barry Zito, Giants - Barry is taking home lots of hardware so far thanks to his pitiful numbers. His ERA has been on the rise ever since he left Oakland and things got so bad at one point this year he was relegated to the bullpen. At least his fall from grace will be cushioned by his $126 million.