DirtyKash's Blog

2/3rd's of the NL Season Awards

July is nearing its end, leaving August and September for players and teams to jockey for awards and playoff positioning. When we hit the proverbial half way point, we were ready to give David Price the Cy Young, Miguel Cabrera the MVP, and Austin Jackson the Rookie of the Year. Things do change in a month's time.



Rookie of the Year
It's a loaded field. Neftali Feliz has been not just one of the most dominant rookie closers in recent memory, but also one of the best closers in all of baseball. Austin Jackson had a tremendous start to the season but has since regressed a bit. Carlos Santana might turn out to be the best of them all, but he only started in June and is a catcher. Much bally-hooed rookies Scott Sizemore and Justin Smoak have been non-factors.

5. Alfredo Simon - has converted 14 of his 16 saves for Baltimore.
4. Austin Jackson - great speed, great defense, and he can hit too.
3. Carlos Santana - hurt by a late call-up, but every bit as good as advertised.
2. Brennan Boesch - people often think his name is Brendan, but it's not. 12 homeruns, 50 RBI and hitting over .310
1. Neftali Feliz - has converted 27 of his 29 save opportunities for a first-place team.


Most Valuable Player
Miguel Cabrera is making a run at the Triple Crown, but is being closely shadowed by former crackhead Josh Hamilton. Justin Morneau would have been in the picture had he not gotten hurt. Robinson Cano has slowed down a tad but his numbers are still there. Vladimir Guerrero and Adrian Beltre, who'd have thunk it?

5. Carl Crawford - here's hoping that receiving a ball in the testicles won't impact him much.
4. Robinson Cano - slightly impacted by playing on such a deep team.
3. Vladimir Guerrero - a bounceback year!
2. Josh Hamilton - his strikeout-to-walk rate is not nearly as good as Cabrera's but he has more stolen bases! And he plays the outfield!
1. Miguel Cabrera - the best hitter in baseball.


Cy Young
Cliff Lee is the best pitcher in the league and the biggest innings-eater, but he missed almost a month of games and has some catching up to do. David Price might be the most improved pitcher, he's also very dominant. Jon Lester has been throwing darsts and C.C. Sabathia wins games. This battle is as wide open as Kingdom_of_Zito's mom's legs.

5. Carl Pavano - 12-6 this season with 5 complete games. He brings home the bacon. And a nice mustache to boot.
4. C.C. Sabathia - the best chance for 21, 22 wins with great numbers and tons of innings.
3. David Price - he did not start the All-Star game for no reason. He keeps winning.
2. Jon Lester - Cancer Boy started off the season with two shaky starts but has been nothing short of dominant since then.
1. Cliff Lee - The best pitcher to play for four different teams in 12 months.


Manager of the Year
Let me just tell you a couple of guys who won't be on the list- Dave Trembley because his team stinks. Manny Acta, because his team also stinks. Don Wakamatsu because his team also stinks and he's fighting with his players in the dugout. C'mon.

5. Ozzie Guillen - he's funny on Twitter.
4. Joe Maddon - one of the best in the business.
3. Joe Girardi - it is admittedly not that hard to win with a roster like Girardi has.
2. Terry Francona - the team started off slow and has had tons of injuries which he has been able to work around with journeymen. Sensational.
1. Ron Washington - despite being a crackhead, he has his team at the top of the division by a lot.