No NL East Report today, as the division is clinced, everybody is eliminated, and nothing has really changed. Monday will feature a year-in-review edition of the NL East Report, though.
Today we will take a look at the award races across Major League Baseball and my picks.
National League MVP: Albert Pujols has had this award sealed since June, and there is no other player as all-around offensively accomplished. Could have had a shot at the triple crown if Hanley didn’t run away with Avg.
Verdict : Albert Pujols
American League MVP: The two best offensive players in the American League have been Mark Teixiera and Joe Mauer. Teixiera is tied for the lead in HR (with Carlos Pena who hasn’t played since August) and leads RBI’s. Mauer finally found his power as unleashed 28 HR’s and 95 RBI, but he decisively leads the league in Avg., OBP, SLG, and OPS. Mauer leads Tex by 71 points in Avg., while Tex leads Mauer by 11 HR and 26 RBI. The month of April was a wash for both of them, but Tex’s team is the best in the AL, and Mauer’s is fighting for the playoffs.
Verdict: Mark Teixiera
National League Cy Young: Adam Wainwright’s Wins/K/ERA (rank in parenthesis) line looks like 19(1st)/204(4th)/2.58(3rd). Fellow Cardinal and former winner Chris Carpenter has 17(2nd)/144(25th)/2.24(1st). Defending winner Tim Lincecum has 15(4th)/261(1st)/2.48(2nd). This really could go any way. If it were Game Seven of the World Series, I’d be confident in any of them. Lincecum is hurt because his wins are less than the two Cards, but he’s actually had a better season this year than his Cy Young year last year.
Verdict: Tim Lincecum
American League Cy Young: CC Sabathia is the only one with a chance at 20 wins, as he has 19 with one start left. However his peripherals don’t match up to the Greinke, King Felix, or Roy Halladay. Verlander leads K’s by 20+ over Greinke(237), but his ERA is considerably worse. The two all around best pitchers are Felix Hernandez and Zack Greinke. Greinke has 17 wins with one start left and leads the Majors with a 2.06 ERA. Felix has 18 wins with one start left with 211 K’s(4th) and a 2.48 ERA(2nd).
Verdict: Zach Greinke.
National League Rookie of the Year: Let’s start with hitters. Chris Coghlan (FLA) leads Runs, Avg., OBP, and OPS. Everth Cabrera (SD) and Dexter Fowler (COL) have 20+ Steals, and Andrew McCutchen (PIT) has double digit HR’s and SB’s. Among pitchers, Tommy Hanson (ATL) and JA Happ (PHI) have both had great seasons and similar numbers, though Hanson had 36 fewer innings than Happ.
Verdict: Chris Coghlan
American League Rookie of the Year: Ricky Romero (TOR), Rick Porcello (DET), and Jeff Niemann (TB) had the best seasons among starters. Gordon Beckham (CHI) had the best all around year among hitters, though Matt Wieters (BAL) lead batting avg., and Elvis Andrus (TEX) and Chris Getz (CHI) both finished with 20+ SB’s.
Verdict: Gordon Beckham
NL Manager of the Year: Jim Tracy took over a Colorado team that was headed for a high draft pick at the end of May. Now, they’re heading to the playoffs, and have a chance at stealing the division.
Verdict: Jim Tracy
AL Manager of the Year: Joe Girardi does have the highest paid team, but they have the best record by 8 games over anyone else.
Verdict: Joe Girardi
Till Next Time
