And The Envelopes Please....

So yesterday, I made my predictions for the baseball postseason. How about we hand out some awards, shall we?

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

National League: Ryan Howard, 1B, Phillies
Jeff Francoeur is a nice little player, and he certainly played a major part in helping the Braves win their 14th straight division title, both with his timely hitting and outfield arm. However, Howards’ numbers-- .286, 22 HR, 62 RBI, .921 OPS in only 308 at-bats—are simply monsterous. When Jim Thome was lost for the season, Philly just plugged in the 25 year old and got basically the same amount of production. The Phils once again fell short of the playoffs, but it wasn’t the big guy’s fault.

(As an aside: Rumors have already begun popping up, speculating on where the Phillies will trade Thome, with the Rangers, Red Sox, and Angels rumored to be among the likely suitors. Depending on the price tag, if I’m Omar Minaya, I would at least explore what it would take—both financially and player wise—to acquire him.)

American Leauge: Huston Street, RP, Athletics
Hey, if you wanna go with Robinson Cano, I’ve got no beef with you. He’s certainly got the numbers-- .295, 14 HR, 62 RBI’s—not to mention a large collection of clutch hits and steady defense. However, it’s hard to find a closer of any age that was as reliable as Street, not to mention the collection of numbers he brings to the table—5-1, 1.72 ERA, 23 saves in 27 chances, nearly a strikeout an inning. Effortlessly handling the pressure of closing major league games at age 22, just a year removed from the College World Series at Texas, Street showed incredible poise and looks like an anchor of the rapidly reloading Oakland machine for years to come.

CY YOUNG

National League: Roger Clemens, Astros
Yeah, he’s a mercenary, and a jerk to boot. But you can’t front on the sickening numbers he put up this year, especially at age 43. You can’t argue with a 1.87 ERA, and if the Astros had scored any runs for him this year, he would have had more than his 13 wins and there’d be no debate whatsoever. Props to D-Train and Carpenter for great seasons, but Clemens takes home his staggering 8th Cy Young.

American League: Johan Santana, Twins
He probably won’t win it—it’ll probably go to Bartolo Colon in a year which lacks a clear cut favorite based on his 21 W’s and the ace of the West winning Angels—but Johan is far and away the best pitcher in the American League. Any worry that his jaw-dropping 2004 Cy season was a fluke were assuaged (not that there were many to begin with) with a stellar 16-7, 2.87 ERA, 9.2 K/9 season. Only 26, Santana appears poised for a long reign atop mounds all across the American League.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

National League: Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals
With Barry Bonds out the whole year, the path has been cleared for Albert the Great to finally win a much deserved MVP. While Andruw Jones’ 50 homers certainly played a huge role in powering the Braves towards the postseason once again, Pujols simply did what he always does—mash. Sure, the Cardinals are a great all around ball club and have been good for quite a while, but that should not obscure in the slightest the contributions of one of the five best players in the game. If he doesn’t finally win an MVP soon, the fact alone will dishonor the award itself, in much the same way that Martin Scorsese’s lack of an Oscar doesn’t bestow much credit on the Academy.

American League: David Ortiz, DH, Red Sox
Sure, give it to A-Rod, solely for the fact that he plays in the field (and admittedly plays a pretty fine third) and Ortiz DH’s. However, I’m a National League fan who abhors the very concept of the DH, so it takes a lot for me to give the nod to one in Ortiz. However, every since Game 4 of last year’s ALCS, Big Papi has just been an absolute beast, amassing an ungodly amount of clutch hits. Ortiz followed the same recipe that won Vladimir Guerrero, Miguel Tejada, and Jason Giambi MVP awards before him— namely, put your team on your back for the month of September and carry them, kicking and screaming, into the postseason.

Today, Bill Simmons wrote this about A-Rod during Saturday's AL East clinching win for the Yanks:

"An MVP performance from A-Rod, who waited until the Yanks were up 6-2 before he ripped a long home run, then followed that up with two more big hits. The weird thing about A-Rod is that there's nobody more terrifying in a big game ... when you're down by 4 runs. There really isn't. It's like he goes to another level."

See, that’s the thing about A-Rod—he seems to do the most damage when the game is already decided one way or the other for the Yankees. And while he wasn’t nearly as bad in the clutch as he has been in the past, he wasn’t Ortiz, who was downright Bondsian coming down the stretch. Basically, without A-Rod, I figure the Yanks still find a way to make the playoffs. Without Ortiz, who was strictly there’s no way in Hell the Sox make the playoffs. I seriously don’t understand why anyone pitched to him these last 3-4 weeks.