First Half Awards

The All Star break is a wonderful thing. Whether or not you care about the Home Run Derby or have strong opinions on the organization of the All Star Game, it is really nice to get about a week off from the everyday grind of the baseball season. And it's the opportune time to look back.

Midseason Awards

AL MVP: Josh Hamilton, Rangers. His batting average significantly drops each month (.395, .344, .223, .174 so far in July), so he better get back on track if he expects to come away with the hardware. But he is on pace to hit .308, 50 HR, 141 RBI, 101 runs, 11 stolen bases and his team is in first place.

NL MVP: Andrew McCutchen, Pirates. Like I said in an earlier post, he leads his team in every offensive category (league-best .362 batting average) and plays a good center field. Andrew McCutchen is one of the most exciting players in the game and can do everything well. The Pirates are a surprise first place team, which definitely supports his case. He may be THE #1 GUY to build a franchise around.

AL Cy Young: Jered Weaver, Angels. League-leader in ERA (1.96), WHIP (0.90), and opponent's batting average (.188), holds a 10-1 record, and threw a no-hitter this season.

NL Cy Young: R.A. Dickey, Mets. We've all heard about him by now. He's been really good.

AL Manager: Joe Girardi, Yankees. I initially wrote Buck Showalter, but what Girardi has done with the Yankees this year has been great. I think this is about the worst Yankees' team in the last 15 years and they still have the best record in baseball. He has done an incredible job managing the bullpen and bench players.

NL Manager: Terry Collins, Mets. 46-40 is much higher than I expected them to be at this point. Ownership gave Collins almost nothing to work with, but they continue to play hard every game and scrap together wins. He is regularly putting out guys like Daniel Murphy, Kik Nieuwenhuis, Ruben Tejada, Mike Nickeas, Jordany Valdespin, Mike Baxter, Justin Turner, Omar Quintanilla, and Vinny Rottino, and getting results.

AL Rookie: Mike Trout, Angels. The day he got here the Angels were 6-15 (nearly the worst record in baseball). Since then: 42-24. He's hitting an AL-best .341 and stolen 26 bases, hitting for power, and making incredible catches in center field. The AL version of McCutchen.

NL Rookie: Wade Miley, Diamondbacks. Great pitching numbers across the board in a very hitter-friendly ballpark.

AL Comeback Player: Alex Rios, White Sox. Hitting close to .100 points higher than a year ago and really helping the Sox in first place.

NL Comeback Player: Stephen Strasburg, Nationals. Missed the last year and a half after Tommy John surgery and now back to dominating hitters with some of the best pitches in the game. Maybe he doesn't fit here since he only made 12 major league starts before getting hurt, but he was dominating at that point, too.

AL Most Surprising Team: Baltimore Orioles. 46-40 and in second place in the best division in baseball from a team that was expected to lose 100 games.

NL Most Surprising Team: Mets. Pirates are doing better but I expected them to do a lot better than the Mets. If you told me they'd get nothing from Jason Bay, almost nothing from Ike Davis or the catcher position, they would use 5 different starting shortstops before the All Star break, and they would have the worst bullpen in baseball, I would expect this team to be 36-50 at this point.

AL Most Disappointing Player: Carlos Santana, Indians. Projected as the best catcher in baseball, now he's in a time share.

NL Most Disappointing Player: Ike Davis, Mets. A lot of Mets on this page. Ike expected to be the most feared hitter in the lineup; now barely hitting .200.

AL: Most Disappointing Team: Detroit Tigers. Five wins in a row finally brings them over .500, but they are still third in a division they were supposed to run away with.

NL Most Disappointing Team: Philadelphia Phillies. Last year they won 102, this year on pace to win just 68. And the way things are looking, they may not get many more than that.