Baseball Awards 2008

Before I get to baseball, I'd like to start out with hockey as I haven't touched on it since the Blues were doing well in mid-October. Since then, the Blues have fallen into the Central Division basement and have had really bad luck play a part in it. Since Sarah Palin(should anyone looking that confused ever be allowed to hold a gun?) dropped the puck, the Blues have only won twice in 10 games with two overtime losses. They have also suffered injuries to Manny Legcae, T.J. Oshie, Dan Hinote, Paul Kariya, and Andy McDonald. Other than Hinote, all of those are impact players. That being said, the Blues are still giving an effort every night and Legace's back, so perhaps they will turn it around soon. The Blues could still go on a run and make the playoffs, as it's still very early, but they need to pick it up soon. The curse of Sarah Palin should be about over now that Obama won, Erik Johnson had successful knee surgery,  and perhaps debuting the new third jerseys on Friday against Anaheim will be the last part in getting this team going again.

One last note on the Blues, is I would like to congratulate Kelly Chasefor winning the 2008 Jack Buck Award, which is given annualy to an individual in recognition of the enthusiastic and dedicated support of sports in St. Louis. Also, if you do pray, I'd like to ask you to pray for Mr. Chase, as he was discovered to have a brain lesion in September. I don't believe they know if it's cancer yet, but I'm sure he would appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Now on to the baseball awards.

At this point we know who all of the recipients are as well as how the voting went. I have to say, I agree with almost every award this year for the first time I can remember in I don't know how long. Albert Pujols, who should be on MVP number five by now (2002-05 and 2008), actually got his second. He was much better than Ryan Howard in about every category other than home runs and RBIs. Of course, if you have two good hitters, and one has about 60 more at-bats more with runners in scoring position, one would assume that the hitter with that many more at-bats would finish with more RBIs. This was the case for Howard. Pujols also did more with less. Howard had last year's MVP in Jimmy Rollins leading off in front of him, with perhaps the best offensive second baseman in Chase Utley batting in front of him as well. Throw in speedster Shane Victorino and the power of Pat Burrell as protection, and you arguably have the most potent lineup in the National League.

Pujols had no-names such as Skip Schumaker and Ryan Ludwick hitting around him. Names that most baseball fans will recognize are Yadier Molina and Cesar Izturis (for their defense), Rick Ankiel (for being a NL rookie of the year candidate in 2000 as a pitcher), and Adam Kennedy (for having one insane game in the 2002 ALCS in which he hit three home runs). Other than that, there was Troy Glaus, who before 2008 appeared to be in the decline of his career. Molina, Ankiel, Glaus, and Ludwick all ended up having very good offensive seasons. Ludwick's 37 home runs came out of nowhere. He made the All-Star team, was named to the Sporting News' post-season All-Star team, showing he didn't just have a hot first half, and was awarded a Silver Slugger. However, when Pujols was not in the lineup, missing a couple of weeks with a strained left calf, Ludwick struggled.

Ludwick's average slid from .321 to under .290 in just two and a half weeks with Pujols sidelined. The Cardinals as a team also struggled in that stretch, getting swept at home by the Royalsof all teams. Pujols also holds an edge over Howard without a bat in his hands. While Howard was busy chucking goofy throws into right field during the World Series, Pujols was probably still working on his game. Pujols won his third straight Fielding Bible Award and was robbed by ignorant players and managers who voted a Gold Glove to Adrian Gonzalez. So even though Pujols doesn't have the same power numbers as Howard, he is clearly a better all around player and much more valuable. Kudos to the writers for finally getting this one right.

As for the Silver Slugger awards, I have to say I agree with every single recipient. At least Joe Mauer can get his due somewhere when his numbers scream AL MVP and he got snubbed for the second time in three years. Joe Mauer also won the Gold Glove at catcher this year. If a guy is the best defensive and offensive player at his position, how does he not get more consideration for MVP?

Teammmate Justin Morneau, who won the 2006 AL MVP and finished ahead of him again this year, is not nearly as important to Twins as Mauer. Mauer threw out base-stealers, blocked wild pitches, and handled a very young pitching staff all the way to a one-game playoff for the AL Central title. He's a catcher and won the batting title. He's a catcher and finished with two more RBIs than winner Dustin Pedroia. If a guy can get dinged up all year and still finish with better numbers beat out another top candidate in nearly every facet of the game, it doesn't make any sense not go give it to the bruised and battered player. I think that this just shows how undervalued catchers are in baseball, when they could very well be the most important player on a club. The most important part of a car is the tires, because they're the only part that actually touches the road. A catcher is involved in every pitch and nearly every sign while on defense.  If the guy also can hit well, or in Mauer's case, really well, it's a crime not to give him more consideration for MVP, especially when there's not a run-away candidate that hits 50+ hrs and has 140+ RBIs like in 2008. The writers who voted on this all need to be thrown in the drunk tank for a night before they're allowed to vote next year, so they can sober up and make a better decision.

Both Cy Young awards went to the most deserving candidates. Both Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee pitched for awful teams and still dominated while on the mound. If a guy can win 22 games for a team as bad as the Indians, giving him the AL Cy Young award is the least people can do. Lincecum's biggest competition, Brand Webb, who won the award two years ago, collapsed a bit at the end of the year allowing the D-Backs to fall out of the NL West race. Lincecum persevered and deservedly won his first Cy Young at the young age of 24. If C.C. Sabathia ends up leaving for the Yankees, Lincecum should have a great shot to repeat next year.

Rookie of the year was pretty obvious in both leagues. Tampa's Evan Longoria was a stud all year, and won't be hanging around later than round 5 in any fantasy league next year. The Cubs' Geovany Soto was very productive on offense this season and even managed to start the All-Star game for the NL. Chicago should be set at catcher for years to come.

As for manager of the year, the AL was a no-brainer as well. Any guy that can take a team that's never even had a winning season to a division title is deserving of this honor, so Joe Maddon more than earned it. A lot of people, especially locals who are Joe Torre fans, wanted to see him take home the NL award. Sure, he won the NL West and continued his personal playoff streak while the Yankees' ended. But if the Dodgers don't acquire Manny Ramirez, I don't see that happening. Also, the Dodgers played in the worst division in the majors in 2008 and only would've finished in fourth in the NL East and fifth in the NL Central. As much of a Cubs hater as I am, Lou Pinella led them to a NL-best 97 wins while playing in the NL's toughest division. Sure, he probably had the best team, but he pushed the right buttons too. Benching Kosuke Fukudome who signed a huge contract with the Cubs in the offseason was a gutsy move, but also the right one. After May, he was just awful. Pinella waited for him to come around, it didn't happen, and he moved on, thinking of the standings, not the Cubs' payroll.

As for the Gold Gloves, they seem to be more of a popularity contest than anything else. Yadier Molina won his first this season, in possibly the worst defensive year of his career. He threw out a lower percentage of baserunners and also allowed more passed balls/wild pitches to get away. It was a sham that Russell Martin and Brad Ausmus won the last two years over him, so I guess the voters were just making up for lost time. I mean Brad Ausmus? NL catching's D-student. That wad utterly ridiculous. Another thing worth noting was Greg Maddux winning his 18th Gold Glove. I'm all for a guy that can look like an accountant while being a Hall of Fame caliber athlete, but I wonder if he's getting the award based on reputation only now. Will he win two more after he retires? I wouldn't be that shocked.