MLB Midseason Awards - NL Version

Yesterday, I posted my midseason accolades for the American League. If you didn't catch it, it's just below this post or click here.

The National League awards are as follows:

1. MVP - The nominees are: Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego; Joey Votto, Cincinnati; David Wright, New York
I know eyebrows will be raised by omitting one Albert Pujols, but he's got his share. All three of my nominees are first timers here. No question that Gonzalez has had the aid of the Padres pitching staff, but he is the hub of their offense. Same can be said about Wright and what he brings to the Mets offense. All the talk in the offseason revolved Jason Bay's signing and the absence of Carlos Beltran. Hasn't phased right.

But where would the Cincinnati Reds be without Votto? Sure, Scott Rolen has rediscovered himself, Brandon Phillips is having his prototypical season. Jonny Gomes has emerged a the left fielder. It's Votto that has made the Reds, dare I say, an offensive power in the NL. He is ahead of Pujols, whom all first basemen are measured against, in every major offensive category. Not bad with the glove either as Votto has committed only 2 errors and a .997 fielding percentage.

2. Cy Young - The nominees are: Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado; Josh Johnson, Florida; Adam Wainwright, St. Louis
This was tougher than the MVP race for me. Jimenez may be the pick to many due to his fantastic start. The last three outings have been less than stellar. Josh Johnson has been the hot hurler as of late. He leads the NL in ERA (1.70) and pitches in a non-baseball friendly market. If Johnson were in almost any other NL city, he'd be the choice...easily.Wainwright picked up where he left off in 2009. He's just consistent.

Like I said, this was tough. I found great arguments for all three. Hard to go against the guy that already has 15 wins...and I'm not. Yes, it's Jimenez for me. Sure he's struggled as of late, but 15 wins before the All-Star break? One of those wins was a no-hitter.

3. Rookie of the Year -Nominees are: Jaime Garcia, St. Louis; Jason Heyward, Atlanta; Gaby Sanchez, Florida
Believe it or not, narrowing my list of nominees to three was harder than selecting the winner. You have Mike Leake in Cincinnati. Drew Storen and Stephen Strasburg in D.C.  Heyward had the impressive debut by homering in his first AB. Imagine how close he'd be to the NL lead if had not been injured. Scary. Sanchez, like Josh Johnson, needs to be with another organization that has attendance.Strasburg could claim this at the end of the regular season...and he should only if one of my nominees should fall.

And to me that's Garcia. 8-4 with a 2.17 ERA on a Cardinals staff that is depleted due to injuries (Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse). Garcia has more than carried his share of the load. Carpenter, Wainwright and Garcia could be the best 1-2-3 in the National League. Wait. There are. I hope the kid can stay fresh as 16 wins is a real possibility.

4. Manager of the Year - Nominees are: Dusty Baker, Cincinnati; Bud Black, San Diego; Bobby Cox, Atlanta
Cox is in his final year and there would be no better way to send him out than with a World Series ring and a MOY award. Early in the season, many Reds fans were already exasperated with Baker and wanted him out. His players just played hard and a current position of first in the NL Central will earn you more time.

But how can you not give this to Black? Almost every expert had the Padres at the bottom of the NL West in their predictions. No offense and no pitching. I said it myself...and now, I take it all back. The Padres have the lowest ERA of any staff in the NL and Black, a former pitcher, has to be the cog in that engine.

Now, the fun begins...

"We Don't Need Carlos Beltran" Award - Angel Pagan, New York Mets
Pagan won't give you the power numbers Beltran is capable of producing, but he has more than held his own as the Mets center fielder. He could be an All-Star with the season he's had: .303 average, 40 RBI. 16 steals, .363 on-base percentage and has played well defensively. Carlos Beltran? Who's that?

"Thanks, Guys. I Still Have a Job" Award - Jerry Manuel, New York Mets
Before the 2010 season even began, Manuel was on the hot seat. That seat was even hotter after a slow start to the Mets season (6-9 after 15 games). Then, something happened at Citi Field. Then, it cooled again as the Mets fell to 20-23 on May 21. Since then, the Mets have not spent a day under .500. And Manuel better than his guys every day that he's still employed.

"Damn That Testing" Award - Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers
After spending 50 games serving a suspension for violating MLB's drug policy, all Manny has done much about nothing. Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier ave emerged as the feared hitters in LA's starting lineup. Since his return from that suspension, Ramirez has only hit 27 homers wit only 8 this season. The batting average is there (.322) but the power is gone. Hmm. Has Mannywood deteriorated?

"Who Wants to Be a Manager?" - Arizona Diamondbacks
For the second season in a row, the D-backs axed their manager midway thought the season with the GM following him out the door this time. Last year, Bob Melvin was sent pecking only 29 games into the season. This year, A.J. Hinch lasted a bit longer. The issue: Arizona was supposed to contend. The problem: No Brandon Webb. That will be an extended problem, too.

There's my midseason hardware.

Being Snubbed?

It’s a yearly occurrence. Someone is going to get snubbed from participating in the mid-summer classic, the MLB All-Star Game. There are far more selection errors in the National League than in the American League. We’ll begin there with our “corrections”.

One thing to please keep in mind. I will not overly object to the starters as we all know that it’s a popularity contest now. If I do, I’ll try to be as transparent as possible on that front.

First, let’s start at catcher. Catcher? That’s right. St. Louis backstop Yadier Molina won the fan vote, so we have no choice but to except that as much as I don’t agree with it. But here’s my question, why is the Braves Brian McCann the reserve? Why not Miguel Olivo of the Colorado Rockies? Here’s the only proof I need and with all of my qualms, it’s in the stats.

Player	AVG	HR	RBI
McCann	.265	10	34
Olivo	.307	11	39

The only drawback to Olivo is that he’s only appeared in 59 games. McCann has been in 70. That’s it. And Olivo doesn’t have a shot to go via the fan vote.

Now to the one that has everybody abuzz is first base. I’ll post the stats first and then let my tirade begin.

Player	AVG	HR	RBI
Howard	.293	15	59
Gonzalez	.291	16	51
Votto	.312	19	57

What am I missing here? It’s obvious that Albert Pujols is the starter and he deserves it, but for the Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto to be at the mercy of the fan vote is a severe injustice. Votto has a higher OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) than Pujols (.984 for Votto to .981 for Pujols).In fact, Votto’s OPS leads the NL. Some, including Peter Gammons and John Kruk, have touted Votto as a legitimate MVP candidate. And let’s not forget that last year Charlie Manuel selected three additional first basemen (Howard, Gonzalez and Prince Fielder) in addition to Pujols’ selection because they all deserved to go. Why not this year, Charlie?

Now we all know that pitching is always a hot topic as far as snubs go. I can present at least four NL pitchers more deserving to go than Tim Lincecum. Seriously, I can. See for yourself.

Player	W-L	ERA	K
Lincecum	8-4	3.28	121
Latos	9-4	2.62	91
Garcia	8-4	2.10	77
Kershaw	8-3	3.02	116
Pelfrey	10-2	2.93	66

The only stat where Lincecum is better than Latos (SD), Garcia (STL), Kershaw (LAD) and Pelfrey (NYM) is in strikeouts. I do believe back-to-back Cy Youngs has created quite a rep for Mr. Lincecum. Latos has more wins and a lower ERA. Garcia has the same record but an ERA well over a run better. Kershaw has one less loss and almost as many K’s. Pelfrey has double digit wins and a lower ERA. Any of these four far more deserving to go.

I would pick on Houston’s Michael Bourn and roll out a lot of guys that deserves the nod, but the Astros have to have a rep, right? Bourn does lead the NL in steals, so I can deal with that…somewhat. I would like to see Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez, Washington’s Josh Willingham and St. Louis’ Colby Rasmus all in the mix, too. Gonzalez at least has a shot from the fan vote.

One last thing on the NL side. Why Omar Infante?

The American League has a lot less selections to argue. I’m pretty much on base with all of them. Well, the ARod choice does irk me a bit considering Texas’ Michael Young is also having a sensational season. He is at the fans mercy and I got a feeling there will be a lot of votes going the way of Nick Swisher because he’s a Yankee. Not that I hate the Yankees (I respect them ,but I’ll never be a fan), but everyone knows what a fan base they possess.

I do have a couple of things to touch upon here. You may question the selection of Cleveland’s Fausto Carmona as a pitcher. Sure, he’s only 7-7 with a bit of a hefty ERA, but Shin-Soo Choo would have garnered the Tribe’s spot had it not been for injury. But there are a number of pitchers that can claim they have the numbers to be worthy of a selection and a spot may open soon. The Red Sox are currently pondering placing Clay Buchholz on the DL. Here are two guys that lay a claim to that opening, Andy Pettitte of the Yankees and Jered Weaver of the Angels.

Player	W-L	ERA	K
Weaver	8-3	2.82	124
Pettitte	10-2	2.82	78

Same ERA. Pettite has a better winning percentage (.833 to .727). Weaver leads to AL in strikeouts. Tough choice for Joe Girardi. If he chooses Pettitte, he’ll be called a homer and the fans in Anaheim will curse him for passing over Weaver. Pettitte is having his finest season in a while and I’m not sold on taking CC Sabathia over Pettitte. This could be Pettitte’s last shot while CC has a few more in front of him.

And Weaver’s a story in himself. A lot of people thought the Angels pitching staff would just melt without John Lackey. Weaver has proven to be the new lynch pin of the staff.

I know there's others, but I'll let you determine that.

Update #1: With Buchholz on the DL, Pettitte is his replacement. With Sabathia pitching this coming Sunday, Weaver is slotted to be an All-Star, but he, too will need to be replaced since he's slated to toe the slab on Sunday.