Today's the day where everyone files in their first half-awards, and we'll do some of that below, but we'd rather look ahead to the most exciting portion of the major league season when each game truly matters.
Story of the First-Half Sure, I'd love to say it's my Cubbies, and while I've clearly been riveted by their performance, nothing has been more fun than to follow the rise of the Rays. Well, at least they were rising. With outstanding pitching from young arms Andy Sonnanstine, James Shields and Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay figured to tease us this summer and be geared for a potential postseason run in 2009, 2010 and beyond. But the Rays are here to play with the Yankees and Red Sox now. However, after sweeping the Red Sox recently, Tampa has lost seven straight heading into the break, and allowed Boston to move back into first place by a half a game.
Just a minor slip or sign of things to come?
That'll be the story of the second half as well. No one has more room on the bandwagon than the Rays, and no one needs more support, either. Tampa is the one team that really hadn't had a prolonged slump yet, so this recent slide was to be expected and no better time than now. With few All-Stars, expect them to regroup and battle Boston and New York in the best second half division race.
Josh Hamilton I'm as enthralled with the comeback story as you are, but let's not let our emotions interfere with MVP discussions. He's obviously in the mix, seeing as how he's driven in 95 runs already, but there are other players more valuable to their winning teams.
Who's the first half MVP then? I'm going with Carlos Quentin in the AL. No one expected the White Sox to be this good, and certainly no one expected this kind of performance from the former Diamondback. 22 home runs, all of which have seemed to be game winners, and 70 RBI's are putting a lot of winners on the board at the Cell. NL MVP? Albert Pujols. Easy.
Managers Ozzie Guillen, without a doubt, in the AL and would it be fair to give the nod to Jerry Manuel who has his ganster mentality paying off in New York with nine straight wins headed into the break? OK, that's probably not fair. Tony LaRussa is the best manager in the game, so he might as well take home the award.
Rook's Is Too Easy I like a good rookie of the year competition, but we might as well hand over the hardware now: Evan Longoria and Geovany Soto. Both All-Stars, both deserving.
Least Valuable Player This is going to be named after Andruw Jones, shortly.
OK, on to the seond half predictions... <More>
AL East: Boston (pulling off some sort of solid mid-relief trade in the next two weeks) finishes with the best record in baseball.
AL Central: I know this sounds crazy, but they're too talented for the season not even out. Detroit will comeback from seven down to edge Chicago by a game, Minny by two.
AL West: Angels, as usual.
NL East: Philly's bats are way too much to handle, and Ryan Howard is just getting started.
NL Central: Since the Cubs have managed to stay in first this long, I think it's been forgotten how long they've been without Alfonso Soriano, who's a pretty good hitter, I hear. He'll return after the break and Chicago should cruise to the Central title. What remains fun is the race between Milwaukee and St. Louis for the Wild Card.
NL West: Does it even matter? Not a team is above .500 at the break.
A Few Bold Predictions
- Josh Hamilton gets his 175+ RBI's
- Tim Lincecum wins 21 games... for the Giants. Who thought that was possible this year?
- Francisco Rodriguez gets his Thigpen on.
What are your second half predictions? Who's in the World Series and who's winning the MVPs?
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