Handing out the MLB midseason awards

http://sportstwo.com/MLB/Story/MLB/2631319

<span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%">Handing out the MLB midseason awards</span>
Monday, July 14, 2008 06:27 PM

By Tom Covill
PA SportsTicker Assistant Baseball Editor

Welcome to the PA SportsTicker midseason baseball awards show.

With the All-Star Game just one day away and the ceremonial first half of the season in our rearview mirror, it's time to reward those players who've been the most fun to watch this season - while also saving some space to lob metaphorical jabs at those who have underperformed.

Categories include the basic (MVP, Cy Young, etc.) and the not-so-basic (best fight with a team employee, worst player to suit up this season, etc.)

American League Most Valuable Player: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

I wanted to write Evan Longoria's name in this space, I really did. But I can't. He'll have his own award soon enough.

So without any obvious candidate on a first or second place team, I was left to choose between a pair of Rangers studs - Hamilton and Ian Kinsler.

Kinsler can do it all - steal bases, hit for power, hit for average. Heck, the guy leads the AL in a handful of offensive categories. But I'll go with Hamilton, who has been the most consistent run producer in the league all season.

Aside from leading the world in RBI and briefly leading the league in all three Triple Crown categories, Hamilton has been a solid defender in both center and right field and is a top-notch ambassador for the game.

He is willing to tell his story of redemption to anyone who will listen - and also has the ability to turn the other cheek when the lowest common denominator on the road starts yelling not-so-nice things about his drug-addicted past.

National League Most Valuable Player: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins

Plenty of deserving candidates in the NL thus far, but none quite like Mr. Ramirez.

The Marlins' 24-year-old shortstop is the premier offensive player at shortstop and has taken over his team after Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis departed in the offseason.

Ramirez ranks second to Houston Astros slugger Lance Berkman in VORP (Value over Replacement Player) and has his team knocking on the door in the hotly contested NL East.

The knock on Ramirez has always been his defense, but he has greatly improved his range at short, ranking fourth in the majors in total chances and ninth in range factor after finishing 14th and 19th, respectively, in those categories last season.

Oh, and he can really hit. Ramirez is on pace to become the first shortstop to record 40 homers and 40 steals in a season since Alex Rodriguez accomplished the feat a decade ago with the Mariners.

American League Cy Young Award: Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays

If Halladay pitched in Boston or New York, there would not be a better pitcher in the game - the hype machine just wouldn't allow it.

In a era where allowing three runs while lasting only six innings is considered a "quality start," Blue Jays managers - be it interim Cito Gaston or the departed John Gibbons - need to pry the ball out of Doc's hand to get him out of the game.

And it's not as though he's just eating through innings Livan Hernandez-style. Halladay ranks second in the AL in strikeouts and WHIP and fifth in ERA. His 146 1/3 innings pitched is the most in the majors, and his seven complete games puts him on pace to become the first pitcher to reach double digits in the category since Randy Johnson notched 12 with the 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks.

National League Cy Young Award: Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds

This award could go to seven or eight different pitchers, but I'll take Volquez, who has been the most consistently dominant this season.

The 25-year-old Dominican evokes Pedro Martinez comparisons not just because of his fastball-changeup combination but because of his reluctance to give in to hitters in any way. Volquez is tied for the lead in the NL with 126 strikeouts, but also ranks fifth with 56 walks.

While Martinez never surrendered free passes quite that frequently, Volquez has been able to minimize the damage by holding opponents to a .212 batting average and allowing just five homers.

The NL leader with a 2.29 ERA, Volquez has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 16 of his 19 starts.

American League Rookie of the Year: Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays have been one of the two or three best teams in the AL since mid-April - not coincidentally when Longoria made his debut.

The 22-year-old former No. 3 overall draft pick has lived up to the hype since his arrival, ranking 12th in the AL in slugging percentage and getting voted in by the fans as the 32nd member of the AL All-Star team.

A big part of the Rays' turnaround has been their rise from last in defensive efficiency in 2007 to third in the majors this season, and Longoria has been at the forefront of that revolution, teaming with Jason Bartlett to lock down the left side of Tampa's infield.

The Rays were so convinced of Longoria's future stardom that they signed him to a long-term contract just six days into his major league tenure.

That deal is already looking like a steal for the club.

National League Rookie of the Year: Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs

Among many talented players for the Cubs this season, Soto stands out not only for his ability to drive in runs - which he does in bunches - but his deft touch with a pitching staff that ranks ninth in the majors with a team ERA of 3.89 and has allowed the third fewest runs in the NL.

Soto was voted by the fans as the starter at catcher on the NL All-Star team and will head to New York as the leader among NL rookies in batting average, homers, RBI, doubles, slugging percentage and OPS.

American League Least Valuable Player: Erik Bedard, Seattle Mariners

Hard to imagine a worse return on investment than the Mariners got for Canadian lefty Bedard - oh wait, they also signed Carlos Silva in the offseason.

But Bedard, who was the Opening Day starter and cost the Mariners a package of quality players and prospects, has already hit the disabled list twice this season and hasn't been all that good when he has been on the mound.

Never a workhorse in Baltimore, Bedard now can't seem to make it past 100 pitches in an outing, which would be fine if he could figure out a way to stretch those pitches past six innings.

On a team that includes so many candidates for LVP, Bedard gets the call because it was his arrival that was supposed to put the club over the top and get them to the playoffs. They now, of course, own the worst record in the AL.

National League Least Valuable Player: Eric Gagne, Milwaukee Brewers

Another terrible return on investment for the Brewers, though at least general manager Doug Melvin didn't have to hand over five players for Gagne, just $10 million.

The hefty righthander, and our second Canadian to earn least valuable status (just a coincidence), Gagne blew a save on Opening Day and has continued down the path of ineffectiveness all season, eventually getting bumped form the closer's role and spending some time on the disabled list.

Part of the blame for this, of course, falls on the Brewers, who needed only to look at the 6.75 ERA Gagne posted down the stretch for the Red Sox last season to know that his career was finished.

Oh yeah, he was also named in the Mitchell Report... so, you know, there's that too.

Best Fight with a team Employee: Shawn Chacon, Houston Astros

More competition for this award than one would imagine, with the likes of Manny Ramirez and Sidney Ponson also showing up in the final balloting, but I'll go with Chacon.

The righthander apparently did not agree with a team decision to demote him to the bullpen, and Houston general manager Ed Wade did not agree with Chacon not agreeing - and fireworks ensued.

Chacon reportedly threw Wade to the ground multiple times before being dragged away by teammates and coaches, and Wade responded to the media uproar by releasing a three-page statement explaining his side of the argument.

Chacon was released by the club, and the player's union has filed a grievance on his behalf.

Houston's organization came off looking very low class in the whole process. For some reason, I just can't envision Theo Epstein, Brian Cashman, Mark Shapiro or Walt Jocketty releasing a three-page statement explaining exactly how and why they got into a physical altercation with one of their players.

Best Player to not suit up this season: Barry Bonds, free agent

It's safe to say the baseball world has not missed Bonds very much, though that doesn't mean some teams couldn't use his services.

Come on, like the Diamondbacks, Mets, Braves, Yankees, Rays, Angels or Tigers couldn't use a power-hitting left fielder who strikes fear into the hearts of opposing pitchers and is virtually guaranteed to get on base in nearly half of his plate appearances?

People must really not like Mr. Bonds.

Worst Player to suit up this season: Andruw Jones, Los Angeles Dodgers

Jones could easily have been the NL's Least Valuable Player, but I felt he deserved an entirely different category.

The former star is the worst hitter in the majors at this point, even worse than the now unemployed Richie Sexson. At least Sexson left the yard once in a while. Jones doesn't even do that anymore.

His once unparalleled range in the outfield has even been curtailed this season, a result of his ballooning midsection and knee problems.

A colleague of mine here at the Ticker summed it up best Saturday night during a five-strikeout performance by Jones, saying simply, "Andruw Jones strikes out. Fans boo."

 

Soto as Rookie of the Year is fine, but I think he may be the real MVP in the league. The Cubs' turnaround has been rather stunning, and he's the main reason. Sure the Cubs were contenders last year, but they were pretty weak and started slow. This year, he's catching the pitching staff and they're all doing extremely well. At his position, his offensive numbers are stellar.