FIVE DOWN

	A's shortstop Bobby Crosby entered 2006 as an outside candidate for MVP, but he struggled at the plate all season long. Greg M. Cooper/US PRESSWIRE

Just a little precursor to these booby prizes: I tried to keep the names on the bigger side. It'd be easy to hand out the "hardware" to Mark Bellhorn and Jorge Sosa and call it a day, but I wanted to concentrate on guys who entered this season with considerable hype.

1. LVP

• AL: Bobby Crosby. ESPN analyst Peter Gammons has more baseball knowledge in his left pinky nail than I could ever dream of, so when he talks, I listen. When he picked Crosby as his AL MVP, my expectations for the A's shortstop increased 100-fold. But over 96 games this season, Crosby -- who's been on the DL since August -- has hit .229 with eight homers, 40 RBIs and a .636 OPS. Word on the street is that Crosby has been playing through his back problems all season. Regardless, this was a rare whiff from one of baseball's foremost authorities.

• NL: Morgan Ensberg. He finished fourth in the NL MVP race last season, hitting .283 with 36 homers and 101 RBIs. To his credit, Ensberg was battling a shoulder injury for much of the year, but a .236 average with 23 homers and 57 RBIs is just plain unacceptable. Maybe the only redeeming quality from Ensberg's season is that he's currently ninth in the NL with 99 walks. Quick question for NL pitchers: Why are you pitching around this guy?

2. Sigh Young

• AL: Mark Buehrle. Over the last few years Buehrle's been about as steady as they come, but this year Chicago's lefty was far from consistent. Granted, Buehrle made his third All-Star team this year, with a 9-6 mark and 4.02 ERA at the break (though he was selected to the team by White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen). But in the second half, when the Sox needed their ace to perform, Buehrle went 3-7 with a 6.44 ERA. Kenny Williams, it's clear what you have to do: Remove the no-slip-'n'-slide clause.

• NL: Mark Mulder. I think it's safe to say A's GM Billy Beane knew what he was doing when he traded Mulder for Danny Haren, Kiko Calero and Daric Barton. Mulder -- who entered this season as the winningest pitcher in the bigs in the previous five seasons -- put together by far the most forgettable season of his seven-year career before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery earlier this month. In 17 starts the southpaw posted a 6-7 record with a 7.14 ERA. Each outing took on the feel of extended batting practice, as opposing batters hit .326 against Mulder.

3. Rookie Needs a Year

• AL: Andy Marte. In the offseason, Atlanta traded this third-base prospect and cash to Boston for Edgar Renteria. Then Boston flipped this same prospect in a deal with Cleveland for Coco Crisp. Conventional thinking would lead one to believe, Gee, this prospect must be pretty damn good -- he's getting moved for bona fide producers. Well, that prospect is Marte, and so far: No, he's not good. The Tribe gave Marte the everyday third base job in late July to see whether he's ready to start from Day One next season. He responded by hitting .220.

• NL: Jeremy Hermida. Let's get one thing straight: Hermida was not the worst rookie in the NL. Far from it. But when you enter the year as the Baseball America Prospect Handbook cover boy and the No. 3 overall prospect, hitting .254 with five homers and 25 RBIs in 95 games just ain't gonna cut it.

4. Mismanager of the Year

• AL: Eric Wedge. Question: How is a team nine games below .500 when it has outscored its opponents 850-771? Answer: The team owns a 16-25 record in one-run games -- the third-worst mark in the majors. The Indians' poor record in one-run games furthers Wedge's rep as a subpar in-game manager. One of the sloppiest day-to-day teams in baseball, Cleveland has way too much talent to underperform like this.

• NL: Dusty Baker. OK, so losing Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior to significant injuries would be tough for any manager to overcome. But let's be honest: Baker lost the entire team by June.

5. Playoff chump

• AL: Oakland A's. Billy Beane's Athletics reached the playoffs four straight years from 2000 to '03 and proceeded to lose in the first round each time. After a two-year hiatus the A's are back in the postseason, and once again they'll fail to get past Round 1. Although they played the Tigers and the Twins tight during the regular season, I can't see the A's getting past either team in a playoff series.

• NL: St. Louis Cardinals. At this point, the Cardinals still need to hold off the Astros to even make the playoffs. But if they do, their stay in October will be a short one. This team is limping to the finish line. Yeah, yeah, yeah -- I know Chicago bumbled through September last year and then went on to win the World Series, but this team is nowhere near as good as the '05 White Sox.

One last down: The psychic and I.

Looking back at my midseason predictions, which featured a special psychic twist, a couple things became clear: 1) Alex the psychic's ancient Romanian prophets must be more into cricket; and 2) I shouldn't quit my day job. Wait, this is my day job. For now ...

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