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Half-season awards

Wacky first-half makes for unexpected winners

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Baseball at the halfway mark is half-baked. It's been a season in which the Twins, Cubs and Phillies -- the teams that just last month picked 1-2-4 in the draft because they were so putrid last year -- have held first place most of the way. Somewhere Bud Selig is crying into his Diet Coke.

Is your glass half full? It is if you are the Mariners, Barry Bonds or Luis Gonzalez. You're chasing history. But so are the Devil Rays, the sorriest franchise in the sport. Their glass is half empty, as are those of the Mets, Rangers, Blue Jays, Reds and Athletics, would-be contenders who have looked like half-hearted pretenders.

To help you make sense of it all, here are my half-season awards (the traditional variety, presented in the form of the real ballots) and my half-season All-Star teams (presented with real positions, so you don't get the generic "outfield" designation). You know it's a nutty season when the NL MVP is a guy who only three years ago was traded for Karim Garcia. That would be Arizona's Luis Gonzalez, who has made himself into a devastating hitter. He gets the MVP over Bonds because his team is in first place, not to mention that Gonzalez has more RBIs and more total bases.

Indeed, this could turn out to be the Year of the Gonzalezes, as Juan Gonzalez deserves MVP consideration in the AL. Juan Gone, though, doesn't join Gonzo in the top spot just yet, not when Manny Ramirez has been carrying an injury-ravaged Boston team and Bret Boone -- a guy cut loose by San Diego after last season -- has become the most important ingredient in baseball's best team. (Sorry, Edgar Martinez, but a DH gets docked mucho points for being half a baseball player.)

As for the top pitching award, give Roger Clemens the Sigh Young -- it's no fair being 11-1 and stuck in the same league as the great Pedro Martinez (though Martinez's questionable health gives Clemens the inside track on the full-season tally). The NL is another clash of titans, with Arizona teammates Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, and Atlanta's Greg Maddux, all having fine seasons. Give Schilling the edge because of his advantage in wins.

The Rookie of the Year races may not be deep, but the cream of the crop are All-Star worthy. Whether you think Ichiro Suzuki should or shouldn't win the award because of his experience in Japanese professional baseball is irrelevant. He is eligible, and therefore, he wins. The NL race is a toss-up between Milwaukee's Ben Sheets and St. Louis' Albert Pujols. Both are deserving. My vote goes to Sheets because any rookie pitcher who gets to the halfway point with double digits in wins and a top 10 ERA is a rarity.

Similarly, how do you decide among Don Baylor, Bob Brenly and Larry Bowa for Manager of the Year in the NL? All are worthy, but give Baylor the slightest edge because he's had to work around injuries and a lackluster offense.

There is no doubt, however, about the choice in the AL. It's Seattle's Lou Piniella, who always has his team believing it can win, no matter which future Hall of Famer has just taken his act out of town.

As for my All-Stars, there is no doubt it's been a half-cocked season when neither Mike Piazza nor Pudge Rodriguez are the best at the catching position; neither choice at third base has yet turned 25; and Bonds, Clemens, Mike Sweeney, Roberto Alomar, Larry Walker and Cliff Floyd don't make the team. Halfway home, here are my ballots for the first-half awards.

Most Valuable Player
American League	National League
1. Manny Ramirez, Boston	1. Luis Gonzalez, Arizona
2. Bret Boone, Seattle	2. Barry Bonds, San Francisco
3. Juan Gonzalez, Cleveland	3. Sammy Sosa, Chicago
4. Bernie Williams, New York	4. Lance Berkman, Houston
5. Doug Mientkiewicz, Minnesota	5. Cliff Floyd, Florida
6. Roberto Alomar, Cleveland	6. Albert Pujols, St. Louis
7. Jorge Posada, New York	7. Todd Helton, Colorado
8. Edgar Martinez, Seattle	8. Chipper Jones, Atlanta
9. Jason Giambi, Oakland	9. Rich Aurilia, San Francisco
10. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle	10. Bobby Abreu, Philadelphia

Cy Young
American League	National League
1. Pedro Martinez, Boston	1. Curt Schilling, Arizona
2. Roger Clemens, New York	2. Randy Johnson, Arizona
3. Joe Mays, Minnesota	3. Greg Maddux, Atlanta

Rookie of the Year
American League	National League
1. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle	1. Ben Sheets, Milwaukee
2. Alfonso Soriano, New York	2. Albert Pujols, St. Louis
3. Chris Michalak, Toronto	3. Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia

Manager of the Year
American League	National League
1. Lou Piniella, Seattle	1. Don Baylor, Chicago
2. Tom Kelly, Minnesota	2. Bob Brenly, Arizona
3. Jimy Williams, Boston	3. Larry Bowa, Philadelphia

Tom Verducci's All-Star Picks
American League		National League
Jorge Posada, New York Just might make a run at Bill Dickey's club record of 130 RBIs by a catcher.	C	Charles Johnson, Florida One of the year's best offseason signings.
Jason Giambi, Oakland Edges Mike Sweeney, who is having a monster season and might challenge the doubles record.	1B	Todd Helton, Colorado Sure, Coors Field helps his gaudy numbers, but this guy can rake in any ballpark at any time.
Bret Boone, Seattle By a hair over Roberto Alomar, the future Hall of Famer who is having a career year, hitting 60 points better than his lifetime .304 average.	2B	Craig Biggio, Houston In a fabulous comeback season that is a testament to his work ethic, he had more total bases and a better OPS at last check than Jeff Kent.
Alex Rodriguez, Texas He just keeps getting better and better, while the Rangers play out the string for four months.	SS	Rich Aurilia, San Francisco Former Texas farmhand having a stunning career year.
Troy Glaus, Anaheim Has a chance at 40 doubles and 40 homers.	3B	Alber Pujols, St. Louis Not even the Cardinals knew he was this good.
Manny Ramirez, Boston The best hitter in the game right now.	LF	Luis Gonzalez, Arizona One of the classiest guys in the game deserves all the accolades after making himself into a great player.
Bernie Williams, New York He's overcome a slow start to re-establish himself as the class of a shallow position. He's the only CF among the top 25 AL qualifiers in OPS.	CF	Andruw Jones, Atlanta Unparalleled defense wins him a spot against scant competition.
Juan Gonzalez, Cleveland Ichiro Suzuki is fun to watch, but his production isn't in the same league as Gonzalez's.	RF	Sammy Sosa, Chicago Sammy Sosa, Chicago. By an eyelash over Larry Walker.
Edgar Martinez, Seattle Probably the smartest hitter in the game.	DH
Pedro Martinez, Boston Pedro Martinez, Boston. His ERA is more than a run better than that of Roger Clemens.	RHP	Curt Schilling, Arizona Friends said in spring training his goal was to win the Cy Young Award. He's on track while feeding off competition with Randy Johnson.
Andy Pettitte, New York Clemens-inspired conditioning program paying dividends.	LHP	Randy Johnson, Arizona Where have all the lefties gone? Only three NL southpaws rank in the top 20 in ERA: Johnson, Shawn Estes and Mike Hampton.
Troy Percival, Anaheim To be better than Mariano Rivera, you almost have to be perfect. Percival's been close.	Relief	Robb Nen, San Francisco Four blown saves is a tad high, but no one else is having a huge year.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci covers the baseball beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send a question to his weekly baseball mailbag.

 

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