In a year of close races, handing out the hardware isn't easy
Posted: Tuesday July 08, 2003 12:22 PM
The National League has played half the season to eliminate the Mets, Pirates, Brewers and Padres from contention. The American League? It's been forgiving, too, with 13 weeks of play serving only to excise the Orioles, Devil Rays, Indians, Tigers and Rangers. Everybody else in baseball -- 21 of 30 teams -- began this week within six games of a playoff spot. Somewhere Gary Bettman is smiling.
It's been a democratic kind of season in which the players not going to the All-Star Game might beat either league (thus turning homefield advantage in the World Series into, what, a neutral site?). Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera, Sammy Sosa, Jason Giambi, Frank Thomas, Rocco Baldelli, Jim Thome, Pudge Rodriguez, Shawn Green and Dontrelle Willis are among the big names and young stars who all have three days off next week. Oh, but don't fret. Mike Williams and Lance Carter will be there.
Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez have already begged off the home run derby, leaving the event with a lack of star power. It could be saved, however, if Ichiro Suzuki takes part. Suzuki is another Wade Boggs, a singles hitter who can put on batting practice power shows if he wants to.
It's been that kind of season, too -- one without a dominant team. The NL's best, Atlanta, has a questionable pitching staff for October. (Take a moment or two to get your head around that.) The AL's best, Seattle, relies heavily on a 40-year-old DH and a 40-year-old ace. Still, as one NL scout said, "If I had to pick two World Series teams right now, I'd pick the Braves and Mariners."
The scout made that prediction with little conviction in his voice. That's understandable, because the races are so wide open. The Royals are in first place, the Diamondbacks are on a roll despite Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling being on the DL, the Phillies are your wild-card leader, the Yankees are vulnerable and the Red Sox and Cubs have a legitimate chance of getting to the World Series.
The second half separates the pretenders from the contenders and will answer these burning questions:
Who will the Cubs and Dodgers turn up on the trade market to improve their offense?
Can the Red Sox really leave the Yankees home in October for the first time since 1993?
If you've read Moneyball, how do you reconcile the Athletics having such an inefficient offense, and what hitter will rescue them?
Why are the Twins in such a funk, and will they continue to leave the door open for the Royals and re-energized White Sox?
Will John Smoltz break the single-season record of 57 saves -- and, if so, by how much?
We can hardly wait. In the meantime, here are my midseason award winners, as presented in the respective ballot forms that are mailed to voters in September, as well as my All-Star picks.
Most Valuable Player
American League
National League
1. Carlos Delgado, Toronto
1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis
2. Bret Boone, Seattle
2. Barry Bonds, San Francisco
3. Manny Ramirez, Boston
3. Garry Sheffield, Atlanta
4. Alfonso Soriano, New York
4. Mike Lowell, Florida
5. Edgar Martinez, Seattle
5. Luis Gonzalez, Arizona
6. Nomar Garciaparra, Boston
6. Jim Edmonds, St. Louis
7. Melvin Mora, Baltimore
7. Jim Thome, Philadelphia
8. Alex Rodriguez, Texas
8. Jose Vidro, Montreal
9. Vernon Wells, Toronto
9. John Smoltz, Atlanta
10. Carlos Beltran, Kansas City
10. Eric Gagne, Los Angeles
Cy Young
American League
National League
1. Esteban Loaiza, Chicago
1. Kevin Brown, Los Angeles
2. Mark Mulder, Oakland
2. Mark Prior, Chicago
3. Jamie Moyer, Seattle
3. Jason Schmidt, San Francisco
Rookie of the Year
American League
National League
1. Hideki Matsui, New York
1. Dontrelle Willis, Florida
2. Mike MacDougal, Kansas City
2. Horacio Ramirez, Atlanta
3. Rocco Baldelli, Tampa Bay
3. Scott Podsednik, Milwaukee
Manager of the Year
American League
National League
1. Tony Pena, Kansas City
1. Bobby Cox, Atlanta
2. Carlos Tosca, Toronto
2. Bob Brenly, Arizona
3. Bob Melvin, Seattle
3. Dusty Baker, Chicago
Tom Verducci's All-Star Picks
American League
National League
Jorge Posada, New York Jason Varitek of the Red Sox is just as deserving. Posada gets the razor-thin edge with a near-.400 on-base percentage.
C
Javy Lopez, Atlanta A healthy, fitter Lopez has rediscovered his power stroke, leading a thin group at the position.
Carlos Delgado, Toronto In an amazing display of production, he has 92 RBIs with just 97 hits -- and a shot at joining Hank Greenberg (1935) and Juan Gonzalez (1998) as the only players to have 100 RBIs before the break.
1B
Todd Helton, Colorado Even discounting his inflated Coors Field numbers, Helton is clearly ahead of his NL peers.
Bret Boone, Seattle An amazing package at second base, Boone is an RBI machine and a Gold Glove defender.
2B
Jose Vidro, Montreal With the Braves' Marcus Giles, the fans' choice, gone cold, the steady Vidro shines in a lineup that's been missing Vladimir Guerrero.
Alex Rodriguez, Texas Playing hurt, A-Rod is still the class of the position, with a significant edge on defense, home runs and on-base percentage over Nomar Garciaparra.
SS
Edgar Renteria, St. Louis The clutch hitter (59 RBIs) is well on his way to breaking his franchise record for RBIs by a shortstop (83). He's also stolen more bases than Atlanta's Rafael Furcal.
Hank Blalock, Texas He's cooled off a bit from his torrid start, but Blalock gets the nod in a close call over Minnesota's Corey Koskie.
3B
Mike Lowell, Florida He's surpassed Scott Rolen of St. Louis with a monster power season, though Rolen remains the premier defender.
Manny Ramirez, Boston Melvin Mora of Baltimore is a great story, but he doesn't do anywhere near the damage that Ramirez does.
LF
Albert Pujols, St. Louis If it's not enough that he's outslugging Barry Bonds, Pujols also is making a run at becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.
Vernon Wells, Toronto Started the week with 80 RBIs, twice as many as Milton Bradley of Cleveland, who's having a breakout season.
CF
Jim Edmonds, St. Louis His over-the-top styling in center field is entertaining, but he's also an extra-base machine at the plate.
Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle His defense and baserunning set him apart from Trot Nixon of Boston and Aubrey Huff of Tampa Bay, who are having more productive seasons at the plate.
RF
Gary Sheffield, Atlanta He still has what may be the most wicked bat speed in the business, which is why he ranks sixth in the majors in on-base plus slugging (OPS).
Edgar Martinez, Seattle Still the heart of the Mariners' offense, Martinez is still such a pure hitter he may have to postpone his retirement plans.
DH
Esteban Loaiza, Chicago Nobody saw this coming: the lowest ERA in the majors and a career-high tying 11 wins.
RHP
Kevin Brown, Los Angeles He's returned from assorted injuries with one of the nastiest sinkers in the business.
Mark Mulder, Oakland The most talented of Oakland's Big Three. Special cheers to 40-year-old Jamie Moyer, making his first All-Star team.
LHP
Randy Wolf, Philadelphia He leads all NL lefties in wins, innings and strikeouts.
Mike MacDougal, K.C. Mac the Ninth gets the edge over Eddie Guardado of Minnesota, who's been slumping recently.
Relief
John Smoltz, Atlanta One of the most difficult picks on the ballot. Smoltz or Eric Gagne of Los Angeles? You can't go wrong either way.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci covers baseball for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com. Click here to send a question to his Mailbag.
