National League Awards

As I said yesterday I'm not sure whether the rookie of the year has been decided already or not. They may have already given it to Geovany Soto. But if they haven't then Soto is still easily the pick as he was a huge part of the Cubs regular season success. They finally have someone solid behind the plate that they will have for a long time. Unlike the American League, the NL in my mind is almost impossible to decide. So that's why I'm saying who I think should get it, not actually predicting it.

NL Manager of the Year: Lou Pinella
I realize that this seems ridiculous considering some of the poor decisions he's made especially in the playoffs. But this is a regular season award. I also realize the Cubs were expected to win the Central. But they exceeded expectations with 97 wins finishing with the best record in the National League. And bottomline there really aren't any other good choices. Joe Torre could be considered but they only won 84 games and it was more due to Manny. Until the last month of the season I would have picked Tony LaRussa considering the Cardinals up until then completely exceeded expectations. But finishing 4th in your division will not get him that award.

NL Cy Young: C.C. Sabathia
These next two awards I realize what I'm picking is very unlikely since they have not been in the NL the whole season. And normally because of that I wouldn't think they would deserve to win any awards. But in a season where there is absolutely no clear cut Cy Young and MVP candidates, that's the reason I'm going this route. It can't be denied that Sabathia was the reason Milwaukee made their first playoff appearance in 26 years. He went 11-2 with a 1.65 era with 7 complete games. That type of effort is remarkable for only being in the NL for less than half the season. Impact on the team is the most important thing in my mind and that's why I think Sabathia should get it. Dempster would also be a solid choice as his move from closer to starter turned things around for the Cubs rotation. Lincecum and Webb were also great but didn't have the same impact.

NL MVP:Manny Ramirez
This is the same situation. Anytime there seemed like there would be a clear cut choice they began to struggle. For the longest time I thought Utley could get it, than his play dropped off. I even considered Ryan Braun until his horrible September. Bottomline is no one earned it and Manny was only in the NL for two months. But look at how big his impact was. He batted .396 with 17 hrs. He single-handedly got the Dodgers into the playoffs, then unfortunately for the Cubs into the NLCS. The man who in reality will probably get it is Albert Pujols. But I disagree with that. With his team finishing 4th in the Central, they weren't successful enough. That plus he had help this time with the likes of Ryan Ludwick. I think Ludwick is almost as viable a candidate as Pujols. He was just as big a part as the Cardinals surprising season. As I said this will probably be the only time I ever pick one player that hasn't been in their league for the whole year to win an award, let alone 2. But there aren't any clear cut choices. And Manny and Sabathia had the biggest impacts on their teams even in such a short amount of time.