Mid-Season Awards [David Stefanini]

With the baseball season set to kickoff the second half of the year, I figured this would be a good time to say who I feel are deserving of the major awards.

NL MVP - Jose Reyes: Surely I am biased with this vote, seeing how Jose is my favorite player, but he deserves this award. Think about it. The New York Mets are completely torn apart with injuries. From there bullpen, to their starting rotation, to complete decimation of the outfield, and considering Carlos Delgado lost his swing, there still in first place! Why? Jose Reyes. He has an OBP of .387 and is making the rest of the Majors look bad when it comes to stealing bases. He gets on first, he steals second maybe even third, and scores a run. When he is on base the pitcher and defense gets so nervous they commit many unforced errors. Reyes in the MVP.

AL MVP - ARod: Not even close here. I have heard many people give the award to Magglio Ordonez or Vladimir Guerrero, give me a break. ARod is having a year for the record books. How many game winning homers has he hit? How many wins would the Yankees have without him? By himself he has kept this team in the Wild Card race. And if the New York Yankees make it to the playoffs, the main reason will be ARod.

NL Cy Young - Jake Peavy: This is a very difficult choice to make. I can think of three people who deserve this award. Jake Peavy gets the nod for me because I feel he has the best stuff and leads the NL in strikeouts. If he is on his game, he can strike 10-15 batters easily. To go along with his dominating pitches, he can get double play balls with his great sinker. That is why he is sporting a 2.19 ERA.

AL Cy Young - Johan Santana: I know this pick is going to get many fans upset. Most people feel Dan Haren is having the best year but let me say this. Santana has as many wins (should have more but his team doesn't score for him), more strikeouts, more complete games, more shutouts, and less hits given up than Haren. Yes, Haren's ERA is lower than Santana, but Santana has played far superior teams than Haren has. Santana gets the Cy Young because if it is Game 7 of the World Series, who do you want pitching? Assuming you have watched baseball over the past 5 years, your answer is Johan Santana.

NL Reliever - Francisco Cordero: Its time for me to come clean with this pick. Why did I give the award to Cordero? Because he leads the NL in saves.

AL Reliever - J.J. Putz: I should not have to explain why he gets this award. He has been the best pitcher in baseball from day one. If you need proof, look at his ERA and WHIP.