My MLB awards

And now it's the moment you've all been waiting for, it's time for my Major League Baseball season awards. Let's start with the National League:

MVP: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds first baseman. Votto was in the top 3 in the National League in the 3 major offensive categories, hitting .324 with 37 home runs and 113 RBIs. The real clincher for me is that although Albert Pujols of the Cardinals had more home runs and RBIs (42 and 118), they weren't substantially more and Votto was able to lead his team to the playoffs.

Cy Young: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies. Halladay was 21-10 for the Phils with a 2.44 ERA and was everything they would have expected him to be as their staff ace when they brought him in before the season. He really did anchor the Phillies staff and though his ERA wasn't the top in the league (2.30 from Florida's Josh Johnson) it was close enough where it can still be argued that he was the most formidable pitcher.

Rookie of the Year: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants catcher. Posey hit .305 with 18 home runs and 67 RBIs for the Giants this year. The argument against him and for the Braves' Jason Heyward is that Heyward played the whole season for the Braves whereas Posey played about 4 months for the Giants. My counterargument is that Posey managed to hit as many home runs as Heyward and had only 5 fewer RBIs while having a significantly higher batting average. Plus Posey played catcher for one of the best pitching staffs in baseball and by all accounts has done a great job. People don't always give catchers the credit they deserve for helping teams win. I watched the Giants all year and there is no way they would be in the playoffs without him. I get that Heyward had a big year and contributed to the Braves (I do really enjoy watching him play as well) but Posey had more of an impact on the Giants and a better year overall.

Manager of the Year: Dusty Baker, Cincinnati Reds. The Reds hadn't been to the playoffs since the late 90s and Baker led them there behind a surprising pitching staff as well as a potent offense. Nobody, myself included, expected much from the Reds this year, but Baker kept them going even after everybody had written them off after a three game sweep at home in August against the Cardinals. He did a good job and has proven time and again that he knows how to manage and get the most out of his ballclub.

And now for my American League awards:

MVP: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers first baseman. Cabrera hit .328 with 38 home runs and led the league with 126 RBIs this year. He finished in the top 3 in the other two offensive categories. The two runner ups in my book are Josh Hamilton of the Rangers who hit .359 and had a great year and Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays who hit an incredible 54 home runs and had 124 RBIs himself. But Cabrera was near the top in all categories and his steady contributions are what gives him my vote.

Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners. I know, I know he was only 13-12. But he was on a horrible team and still put up outstanding numbers in other categories. He led the American League in ERA by a long shot with a mark of 2.27 and had 232 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.06. He clearly was the best pitcher not just in the American League but in all of baseball this year and that's why he deserves this award. I know there is a lot of momentum going for CC Sabathia of the Yankees who had 21 wins but he is nowhere close to Hernandez's ERA and isn't in the top 5 in the AL in that category. My runner up in fact would be David Price of the Rays who was 19-6 and third in the league in ERA at 2.72 while leading the Rays to the AL East title.

Rookie of the Year: Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers closer. Feliz had 40 saves in 43 chances while recording 71 strikeouts in 69.1 innings pitched and a WHIP of 0.88. He put up great numbers in a role that isn't always easy to fill and had some nasty stuff. He was a big reason the Rangers were able to win the American League West.

Manager of the Year: Ron Washington, Texas Rangers. He guided a team with little expectations to the playoffs and really got something out of a pitching staff that wasn't expected to do much.

Well, there you have it. Those are my picks. We'll see how the writers feel when the results come out next month following the playoffs.

Giants almost complete comeback, big day for Rockies

The San Francisco Giants (71-57) overcame a 10-1 deficit in the 5th inning of Wednesday afternoon's game against the Cincinnati Reds (73-54) to take an 11-10 lead in the 8th inning only to lose in 12 innings by a 12-11 score. I DVR'd the game and wasn't really paying much attention to it after the Reds took a big lead but started really watching in the 8th inning after Juan Uribe hit a 3-run home run to cut the lead to 10-8. Then a few batters later, Andres Torres doubled home the tying runs, then scored himself to give the Giants an 11-10 lead. I've been really impressed with the offense this home series and hope the team continues to swing the bats well at home.

The Reds rallied for the tie in the top of the 9th, then scored the winning run in the 12th on an RBI single by MVP and Triple Crown candidate Joey Votto. Votto also hit two home runs in the game and it's safe to say the Reds wouldn't have won without him. As Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said after the game, that's what an MVP candidate does, comes through for you when you need him. He's really a big time player and will keep the Reds right in the thick of things deep into the season.

The Giants remain one game back of the Phillies (70-56) in the Wild Card race and now trail the Padres (76-49) by 6.5 games. The Phils have lost three straight at home to the Astros (57-69). The Padres just never seem to lose and are starting to run away with the West. The Phillies still trail the Braves (73-54) in the East by 2.5 games.

Speaking of the Braves, they coughed up a 10-1 3rd inning lead to the Rockies (66-60) in Denver and ended up losing 12-10. You never can count the Rockies out at home and they showed why again in this games. Truly a remarkable comeback and when you think that the Giants almost completed a comeback from the same deficit on the same afternoon you have to think it was a day of historic proportions. Hats off to the Rockies, that is quite the achievement. The Rockies are now 41-20 at home; that mark is second only to (ironically) the Braves who are 44-17 at Turner Field in Atlanta.