Mid-Season Awards

NL Rookie of the Year: Tommy Hanson, ATL
He hasn't been up that long but he has lived up to the hype so far. In 7 starts he has gone 4-0 with a 2.85 ERA and 25 K in 41 innings.
Runner-up: Colby Rasmus, STL

NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, SF
Lincecum gets the nod over Haren because he is on a superior team and the number of strikeouts. He has had a great follow-up to last year going 10-2 2.33 ERA 149 K.
Runner-up: Dan Haren, ARI

NL MVP: Albert Pujols, STL
There is no debate regarding this award. He could not play the second half and he would still get votes for the award. He is on pace for the best year of his career with .336 32 HR 85 RBI. Those are full-season numbers if you are lucky. He is a virtual lock for his 3rd MVP Award.
Runner-up: Prince Fielder, MIL

AL Rookie of the Year: Andrew Bailey, OAK
The AL Rookie Award race has been a little disappointing with David Price and Matt Wieters getting off to slow starts. My money is that one of them will have a big second half and win the award but for the first half it goes to the Oakland closer who has a 2.03 ERA and 57 K in 48.7 IP. He is the Oakland representative in the All-Star game.
Runner-up: Rickey Romero, TOR

AL Cy Young: Zach Greinke, KC
He hasn't pitched as well lately and may not hold on to the award over the full year but he still had an awesome first half going 10-5 2.12 ERA 129 K. He should have more wins but he is a Royal.
Runner-up: Felix Hernandez, SEA

AL MVP: Justin Morneau, MIN
This is the toughest award to call. It depends on what you are looking for in an MVP. There are almost 10 candidates who could legitimately win this award. The factors I used to decide this is a player producing runs with a good average. This lead to Justin Morneau. All the attention is paid to Joe Mauer but Morneau is quietly a Triple Crown threat. He is tied for 2nd in HR, 2nd in RBI and 11th in AVG going .311-21-70. Mauer will likely keep him from winning the Triple Crown and will steal votes from him but he does it all for the Twins.
Runner-up: Jason Bay, BOS

MLB Power Rankings - Week 4

1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Previous Rank: 2
Record: 18-8
They have some questions with pitching rotation depth but they have the best lineup in the Majors.

2. Boston Red Sox
Previous Rank: 6
Record: 15-10
The record is truly impressive considering Beckett is struggling, Dice-K is on the DL and Ortiz has yet to hit a home run.

3. Toronto Blue Jays
Previous Rank: 3
Record: 18-9
They have certainly gotten off to a quick start and I think it is possible for them to steal a wild card.

4. Saint Louis Cardinals
Previous Rank: 7
Record: 17-8
MLB has to be praying that Albert Pujols is never found to have taken steroids because he should erase all of A-Rod and Bonds' records.

5. Chicago Cubs
Previous Rank: 1
Record: 13-11
Team has players stuggling but Soto and Marmol are too good to be held down. The NL Central race between them and the Cardinals could be very fun to watch.

6. New York Yankees
Previous Rank: 5
Record: 13-11
They went above .500 without A-Rod and Wang a disaster. They should get A-Rod back this weekend and the circus will really begin.

7. Florida Marlins
Previous Rank: 4
Record: 14-11
Getting swept by the Cubs was not good and Philly is playing better but this team is still currently the best in the NL East.

8. Detroit Tigers
Previous Rank: 11
Record: 13-11
I don't think Brandon Inge can keep it up but he is pacing this team with .316-8-19.

9. Seattle Mariners
Previous Rank: 18
Record: 15-10
This team is praying for the continued injury problems of the Angels. Felix Hernandez does not get enough publicity, he is a serious canidate to win AL Cy Young this year as a 23- year old.

10. Kansas City Royals
Previous Rank: 17
Record: 14-11
It may be the fault of the Twins terrible bullpen but this team has a lot more fight in it than the typical Royals team. That being said the lineup is not good enough to win the division this year.

11. Cincinnati Reds
Previous Rank: 16
Record: 13-11
This team still has pieces that have not starting contributing yet and if they do this team could make the NL Central a three-team race.

12. Philadelphia Phillies
Previous Rank: 14
Record: 12-10
If Hamels ever decides to stop getting hurt and becomes this team's ace again this team should repeat as the NL East champs. Chase Utley is an absolute stud.

13. Chicago White Sox
Previous Rank: 9
Record: 12-12
I am suprised by the slow start of Alexei Ramirez who is hitting .210-1-10. I thought he would be an absolute stud.

14. San Francisco Giants
Previous Rank: 27
Record: 12-11
The Giants have gone 8-3 in the last 11 games partly because the return to form of Tim Lincecum who has gone 2-0 4 ER in 23 innings with 33 K.

15. Minnesota Twins
Previous Rank: 13
Record: 12-13
The offense is not the issue espcially with Joe Mauer back in the lineup, but if they don't fix the bullpen this team is in for a rough season.

16. Milwaukee Brewers
Previous Rank: 23
Record: 13-12
Talk about doing it yourself. Yovanni Gallardo beat Pittsburgh 1-0 by pitching 8 innings and hitting a solo home run. It was also his second home run of the season.

17. Texas Rangers
Previous Rank: 21
Record: 12-12
The offense is redicilious with 140 runs in 24 games. The really scary part is Josh Hamilton has yet to contribute batting .242-2-10.

18. Tampa Bay Rays
Previous Rank: 8
Record: 11-15
They are probably the only team that wishes they could only play the Red Sox. They are 4-2 against the Red Sox and 7-13 against the rest.

19. Atlanta Braves
Previous Rank: 12
Record: 11-13
After starting 5-1 they have struggled going 6-12. Why they have not called up Tommy Hanson yet is beyond me. He has 38 K's in 26.2 Innings.

20. New York Mets
Previous Rank: 10
Record: 10-13
This team needs to find some pitching or they are going to waste another stellar season by Johan Santana.

21. Los Angeles Angels
Previous Rank: 15
Record: 10-13
There is hope on the horizon as Ervin Santana and John Lackey have started their rehabilition and could be returning soon.

22. Arizona Diamondbacks
Previous Rank: 22
Record: 11-14
Dan Haren is a stud and Justin Upton has been hitting well lately but until they get Brandon Webb back this will be a .500 ball club.

23. Pittsburgh Pirates
Previous Rank: 26
Record: 12-12
The pitching has been very good so far but the offense will keep them from competing this year.

24. Houston Astros
Previous Rank: 29
Record: 11-14
Lance Berkman a career .300 hitter is hitting only .184 so far. He does have 6 home runs so far though.

25. San Diego Padres
Previous Rank: 19
Record: 11-14
They have come back to earth by going 2-10 in the last 12. That is not a suprise given a lineup that has Luis Rodriguez getting regular at-bats.

26. Cleveland Indians
Previous Rank: 24
Record: 9-16
It is a shame they don't have the pitching to compete because Sizemore and Victor Martinez are putting up big numbers this year.

27. Oakland A's
Previous Rank: 20
Record: 9-13
Oakland can not be happy with Matt Holliday going .233-2-15 because he is not helping them win games and he is hurting his trade value, which is why they picked him up from Colorado.

28. Colorado Rockies
Previous Rank: 28
Record: 9-14
Troy Tulowitzki has gotten off to a terrible start going .208-3-5. It gives even less reason to be excited about the Rockies this year.

29. Baltimore Orioles
Previous Rank: 25
Record: 9-16
It is going to be a long season in Baltimore this year but Adam Jones looks to be the real deal going .355-5-19 at only age 23.

30. Washington Nationals
Previous Rank: 30
Record: 6-17
There is really nothing to say about this team except that it is a total disaster.

Stud of the Week: Dan Haren ARI
Stats: 2-0 17 IP 1.58 ERA 21 K
Honorable Mention: Carl Crawford, Jorge Cantu, Evan Longoria, Justin Verlander, Johnny Cueto

Dud of the Week: Brian Tallet TOR
Stats: 0-1 4 IP 22.50 ERA 2 K
Dishonorable Mention: Anibal Sanchez, John Danks, Anthony Reyes, Cristian Guzman, Travis Snider

Stud of the Month: Zach Greinke KC
Stats: 5-0 36 IP 0.50 ERA 44 K
Honorable Mention: Albert Pujols, Ian Kinsler, Evan Longoria, Chad Billingsley, Dan Haren, Johan Santana

Dud of the Month: Chien-Ming Wang NYY
Stats: 0-3 6 IP 34.50 ERA 2 K
Dishonorable Mention: Jose Contreras, Oliver Perez, Scott Baker, Felix Pie, Geovanny Soto, Edwin Encarnacion

The Beast that is Justin Morneau

I thought I would do a post professing my love for Justin Morneau since I don't think he gets the attention and praise he deserves. This was brought up by Peter Gammons on the Mike and Mike Show today. He listed Joe Mauer as one of the players he would like to build a team around. Mauer is good and yes two batting titles is impressive but I would rather build the team around Justin.

We have seen in these 3 weeks what this team would look like without Mauer and while it isn't that good this team is functioning. Imagine this team without Justin Morneau in the middle of the lineup. It should be noted that we can only imagine since he has yet to get injured for a significant period of time. Who would hit for power? Who would be a threat? Who would drive in the runs?

Morneau has driven in over 100 rbi's for three consecutive seasons, and while we take that for granted Kirby Puckett went over 100 rbi's only three times in his career. Kent Herbek only hit over 100 rbi's once in his career. If he gets over 100 rbi's this year he will do something Harmon Killebrew never even did. In those 3 years he has driven in 370 runs. Only Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Howard have driven in more runs in that time. He drove in more runs as such stalwarts as Albert Pujols, Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez and David Wright.

He has hit over 20 home runs four straight years and was the first Twin to hit over 30 home runs since Hrbek in 1987. In the last three years he has hit 115 doubles and 88 home runs. It is also forgotten that he is one of the best defensive first basemen in the game and should win multiple Gold Gloves before he is done. I know winning batting titles is special, but I would take Morneau's bat and the assurance that he will be in the lineup every day over Joe Mauer's .330 all single average any day.

MLB Power Rankings - Week 1

(note: This ranking is not based only on record this early in the year. It is a combination of expectations and results. As the season progresses this will change.)

1. Tampa Bay Rays
Previous Rank: 1
Record: 3-3
They keep their spot at the top despite going 3-3 because they went 2-1 at Fenway and they are adding back B.J. Upton this week. Longoria is off to making my MVP prediction look pretty good.

2. Chicago Cubs
Previous Rank: 4
Record: 4-2
The offense has looked very good despite a slow start by Milton Bradley and missing Geo Soto for most of the week. Marmol will be the closer by the middle of May at least.

3. Los Angeles Angels
Previous Rank: 5
Record: 3-3
To take go .500 playing Oakland and Boston without Lackey, Santana and Escobar while dealing with the death of Nick Adenhart is quite the feat.

4. Boston Red Sox
Previous Rank: 2
Record: 2-4
Playing the Rays and Angels is a rough start to the season. We will get more of an idea after they face Oakland and Baltimore this week.

5. New York Yankees
Previous Rank: 3
Record: 3-3
This lineup needs A-Rod back in the lineup badly. Going 3-3 against Kansas City and Baltimore is not a very impressive start to the season.

6. New York Mets
Previous Rank: 8
Record: 3-3
A very noticeable difference with K-Rod and Putz in the back of the lineup. Santana is off to a very good start so far in the season.

7. Toronto Blue Jays
Previous Rank: 14
Record: 5-2
Offense is off to a blistering start, but it will be interesting how much off that is due to facing the Detroit and Cleveland pitching staffs. I still don't think they can make the AL East a 4 team race.

8. Florida Marlins
Previous Rank: 21
Record: 5-1
If their pitching staff stays healthy this could be a very dangerous team that could steal a wild card. Josh Johnson outdueling Johan Santana was a fun game to watch.

9. Atlanta Braves
Previous Rank: 15
Record: 5-1
Rookie Jordan Schafer is off to a very good start going .348-2-3. Glavine getting hurt may be a blessing in disguise at it clears the path for stud Tommy Hanson to get the call. The NL East looks like it could be a 4-team race all summer if Chipper can stay healthy.

10. Minnesota Twins
Previous Rank: 7
Record: 3-4
This team really needs Joe Mauer back to provide some consistency in a lineup filled with streaky hitters. The bullpen hasn't caused problems yet, but it has not introduced a lot of confidence.

11. Los Angeles Dodgers
Previous Rank: 9
Record: 4-3
Kemp and Loney are off to good starts which when combined with Manny makes this a really dangerous lineup. Taking 2 out of 3 at Arizona was also a good sign.

12. Philadelphia Phillies
Previous Rank: 6
Record: 3-3
The poor starts by Hamels and Myers raises a lot of questions as they don't have any depth behind them. This team is going to need a lot of offense from Utley and Howard this year to repeat as division champs.

13. Detroit Tigers
Previous Rank: 17
Record: 4-3
Miguel Cabrera is determined not to repeat the slow start of last year and Armando Galarraga looks like the real deal. Pitching depth could be their downfall.

14. St. Louis Cardinals
Previous Rank: 20
Record: 5-2
If Carpenter stays healthy with Pujols this team is dangerous. They look to be the 2nd best team in the NL Central. It will be telling to see how they do when they aren't facing Pittsburgh or Houston.

15. Chicago White Sox
Previous Rank: 12
Record: 3-3
If they can ride the Bartolo Colon revival they can be dangerous. It helps when they got of hitting well. The lack of a leadoff hitter could be a problem down the road.

16. Arizona Diamondbacks
Previous Rank: 10
Record: 2-4
They better hope Brandon Webb gets healthy and returns to form or else this team does not stand a chance. The lineup is also off to a less than stellar start.

17. Milwaukee Brewers
Previous Rank: 13
Record: 2-4
The offense should produce a lot of runs but the rotation is a serious question mark. Jeff Suppan is not going to win them a division.

18. Texas Rangers
Previous Rank: 19
Record: 3-3
The offense is an absolute machine especially considering Chris Davis has gotten off to a terrible start, but the lack of pitching will stop them from competing in the AL West.

19. Oakland Athletics
Previous Rank: 16
Record: 2-4
They are relying on a way too young pitching staff and Matt Holliday is off to a slow start but Trevor Cahill looks like the real deal.

20. Cleveland Indians
Previous Rank: 11
Record: 1-5
The pitching staff is brutal giving up 49 runs in 6 games. Cliff Lee is not going to repeat as AL Cy Young. They are starting off very similar to Detroit last year.

21. Cincinnati Reds
Previous Rank: 18
Record: 2-3
They don't look ready to make a Rays-like jump this year but Aaron Harang's return to form is very good to see for Reds fans. The offense should look better when Bruce and Encarncion get going.

22. Seattle Mariners
Previous Rank: 26
Record: 5-2
If King Felix and Bedard stay healthy this will be a very annoying team to face as they both have amazing stuff, but they can't rely on Endy Chavez hitting .379.

23. Kansas City Royals
Previous Rank: 24
Record: 3-3
This team is not brutal but they don't have the look of a contender in the AL Central. Alex Gordon and Billy Butler are still complete disappointments.

24. Baltimore Orioles
Previous Rank: 29
Record: 4-2
To go 4-2 against the Rays and Yankees is certainly impressive the problem is that they will still have to face them plenty and they will have B.J. Upton and Alex Rodriguez. Prospect Adam Jones is off to a very good start.

25. Colorado Rockies
Previous Rank: 25
Record: 3-3
Troy Tulowitzki is off to a good start and Franklin Morales and Ubaldo Jiminez had really good 1st starts, but they are not a competitor this year.

26. San Francisco Giants
Previous Rank: 22
Record: 2-4
Two bad starts by Lincecum are not really encouraging but he should be able to turn it around. The real problem is bad starts by Randy Johnson and Barry Zito.

27. San Diego Padres
Previous Rank: 28
Record: 5-2
I can not explain the start except that this team still has Jake Peavy and Chris Young. I am willing to bet they don't go 5-2 heading to face the Mets and Phillies.

28. Houston Astros
Previous Rank: 23
Record: 1-5
It is not fun for a bad team to start off with the Cubs and Cardinals, but this is a bad team that will likely be moving some key parts in Oswalt, Berkman and Carlos Lee.

29. Pittsburgh Pirates
Previous Rank: 30
Record: 3-3
Not a bad first week and if Zach Duke and Paul Maholm can repeat their starts this team may not be the worst in baseball.

30. Washington Nationals
Previous Rank: 27
Record: 0-6
This team is absolutely brutal. They have no pitching giving up 45 runs in 6 games so far. It is going to be a long summer in Washington.

Stud of the Week: 1B Miguel Cabrera, DET
Stats: .520 3 HR 10 RBI
Honorable Mention: Evan Longoria, Albert Pujols, Emilio Bonifacio, Kyle Lohse, Josh Johnson

Dud of the Week: LHP Carl Pavano, CLE
Stats: 1 IP 81.00 ERA 3 BB 6 HA
Dishonorable Mention: Andy LaRoche, Chris Davis, Scott Olson, Cole Hamels, Chien-Ming Wang

#20 Saint Louis Cardinals

Saint Louis Cardinals
Last Year: 86-76 4th in NL Central
This Year: 4th in NL Central



The Cardinals go about things differently than any other team. They bat the pitcher 8th, they fill the outfield with slow, plodding sluggers, moving Schumaker to second base, and they released Adam Kennedy on February 2nd. There seems to be a method to the madness with Tony LaRussa winning 7 division titles and 1 World Series in 13 years with the Cardinals. The question now is how much of his success is simply due to having the best player in baseball in Albert Pujols.

Opening Day Lineup w/Projections
2B Skip Schumaker .297 7 HR 44 RBI
LF Rick Ankiel .267 23 HR 67 RBI
1B Albert Pujols .341 43 HR 127 RBI
RF Ryan Ludwick .291 33 HR 105 RBI
C Yadier Molina .297 7 HR 72 RBI
3B Joe Mather .252 17 HR 58 RBI
SS Khalil Greene .243 15 HR 59 RBI
P Chris Carpenter
CF Colby Rasmus .253 12 HR 57 RBI

Rotation
RHP Chris Carpenter 14-7 3.34 ERA 157 K
RHP Adam Wainwright 15-8 3.57 ERA 128 K
RHP Kyle Lohse 9-10 4.45 ERA 118 K
RHP Todd Wellenmeyer 11-9 3.96 ERA 127 K
RHP Joel Pineiro 6-11 5.15 ERA 84 K

CP RHP Chris Perez 3.97 ERA 28 SV 63 K

Best Case Scenario: Colby Rasmus burts on to the scene and wins the NL Rookie of the Year. Carpenter finally stays healthy. Wainwright finally becomes the staff ace and Cy Young contender they were hoping for. Schumaker works at 2nd base. Troy Glaus comes back in May and returns as a force in the middle of the lineup. This team contends for the wild card and 90 wins.

Worst Case Scenario: Rasmus is not ready for the majors and spends the majority of his time in AAA. Wainwright and Carpenter both go down with injuries leaving Kyle Lohse as the staff ace. The defense is brutal with all the position changes. Pujols elbow flares up hurting his production. Glaus can't stay healthy and Ludwick comes back to earth. This team struggles to be .500.

Player Most Important to Success: Chris Carpenter. He has made only 4 starts in the last two years. He is now 33 years old which will not help him stay healthy. When he was healthy he was one of the best winning the Cy Young in 2005. If he can get healthy and give the Cardinals good innings with an ERA around 3 this team could be dangerous. Him and Wainwright will be able to win games that their offense could not provide. If he goes down or struggles this is a mediocre pitching staff to go with bad defense and nonathletic sluggers.

Outlook: This team has the best player in baseball and one of the best of all-time. That cures a lot of ills. He is also a gold glove defender which can not be said of anyone else on the team not named Molina. Ankiel has an arm but I would not be comfortable with him, Ludwick, and Duncan patrolling the outfield. This team has a lot of injury questions. Glaus, Carpenter, Wainwright, Ankiel, and Pujols are all injury risks. This team is going to have to slug their way to success and while that is possible I just don't see that happening for a staff counting on Kyle Lohse to repeat is career year. As a Twins fan I just don't see how you can ever be successful relying on Kyle Lohse.