Pointless Exercise

For lack of anything better, I'm going to make my mid-season picks for MVP and CY Young, ROY for each league.

National League:
MVP - Scotty Rolen is the consensus so far for best first half performance. Rolen has 18 homeruns, 80 RBIs, 1.037 OPS, and .346 batting average. Oh, he is leading all 3b in fielding % and second to Beltre in zone rating. He has the heart of Rudy but has a lot of skill on top of that. This maybe the obvious pick, but it is obvious for a good reason.

CY Young - Now this one is not so clear cut. Glavine would be in this category, but his team hates him and would rather save their runs for Keith Ginter. There are several legitimate candidates, Carlos Zambrano, Ben Sheets, Jason Schmidt, Roger Clemens, and Randy Johnson. My underdog pick is Ben Sheets, but I just do not think he will have the wins to compete in the end and have too many losses on top of that. However, I just think it will be everyone's favorite mullet toting southpaw will take it home. I was leaning towards Schmidt as my choice, but I just have to stick with Randy. His WHIP is .86, his BAA is .183, his K/9 is 10.06 and he is 10-6. He has few more loses than the other top candidates, but he started off 3-4 and has gone 7-2 since. I do not anticipate that he will rack up many more losses and he just flat out dominates. He is on his way to lead the league in K's again. On top of it all, he broke the 4,000 K barrier and is as strong as ever.

Schmidt would win it now if I had to choose, but I think Randy will be the most dominant in the end. It should be damn close between these two but Schmidt's health has to factor in too. He has had elbow problems on and off over the years. Clemens, too me, is not as dominant as Schmidt and Johnson right now.

ROY - If Matt Holliday did not have the Coors effect so bad, I'd pick him. Alas, he does. Kahil Greene just does not look like he'll have the all around numbers. So who is left? None other than our very own Kazuo Matsui will win in part by default. There are slim pickins in the majors for outstanding rookies. But Kaz should cross the plate 100+ times, hit around 15 homeruns, steal close to 30, knock 60 RBIs, smack 40+ doubles, and hit for a .275ish average. Those numbers are really not that bad.

American League -
MVP - This one was tough. I mean really tough. Right now Pudge means so much to that team and is doing it all. He leads entire league in batting average while being a catcher. That is a feat never done before if he can sustain his current output. Also, he is the most responsible person for the Tigers impressive turnaround. But Vlad is putting up triple crown numbers for a contender with a .345 average, 20 homeruns, and 71 RBIs. But, in the end, Vlad is a quiet clubhouse guy, and we know Pudge is not. Pudge has been the definition of leader the past two years. To me, Pudge is the Tigers right now. If he can lead the league in BA for the entire year, while getting the Tigers to 70+ wins, he gets the MVP. I just think Pudge has less to work with in Detroit than Vlad has in Anaheim and has been the epitome of MVP so far this year.

Michael Young gets my honorable mention. He is my underdog pick, but there is just too much competition right now with big name players for him to skip away with it. Texas is tied for first right now after finishing last the few seasons while losing the best baseball player this off season, someone has to be responsible.

CY Young - This one is a two horse race right now. Mulder is pitching great, he's 6-0 at home, 11-2 overall, and has a AL leading 2.95 ERA. However, when the last man is standing, Curt Schilling is my guess to finish with prize at the end. I just look at what he has done at home in that hitter's park. At Fenway he has gone 7-0 with a 2.48 ERA, which is impressive. Overall he is 11-4 with 3.08 ERA, a K/BB ratio of over 4, and is looking like he'll finish 2nd in K's. He is the ace of that Red Sox staff. Schilling is a big game pitcher and I have to bet on him. That is the only thing he needs to cap off career and I think this year he will get it.

ROY - This one is a bit tougher than the NL. Lew Ford, Bobby Crosby, and Joe Mauer will all have impressive numbers by the end of the year. Mauer's got an uphill battle since he missed about 50 games with an injury. But so far he is looking solid. He should catch up in the homerun department and surpass in the average department. Although Crosby has been on fire lately and looks like the best bet, I am picking Mauer. Ford has been absolutely great as well, but Mauer is a special talent. He had never played a day above AA before getting called up to the majors. I am expecting huge things from him the second half, and at 21 years old, he is a treat for baseball fans to watch over the next 15 to 20 years. He is hitting .315 now, but I am guessing he will finish with about 18 homers, about 30 doubles, .400 OBP, and a .320+ average. Let us not miss the fact that he has a .994 fielding %, a CS% of .500, and a CERA of 3.75. The complete package has to be considered. He is wise beyond his years and once and lifetime talent for the team that drafted him. It will be only fitting that he gets ROY, and it will be deserved.