Metro Sports 360 The Wire

Metro Sports 360's first Annual MLB Mid Season Awards
Author's:  James Kemplay & Guy Cartee

Metro Sports 360 writers James Kemplay and Guy Cartee sit down and lay out the first Annual Metro Sports 360 MLB Mid Season Awards.

AL Manager of the Year:  Ron Washington - Texas Rangers
The Rangers weren't picked to do anything this season in many Baseball Circles yet here they are at the mid point of the season tied for first in the AL West

NL Manger of the Year:  Joe Torre - LA Dodgers
No Manny?  No Problem..  Joe helped lead the Dodgers to the best record in baseball with out their best player for 50 games.  Tony La Russa has to be mentioned as well for the work he's done with the injury bugged St. Louis Cardinals.

AL Rookie of the Year:  Ricky Romero - Blue Jays
The Blue Jays young ace is 6th in the AL in ERA and is doing it in the hardest division in baseball, the AL East.

NL Rookie of the Year:  Colby Rasmus - St. Louis Cardinals
This is more of a challenge then Romero in the AL but you can't doubt Rasmus's numbers.  Rasmus is pacing for 20+ Home Runs and around 40 doubles on a offensively challanged Cardinals team.  If its not his bat its his future Gold Glove in field that helps land Rasmus as our NL Rookie of the Year.

AL Flop of the Year:  Kansas City Royals
Picked in many circles as the front runner to win the poor AL Central the Royals have proven that injury's and the lack of production from their newcomers (take your pick, Coco Crisp or Mike Jacobs) has landed the Royals as our Flop of the first half.  There is a bright spot KC Fans, Zack Greinke is the real deal finally.

NL Flop of the Year:  Pittsburgh Pirates
6 Games out of first place in your division and you trade away the best hitter/player on your team in outfielder Nate McLouth to the Atlanta Braves, just to fight your way to 7 games back before you dump fan favorite Nyjer Morgan in another trade that completely drains your outfield.  If it wasn't for the ball park in Pittsburgh there wouldn't be much of a reason to watch the lowely Pirates much more this season.

AL MVP:  Zack Greinke - Royals
Say what you want about Justin Morneau, and the theory that a player on winning team has to be the MVP, but we are judging here on the BEST PLAYER, one who any team in the AL would lean on and that nod must goto Zack.  Greinke's numbers this year are sick, his 2.00 ERA (tops in baseball), 120 Strike outs (3rd in baseball), 10 wins (tops in baseball), and all playing on a team with no offense.  His utter unworldly numbers after the first month of the season has only been closely matched 2 other times in baseball history.

NL MVP: Albert Pujols - St. Louis Cardinals
Nobody has dominated baseball in a year like King Albert has so far since the likes of the juiced Barry Bonds.   Pujols has a real chance to breat the 62 home run mark this year with out the * tied to his name, nobody has the all around game of Pujols and his bat has been must watch TV.

AL Cy Young:  Zack Greinke - Kansas City Royals
See above.  The Z train is rolling through AL hitters this year like no other pitcher has in over 50 years.

NL Cy Young:  Tim Lincecum - SF Giants
Youth pitching this year is out of this world.. Lincecum who leads the majors in strike outs, and his 9-2 record are 2nd in the NL.  We have to mention Dan Haren of the Arizona Diamondbacks is putting up Zack Greinke type of numbers but with the 4 loses the nod we give goes to Lincecum.

METRO SPORTS 360 FIRST HALF MVP: 
1A: Albert Pujols, 1B Zack Greinke
Both of these players are having the types of seasons nobody has seen in decades.  Hell most of us haven't seen anything like what these 2 are doing in our life times.  Pujols truely unfortunately is doing what he is doing in an era of steriods where the PED users before him (McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, ARod) have set the bar high for unreachable numbers that makes you even more in awe that a CLEAN Pujols is pacing many of those numbers.  In Zack's case the turn around he's had from head case to superman are the things movies are made about, let alone what he's doing on the mound hasn't happened hardely at all in any era.  It's been an amazing ride that people in Missouri and Kansas have been lucky to watch play out in our own back yard.