Let’s get those awards out of the way first. We’ll start with the MVPs, in which I suspect they will go to the Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera, not because he will be the most valuable player, but he will be the only player New York and Boston reporters will have heard of on the team with the best record in the AL.
In the NL, I think the writers will do something a little unconventional and go with a pitcher, Johan Santana, for MVP. With as much hype as Santana has received heading over to the National League, any success he reaches will be magnified, and any performance in the postseason will be viewed as epic.
The AL Cy Young will probably get pinned somewhere in the AL East, not because there are any particularly deserving arms out there, but there won’t be in the Central or West either. Given even a mediocre, injury free year, I think the award is Daisuke’s to lose.
In the race for Rookie of the Year, in the AL, I don’t see how Jacoby Ellsbury will lose it, unless he doesn’t play enough games. I think, however, that Adam Jones and maybe even Carlos Gomez and definitely Evan Longoria will be better this year.
The National League will be fraught with talented youngsters, but be overwhelmed by Japanese sensation Koisuke Fukudome. Without Fukudome in the picture, the award could go to teammate Geovany Soto or any number of blue vhippers on the Reds, if Dusty Baker decides to play them.
The AL Manager of the Year will be Joe Maddon for finally managing a team worth something in Tampa (and oh yeah, having talent for the first time down there). Mostly, he gets points for his glasses.
The NL Manager of the year, despite himself, will be Dusty Baker. He is being given a good situation on a platter, and even if he’d rather see Scott Hatteberg at first than Joey Votto, well, i guess they have enough to overcome this. Ken Tremendous will likely explode.
THE NL playoffs will feature a tough pitching matchup, and I think the Diamondbacks have a deeper rotation than their first round opponent, the Mets. The D-Backs will split the first two games of the series, then roll through to the NLCS. The Reds will quickly remember that they are in the playoffs and wonder what the heck they are doing there. This will set up a Dodgers-Diamondback NLCS, and although I like the Dodgers in a long season, I think the D-Backs have a much better team for a short series.
In the American League Playoffs, I have the Tigers defeating the Angels and the Red Sox over the Indians. This year is the Tigers year, I think, so Boston will have to wait until football season to get that championship ring they haven’t got in about 4 months.
The traditional rivals, the Diamondbacks and the Tigers, and I think this will potentially be one of the better Series in a while. I’m putting my money on the Tigers, however, because their pitchers can’t keep it up through the entire playoffs. Right?
So there you have it. Detroit Tigers, World Champs.
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