Some Words on the Awards

Rookie of the Year:
AL = Justin Verlander
No surprise. He would have been my first choice.
NL = Hanley Ramirez
I'm a little surprised. But he's an excellent choice.

Cy Young Award:
AL = Johan Santana
No surprise whatsoever. Completely deserved.
NL = Brandon Webb
I'm pleasantly surprised. I thought Chris Carpenter would get it for the second consecutive time and was ready to make an argument for why Webb deserved it more.

Manager of the Year:
AL = Jim Leyland
Definitely. No argument whatsoever on this one.
NL = Joe Girardi
Consider what everybody expected from the Marlins before the season and look at what Girardi did with them. There's no question that he deserved this one. It will look good on his resume now that he's looking for a job. Who's the smarty pants who fired their "Manager of the Year?"

MVP:
The NL will be announced Monday. And it will most likeley be between Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard. I'd have to give it the guy batting .331 even if he hit 9 fewer home runs. Go Albert!

The AL decision comes out on Tuesday. This one is a more crowded field. My favorite candidate is Justin Morneau. But I think Derek Jeter actually earned this one this past year. And in the end I won't be surprised if it actually goes to Jermaine Dye.

Managerial changes:
Lou Pinella will now manage the Cubs! This means that the interleague series in Chicago will pit Pinella against Ozzie Guillen. I don't know if any stadium can contain those two characters and I wouldn't want to miss that. If there's any truth to the rumors of Alfonso Soriano joining the Northsiders then I expect the Cubs to do much better in 2007. Though that deal would probably make Juan Pierre's departure all but certain. He would be an excellent pick-up for somebody looking for a great lead-off guy.