Now that the season is over, we can finally start making real predictions for all of the awards. Now, there are so many hard picks, this will not be easy; however, I'll do my best. Before I start though, I will only say who wins and why they do. Then I'll do a little blurb after the winner on who was passed up with the place they finished in after their name in (). Ok, MVP time. The National League goes first because obviously the National League is better than the American League.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER 2006
NATIONAL LEAGUE: ALBERT PUJOLS, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
This is a no doubter folks. Who lifted the St. Louis Cardinals into the playoffs? Albert Pujols. Who didn't? Ryan Howard. Who ended a possible third eight game losing streak for the Cardinals? Albert Pujols. The guy is obvious pick. Sorry Philly fans. Ryan Howard does deserve the Most Outstanding player, no doubt; however, the Most VALUABLE Player is the guy that carries you into the postseason, not carries your luggage to the terminal for a flight home.
SORRY TO: Howard (2nd), Carlos Beltran (3rd)
AMERICAN LEAGUE: JUSTIN MORNEAU, MINNESOTA TWINS
There is no denying that Morneau wins the MVP for the AL. Without him, the Twins never would have won the division (or go to the postseason for that matter). The guy made the Twins go. Sure, say Johan Santanna made them go, but he led the pitching staff. He led the pitching staff last year too and and "made them go" home. So, obviously Santanna can't do it alone. This is where Moneau came in and won the MVP award and stole it from other deserving players.
SORRY TO: David Ortiz (2nd), Derek Jeter (3rd), Frank Thomas (4th), Santanna (5th), Jim Thome (6th), Jermaine Dye (7th)

CY YOUNG AWARD 2006
NATIONAL LEAGUE: CHRIS CARPENTER, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Yes folks, it's a clean sweep for the Cardinals again. Carp was very dominate all year long. Sure, he had some struggles along the way, but he did towards the end of the year last year. This year, though, can be blamed on a inconsistent bullpen. Because of that pen, Tony La Russa was forced to leave Carp out there on an empty tank at the end of the year and his numbers suffered. Although, a 15-8 record and 3.09 earned run average is pretty damn good.
SORRY TO: Roy Oswalt (2nd), Brad Penny (3rd), Carlos Zambrano (4th)
AMERICAN LEAGUE: JOHAN SANTANNA, MINNESOTA TWINS
Another sweep, this time for the Twins. Santanna carried the Twins pitching yet again. He was the MLB leader in all three pitching Triple Crown categories (ERA, Wins and Ks). This guy is dominant and when he took the mound, you know you were gonna win.
SORRY TO: Barry Zito (2nd), Justin Verlander (3rd), Kenny Rogers (4th)

MANAGER OF THE YEAR
NATIONAL LEAGUE: JOE GIRARDI, FLORIDA MARLINS
It's a shame what happened to Girardi. Get stuck with a bunch of rookies, be predicted to win less games than the Kansas City Royals and end up with a 78-84 record then get fired because he strained relations with the front office? Thats gotta blow. Girardi, though, gets the last laugh. He'll be interviewing for jobs left and right and has the Manager of the Year award for 2006 to put on his resume. The Marlins were foolish to let him go, and they'll more than likely regret it. The question is though: How long will Gonzalez last in Florida?
SORRY TO: Charlie Manuel (2nd), Grady Little (3rd), Bruce Bochy (4th), Phil Garner (5th), Tony La Russa (6th)
AMERICAN LEAGUE: JIM LEYLAND, DETROIT TIGERS
In his first year in Florida, he won a World Series. In his first year with Detroit, he almost pulled of the greatest upset: win the division and knock out the White Sox. Part 2 came through, but they didn't win the division. Thats ok though. Mr. Miracle came through and guided the Tigers to their first playoff berth in 19 years and did it while everyone was telling him his team wasn't good enough. Who's laughing now?
SORRY TO: Ron Gardenhire (2nd), Ken Macha (3rd)
NOT SORRY TO: Joe Torre (30th)

And there you have it folks, your 2006 awards. I only did these three because they are the most important, and the MVP has had a lot of debate behind it this year. So, there you go and I hope you enjoy!

     So, now that there's only a week left in the regular season, it's time to get down and dirty with the playoff predicitions. Now, only two divisions have been clinched, two more will be clinched in three days or less and the other two will go down to the wire, along with the Wild Card races (of both leagues). So, I'm going to show you my predicitions below, and all the teams I have in are the teams I think (or all ready know) will be in the playoffs.
     First, the best league out of the two, the National League. This is how the National League side will break down:
NEW YORK METS vs. LOS ANGELES DODGERS
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS vs. SAN DIEGO PADRES
The Dodgers will be the Wild Card team and the Padres won the West. The Cardinals blow out the Padres, again, in a three game sweep. The Mets, with their pitching lacking, get beat by the Dodgers in five games. The Mets have a great offensive team; however, you need pitching to help you win. Ask the Boston Red Sox what all offense and no pitching gets you. Sure, the Mets have Pedro Martinez (who is very inconsistent and still a little injuried) and Tom Glavine (inconsistent) and Steve Trachsel (enough said). That's it though. Oliver Perez is a joke, ask the PITTSBURGH PIRATES! If you get sent down by the Pirates, and then traded, you're pretty much useless. Sure, he has pitched ok in New York, but only ok. In retrospect, he pitched ok in Pittsburgh too. John Maine, a guy that hasn't smelled the postseason. You want to count on him? Good luck with that. The Dodgers, though, have a proven force of attack. They have three starters with World Series rings (two coming in the last three years), a pitcher who won 15+ games a year for more than a decade who is also a 300 game winner and a very good, hard throwing rookie. Their rotation is much better than the Mets and thats what will stop their offense. The Mets' pitching staff will not be able to halt the Dodger's offensive enslaut and they will end up winning the series.
     The Cardinals will sweep the Padres. I know I'm a Cardinal fan and everything so my answer is kind of bias, but still: Cardinals have a better team. The Padres have two good starters and a starter with a good postseason history (whose numbers are flawed because he pitched with the New York Yankees in their World Series run). The Cardinals have the regining (and more than likely repeat) Cy Young Award winner, a starter who has been nothing short of dominate in the second half, and two vets that can eat innings. The Cardinals have a balanced offense with David Eckstein back and three guys that have put up a combined .291 AVG, 60 HR (Juan Encanracion needs one more to be the fourth Cardinal with 20 bombs this year) and 211 RBI behind the regining (and more than likely repeat) Most Valuable Player Albert Pujols. In June, the Cardinals missed his bat a lot and these players (Encarnacion, Chris Duncan and Scott Rolen) didn't step it up to make up for Pujols' bat, proving they need him in the lineup to win. Now that Pujols and Eckstein ar ehealthy, and the three backing up Pujols are having decent seasons (Duncan by the way doesn't even have 300 at bats yet and has 20 homeruns), the Cardinals can blow the Padres out of the water.
     The next series, the League Championship Series, will be a tough one. You have the well balanced Dodgers who just beat the best National Leagaue team during the regular season and the Cardinals, who have been the best team in the National League the last two years. This series will go all seven games, most definently. The Cardinals will come out on top, but by a slim margin. The Dodgers have three great starters and then a so-so starter, whereas the Cardinals have one great starter, a good starter and then two so-so starters. If the Cardinals get their way and have Jeff Suppan and Chris Carpenter start Games 1 and 2, then get Jason Marquis and Jeff Weaver to start Games 3 and 4, they'll be in good shape. With the Dodgers being the Wild Card team, the Cardinals would have homefield advantage and Carp and Supp have pitched better at home and vice versa for Weaver and Marquis. Game 5 would belong to Anthony Reyes so Carp and Supp could pitch at home, if needed. The Dodgers would throw Greg Maddux in Game 1 against Carp, Derek Lowe in Game 2 against Supp, Brad Penny in Game 3 against Marquis and then Chad Billingsley in Game 4 against Weaver. This is where the Dodgers need to be creative. They could pitch Maddux in game four and save Billingsley for Game 5, and then pitch Lowe and Penny in the final two games. This would also assure Maddux to be ready for Game 1 of the World Series (if they make it, which won't happen). This could also assure the Dodgers a better suited matchup for an important Game 4 and it lets Billingsley pitch against a fellow rookie. I'll stop myself from my rambling to move on and say the Cardinals are in the World Series.
     Tune in on Thursday for the American League AND World Series Matchup blog!

     Yes folks, it's true. The Cincinnati Reds are stacked up for the 2007 season. They made a real attempt to compete in 2006, but they knew it was a long shot. Now, they're looking forward to 2007. They have a real chance next year. Lets look at what the Reds have done this year to build for next year.
     First and most importantly, the Reds hired someone that knew what he was doing to run the club in the front office, General Manager Wayne Krivsky. Krivsky spent all of his years in Minnesota, a place where all they do is develop young talneted players. Krivsky came in and addressed the Reds needs as fast as he could. He added Bronson Arroyo, Brandon Phillips and David Ross. These three have been key aquisitions. Phillips has been spectacular at second, offensivly. On defense, he's been average with 14 errors. Ross has been hitting the snot out of the ball and has finally been named the everyday catcher for the Reds.
     Bronson Arroyo pitched great, in the first half. His season stats look this: 12-9, 3.33 ERA, 1.21 WHIP. In the first half, his stats were: 9-6, 3.12 ERA, 1.18 WHIP. Since the All-Star break, 3-3, 3.70 ERA, 1.25 WHIP. Those numbers since the break are decent, but not great (like before the break). This guy was suppose to be the ace of the staff. Instead, that has fallen upon Aaron Harrang, yet again. This guy has been the head of the staff for years. To make a long story short, Arroyo needs to step up next year and be the number guy everyone knows he can be.
     Kyle Lohse was a good pickup and can be a decent number four guy in the rotation. Eric Milton is a number three pitcher. Do you see something? There's no legimate ace of the staff here that can set the rest of the pitchers in place. I mean, look at the Marlins, Cardinals, Mets and Yankees. They all have that ace that can set the rotation in place. The Reds need someone like that, and I assure you Krivsky will be shopping for plenty free agent pitchers. Thats his basic need. His bullpen is pretty set. You, hopefully, have Eddie Guardado coming back next year to be your closer. You've got Dave Weathers and Todd Coffey to be the setup men in front of the lefty. Rheal Cormier as the lefty specialist and Ryan Franklin to be a long relief guy out of the pen. All they need is a guy that can face both lefties and righties equally and is a power arm (Kerry Wood?) to make this bullpen complete. Plus, yoiu have Gary Majewski and Bill Bray to make the bullpen better.
     The offense is together. All you need is a shortstop (because Royce Clayton SUCKS). You can entrust right field to Ryan Freel and make him your leadoff hitter. Another thing you can do is go spend money and add that ace for the staff and a power outfielder (to compliment Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey, Jr.). This of course means you move Dunn to first and LEAVE HIM THERE. He's a liability in the outfield. So, your order kind of looks like this: Freel, RF; Shortstop; Dunn, 1B; Power Left Fielder; Griffey, CF; Ross, C; Edwin Encarnacion, 3B; Phillips, 2B; pitcher. Thats a dangerous lineup (no matter what power left fielder they add). Then, all of the sudden, your team is rebuilt and refueled and ready to make a real run in 2007. The 2006 team was a good start, now they just have to build on it.

     That's right folks, the Detroit Tigers actually have something to build on for the coming years. They have an unbelieveable farm system, a great manager and a lot of talent at the Major League level.
     Lets first look at the youth the Tigers have. Of course, we HAVE to start with Justin Verlander. The kid is a BEAST. He can throw 100 mph and has great command. He has good offspeed stuff as well to keep hitters on their toes and fool them. Joel Zumaya is another flamethrower. The kid is destined for 400 saves. He throws 100 mph as well, with great offspeed stuff. He also has energy and makes you wonder where he's going to throw that 102 mph fastball: over the plate or in your ear. Andrew Miller is another one of those young studs. He'll probably start the year at Double A next year, but don't let that fool you. He has some nasty stuff and a great fastball. He was drafted this year out of North Carolina and helped carry the Tarheels to a College World Series victory. Here's another great young pitching stud: Humberto Sanchez. He has the Brad Lidge combo of the devestating fastball and the wicked slider. Also, he'll keep ya on your toes too with his changeup. Remember Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson too folks, they're your 1-2 punch ahead of the young guns. That now leads me to this: Ladies and gentleman, I introduce to you your 2008 Tigers starting rotation and closer.
     Curtis Granderson, Marcus Thames, Brandon Inge, Craig Monroe and Chris Shelton are just the beginning. Cameron Maybin is one of the best center field prospects in the game. This gives the Tigers an oportunity to add athletisim to the top of their lineup and use Thames and Monroe as the LF/DH. Oh yeah, Maybin was taken in the 2005 draft, 10th overall. Thats right folks, maybe all those years of losing maybe helped the Tigers win? I think so!
     The Rule 5 draft is a great way to find talent. Ask the Florida Marlins. They plucked Dan Uggla away from the Arizona Diamondbacks and he is now the record holder of the most RBI ever by a rookie in Marlins' history. There was also Johan Santana. He was taken from the Houston Astros and added to the Minesota Twins. No more explanation is needed for that one. They snached Shelton from the Pirates, Wilfredo Ledezma from the Boston Red Sox.
     So, Tiger fans, rest easy. Your future is secure and nothing will screw it up.

***Information for this article was taken from Dayn Perry's Tigers Will Be Winners For Years to Come. Photos were taken from the Google search engine.

     Josh Rabe was recently called up to the Minnesota Twins when Shannon Stewart and Tori Hunter went on the disabled list. Josh Kinney was called up at the start of July for the St. Louis Cardinals. Why is this important? They both graduated from Quincy University. No, not the Quincy in Massachusetts. The Quincy in Illinois. Quincy was once one of the largest cities in the state of Illinois. That's right. It was once bigger than Chicago AND Springfield. Al Capone stayed in Quincy every once in a while and shipped things to St. Louis. Quincy was known as the "lil Chicago" during the mob years. Josh Kinney and Josh Rabe were both big stars on the Quincy team. Qunicy University is a Division Two school in sports. Not a well known school. Why does all this matter? Because finally my town is finally being represented in Major League Baseball. Also, I may finally not get this question from people when I tell them I'm from Quincy: is that a suburb of Chicago? <-- FYI, Quincy is about 4-5 hours south of Chicago.
     Also, Neal Cotts played for the Quincy Gems one summer. The Gems are the summer league team that plays in Quincy. Also, did you know that the Cubs once had their Single A club in Quincy?

     Oh my God (sorry for that, but you said it to after you saw that eight player trade). Jim Bowden is a genius! He traded Gary Majewski (who is a very good pitcher and a future closer), Bill Bray (a piece of ####), Royce Clayton (another piece of ####) and two minor leaguers for Felipe Lopez (a great player), Austin Kearns (another great player) and Ryan Wagner (a good pitcher). Why is this huge? Bowden basically added three good players for NOTHING. How good is that? Also, when Bowden was the GM of the Reds, all three of these players were either added to the Major League roster or to the farm system by Bowden. So, he knows how good these players are.
     Wayne Krivsky was on the other end of this deal. The Reds have a horrific bullpen, so who can blame Krivsky for adding some arms to the pen, but at what price? He traded away three building blocks for the Reds future for a shortstop that is going to retire soon, not to mention he's a piece of #### and a crappy left hander. The only bright spot is Majewski. He and Eddie Guardado are a very nice combo in the 8th and 9th innings. Lets look at this. The Nationals are desperate to get younger and they are basically trading anyone who is over 28 years old. Livan Hernandez is over 28. Instead of recieving the two minor leaguers, they could have traded Tyler Pelland and Camilo Vazquez with Lopez, Kearns and Wagner for Hernandez, Calyton, Bray, Majewski and Jose Vidro. This way, they can use Brandon Phillips at SS, Vidro at 2B and increase their offense. Also, they have better starters. Right now, Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang are their only quality starters. You add in Livan Hernandez, that makes three. That also takes the pressure off Joe Mays to be a starter and he can move back to the pen. Gee, maybe that'll help the pen?
     So, yeah, Bowden is a genius for making this trade. He improves his club and basically trades nothing for it. Krivsky trades everything and adds nothing to hurt his ballclub. Yeah, good job with that one Krivsky.

You've heard of Johan Santanna, Randy Johnson and Billy Koch, right? These guys can bring the heat. Well, they're old school now fools and it's time to introduce the newest young guns, the new skool.

The King of the playground: Justin Verlander, DET

Verlander can throw some heat. You may have heard of him. He's the number 3 pitcher on the Detroit Tigers. This kid hit 99 MPH on the radar gun on May 23. Oh yeah, that was a shutout!

The bully: Fransisco Liriano, MIN

Liriano has been compared to Johan Santanna, with one exception: they got him from the Giants. Liriano can touch 100 MPH and will be amoung the best of all-time. The question is is will he be with the Twins on his way to stardom? With the Twins slashing payroll cause the suck, you never know what could happen.

Last, but certainly not least, the kid hding from the King and the bully (they pick on him because he's not in the starting rotation yet): Joel Zumaya, DET

Zumaya is in the bullpen right now, but just wait! He'll be in the rotation in 2007, maybe sometime in 2006 as well. He can bring the heat (can't find what he's topped out at yet) and is strong in the bullpen. Nate Robertson signed a one year deal in March, and they might not want to resign him with Zumaya in the wings.

AL CENTRAL
                                                  
 RECORD                    GB
Chicago White Sox                    95-67                         --
Cleveland Indians                     93-69                         2
Minnesota Twins                       91-71                 
        4
Detroit Tigers                             88-74          
               7
Kansas City Royals                  81-81                     
    14

CHICAGO WHITE SOX
The White Sox added Javier Vasquez and Jim Thome. No one knows why, but they work. They had plenty of offense and pitching before...now, they have a surplus. The White Sox will the division hands down.

CLEVELAND INDIANS
The Indians added a new and younger setup man, with a more lively arm and one of the best prospects in the game (Mota and Marte) and only traded off one player (basically), Coco Crisp. Their team is great, and probably the best team they've had in a long time, but still can't compete with the White Sox.

MINNESOTA TWINS
The Twins didn't do what they wanted to do this offseason, but still have a great team. They'll put up a fight, but they won't get anywhere. I think their reign over the central is offically over now.

DETROIT TIGERS
Wow, the Tigers have vastly improved. They have a great team and should go places by 2009. However, it's 2006. They'll end up above .500, but they won't catch up to the top 3 teams until September and will fall 7 games out.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS
The Royals did what they could to add depth to their team, but will fall short. They need to develop their minor league system, like the Pittsburgh Pirates did. Kansas City, however, will bounce back to a .500 record.