It was depressing to learn that the talented writers at Fire Joe Morgan are calling it quits after years of providing entertaining criticism of the mainstream sports media. From the Joe chats to food metaphors, Ken Tremendous, Junior and dak used humor to spread the word about sabermetrics. During college, visiting the site was one of the first things that I would do every morning. Now, college is over and FJM is not more. The way I see it, things can only go up from here.

Deadspin posted an entertaining, though sad, exit interview with the guys, each Hollywood writers. It is a great read.

Michael Schur, who writes under the pseudonym Ken Tremendous, has been a lead writer on The Office and played Dwight Schrute's cousin, Mose, in a few guest cameos. It is going to be hard to watch the show in the future without thinking about David Eckstein or Darin Erstad.

*Jeff Passan, a survivor, offered an excellent tribute to the blog at Yahoo! Sports.

*Peter Gammons has a new post up on his blog at ESPN.com. Gammons offers some interesting insights. He wonders why Hanley Ramirez finished 11th in the voting. I completely agree with him on that front.

Ramirez is not a great defensive shortstop, but, considering his position, he is a stud offensive player. He batted .301/.400/.540, with a 146 OPS+ and 33 home runs as the anchor of the Marlins' power-hitting infield. He also scored 125 runs.

*Albert Pujols clearly deserved to win the award, but the voters erred in a lot of their other secondary votes. It was surprising that Lance Berkman did not garner more serious consideration as well; he finished fifth.

Within the piece, Gammons also says that the Atlanta Braves are still in the running in the Jake Peavy sweepstakes. Frank Wren, according to the blog post, is intent on getting a deal done. There is also word that the Yankees are not in the running. In my opinion, it would be unwise for Peavy, the ace of the San Diego Padres, to accept a deal to the American League, where his numbers would surely suffer.

*According to Jon Heyman, Pedro Martinez is planning to pitch in 2009. Ben Reiter of SI.com ranked Martinez 44 in his Top 50 available free agents. He is an injury risk, of course, but his agent told Heyman that he is fully healthy for the first time in a while. After missing the first four months of the season with a hamstring injury, he posted a 75 ERA+ in 20 starts for the New York Mets. I had Martinez ranked higher in my Top 50, which I will be releasing later this week.

*Jeremy Affeldt signed with the San Fransisco Giants on Monday. Affeldt was one of the premier relief pitchers available in this free agent class, so credit the Giants for locking him for only two years, at a relatively cheap price of $8-million. As Dave Cameron writes, the left-hander is seriously underrated, and is coming off an excellent performance with the Cincinnati Reds. He posted a 3.33 ERA in 74 appearances, striking out 80 in 78.0 innings pitched. His 9.19 K/9 rate was the best of his career as his average fastball velocity jumped from 92.4 to 94.6, according to FanGraphs.

Brian Sabean deserves some praise for locking up one of the under-the-radar prizes in this class. Sabean has had some blunders, from the infamous trade with the the Minnesota Twins to the Barry Zito fiasco, but he pulled off a steal here. It looks like that Eckerd College degree has done him some good after all.

*Pujols won his second M.V.P. on Monday, and Joe Posnanski writes that it is time to give him due credit for his out-of-this-world-abilities as a baseball player. I have received some emails arguing why Ryan Howard deserved to win the award.

Although I touched on this in an earlier post, let us look at the data one last time from a comment I left on the other article.

Pujols’ monthly performance:

April—.365/.523/.594/1.117
May—.373/.454/.706/.1.160
June—.302/.444/.558/.1.002
July—.347/.413/.564/.977
August—.398/.491/.745/1.236
September—.321/.427/.702/.1.129


Howard’s monthly performance:

April—.168/.298/.347/.645
May—.238/.344/.590/.934
June—.234/.287/.439/.726
July—.311/.366/.612/.978
August—.213/.328/.463/.791
September—.352/.422/.852/.1.274


Howard was better in one month, September, but not by much. Take that away and he would be hovering around near league average slash stat numbers at the position. He was brutal in August, and a non-factor for half of the year. Do those games not count?

Counting stats are misleading, context-driven. In the stats that count, Pujols had better numbers. He had more hits, doubles, walks, stolen bases, runs extra-base hits, and a higher BA, OBP, slugging, OPS. In the advanced metrics, he ranked first in the league—and considerably higher than Howard—in adjusted OPS+, runs created, adjusted batting runs, batting wins and offensive winning percentage (essentially, a team of nine Pujols in the lineup would have had the highest winning percentage of any other player).

Pujols also had a 98.7 VORP—value over replacement player—compared to Howard’s 36.6. That does not account for defense, but is great at distinguishing real offensive value. Nearly two-thirds higher.

Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins each finished with higher totals in VORP on the Philadelphia Phillies, as did pitchers Cole Hamels and Jamie Moyer. The stat is not perfect, but is pretty solid at determining actual value, not perceived value—like if we took him away, and so forth.

The Phillies still would have been dangerous even with an average offensive 1B—Mike Jacobs, for instance—instead of Howard, who was not the M.V.P. of his own team let alone the entire league.

Pujols also grades out as a better defender in every metric.

Your honor, the defense rests.

*It was shocking that Utley, who hit 32 home runs and played exceptional defense at the keystone, finished 15th in the voting. Cameron agrees.

*And, on a sad note, former Rice star Wade Townsend underwent surgery on his right shoulder this week. Towsend, the Tampa Bay Rays' first-round pick back in 2005, has battled injuries since signing, and is now likely to miss the 2009 season. His days in the organization may be over as a result. The 25-year-old right-hander made three starts in the Arizona Fall League before sustaining the injury.

 

The ballots are in. Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Corey Hart and Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria are headed to the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. Hart, a budding superstar, and Longoria, the leading candidate for the American League Rookie of the Year, benefited from strong election campaigns all across the Internet, edging out the competition to earn their first All-Star invitations.

With a record 47.8 million votes cast, baseball fans clearly enjoy this new voting feature. However, as is the case with the selection process for starters and reserves—where the coaches, players and fans all struggle to make decisions in an imperfect process—the fans do not always make the right decisions on the final ballot. If you disagree, look at the case of Jason Varitek, who will make an All-Star appearance despite his slash stats line of .220/.300/.360 and OPS+ of 73. Varitek, in fact, is struggling to make contact right now, and certainly did not deserve his selection.

Did the fans get it right in choosing Hart and Longoria, though?

Well, since I cannot get enough of writing these All-Star articles, let us have a look.

In the American League, Longoria edged out—in order of votes—Jermaine Dye, Jason Giambi, Brian Roberts and Jose Guillen.

Longoria is a deserving candidate, taking into consideration his role in the Rays’ recent surge to the top of the American League East standings. A smooth-fielding defender at third base, he has delivered enough walk-off hits to make David Ortiz jealous, emerging as the top rookie position player in the league. He is batting .281/.354/.525 with 16 home runs and 53 RBIs, and sits atop the leader board in nearly offensive statistical category among AL third baseman.

With the mainstream media’s recent infatuation with the Rays and a strong campaign sponsored by the organization, this decision was almost inevitable, forcing the former first-round pick to cancel a trip to Las Vegas with his buddies. It looks as if this will be the first of many All-Star trips for Longoria, who is leading Tampa Bay in homers and RBIs as well. For all that he has done for his team, in addition to his contributions in all facets of the game, it is hard to disagree with the fans’ final vote selection here.

Dye has enjoyed a fine season to this point in his own right, slugging .550 with 20 home runs in 86 games. The Chicago White Sox outfielder, who has picked up the slack for several of his fellow veteran teammates, ranks ninth in the league in OPS (.902), fourth among outfielders, and is one of only four players on the circuit with 20-plus homers. He has been a key cog in the White Sox’s lineup, producing big hits while Paul Konerko (.679 OPS, eight home runs) and Jim Thome (.846 OPS) have struggled to get things going at the plate.

The performance of Dye and Carlos Quentin, who was acquired in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks this offseason and is leading the club with 21 jacks and 65 RBIs, is a major factor why Chicago currently resides in first place in a division that was expected to be one of the deepest in baseball. He is on the wrong side of 30 and struggled in the first half of 2007, causing Chicago to put him on the trade block only months after he produced one of the finest campaigns of his entire career last summer. He turned it around in the second half of '07, though, batting .298/.368/.579 for the White Sox, who then decided to sign him to a two-year extension. So far, it looks as Kenny Williams’ decision to keep Dye, who has fared better against right-handed pitchers so far, is justified, as he turned in an All-Star first half. Really, he has performed like an All-Star as well, perhaps even more so than Longoria.

Whether the mustache or the gold thong has anything to do with it, the 37-year-old Giambi is enjoying a nice bounce back season as well. After a foot injury sustained in May of last season sidelined him for several weeks, he did not provide the Yankees much of anything, finishing the year with a line of .236/.356/.433 while earning more than $20-million. Then, after a poor April, it looked as if his days as productive slugger were nearing the end. With the Yankees’ interest in soon-to-be free agent Mark Teixeira, Giambi’s days in New York seemed numbered as well. Since the infamous thong story broke, however, he has helped carry the New York offense, coming up with several crucial hits while Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez were on the DL and Robinson Cano was lost at the plate. Giambi, tied with Rodriguez for the team-lead in homers (18), now has the sixth-highest OPS (.925) in the league.

Despite a valiant effort, however, the American Mustache Institute failed in its attempt to create enough buzz to get Giambi elected onto the team.

Then there is Roberts, who is among league leaders with 102 base hits, 32 doubles and 25 stolen bases. One of the most productive offensive second baseman in the game, he has posted a line of .291/.372/.481, for one of the highest OPS (.853) totals at the keystone. A solid defender up the middle, he is one of the most underrated players in the game, truly. He has, however, been gunned down on the bases nine times in 34 tries. Regardless, the Orioles, enjoying surprising success, are lucky that they kept onto Roberts, who was nearly dealt to the Chicago Cubs this winter. As is the case with Giambi, it is easy to make the case for him as well, because he delivered an All-Star caliber first half.

Guillen finished last in the final ballot voting, perhaps because he plays in Kansas City. Well, two smaller markets—Milwaukee and Tampa Bay—got their players elected, so there goes that argument. Rather, it seems, the fans actually determined (correctly) that Guillen is undeserving of an All-Star bid. Since calling out his teammates earlier this spring at the height of the Royals’ inability to score runs, he has had his moments. He is leading the club with 13 homers and is among AL leaders with 65 RBIs. Overall, though, he has made far too many outs this season. A direct result of his inability to draw bases on balls (he has only 10 walks while striking out 67 times), his .298 OPS is nothing to write home about, bringing his OPS down to .768, hardly an All-Star mark. In fact, he does not place in the top 40 in the league in OPS, even sitting behind an aging teammate, second baseman Mark Grudzienlak, who is batting .314/.367/.419 for the fourth-place Royals.

Kansas City has a -63 run differential, and only three AL teams have scored fewer than its 386 runs scored as a team. While the performance of his former team, the Seattle Mariners, has made the Royals seem like an offensive juggernaut, Bill Bavasi was right to decline Guillen’s option for 2008. He had a nice season in ’07, batting .290/.353/.460 with 23 home runs and 93 RBIs in spacious Safeco Field, but reports of performance-enhancing drug use put that performance into question. While he hits for some power occasionally, he does not get on base enough, has had a questionable past, and his first half was not All-Star worthy.

It looks as if the fans did a nice job in the American League, but it would be hard to argue with any of the first four aforementioned players.

In the National League, Hart received 8-million votes, beating out David Wright, Pat Burrell, Aaron Rowand and Carlos Lee, respectively.

Hart is a nice player who should play a huge role in the postseason push for Milwaukee, which acquired an ace in left-hander CC Sabathia earlier this week. He does not, however, deserve to be an All-Star, at least not for 2008. The Kentucky native has certainly been a key cog in the Milwaukee offense, posting a .510 slugging percentage with 43 extra-base hits, including 15 homers, and 57 RBIs. He has also swiped 15 bases in 18 chances. Still, though, his .842 OPS is good for 28th in the National League, which makes it tough to choose him over Burrell or Wright.

It is definitely a good sign that the Brew Crew faithful helped get their guy elected, and hopefully the excitement level among the Milwaukee fan base will remain this high down the stretch.

Burrell deserved to get picked here, as he has been a force for the Phillies, who are currently in first place in the National League East. Burrell, fourth in the league in OPS (.993), has been one of the premier performers with the bat on the Senior Circuit to this point, slugging .581 with 22 homers and 54 RBIs. The former Miami star has had an up-and-down tenure in Philadelphia, which is why he is such a polarizing player among the Phillies’ fan base. This season, though, he is putting it all together at the right time—he is in a walk year—taking advantage of playing in Citizen’s Bank Park.

The Phillies recently locked up closer Brad Lidge, but it would not be a surprise if Burrell’s days in the city of Brotherly Love come to an end once the season is over. He was perhaps the biggest snub for the Mid-Summer Classic, though, and it is disappointing that he will not be playing in the Bronx on Tuesday night. In fact, if not for the brilliant play of Lance Berkman, Chipper Jones, Albert Pujols and teammate Chase Utley, Burrell might be getting some strong consideration for first-half MVP in his league. At the very least, he deserves to represent the National League, and it was a surprise that he was not selected by the coaches or players.

Burrell has undoubtedly had the most impact on his team of any of the candidates, but ended up finishing third out of the five. National League manager Clint Hurdle still has one decision left, and the Phillies slugger could end up as the replacement for injured outfielder Alfonso Soriano, who will be replaced in the starting lineup by Matt Holliday.

Wright is having a bit of a down year by his standards, but has still played well enough to confirm his place as perhaps the best player the age of 25 or younger in the National League. He is batting .288/.386/.511 with 17 home runs and 70 RBIs. Wright, a defensive stud who deserved to win the MVP award last year but paid the price for his teammates’ September woes in the eyes of the voters, may have just been snubbed again. While Chipper Jones’ monster first half led to an easy decision for the fans, Wright (.897 OPS) has been equally as valuable to the New York Mets as Aramis Ramirez (.900 OPS) has been to Chicago Cubs. If the Mets make a surprise push to supplant the Phillies in the NL East—they will have to, because the Wild Card will probably come out of the Central—he will again merit consideration for MVP.

Rowand, at 30 years old, is close to turning into a fourth outfielder in the near future, making the San Francisco Giants’ decision to offer him such a lucrative deal fairly puzzling.

This season, though, the gritty outfielder has provided one of the only bright spots for the anemic San Francisco offense, batting .296/.362/.453 with 26 doubles and eight home runs. Regardless, he has not performed like an All-Star, and it is unlikely that the veteran outfielder will do so ever again. A two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, Lee could add another silver bat to his trophy case if he continues to perform in the second half. He is batting .293/.345/.548 with 21 homers and 72 RBIs, helping pack punch in the middle of the Astros’ lineup alongside Berkman. All-in-all, Burrell and Longoria seem like the most deserving of the bunch, though the American League provided a far more difficult decision.

This had to help Longoria, who had #### Vitale on his side.

Update: Hurdle selected Wright, not Burrell, to take Soriano’s place on the National League All-Star roster.

On Saturday, I will be appearing on Sports Talk 1220 to discuss the All-Star game and the first-place Tampa Bay Rays at 3:20 P.M.

Click here to listen live.

Tim Lincecum (AP)

Entering his junior season at the University of Washington, Tim Lincecum was regarded as one of the premier starting pitchers in the draft class of 2006. Lincecum then lived up to expectations, leading the nation in strikeouts to earn Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year for the second time of his collegiate career.

Due to his small frame and unorthodox pitching mechanics, however, nine teams passed on the flamethrowing right-hander, considered short for a pitcher at 6-feet—with spikes on.

Thus, several organizations and scouts worried about his durability and questioned his ability to stay healthy due to his funky delivery and 170-pound frame, causing him to fall to the San Francisco Giants at pick number ten.

While Brian Sabean has made some poor decisions—giving up a healthy Francisco Liriano and Joe Nathan for a short-term rental of the most hated catcher in baseball is among them—his scouting department’s decision to take a risk on Lincecum is paying dividends for the Giants. After rising to the majors with ease, he has emerged as one of the premier starting pitchers in the National League, if not the majors.

Lincecum, 24, entered his start on Thursday afternoon against the first-place Chicago Cubs with a 16-6 record in 40 career starts, posting a 3.30 ERA in 256.0 innings pitched. A tremendous athlete with a strong a multi-pitch arsenal—including a two-seam fastball that can touch 100 MPH—he has baffled hitters at times since his call-up to San Francisco, striking out 264. Yet again, he added to that total on Thursday, striking out eight in six innings to earn his 10th victory in the Giants’ 8-3 win over the Cubs. The Sports Illustrated cover boy this week also helped himself out at the plate, collecting an RBI single and scoring a run.

With every outing, it seems, he improves his candidacy for the National League Cy Young award. While we are not even at the All-Star break yet, few pitchers in the game have been as effective as Lincecum, who improved to 10-1, lowered his ERA to 2.49, and increased his NL-strikeout lead to 122 by toying with one of the best lineups in the Senior Circuit. Along with Edinson Volquez of the Cincinnati Reds and Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Washington product has made a strong case to earn the start for the National League in the 2008 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium, going 10-1 in his first 18 starts despite the Giants’ inability to score runs behind him.

The Giants remain in contention in the National League West, more of a result of the poor first-half performance of each team in division—projected to be among the most difficult in baseball with the reigning pennant winners, the Colorado Rockies, among three other legitimate pre-season favorites— in the first half than anything else. Lincecum, however, has been invaluable to the Giants, establishing himself as one of the toughest pitchers to score runs against in the majors by posting an opponents’ line of .251/.325/.337.

Matt Cain has is among the best pitchers under the age of 25 as well. Cain, 23, and Lincecum will anchor the Giants’ starting rotation well into the next decade, and it is a shame how difficult it is for the offense to plate runs, because the pair could really string together a lot of wins.

The Giants are five games back in the West, but have a -39 run differential, meaning that they are undoubtedly a pretender. San Francisco, in fact, ranks 26th out of 30 with only 351 runs scored, as no player on the Giants has reached the double-digit mark in home runs—John Bowker ranks first on the team with nine—and Fred Lewis is currently the club leader with an .819 OPS. Clearly, when Lewis, a late bloomer, is the top offensive player in a lineup, it means that his team will struggle to plate runs. As a result of the poor lineup, the post-Barry Bonds era has not gotten off to a great start.

Cain, Lincecum and Jonathan Sanchez, 8-4 with a 3.79 ERA, however, have done their part to help keep the Giants respectable at least.

Throwing so much money at Aaron Rowand—essentially a player who will turn into a fourth outfielder by 2010—was another unwise decision to add to Sabean’s resume. Regardless, though, with Lincecum, who went from the Pac-10 to the majors in less than 12 months, leading the rotation, there is some hope for the future of this franchise. With one of the most unhittable heaters and a swooping 12-to-6 breaking ball, expect him to continue to post Nintendo-like numbers, as he is practically untouchable when he has command over his pitches like he did on Thursday afternoon. It truly is a good thing for Sabean and San Francisco that those Lincecum-for-Alex Rios rumors turned out to be false.

While Luke Hochevar, selected nine spots ahead of Lincecum in ’06, is now pitching in the majors as well, it is easy for the Kansas City Royals to wonder “what if?” The American League has not exactly been kind to Hochevar, whose natural 6’5’’ frame intrigued scouts, to this point of his major league career. While he is still young and has tremendous potential, he is 5-6 with a 86 ERA+—100 is the barometer for league average—for the Royals, who opted for the lanky right-hander over the likes of Clayton Kershaw, Evan Longoria, Andrew Miller and Brandon Morrow.

While the draft is an unpredictable process—a crapshoot perhaps—and it is easy to Monday morning quarterback previous selections, it is safe to say this: the Royals’ young starting rotation would be considerably better with Lincecum alongside the up-and-coming Zack Greinke.

Lincecum's delivery:

Sabean, by the way, is a graduate of Eckerd College.

Major League Baseball is now officially halfway through its season. Which only means one thing—it is time to hand out the Mid-Season Awards in each league.

From Chipper Jones to Dan Uggla, Milton Bradley to J.D. Drew, several offensive players deserve some serious consideration for their outstanding offensive production in the season's first 81 games, making the midway MVP selection in each league a difficult decision.

Several pitchers—such as John Danks, Justin Duchscherer, Jair Jurrjens and Tim Lincecum—were excellent in the first-half as well.

None of the aforementioned players, however, cracked the list.

So, without any more delay, here are my picks for the Mid-Season Awards.

American League

MVP: Josh Hamilton, OF Texas Rangers—Hamilton's teammate, Milton Bradley, has a higher batting average, OBP, slugging percentage and OPS, but the former number one overall pick has been more valuable to his team. First of all, he adds value with his defense in the outfield, unlike Bradley, who is the Rangers' full-time designated hitter. Second, the sweet-swinging slugger has been able to remain on the field, which has been difficult for him ever since the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected him with the first overall pick, ahead of Josh Beckett, in the 1999 First-Year Draft. Hamilton, in fact, has played in 80 games, only 10 fewer than his season total in 2007, when he hit 19 home runs as a rookie for the Cincinnati Reds.

Plus, while Bradley only nearly has as many homers as his fellow slugger in nearly 100 fewer at-bats, Hamilton was one of the most productive hitters in the majors through in the first half in his own right. He posted a line of .312/.362/.565, for the sixth-highest OPS in the league. Not to mention, the 27-year-old is currently tied with Grady Sizemore for the circuit lead with 19 homers and is the majors’ leader in RBIs. In fact, with 79 RBIs, he is on pace to drive in 157 runs this season. With Ian Kinsler and Michael Young batting in front of him, he will get plenty of RBI chances in the second half, making it likely that he will get close to that lofty total.

With his tremendous arm and athleticism, Hamilton has been invaluable to the Rangers, who, despite a relatively thin starting rotation, remain in contention in the West. Texas is a pretender for 2008. In the near future, though—with Hamilton and several up-and-coming prospects—the club has a strong chance to make its first appearance in the postseason since the Juan Gonzalez era in Arlington.

Honorable Mention: Milton Bradley, Texas Rangers; J.D Drew, Boston Red Sox; Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

Cliff Lee (Associated Press)

Cy Young Award: Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians—Scott Kazmir is ineligible because he missed all of April, though the Tampa Bay left-hander was the best pitcher in the league from May on. Kazmir, who posted the lowest opponents' OPS (.577) and a ridiculous ERA+ of 178 in the first half, has won seven of his 11 starts, guiding the Rays to the majors’ best record at the season's halfway mark.

Lee, though, has come a long way in the past year, going from the minors to perhaps starting the last-ever All-Star game at Yankee Stadium in less than 10 months. While the Indians' anemic offense has prevented the club from making a first-half push in the wide-open AL Central division, Lee and the rest of his rotation mates have done their part to keep the team afloat. It is hard to argue with his numbers so far: he is 11-1 in 15 starts, posting a 2.34 ERA, 177 ERA+ and .597 opponents’ OPS in 103.7 innings pitched. Many writers were skeptical of Lee's torrid start in April, but he has silenced the critics, limiting opposing hitters to a line of .237/.267/.330 while compiling a 90-to-16 K/W ratio. His surprise pre-midpoint performance has been of the season’s best stories..

Honorable Mention: John Danks, Chicago White Sox; Justin Duchscherer, Oakland Athletics; Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays Shaun Marcum, Toronto Blue Jays

Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays—Since his call up from Triple-A Durham on April 12, Longoria has been invaluable to the best-in-baseball Rays, batting .270/.342/.529 with 15 homers and 47 RBIs. A Gold Glove candidate and a regular on the highlight-reel, he has also upgraded the team's infield defense by playing an excellent third base.

With his production at the plate, he is showing why he was dubbed the top prospect in the minors in numerous offseason publications, as he is leading American League rookies in nearly every offensive statistical category—extra-base hits (37), homers, slugging percentage and OPS (.871). His call-up has coincided with the Rays’ turnaround from a poor start. In fact, since the former first-round pick joined the club two weeks into the season, Tampa Bay is 44-27. This is not a coincidence, folks. Longoria, leading his team in homers and RBIs, has been one of the most productive hitters in a lineup that has struggled to score runs at times.

Outfielder David Murphy has gotten some publicity, as he is top among major league rookies with 52 RBIs. He has had numerous opportunities to drive in runs down in Texas, however, and needs to improve upon his .306 on-base percentage. Boston center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, an excellent defender, has swiped 34 bases in 38 attempts while hitting .272/.349/.389. He is leading AL newcomers with 54 runs scored, but the ’07 World Series hero has not been as productive as Longoria.

Honorable Mention: Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees; Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox; Greg Smith, Oakland Athletics

National League

MVP: Lance Berkman, Houston Astros—This was easily the most difficult award to pick. Chipper Jones is flirting with .400. A pair of second baseman in the NL East, Chase Ultey and Dan Uggla, have combined to hit 46 homers already. Utley is also playing stellar defense at the keystone for a first-place team. And then there is St. Louis stud Albert Pujols, who has 17 homers and a stellar 1.123 OPS.

Nonetheless, Berkman is the Mid-Season Most Valuable Player on the Senior Circuit, in my eyes.

The Houston Astros are 10 games back in the NL central, perennially one of the weakest divisions in the weak National League. Thus, my selection may come as a surprise. Many people associate this award with winning. As a result, therefore, many writers fail to recognize the actual best performer—see Rollins, Jimmy, 2007. Berkman, however, had the strongest first half, as he put together one of the best 81-game performances baseball has seen in some time. The Houston first baseman, in fact, was an absolute monster during that stretch, batting .364/.444/.690 in 313 at-bats. He has also posted the majors’ highest OPS (1.135), OPS+ (198) and slugging percentage, is second in the NL in batting average and RBIs and third in homers (23). If it was not for Jones, who is leading baseball with a .394 batting average, Berkman would have a legitimate shot at the circuit’s Triple Crown, more so than Josh Hamilton in the other league.

Honorable Mention: Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves; Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals; Chase Ultey, Philadelphia Phillies

Edison Volquez (Associated Press)

Cy Young Award: Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds—Volquez, who came to the Reds in the Josh Hamilton deal, had a breakout first half, going 10-3 with the best ERA (2.08 ERA) and ERA+ (214) in the National League at the midpoint. In 16 starts, the 24-year-old right-hander has posted a stellar 113-to-43 K/W ratio (those Ks ranks second in the league) while limiting opposing hitters to a line of .202/.308/.281 and only four homers. With such a strong nucleus of young stars—Jay Bruce, Jonny Cueto, Volquez and Joey Votto—the Reds should be a force in the Central for years to come.

Tim Lincecum was stellar in the first half as well, going 9-1 with 2.38 ERA, league-best 114 Ks and a 1.24 WHIP. The San Francisco Giants received a good amount of grief for selecting the right-hander so early in the 2006 draft, because of the then-University of Washington star's unorthodox mechanics. But Lincecum, who broke the Pac-10 record for strikeouts during a standout collegiate career, has silenced the critics with his tremendous performance over the past two seasons, emerging as one of the premier young starting pitchers in the National League. In 40 career starts, he is 16-6 with 264 punchouts and a 3.30 ERA.

Honorable Mention: Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks; Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants; Ben Sheets, Milwaukee Brewers; Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks

Rookie of the Year: Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs—Odds are pretty high that this award will end up in Chicago at the end of the season, with Cub rookies Kousuke Fukudome and Soto the leading candidates in the race right now. Soto was better than his teammate in the first half, though, establishing himself as one of the majors’ most promising young catchers. The Pacific Coast League MVP in '07, his success from his September call-up in ’07 carried over in the spring. A late bloomer at 25, he finished the first half with a line of .281/.367/.513 for the first-place Cubbies. His .880 OPS is the highest rookie total in the majors, and he is second among the group, behind Longoria, with 13 home runs and 47 RBIs.

Fukudome has been a tremendous addition for Chicago, posting a .405 on-base percentage in the season’s first 81 games while playing above-average defense in right field. A versatile player with tremendous athleticism, he is leading rookie-eligible players with 55 runs scored and ranks second with 83 hits. Just like Akinori Iwamura, however, his power has not translated to the American game as expected, with deeper ballparks and advanced pitching. Plus, at 31, he is hardly a true rookie. He had an excellent first half, but, as a decent defensive catcher with above-average arm strength, Soto is more deserving of the award at this juncture.

Atlanta Braves rookie starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens is enjoying an excellent season as well. Jurrjens, who was acquired by Atlanta in the deal that sent Edgar Renteria to Detroit, offered a huge boost to the Braves’ rotation in the first half, going 8-3 with a 2.94 ERA in 16 starts. If he can continue to be effective the remainder of the summer, he will pose the biggest threat to the Cubs’ chances of producing a Rookie of the Year for the first time since Kerry Wood earned the award back in 1998.

Honorable Mention: Kosuke Fukudome, Chicago Cubs; Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta Braves

Major League Front Office of the Year: Tampa Bay Rays—While managers are important—Joe Maddon is a good match for the Tampa Bay clubhouse and has done a fine job guiding his team—personnel decisions make more of a direct impact in the standings and are far more important than any manager's “leader of men” qualities or abilities as an in-game strategist. With that being said, Andrew Friedman, Gerry Hunsicker, Matt Silverman and crew have done a tremendous job putting together a winning product on the field down in St. Petersburg, finding the right mix of young talent and quality veterans, such as closer Troy Percival.

No, I do not buy the “any team could be good if they got to pick early in the first-round for 11 straight years” mindset. First of all, look at the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have had the same luxury of picking early in the draft but are still miles away from relevance in the inferior league. Plus, in the Rays’ 2008 starting lineup, Longoria and B.J. Upton are the only former first-round picks selected by Tampa Bay. Granted, the trade of Delmon Young, the first pick of the 2003 draft, brought the club’s number three starter, Matt Garza, and starting shortstop, Jason Bartlett, to St. Petersburg. If anything, though, Friedman deserves credit for pulling the trigger on that risky deal, which has helped shore up Tampa Bay's infield defense and starting rotation.

Honorable Mention: Boston Red Sox

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