2008 MLB Award Predictions
AL and NL Manager of the Year, NL Cy Young
Tuesday, Nov. 11:
NL Cy Young – Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
In only his first full season in the big leagues, Giants’ phenom Tim Lincecum was first in the NL in strikeouts (265) and second in ERA (2.62) and wins (18). Unlike Brandon Webb, who’s also been written about as this season’s potential Cy Young award winner, Lincecum compiled his wins while pitching for a fourth place team that was never in contention the whole season. There are also many that feel that Milwaukee’s C.C. Sabathia, who came over from the Cleveland Indians in a July 7 trade, should be the NL’s Cy Young. Though Sabathia was outstanding with the Brewers, where he was 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA, his numbers with the Indians also must be included to get a full perspective on his season. With both the Indians and Brewers, Sabathia went 17-10 with a 2.70 ERA. Though Sabathia's numbers are still good, they aren’t as good as Lincecum’s numbers.
Runner-up: Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks
Wednesday, Nov. 12:
AL Manager of the Year – Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays
With his motivational speeches, thick glasses and high praise for his poor math skills (9=8), Joe Maddon of the Tampa Bay Rays may end up being the unanimous choice for AL Manager of the Year. Maddon, along with the rest of the organization, took last season’s 66-96 squad and turned it into an American League Champion Cinderella story. Though the Philadelphia Phillies ousted the Rays in the World Series, Maddon still must be credited with taking his team from the AL East cellar to a division championship.
Runner-up: Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox
NL Manager of the Year – Joe Torre, Los Angeles Dodgers
Shadowed by the highly publicized success of Manny Ramirez after he was traded to the Dodgers from Boston is the not so talked about job former New York Yankee skipper Joe Torre did. Torre not only guided the Dodgers to their first division crown since 2004, he did it with a team that was ranked thirteenth in the NL in homeruns and runs scored. He also did it mainly without the presence of Rafael Furcal and the complete disappearance of Andruw Jones as an offensive threat. Ramirez did have a lot to do with LA’s success in 2008. However, as I’ll bring up again in the NL MVP section, Ramirez was only a Dodger for two months, which means Torre had to struggle to field a productive lineup for the first four months of the season.
Runner-up: Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox
Thursday, Nov 13:
AL Cy Young – Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians
Like Maddon of the Rays, Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians may be another unanimous choice, this time for AL Cy Young. Lee, the one real bright spot for the Indians this season, led the American League in wins (22) and ERA (2.54). He compiled those numbers while pitching in a division that had the third, fourth and fifth best run scoring teams in the league. Simply, he was probably the best starting pitcher in baseball this season. Not bad for a guy that went 5-8 with a 6.29 ERA last season.
Runner-up: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston Red Sox
*Stay tuned for Pt. 2, which will discuss the AL MVP and NL MVP races*
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