September baseball!

Once again, it is September and once again, the Colorado Rockies are surging. Having won 17 of their last 22 and just coming off 10 wins in a row they have closed to within 2.5 games of the Padres in their division race and are 3.5 games out in the NL wild card with 18 games left. Of the 18 games left, only 5 of them are against the 2 teams ahead of them in the division. Although, only being down 2.5 games anything can happen.

The NL East is another big story. Two months ago it was seemingly Atlantas division to lose. Well, they have. It seems as though the Phillies just weathered the storm until they had everyone healthy and off to the races they went. The Phillies lead by 1 game, however the Braves lead the wildcard over the Giants by 1.5. The only race in the NL that isnt close by anymeans is the NL Central where Joey Votto and the Reds are rolling along and up by 7 games.

The AL East is a fun one. Everyone knew coming into the year that it was going to be a 3 team race, and it was for a decent portion of the season. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, they couldn't hold off the injury bug, and for about a 2 month stretch, they were playing w/ players i had never heard of. When you lose Ellsbury, Pedroia, Buckholtz, Beckett and Youkilis for a good portion of your season, you are going to hurt for a while. The fact that they are only 7.5 out of first with all of those injuries is a testament to how good of a job Terry Francona does of managing that club. This division will have 2 teams in the playoffs and home field advantage is going to be a dogfight until the end for the Rays and Yankees. If the season ended today, the Rays and Rangers would meet up in the first round, and the Yankees and Twins would meet up in the first round.

Being that it is September it's getting close to time for the 6 major end of season awards. Here are my picks:

NL Rookie of the year: Jason Hayward, He started off strong with a 3-run home run in his first at bat of the season and is ending strong batting nearly .400 for the last 7 days.

NL Cy Young: There can be a case made for Adam Wainwright and Roy Halladay who both are within striking distance of 20 wins. But in my mind it goes to none other than Ubaldo Jiminez. Jiminez is 18-6 with a 2.75 ERA. Yes, this is very comparable to the other two. But, Jiminez pitches in a much more hitter friendly park than that of Halladay or Wainwright. Everygame this guy pitches from here on out is a big game, and he is a big game pitcher. If his team makes the comeback as we have been acustomed to, then he deserves it even more in my opinion.

NL MVP: Since the all-star break, 2 names have been being dropped for the MVP. Alber Pujols and Joey Votto. Both are very good and are having stellar years. We are used to it from Pujols, yes, and in a few years we will be used to it from Votto. I had been on the fence about who i liked in this race. I like Votto's spunk. He has been thrown out of 4 games this year by arguing for himself and his team. Pujols on the other hand is the consumate professional, currently in his 9th straight year with 100 RBI's and a absolute beast at the plate. Tim Hudson was coined with saying "If you get too much of the plate with this guy, you are either backing up 3rd base or getting a new ball." and he is 100% correct. As i said, both are deserving. But my choice for NL MVP is Carlos Gonzalez out of Colorado. He leads both in batting average, is close in RBI's and is only 1 home run behind Votto (neither will catch Pujols). If you take any of the 3 away from their team, the teams are no where close to where they are. CarGo has burst onto the scene and was part of the deal with Matt Holliday a few years ago.

AL Rookie of the Year: Okay, this is the part where you all will call me a Homer. If i had a vote, it would go to Neftali Feliz, he is currently 1 save away from tying the rookie save record set by Kazihiro Sasake of the Seattle Mariners in 2001. Although, any year that a rookie closer has had a comparable year, and another rookie batted .300 or better, the hitter has always won. Austin Jackson of the Tigers is batting .305 this season, but only has 3 HR and 32 RBI's. My choice is still Feliz.

AL Cy Young: I've heard people say Felix Hernandez should be the shoe in, I've heard people say Clay Buckholtz. It seems they are overlooking the most obvious choice. Yes both of those guys have great stuff. But, Felix pitches in no big games, because the M's have been out of it since about May 5th. Buckholtz was injured for around a month. But C.C. Sabathia has been nothing short of stellar this season. He is the best. Without him the Yankees wouldnt be in such a tight race with the Rays right now, and that's a fact.

AL MVP: A month ago. It was Josh Hamiltons, who had done everything and anything for the Rangers, except for pitching (which is what he was drafted for by the Rays). Then he ran into a wall in Minnesota and hasnt played a game since. No player has ever won a MVP and played less than 10 games in the month of September. He is slated to come back on Thursday to open a set with the Mariners. If he does that, he will play around 15 games in September. If he comes back to the way he was the rest of the year. Then yes, he should win the MVP. Otherwise It will be Miguel Cabrera, who is on pace to break the AL record for most intentional walks.

Hope you all have a great day!