MLB Midseason Awards: American League Edition

I know that this is not a real new topic on Bleacher Report right now, but I would like to give my thoughts on the American League's Mid season Awards.

Looking at the American League right now, we have a vast amount of dominant pitchers as well as some great surprises alongside some disappointments. As we head to the All Star Game in St. Louis, I would like to give the following awards to an MLB team or a specific player. Here are the awards I would like to discuss:

MVP: To the best all-around player in the game

Dominant Division Award: To the most well-rounded division in the AL

Cy Young: Most dominant pitcher in the American League

Comeback Team Award: To the team with the greatest turnaround

Manager of the Season Award: To the manager who has led his team to dominance or may have had a comeback this season

Let Down Award: To the team that had been the biggest disappointment

Mr. Bullpen Award: To the relief pitcher who has been the most consistent.

All Star Snub Award: To the player who was shockingly not in the All Star Game

Overrated All Star Award: To the most overrated player on the team (starter)

Please enjoy my slide show!

Overrated All Star Award: Josh Hamilton

After just edging out over Dustin Pedroia, Josh Hamilton really only got into this game because of his heart-warming comeback last season. The story is certainly touching and very inspirational, but why the hell is he in this game when he has spent a good portion of the season on the disabled list?

Hamilton is really one great player, but he has done nothing outstanding this season because he has been on the DL.

Looking at him, Hamilton was really a result of the All Star voting being more of a popularity contest as usual. There are a select few who just do not deserve to be on the squad, but the fans love them so much that they get on.

Let us look at his stats this season: 6 home runs, 24 RBIs, 40 games played, 23 runs and he's batting .248.

Is that All Star caliber?

Certainly not and I think that others were snubbed because of him. Just the perfect example of the popularity contest in baseball.

All Star Snub Award: Ian Kinsler

Now it truly makes me sick knowing that Dustin Pedroia is starting this All Star Game when he has no business doing so. Right now, Robinson Cano, Ian Kinsler and Aaron Hill should be the three second basemen on this team with Kinsler starting the game.

This was another example of this popularity contest "theory" and even Dustin Pedroia admitted it in an interview that I will get the link for.

Look at the comparison of Pedroia, Hill, and Kinsler (This was from five days ago and Pedroia's numbers are slightly higher, but this was when the All Stars where just voted in so I wanted to use this list.)

HR RBI BA SLG% Runs

Pedroia 3 39 .290 .393 59

Kinsler 19 51 .256 .500 57

Hill 20 59 .299 .503 50

Now who should really be in this game? Kinsler has been a key to the Texas Rangers' success this season and he should not only be in this game, but he should be starting it.

Kinsler is so underrated in the MLB, but even as the Red Sox fan I am, I know that Pedroia is not All Star material this season. Kinsler was really snubbed from this game in my opinion.

I know that Pedroia just dropped out and all, but why the hell did Joe Madden choose another first baseman when we now have one second baseman on the team? Ian Kinsler should be starting this game and it surprises me that Madden would not put him in the game. Brandon Inge won the final vote over Kinsler for heaven's sake.

As smart as Madden is, this move to me was just because Pena is a Ray.

Mr. Bullpen Award: Joe Nathan

Aren't my award names original?

Joe Nathan to me has been the best closer in the American League.

Look at his stats this season: 1-1, 1.13 ERA, 23 saves, 43 Ks

He is one of the most dominant closers in the game and he has also been very reliable. Nathan actually is an All Star this season which I am very glad to see and he also is such a good guy to have in the clubhouse.

Nathan has been phenomenal these past few months of the season and there is really not much I can say on how well he has been doing.

Being on the Twins does hurt him because he probably does not get as much media attention as Jonathan Papelbon and Mariano Rivera but he has still been the premier relief pitcher in the American League in my opinion.

Let Down Award: Oakland Athletics

Some may argue about Cleveland or even the Yankees being a let down, but with Cleveland having a bad year last season and the Yankees acquisitions this season having stepped up as of late, I think it has to go to the last-place A's.

I just think New York should have been a lot better this season. Anyways, after Oakland had acquired Jason Giambi, Matt Holliday and others in the off season, many had projected that the A's would be competing for a playoff spot this season to give the Halos some competition.

Instead, the Athletics are last in the AL West with a 35-49 record with only one All Star this season. Matt Holliday has been decent, the pitching staff has been a let down, and Giambi is a waste of space.

The team is young, but has little experience which hurts them.

Besides Giambi, there is no real veteran with a lot of experience. Garciaparra and Cabrera have been nothing short of what we expected, which was not much. Both of them are vets, but not big leaders that lead the team like John Smoltz, Curt Schilling, Mariano Rivera and Tom Glavine have done for their respective teams in the past.

They have been a real let down considering what we expected and hopefully they can turn around during the second half or maybe even look towards next season.

Also as the Trading Deadline approaches, we could see them trade for younger players. I am certain that Matt Holliday will not be an Athletic, so why not just enter the rebuilding stage once more?

I think they should also look at that, but I am kind of upset considering that their win-loss record really should be in reverse by now.

Manager of The Mid-Season Award: Ron Washington

I was really tied when I had to decide between Washington, Jim Leyland, Terry Francona and Mike Scioscia here, but I thought that much credit should be given to Ron Washington for the success that he has been having with a team that has struggled in the past few years.

The team has the talent and potential in superstars like Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and all their other young talent.

Much like the resurgence of Tampa Bay last season, Texas has risen to the occasion and has been very influenced by Washington.

This team has had a phenomenal turnaround and with their great phenomenal lineup and solid pitching, I think that Texas will be strong competition with the always fearsome Angels in the American League West.

Comeback Team Award: Detroit Tigers

With some fierce competition from Texas and Seattle, I had to award this accolade to the Detroit Tigers.

After the 2008 off season, Detroit was the projected team by many to go to the World Series in the Fall Classic against the New York Mets. Though many knew the Mets would probably choke again, nobody thought that Detroit would be one of the worst teams in the American League.

With a team consisting of Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez, Dontrelle Willis, Gary Sheffield and Curtis Granderson, this looked like a dream team.

Unfortunately the team was an epic fail in 2008. But this season, players like Justin Verlander, Gerald Laird, Brandon Inge, Edwin Jackson and Curtis Granderson have really stepped up and this team has one of the best records in the American League.

What happened in 2008 was really a fluke and now the Detroit Tigers are back to their old winning ways as they look towards having a good chance of being in the Fall Classic.

As long as the team plays at the rate they have so far this season, Detroit is a strong contender to be in the Fall Classic.

Dominant Divison Award: American League East

What is an awards article without the inclusion of Boston and New York?

Anyways as predicted, this division is really the most dominant in the American League. In reality, though I do think that the AL West was a nice surprise, I still think the AL East is still a way tougher division.

Boston, New York and Tampa Bay all have a winning percentage with at least seven games above .500. Also Toronto is no easy team to beat either despite it being a financial disaster.

With three of the top five best American League teams in the division, there is no doubt in my mind that whoever wins this division (Boston, New York, Tampa) will not be winning by a landslide. There will really be a lot more tough competition in the next few months, and to me this is the strongest division in all of baseball.

Cy Young Award: Zack Greinke

Now with a 10-5 record, I really looked at giving this award to Josh Beckett, Felix Hernandez and Roy Halladay, but ultimately I think that this kid has really been the best of the best this season despite the fact that he has cooled down as of late.

Despite his struggles in 2005 and 2007, Greinke has really been one of the premier pitchers in the American League. He is just such a good all-around pitcher who has really been the only real excitement that Kansas City has experienced in a good while.

Let us look at his stats this season: 10 wins, 5 losses, 2.12 ERA, 5 complete games, 127.1 innings pitched, 1.08 WHIP.

Those are truly Cy Young numbers and even after his recent struggles, I feel that Greinke will return to his early season dominance because the kid just has so much to provide for this team, including the possibility of being a good seller as the Trading Deadline nears.

He could potentially go to a team such as the Phillies or the Yankees to have a solid chance of making the playoffs. Though there are no signs of trading him right now, I think that unless KC can do well next year at this time, then Greinke should be traded either this July 31 or Trading Deadline 2010.

But for now we should all celebrate all of his dominance heading into the All Star game.

This may have been my most controversial choice and maybe I am wrong, but I just think Greinke has been better even with two more losses than Halladay, Hernandez and Beckett.

AL MVP Award: Joe Mauer

In what was a tight race between Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, Jason Bay and Zack Greinke, I had to give this award to Joe Mauer. Mauer has really been the most consistent hitter in baseball today, besides Albert Pujols.

Let us take a gander at his stats this season: 63 games played, 15 home runs, 49 runs batted in, a .633 slugging percentage, and a batting average of .381, which leads all of baseball.

He may not be the power hitter that Jason Bay or Justin Morneau are, but he hits to get on base, drive in runs, and stays consistent. He also has some solid power hitting as well and seeing that he bats at the top of the lineup, 49 runs batted in is reasonable.

Mauer has really been a very underrated baseball icon this season and seeing as Albert Pujols will be winning the NL MVP Award, there is no doubt in my mind that Mauer has a good chance of winning it for the American League as long as he stays consistent and remains healthy; both of which have never been a problem for Mauer.

The kid is just so talented and in his fifth season in the big leagues he's finding his power stroke is reaching career highs this season. He's combining that with his always great defensive play behind the plate.

Joe Mauer certainly deserves the honors of the mid season MVP award.

Conclusion

Well this has been a very fun season so far with many exciting plays, surprises and turnarounds. I would like to end on a final note by naming an MVP for each team. Remember, this is just my opinion, so if you do not agree with them, feel free to post your own thoughts on a comment. I would love to hear what some analysts of every team think of their teams this season.

Baltimore Orioles MVP: Nick Markakis
Boston Red Sox MVP: Jason Bay
New York Yankees MVP: Mark Teixiera
Tampa Bay Rays MVP: Carlos Pena/Carl Crawford
Toronto Blue Jays MVP: Roy Halladay
Chicago White Sox MVP: Jermaine Dye
Detroit Tigers MVP: Justin Verlander/Miguel Cabrera
Kansas City Royals MVP: Zack Greinke
Minnesota Twins MVP: Joe Mauer
Cleveland Indians MVP: Shin-Soo Choo
Los Angeles Angels MVP: Torii Hunter
Oakland Athletics MVP: Matt Holliday
Seattle Mariners MVP: Felix Hernandez
Texas Rangers MVP: Ian Kinsler