Major League Baseball: Mid-Season Awards Blowout

Harrison Ford has gone on record as saying he wouldn't mind pulling the whip out for a fifth movie. After that last one, I'm praying to a various assortment of deities that he'll save some dignity and retire the whip. Even Han Solo never did anything that left you scratching your head this much.

This award is a tie. Jim Leyland gets it for steadfastly sticking with Jason Grilli during the early part of the season, even though he's not much of a pitcher. The Tigers could be a lot closer to first place in the AL Central if Grilli could hold a lead, or was framed for murder during spring training.

Jim Leyland also gets a nod for continuing to throw Fernando Rodney out there. He's got a WHIP of 1.60 and an ERA of 7.71, yet he still gets used. Didn't Leyland learn his lesson with Grilli?

I believe that Rodney is a much better pitcher than Grilli, but probably needs a decent amount of time in the minors to find the control on his fastball. Right now, hitters are either sitting on his change or taking a walk. The Tigers could be a lot closer to first place in the AL Central if Rodney could hold a lead.

Also nominated: Seattle's manager platoon for playing Richie Sexson every day (they were recently removed from consideration for this award.)

The Detective John Kimble Award for lack of plate discipline

Ryan Howard, for making Adam Dunn look like Placido Polanco. Howard is on pace for something like 847 strikeouts this season. It's only July and he's already got 129 of them, 30 more than the aforementioned Dunn.

Somehow, he's hit 28 home runs and batted in 84 runs. More than a quarter of his hits have been home runs. This is such a weird stat line.

Also nominated: Adam Dunn, Pedro Cerrano.

The Isuro "Taka" Tanaka Memorial Marbles Trophy

Clete Thomas of the Detroit Tigers for doing whatever it takes to keep Jim Leyland from sending him back down to the minors. He sprays hits all over the field, has gone into the bleachers catching a foul ball, and is doing it all with one of the best names in the entire league.

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