Philadelphia Phillies: Tops in MLB, but Will They Capture Any Individual Honors?

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Like that Old Man River, the Philadelphia Phillies just keep rolling along.

Even after Monday's 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals and a rare series loss, the Phillies still clinched home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Actually, it was the first four-game series all year that they haven't at least split.

The Phils are where they want to be, and they have the luxury of resting certain players for the postseason—the "real" season for a team that is trying to meet its great expectations.

Indeed, if they win at least four games out of their remaining 10, they will set a franchise record.

Although it is all about the postseason for baseball's elite, it's not as if the 162-game, always-entertaining grind was of no importance. Several Phillies have had award-caliber seasons.

Which ones should be rewarded for them?

Will Roy Halladay repeat as the National League Cy Young Award winner?  What about his rotation-mates, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels?

Who deserves MVP consideration?

Will that bespectacled fan favorite known as "Vanimal" walk away with Rookie of the Year honors?

And how about Uncle Charlie Manuel, who has presided over the best team in baseball?

Take a look at several Phillies players (and a manager) who deserve to figure into the balloting—per my own, still-mythical ballot.

What Do You Mean by "Should?"

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Thank you for asking.

What follows is not my prediction of who will win the awards, but my sense of who deserves to win and place in the various categories.

Two notes here.

My focus is the Phillies, as that's my "beat," but I have approached this with objectivity as an MLB fan and frequent columnist.

I am writing on the morning of September 19. The games of the next nine days could change my placements.

So consider this to have been typed with a sharp pencil.

As far as methodology, I'm aware of traditional stats and newer stats and try not be a slave to either.

For more of my thoughts on this topic, you may wish to read my take on all this.

On with the show.

Ryan Howard and the NL MVP Candidates

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In his five previous seasons in the bigs, Ryan Howard has won an MVP and finished in the Top 10—second, third, fifth and 10th—the other four years. Where should he be this year?

It seems as if "new stats" guys don't like Howard. His OPS is a career-low .833, his fielding is improved, but still just okay, he strikes out in bunches and even one of his "old stats" (batting average) is at a career-low .249.

I get all that, but guess what? He still leads the league in RBI, and he hasn't had the steadiest or best No. 3 and No. 4 hitters around him this year.

Who else should figure in the balloting? Shane Victorino has been the Phils' steadiest offensive player all year, but I'm not sure (with his recent slight dip in numbers) that he merits a Top 10.

Hunter Pence has been a godsend to the team, but the majority of his numbers were accumulated with the lowly Astros.

It's hard to put a starting pitcher in the mix (unless you can create a Cole Halla-Lee) and Ryan Madson has had a very strong year as the closer, but he hasn't been MVP-caliber dominant.

When it comes to MVP balloting, I don't ignore monster seasons put up by players from teams that did not contend, but I do consider the standings to some degree.  This isn't an exact science.

So, my choice for NL MVP is...

NL MVP Rankings

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My choice for MVP is Ryan...Ryan Braun, left fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers.

In the last week, Braun seemed to be doing everything he could to make sure his Brewers did not go into a free-fall.

He was winning games with walk-off, tenth-inning bombs, belting more homers to join the 30-30 club and getting enough hits to capture first place in batting average (.333). He also leads the league in OPS (.990).

Barring a Brewers collapse to miss the postseason, Braun has emerged as my clear favorite.

The toughest part is knowing where to rank outstanding seasons from players on non-contenders, including the Reds' Joey Votto, the Rockies' Troy Tulowitski, the Mets' Jose Reyes (although he has missed lots of games) and of course, the Dodgers' Matt Kemp, who has kept the Dodgers from being the Astros. Well, he and Clayton Kershaw—more on him later.

In the past week, the Cardinals surge to relevancy (combined with the Braves' slump) has made Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman viable candidates again.

With no gun to my head, here is my current MVP ranking:

1. Ryan Braun - Brewers

2. Matt Kemp - Dodgers

3. Justin Upton - Diamondbacks

4. Prince Fielder - Brewers

5. Albert Pujols - Cardinals

6. Ryan Howard - Phillies

My final four spots would probably include: Votto, Tulowitski, Berkman and Victorino

NL Cy Young Award

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The Phillies' starting rotation has been the best in the majors this year, thanks to (mostly) Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels.

Even rookie sensation Vance Worley has been sensational, but he's not yet a Cy Young Award contender.  Rookie of the Year? Stay tuned.

The top four on my personal CYA ballot have been very close, and indeed, both Cliff Lee of the Phillies and Clayton Kershaw pitch tonight to bolster their candidacies.

In a year with no clear-cut favorite, the last couple of starts for each contending (for the award) pitcher may tilt the balance.

On my own ballot, I see any of the following four pitchers as being in the mix—Halladay, Lee, Clayton Kershaw and Ian Kennedy, of the Diamondbacks.

However, Kershaw is my choice unless something wild happens in these next nine games.

My top seven are:

 

1. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers - 19-5, 2.30.

Kershaw leads the league in WHIP, BAA, ERA and strikeouts. And if he beats Tim Lincecum and the Giants yet again tonight, he will tie Kennedy with 20 wins.

It should be held for him—and not against him—that he has done all this for the Dodgers.

 

2. Cliff Lee, Phillies - 16-7, 2.38.

Lee ranks first in shutouts, second in complete games and strikeouts and third in WHIP and ERA.

 

3. Roy Halladay, Phillies - 18-6, 2.41

Doc ranks first in innings pitched and complete games, third in strikeouts and fourth in ERA and WHIP.

 

4. Ian Kennedy, Diamondbacks - 20-4, 2.88

The winningest pitcher in the NL ranks fifth in innings and WHIP, sixth in strikeouts and ninth in ERA.

Tough luck, poor run support and a slight decline in his performance have kept Cole Hamels (14-9, 2.80) out of my top four.

Hamels is a definite top 10 and a possible top five. He's in that second-tier mix with pitchers such as Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong of the Giants—and perhaps Johnny Cueto (Reds) or one of the Braves starters (Tim Hudson or Jair Jurrjens).

Vance Worley: Rookie of the Year?

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Vance Worley has been an unexpected treasure, a godsend to the rotation and a quasi-folk hero.

In Rookie of the Year balloting, starting pitchers, relievers and everyday players are all to be considered.

Worley presents terrific numbers: 11-2, 2.85 with a good WHIP (1.17) and a favorable K/BB ratio. To top it off, the Phillies are 16-4 in his starts.

That's all good news. The more sobering news is that the Vanimal's Rookie-of-the-Year chances seem to have been blocked by two Atlanta Braves—first baseman Freddie Freeman and closer Craig Kimbrel.

I'm sure Worley will seek solace in the Phillies' having clinched the NL East with a 12-game margin over Los Bravos.  Hey, the Mets have three fine rookies (Justin Turner, Dillon Gee and Lucas Duda) and they're more than 14 games behind—the Braves!

My top three Rookies would be:

 

1. Craig Kimbrel, Braves - 4-3, 2.03, 45 saves (7 blown saves), 124 K/ 29 BB in 75.1 innings.

2. Freddie Freeman, Braves - .288 / 19/ 73  (.805 OPS)

3. Vance Worley,  Phillies - 11-2, 2.85, 108 K / 40 BB in 123 innings.

NL Manager of the Year

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It is hard to be recognized as the Manager of the Year when the team you pilot is supposed to be the cream of the crop.

That is the plight (if you wish to call it that) that Charlie Manuel faces.

The Phillies will conclude the regular season with the best record in baseball and should soon establish a franchise record for wins in a season.

This NL East pennant is their fifth consecutive crown.

So, what impact did Manuel have, other than saying, "Here, Doc (or Cliff, or Cole, or even Vance) take the ball, and pitch your butt off, as usual."

It wasn't that simple, as the team was once again hit with an inordinate amount of injuries, hampering the ability of many of his players to perform for long stretches—Chase Utley, Roy Oswalt, Domonic Brown, Brad Lidge, Jose Contreras and Joe Blanton to name some of them.

So, does Manuel get my vote? 

Charlie sometimes befuddles me with his moves and explanations, but he knows his team inside and out, and they love playing for him. He has done a great job once again, but he would be my runner-up to Kirk Gibson, skipper of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Coming off a horrid 65-97 season that saw them finish 27 games behind the World Champion Giants, the D-Backs are 5.5 games ahead of the Giants at 89-65. If they split their remaining eight games, not only are they assured of winning the NL West, but they will have improved their record by 28 games.

Charlie's been outstanding, but Captain Kirk deserves to win the hardware this year.

 

Matt Goldberg, a featured columnist for the Philadelphia Phillies and all-around baseball fanatic, is also a noted humor author and speaker. For more information, please visit www.tipofthegoldberg.com