Baseball is Poop - Whoa Oh, We're Halfway There Edition

With most teams having played 81 games, now is a good time go back and look at the cool stats of the first half. But first let's hand out some half-season awards.

National League MVP
Lance Berkman
He leads the league in runs and RBI. He's only 2 homers back but he's slugging almost .700 miles ahead of anyone else in the league. The only problem is, the Astros are 10 games back. But if he goes 135-135 with 40 homers and an OPS above 1.100, he's the MVP.
If I had a second choice it would be Dan Uggla, given the overachieving record of his team, coupled with the lack of other strong performers (other than Ramirez) in his lineup.

American League MVP
Josh Hamilton
This one's a no-brainer. He's leading the league in homers and RBIs but maybe the surprising nature of his season is what has me. Despite being on pace for 37 homers and 152 RBI the case could be made against him.
If I had a second place vote it would go to his teammate Milton Bradley who leads the AL in batting, on base and slugging.

National League Cy Young
Edinson Volquez
He leads NL starters in ERA, hits per 9 and Ks per 9. He gives up too many walks but that's about all you can say.
Tim Lincecum was a very close second but he had 2 bad starts to only 1 bad one by Volquez. I'm giving Volquez a freebie for his relief appearance which resulted in a loss and Lincecum's game where he gave up 4 unearned runs but was let off the hook.

American League Cy Young
Justin Duchsherer
This choice may surprise some people who only look at won-loss record to evaluate a pitcher. Record is one tool to judge pitchers, but it's about 5th or 6th on the list. ERA is number one, and he leads the league by half a run. I also look at the performance on a start by start basis and he has allowed more than 2 earned runs in only 1 game. He did allow 6 runs (5 unearned) in one start, but the A's won that game so we'll give him a pass. He missed three starts due to injury and was held to a pitch count in others, explaining his low win and innings and strikeout totals. Although his Ks per 9 is weak no matter what. But you can truly discount his 5 losses because his ERA is 2.64 in those games.
Cliff Lee is a clear second choice, but he's had 3 really poor games, so I couldn't justify selecting him over another pitcher with zero, just because he has 3 more wins and 4 fewer losses.

National League Rookie of the Year
Geovany Soto
He's on pace for 25 homers and 90 RBI which are excellent numbers for any rookie or any catcher, but great numbers for a rookie catcher.
The retarded sportswriters will probably give it to Soto's teammate Fukudome just because he gets more press but Soto leads him in OPS by a decent margin and for him to do what he's doing as a catcher is doubly impressive.
As a matter of fact, I'd put Fukudome 4th on my list, behind Jair Jurrgens and Joey Votto.

Note: Edinson Volquez pitched in 20 games over the 2005, 2006 and 2007 season and is not considered a rookie.

American League Rookie of the Year
Evan Longoria
Any rookie who hits 30 home runs is almost a shoo-in. His batting and on-base are a little low but his slugging is excellent and his OPS is very good. If he picks up the pace a little, he'll be a 30 homer 100 RBI man, that'll definitely win him the rookie of the year award.
David Murphy should be second, not Jacoby Ellsbury. Armando Galarraga is a dark horse.

Feelin' Chipper
Now that Chipper Jones has fallen to .394 it doesn't seem like he has a chance at .400. But if these injuries keep his at bat total low, he could make a late run at it if he gets hot.

Anks for the Memories
Unheraled rhyming pitchers Josh Banks and John Danks are quietly having good seasons. Danks is only 5-4 but has a 2.64 ERA for the White Sox. He's only had 2 bad starts and gotten no decision in 2 games in which he didn't allow a run.
Banks allowed only 1 earned run in his first 4 games (23 innings) and since then has slowed down, but he's still got a 2.33 ERA and a 2-2 record.

El Savior
Francisco Rodriguez is on pace to save 63 games, giving him some cushion to slow down and still break Bobby Thigpen's record of 57.

If the Playoffs Started Today
The Tampa Bay Rays would have the best record in the majors and face the White Sox in the first round. The Red Sox would play the Angels.
The Cubs have the best record in the NL and would play the .500 Diamondbacks. That would leave the Phillies to play the Cardinals.

Run Differential Says
Judging by runs scored vs. runs allowed (a very flawed way of looking at things) and using it as a predictor (because it does tend to indicate which teams are winning close games, something that in theory should even out), the Blue Jays, Braves and Indians will do better in the second half. The Marlins and possibly the Twins are playing above their heads and could fall.

Roar
And watch out for the Tigers. They started off impossibly slowly with that horribly up and down offense, pounding people one day and getting shut out the next. But they appear ready to turn it around and fulfill those preseason predictions of greatness.

Predictions Redux
I like the Angels against the Cubs in the World Series with the Angels winning it all.