Mid-Season Awards [David Stefanini]

With the baseball season set to kickoff the second half of the year, I figured this would be a good time to say who I feel are deserving of the major awards.

NL MVP - Jose Reyes: Surely I am biased with this vote, seeing how Jose is my favorite player, but he deserves this award. Think about it. The New York Mets are completely torn apart with injuries. From there bullpen, to their starting rotation, to complete decimation of the outfield, and considering Carlos Delgado lost his swing, there still in first place! Why? Jose Reyes. He has an OBP of .387 and is making the rest of the Majors look bad when it comes to stealing bases. He gets on first, he steals second maybe even third, and scores a run. When he is on base the pitcher and defense gets so nervous they commit many unforced errors. Reyes in the MVP.

AL MVP - ARod: Not even close here. I have heard many people give the award to Magglio Ordonez or Vladimir Guerrero, give me a break. ARod is having a year for the record books. How many game winning homers has he hit? How many wins would the Yankees have without him? By himself he has kept this team in the Wild Card race. And if the New York Yankees make it to the playoffs, the main reason will be ARod.

NL Cy Young - Jake Peavy: This is a very difficult choice to make. I can think of three people who deserve this award. Jake Peavy gets the nod for me because I feel he has the best stuff and leads the NL in strikeouts. If he is on his game, he can strike 10-15 batters easily. To go along with his dominating pitches, he can get double play balls with his great sinker. That is why he is sporting a 2.19 ERA.

AL Cy Young - Johan Santana: I know this pick is going to get many fans upset. Most people feel Dan Haren is having the best year but let me say this. Santana has as many wins (should have more but his team doesn't score for him), more strikeouts, more complete games, more shutouts, and less hits given up than Haren. Yes, Haren's ERA is lower than Santana, but Santana has played far superior teams than Haren has. Santana gets the Cy Young because if it is Game 7 of the World Series, who do you want pitching? Assuming you have watched baseball over the past 5 years, your answer is Johan Santana.

NL Reliever - Francisco Cordero: Its time for me to come clean with this pick. Why did I give the award to Cordero? Because he leads the NL in saves.

AL Reliever - J.J. Putz: I should not have to explain why he gets this award. He has been the best pitcher in baseball from day one. If you need proof, look at his ERA and WHIP.

Laker's Clinch, Kobe Plays Like MVP [David Stefanini]

Ok so this is getting old:

Kobe Bryant scored 50 points, 28 in the 2nd half, tonight against the Seattle Sonics and leds the Lakers to a playoff clinching win.

It is highly unlikely that Kobe will win the MVP Award, but is anyone more deserving? Sure, Dirk Nowitzski is the best player on a team with 65+ wins and yes it's true Steve Nash is having a better season this season than his previous 2 MVP years. But think about what Kobe has accomplished this year. This marks the 10th game he has scored 50 points. Remember last year when he was scoring, he was taking 40 shots and not getting his team involved, however this time it's totally different. Kobe hit 18 of only 25 shots and was looking to help his teammates throughout the game.

We already know he is the best scorer in the league but what is typically overlooked is how he brings something that Dirk and Nash can only dream about, defense. Nash can not play an ounce of defense and Dirk isn't exactly known for his defensive presence. Whereas Kobe is a defensive stopper, 1-1 he can shut down most players in the league. If the Lakers lost Kobe they would score roughly 40 points a game and mine as well not show up in the gym.

Kobe's the best player in the league and I am hearing talk of G.O.A.T. I wouldn't say he is better than Jordan, but at this pace who knows what we will consider him in 2-3 years. Shouldn't someone who is being mentioned in the same breathe as Jordan be the MVP? Someone who goes out and wins games by himself be the MVP? Someone who had his reputation spit on and ruined and managed to turn it back around to new uncharted highs be the MVP? Someone who led his team to the playoffs be the MVP? Shouldn't someone who is simply the best player in the game be the MVP?