My 2009 National League award winners
As I did yesterday with the American League, I'm offering my meaningless best and worst performers from the National League year that was.
MVP - Albert Pujols, 1B, STL
Derrek Lee had a phenominal season for the Cubs ... and he finished 12 home runs, 33 runs scored, 24 RBI and .021 in batting average behind the great Pujols. The St. Louis slugger didn't win the triple crown, but he competed in all categories, finishing third in batting average at .327, first in homers with 47 and third in RBI with 135. While nobody was in the same universe in Pujols, Hanley Ramirez of Florida, Prince Fielder of Milwaukee, Pablo Sandoval of San Francisco and Lee all deserve a mention for putting together fantastic seasons.
Cy Young - Chris Carpenter, SP, STL
If postseason stats counted, I might nudge Carpenter's teammate, Adam Wainwright, past him after Carpenter was very average in defeat on Wednesday. They don't matter, and during the regular season, Carpenter was the best in the NL. His 2.24 ERA led the league by a pretty wide margin over the 2.48 posted by San Francisco's Tim Lincecum. Carpenter went a dominant 17-4, and his WHIP was an overwhelming 1.01. Wainwright was the rock-solid workhorse for the Cardinals, and Lincecum was again great, but Carpenter was the best in the league.
Rookie of the Year - J.A. Happ, SP, PHI
As good as Randy Wells was in Chicago, going 12-10 despite getting very inconsistent run support, with a 3.05 ERA, Happ was better on a better team. The St. Bede High School alum debuted at 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA in 166 innings of work. His two shutouts tied with four others for the league lead. Chris Coughlan also deserves strong consideration, having hit .321 with 84 runs scored for Florida.
Manager of the Year - Jim Tracy, COL
Tony La Russa is a great manager who had one of his greatest seasons, guiding St. Louis past the favored Cubs to win the NL Central. But nothing tops the job done by Tracy in getting the Rockies to the wild card. They went 74-42 after he took over for Clint Hurdle on May 29. Under Hurdle, they were 18-28. Tracy never struck me as a very impressive manager during his previous stints in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, but the turnaround he directed in 2009 was nothing short of remarkable.
Executive of the Year - John Mozeliak, STL
There aren't many great candidates here. Ned Coletti put together a pretty good team in Los Angeles, but he benefited from a ton of young players coming up that have excelled. Ed Wade didn't add too much to the defending champion Phillies, though the Raul Ibanez signing paid dividends. The reason I'm hesitant to go with Mozeliak is that he actually had a poor offseason. Most of his minor moves (the Khalil Greene addition, for one) didn't work out. But he made some great in-season moves, trading for Mark DeRosa and then Matt Holliday, who helped carry the Cards to the playoffs (though he cost them a playoff game with a dropped fly ball Thursday night).
Least Valuable Player - Milton Bradley, OF, CHC
Before explaining my selection of Bradley, I need to apologize to Cubs utilityman Aaron Miles, who did everything he could to make himself eligible for this award on the field. He couldn't match the on- and off-the-field drain to the league's winningest 2008 team that Bradley was. Batting .257 with FORTY RBI in 393 at bats was bad enough for one of the worst free-agent acquisitons in baseball history. Being such an awful teammate that the Cubs suspended him for the rest of the season on Sept. 20 made Bradley the least valuable player I can remember in some time.
Bonehead of the Year - Jim Hendry, GM, CHC
Virtually everyone Hendry brought aboard last offseason was a candidate for at least one of these final two "awards." Um, that's not a very good reflection on the general manager. Other than acquiring Jeff Baker during the season, every move Hendry made hurt his team rather than helped it. The result was 14 fewer victories than the previous year and a complete mess of a roster awaiting the new owners.
