Mid-Season Awards

Well, 81 games are done, and we find ourselves 3 games up in the loss column over the Red Sox.  Let's be honest, if someone told you at the beginning of the year that Phil Hughes would be DL'd almost the entire first half, that Derek Jeter would continue to decline, that Jorge Posada would play so poorly that people discussed cutting him, that Soriano would miss almost the entire first half, that Joba would have his season end with TJ surgery, and that Nick Swisher would only have 3 HR through the first 2 months of the season, would you have thought we'd be where we are right now?  The team has been saved by the likes of Bartolo Colon, David Robertson, Curtis Granderson, and Freddie Garcia's insane BABIP luck.  The following are my team awards for the first half.

Offensive Player of the Half-Year:  Curtis Granderson

Now this is the Curtis Granderson we all thought we were getting last year when the trade was made to bring him to NY.  Actually, no.  This is better than the guy we thought we were getting.  Curtis has a sparkling 158 wRC+, tied for 4th best in the AL.  The only CF in baseball out-hitting him is Matt Kemp, who is seeing some number inflation from BABIP. 

Curtis' career high for HR is 30 back in 2009.  He's on pace to hit 44.  I remember one particularly smart PSA contributor saying that 40 HR from Granderson was very possible as he made the switch from Comerica to Yankee Stadium.  The biggest difference with Curtis has been his new-found ability to hit lefties.  He's sporting a 150 wRC+ against LHP so far this year, a far cry from his career 71 mark. Runner-Up:  Alex Rodriguez.

Defensive Player of the Half-Year:  Brett Gardner

This 4th outfielder, who also is a total rally killer, has a ridiculous 14.3 UZR compiled already, which translates to a whopping 34.8 UZR/150.  For those of you who would like more data to justify these numbers, his UZR/150 for last year was 31.8, so I think it's safe to say that he is ridiculous.  DRS agrees, and has him at a 14.  Beyond the stats, though, what have you seen?  Gardner runs down balls that I've never seen other outfielders get to.  You want to know why Garcia's ERA is so low?  You don't have to look much further than Brett Gardner.  GGBG is better at his position than anyone else in baseball, and if he doesn't win a Gold Glove this year, I will go on a crazed shooting spree.  Runner-Up:  Alex Rodriguez.

Fireman of the Half-Year:  David Robertson

Remember all the Jo-So-Mo talk at the beginning of the year?  People forgot the Ro part, who has been the best reliever on the team so far this year.  Robertson has the fourth lowest ERA among relievers in baseball with at least 20 IP, the third lowest FIP, and the third highest K/9.  He has been absolutely dominant, as the extra mph he has found on his fastball this year has turned a quality reliever into an almost unhittable one.  He's only blown 2 leads he was handed all year, and if I remember correctly, both times the runners were not his, he was coming in to try and clean up a mess.  Runner-Up:  Mariano Rivera.

Cy Young of the Half-Year:  CC Sabathia

As always, CC is the epitome of consistency.  He's out there throwing 7 or 8 innings every fifth day, and he's been great this year.  His 3.9 WAR is third among all starters in baseball.  His 129.1 IP is fourth in baseball.  His average Gamescore per start has been a 57, which is right in line with his average of 58 last year and 57 the year before.  Colon has arguably had a better first half in terms of his numbers, but the 50 IP discrepancy between them gives the award to CC. Runner-Up:  Bartolo Colon.

MVP of the Half-Year:  Curtis Granderson

When you combine the best hitter with above average defense at a premium position, you get your MVP of the half-year.  There's not much more I can say about Curtis that I didn't already above, so I'll take this space to talk about our runner-up, Alex Rodriguez.  Alex started the season red hot, with a 171 wRC+ through the end of April.  He cooled down in May, compiling just a 106, but heated back up to a 172 for the month of June.  The last time Arod has 2 months of 170+ wRC+ in a single season was 2008.  He didn't even have one month over 160 last year.  Along with his great offense, Arod has been playing fantastic defense, leading all major league 3B in UZR and DRS.  All these things combined suggest to me that Arod is the healthiest he's been in years, and he's finally getting used to playing third base. 

It's been a good first half for us overall, and I have a feeling that after all the injuries and issues we've gone through, things can only go up from here.