MVPs: Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter
-These seem to be the clear choices, even for blockhead voters. Pujols' biggest competition is Ryan Howard, who didn't "get his team to the playoffs," nor did he break the home run record, as many (including myself) posited he might. Jeter's competition lies in Travis Hafner and David Ortiz, both designated hitters, which, as we saw last year, takes a toll on your MVP votes. Plus, apparently no one seems to know who Travis Hafner even is, even though he has a career .297/.402/.583 (BA/OBP/SLG) line.

Cy Young: Johan Santana, Roy Oswalt
-Johan seems to be a shoo-in after his infuriating snub last season (Bartolo Colon? What?). His competition lies in Roy Halladay and Chien-Ming Wang. Oswalt deserves the award in the NL, but Carpenter will likely get it, even though he was just the third-best pitcher in the league this season, behind Oswalt and Brandon Webb. But Carpenter's team made the playoffs, and so obviously he pitched better this season than the other two. Hope for Oswalt lies in the fact that he and Carpenter had 15 "Wins" each, while Webb had just 16 (tied for the league lead). Really, the three had pretty comparable statistics, so I wouldn't mind any of them winning the award. But again, Carpenter's team made the playoffs, so he'll probably get the award.

Rookie of the Year: Hanley Ramirez, Francisco Liriano
-The NL race seems to be pretty clear, with Ramirez having absolutely no competition anywhere. Ramirez' VORP: 54.9. Closest competitor: Clay Hensley, 40.8. Liriano's VORP, on the other hand: 51.0. Closest competitors: Justin Verlander, 47.5, and Jered Weaver, 46.5. Any of these three would be a good choice, but I can't tell whom the voters will select - Liriano or Verlander. Weaver hasn't gotten quite the press that these two got this season, even though he pitched 123 innings to Liriano's 121.

Silver Slugger Award Winners, According to RARP (AL, NL):

C: Joe Mauer, Brian McCann
1B: Justin Morneau, Albert Pujols
2B: Robinson Cano, Chase Utley
SS: Derek Jeter, Hanley Ramirez
3B: Alex Rodriguez, Miguel Cabrera
LF: Manny Ramirez, Jason Bay
CF: Grady Sizemore, Carlos Beltran
RF: Jermaine Dye, J.D. Drew
P: Dontrelle Willis
DH: Travis Hafner (replaces Morneau if you consider DHs equivalent to 1Bmen)