First-Half Awards Are Definitely Shaded Blue

The first-half awards, or does anyone really expect sanity to save the second half?

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

National League--1. Eric Gagne, Dodgers; 2. Barry Bonds, San Francisco; 3. Shawn Green, Dodgers.

American League--1. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle; 2. Alfonso Soriano, New York; 3. Torii Hunter, Minnesota.

Comment: It could just as easily be Green over Gagne, or 1-2 in either order. Then again, if both are so deserving, if both have contributed equally to the Dodgers’ surprising emergence in the NL West lead, it can be argued that maybe Bonds or Vladimir Guerrero or Sammy Sosa or Lance Berkman, who is on pace to hit 55 home runs and drive in 154 runs, has been more valuable to his team.

At the break, however, the opinion here is that no one has had a more dramatic impact on a playoff-caliber team than Gagne, who came out of blue heaven to turn the Dodgers into a contender and a team that could win the close games long before Green joined the party in late May.

MVP contention in the AL also runs deep, but Suzuki again has the Mariners on a pace for more than 100 wins, even though the hitters behind him aren’t doing what they did last year, when the Mariners won 116.

Soriano is on pace for 40 homers and 40 steals, and although he is far from the only valuable player in the Yankee lineup, there was a temptation to select the 24-year-old Dominican second baseman ahead of Suzuki strictly because he conducts every interview in English, which is something neither Suzuki, with all of his exposure, nor most of his countrymen, including the experienced Hideo Nomo, have tried.

CY YOUNG AWARD

National--1. Gagne; 2. Tom Glavine, Atlanta; 3. Randy Johnson, Arizona.

American--1. Derek Lowe, Boston; 2. Pedro Martinez, Boston; 3. Freddy Garcia, Seattle.

Comment: The opinion here is that it’s possible for a pitcher, particularly a relief pitcher, to be recognized as the most valuable player in the league while not necessarily being the league’s best overall pitcher statistically, which is basically what the Cy Young represents.

However, taking into consideration Gagne’s value to the Dodgers, his statistical and artistic dominance out of the bullpen and the fact he is on pace to break Bobby Thigpen’s single-season save record of 57, we’ll double up on his awards, giving him a slight nod over the resolute Glavine and his glossy 11-4 record and 2.27 earned-run average.

In the AL, Lowe has come out of the Red Sox bullpen to shake off the boos of last year and compile a 12-4 record that could be even better with more support. He also has the league’s best ERA, 2.36, among starters while holding opposing hitters to a .199 batting average.

The right-hander probably will start Tuesday’s All-Star game for the AL, although the Red Sox would rather see him join Martinez on a three-day vacation. Lowe hasn’t pitched more than 123 innings in a big league season and is already up to 118.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

National--Kazuhisa Ishii, Dodgers.

American--Eric Hinske, Toronto.

Comment: I have trouble giving another Japanese player a rookie award considering their wealth of experience at the highest level of baseball in their own country.

However, the precedent was established with Nomo and Suzuki, and they are rookies in the U.S., adjusting to a new culture and game. Ishii, who carries the added pressure of the Dodgers’ significant investment, hasn’t been as good lately as he was earlier, but he is still 11-5 with a 3.58 ERA, one of the NL’s several impressive rookie pitchers, including Jason Simontacchi, Jason Jennings, Damian Moss and Josh Fogg.

Third baseman Hinske, who went to the Blue Jays in the trade that sent closer Billy Koch to Oakland, has 14 homers and 46 RBIs, the best of a comparatively thin AL rookie crop.

MANAGER OF THE YEAR

National--tie between Frank Robinson, Montreal, and Jim Tracy, Dodgers.

American--Grady Little, Boston.

Comment: Thirteen years after he won this award at the helm of the Baltimore Orioles, Frank Robinson is a candidate again at 66, helping bring playoff possibilities to Montreal’s uncertain future. Tracy, of course, has the Dodgers in first place despite a myriad of spring questions, and he has to receive considerable credit for that and the improved chemistry.

Similarly, Little has helped rid the Boston clubhouse of 2001’s toxic fumes and is proving that the several clubs that passed on him over the years, either seeking a higher profile or a manager with big league experience, made a mistake.

In the context of a “name” manager, in other words, Little is big enough.

EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

National--Dan Evans, Dodgers.

American--Brian Cashman, New York.

Comment: Confounding the skeptics, Evans hit the first-half jackpot. How sure he could have been about off-season acquisitions such as Dave Roberts, Cesar Izturis, Omar Daal and Nomo filling the critical roles they have, or Gagne emerging as a premier and pivotal closer after he failed to trade for one, is an interesting question, but the Dodgers are where they are because Evans did what he did.

Cashman, of course, deals from strength--financial and otherwise--but the Yankee general manager has proved adept at keeping George Steinbrenner mollified and aggressively building on that strength. Whether it’s making in-season moves, such as last week’s acquisitions of Raul Mondesi and Jeff Weaver, or the quick, off-season strikes that netted, among others, Jason Giambi, Robin Ventura, Steve Karsay and Rondell White, Cashman/Steinbrenner seldom sit long on their laurels--or payroll ledger.