Future Redbirds

C70 at the Bat asked me to do a fun little ballot for Cardinal awards. As a fellow CCHer from back in the day, I remember these as the Boardie Awards. Anyway, without further ado here is my ballot.

1. Cardinal Pitcher of the Year
*Ryan Franklin
*Jason Isringhausen
*Adam Wainwright
*Write-in: _________________

My pick: I like Adam Wainwright a lot, it’s hard for me not to give him my vote here, but my ballot goes to the Izzy man. After all he had to come back from, it’s pretty outstanding what he did for the team. As the teams’ closer he pitched in key spots and led all pitchers with a 2.75 win probability added.

2. Cardinal Player of the Year
*Chris Duncan
*David Eckstein
*Yadier Molina
*Albert Pujols
*Write-in: ________________

This is a no-brainer pick here. Albert Pujols not only is the team’s best player by far and away, he had a serious argument for MVP. He led the Cardinals in win probability added with 4.65, and he was 2nd in the NL with 19 win shares above bench. And he had an outstanding year defensively. Even in an off year, Albert still is an amazing player.

Game of the Year

3. Game of the Year
*August 9 vs. LAD—Ankiel homers in first game
*August 16 at Mil—2 home runs from Molina, 7 scoreless by Wainwright
*September 17 vs. Phl—Trail 11-0, lost 13-11.
*Write-in: _________________

The Ankiel story was a great one, though now is a tainted memory by the HGH controversy. My vote is a write in, and it’s 4/22 in Chicago. It was a see-saw battle and not a fun game to watch if you like pitching. But it was a fun game to watch if you like drama. In the 9th inning Scott Rolen broke up a 7-7 tie with a 2 RBI triple, only to see Izzy cough up one of the two saves he blew all year. Albert Pujols then hit a 3 run homer against Ryan Dempster in the 10th to give the Cardinals a 12-9 lead. It was a nationally televised game and living in Iowa surrounded by Cub fans, it’s always nice to be able come into work on Monday and have something like that to rub in the faces of my Cub fan co-workers.

4. Cardinal Rookie of the Year
*Brendan Ryan
*Write-in: _________________

I know Ankiel doesn’t count as a rookie player, but he was a rookie as a hitter. If that counts, I give my vote to him. If the collaboration isn’t in agreement, then Ryan is my man.

5. Surprise of the Year
*Jocketty firing
*LaRussa returning
*Third-place finish
*Write-in: ________________________

I know we heard a lot in the press about Jocketty’s unhappiness, but it still came as a shock to me. However for me, the bigger surprise was TLR’s return. I always thought Jock and La Russa were two peas in a pod, so it was surprising to see La Russa return. It was even more surprising to hear him be open to a youth movement. Talk is cheap, we’ll see if he lives it out.

6. Cardinal Blog of the Year (no voting for yourself!)
*Get Up, Baby!
*Obviously, You’re Not a Golfer
*Viva El Birdos
*Write-in: ________________________

I’m going to go for a write-in again. I wrote for VEB on Sundays this past season, so I don’t know if that counts as voting for yourself. I love all these blogs, but one blog I’ve enjoyed for years now is Fungoes. It’s great for all things Cardinal from a sabermetric point of view, full of the analysis, rebuttals, Keith Hernandez love and Seinfeldisms. It’s good stuff.

7. Surprise Player of the Year
*Rick Ankiel
*Ryan Franklin
*Yadier Molina
*Write-in: _________________

I’ll go Ankiel here. Many wrote off his come back as a hitter as a prolonging of his tragedy. Out of the ashes the phoenix arose, though like I mentioned before, the HGH thing has beclouded a feel good story.

8. Disappointing Player of the Year
*Chris Carpenter
*Adam Kennedy
*Anthony Reyes
*Scott Rolen
*Kip Wells
*Write-in: __________________

Ugh. What an ugly reminder of what a horrid season it was. All of these players were disappointing. Some were because of injuries. I guess Kennedy was the most disappointing. I didn’t expect him a superstar, but I expected him to be at least solid. What I didn’t expect was for him to be is the worst regular in the game.

9. New Cardinal Acquisition of the Year
*Adam Kennedy
*Joel Pineiro
*Kip Wells
*Write-in: ______________

Another write in: Russ Springer. For $ 1.75 M, Springer had 7 win shares above bench. He arguably deserved more of the high leverage roles then Franklin and had a higher BRAA (batting runs above average, a run probability stat from Tangotiger.) then any pitchers with 20.70.

10. Most Anticipated Cardinal
*Colby Rasmus
*Mitchell Boggs
*P.J. Walters
*Jamie Garcia
*Write-in: ________________

Any one who reads this blog, or has a brain for that matter, would know I vote Rasmus here.