Let's Talk Awards...

[BradZ]

Batavia and MattG have impressed me with what they've done in a highly competitve division.

What's truly amazing is Batavia is getting it done with what is essentially a $16.9mil payroll (taking away Alsina's useless $21mil figure). Unreal.

[Matt]

Thanks for the love. We've had a good run this season, I'll admit far more than I could have imagined. I'm excited about the next few seasons in Batavia.

[Carlos]

I think the J. Allen is going to be the toughest one for me this year because I can see a lot of guys who did little things in the offseason to improve themselves.

Clay made a big splash trade in the offseason and kept himself in contention. We'll see where he is in September.

Matt is like a honor of a few years of stockpiling talent. He missed with a lot of guys, but slowly but surely his team is benefitting from his patience and you can see that on the field now.

In a division I think is ridiculously tough, for Ryan to keep his team at its current pace is impressive as well. I was ready to hand him this award for making two of the biggest trades at the deadline, but he actually hasn't seen the benefits of those moves yet. Maybe he will.

Linty is without the reigning MVP and as of this post his team has the same winning percentage as last year. Gotta take notice.

Of course, Eric with Davenport and bringing that team back up to the status that is expected in this league. Good pickup in Elliot. Llambert and O'Loughlin, however, are not trades that are working so far.

Pat turned his team into a juggernaut. Andrew continues to keep his team at the top of its division. I admittedly prefer voting for guys that took teams from the bottom to the top or showed they can contend so Pat and Andrew might be out, but they deserve recognition for their efforts.

And there are other guys that belong here.

I'm just relieved that my patience helped me rebound from the loss of Leonel Tesina to Free Agency last year and then turn that around into trading away Joe Seagarra. I had faith in Kip Higgins getting into the lineup and Seagarra (despite the difference in position) was blocking him. Trading Seagarra allowed me to slot Sanchez at DH and move Higgins to short where he joined Kifle Al-Sadat in the All-Star Game.

[Jim]

I'm leaning towards Linty, partially for pulling off the trade with Baltimore, which freed up a ton of money for him. I don't remember what moves he made after that but at the time I think he was about 3-4 games out of first. So it freed up money & he moved into 1st place. I think that was a key move for Cali.

[Lintyfresh85]

I'm leaning towards Linty, partially for pulling off the trade with Baltimore, which freed up a ton of money for him. I don't remember what moves he made after that but at the time I think he was about 3-4 games out of first. So it freed up money & he moved into 1st place. I think that was a key move for Cali.

The only other move I made was to trade away Britt Bovey.

Basically, I've freed up over 22 million this year and I'm just sitting on it. Kind of like Scrooge McDuck!



I'm sure I'll be a big player in FA this year with that 20+ million available.

[Clay]

As much as I am impressed by his season, I can't vote for Linty for the same reason I couldn't vote for Spectre last season... someone else had the biggest impact on his season.

[Lintyfresh85]

I'll share the PM I sent Linty earlier that sums up my feelings....<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

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For the record, you just got my J Allen Wright vote for that trade. That may be the worst trade I've ever seen.<o:p></o:p>
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Save the fact that you don't bailout the team chasing you in your division.... he doesn't get Pat Coleman... he doesn't get a #1.... then he gives up a Pitcher who has great ratings in Nelson for a guy like Lopez who looks like total smoke and mirrors.<o:p></o:p>
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Wow. Bad deal by him.<o:p></o:p>
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I don't blame you for jumping at it.<o:p></o:p>

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I'll be counting on your vote.

[BradZ]

I'll be counting on your vote.

There you go again Linty, using the same Jedi mind tricks you used on BAL to get the deal done in the first place.

[Clay]

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I'll be counting on your vote.

Since when can you trust anything I say?

Plus, at the time it just looked like a ridiculously bad trade... the actual results make "worst trade in BLB history" look like an understatement.

That being said... you may still get my vote... depends what you can do against Philly this month.

[Lintyfresh85]

My picks for the award.

J. Allen Wright - Carlos - Denver / Matt - Batavia
Two organizations that are doing it the right way. They've built from the ground up and now success is finally finding two great owners.

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DL Stout Slugger - Teagan Cannell - C - Syracuse
Any catcher that can hit above .360 gets my vote. What a force this guy has been.

DL Pale Ale Pitcher - Tino Suarez - SP - Maine
Beast. A 1.01 WHIP in the DL is fantastic.

DL Last Call Relief - Adrian Diaz - CL - Dallas
Just love this guy. Ortiz has a better WHIP, but I think that has more to do with his .194 BABIP.

DL Refreshing New Brew - Hector Hernandez - 3B - Maine
He's hurt right now... but what a season he's had up to this point.

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IL Stout Slugger - Mel Woodbury - CF - Virginia
What's left to say about Doorbell? The guy can rake.

IL Pale Ale Pitcher - Martin Carlton - SP - Washington
This is who I'd vote for right now. Not sure what happens at the end of the year. What a find by Pat.

IL Last Call Relief - Ken Bayer - CL - Batavia
Love what this guy brings in the back end of the pen for Batavia. Under the radar... but deserves the award.

IL Refreshing New Brew - Jarred Good - 2B - California
Total sparkplug for our offense.

[Jistic]

The only other move I made was to trade away Britt Bovey.

Basically, I've freed up over 22 million this year and I'm just sitting on it. Kind of like Scrooge McDuck!



I'm sure I'll be a big player in FA this year with that 20+ million available.

Bovey's been a stud for me BTW. The offense has been very good with him coming, and the emergence of Clarence Wetton. Also Burgett is starting to heat up as well.

[Andrew]

Pat turned his team into a juggernaut. Andrew continues to keep his team at the top of its division. I admittedly prefer voting for guys that took teams from the bottom to the top or showed they can contend so Pat and Andrew might be out, but they deserve recognition for their efforts.

That's OK Pat and I are comfortable being the two most successful franchises in the league. We don't need award to tell us how good we are.

[Pat]

That's OK Pat and I are comfortable being the two most successful franchises in the league. We don't need award to tell us how good we are.

*high five*

[Andrew]

DL Refreshing New Brew - Hector Hernandez - 3B - Maine
He's hurt right now... but what a season he's had up to this point.

He's had a great season but this award is Finley Kinsey's to lose. If his September is anywhere close to his August I think he has a real shot at winning the DL stout slugger as well. According to my scout Kinsey might be the best hitter in the league.

[Clay]

That's OK Pat and I are comfortable being the two most successful franchises in the league. We don't need award to tell us how good we are.

*high five*