National League:

West: Diamondbacks

Central: Cardinals

East: Phillies

Wild Card: Marlins

Wild Card: Giants

NLDS: Phillies def. Marlins in 4; Cardinals def. Diamondbacks in 5

NLCS: Cardinals def. Phillies in 6

NLCS MVP: Lance Berkman

Awards:

NL Rookie of the Year (hitter): Devin Mesoraco

NL Dark Horse Rookie of the Year (hitter): Bryce Harper

NL Rookie of the Year (pitcher): Trevor Bauer

NL Dark Horse Rookie of the Year (pitcher): Shelby Miller

NL Reliever of the Year: Jonathan Axford

NL Dark Horse Reliever of the Year: Jason Motte

NL Comeback Player of the Year: Hanley Ramirez

NL Dark Horse Comeback Player of the Year: Dan Uggla

NL Strikeout King: Clayton Kershaw

NL Dark Horse Strikeout King: Madison Bumgarner

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw

NL Dark Horse Cy Young: Josh Johnson

NL Batting Champ: Carlos Gonzalez

NL Dark Horse Batting Champ: Starlin Castro

NL HR Champ: Giancarlo Stanton

NL Dark Horse HR Champ: No one is going to hit more HRs than Stanton

NL MVP: Justin Upton

NL Dark Horse MVP: Giancarlo Stanton

American League

West: Angels

Central: Tigers

East: Rays

Wild Card Winner: Yankees

Wild Card Winner: Rangers

ALDS: Angels def. Yankees in 3; Tigers def. Rays in 4

ALCS: Tigers def. Angels in 7

ALCS MVP: Prince Fielder

AL ROY (hitter): Jesus Montero

AL Dark Horse ROY (hitter): Yoenis Cespedes

AL ROY (pitcher): Matt Moore

AL Dark Horse ROY (pitcher): Yu Darvish

AL Comeback Player of the Year: Ichiro Suzuki

AL Dark Horse Comeback Player of the Year: Vernon Wells/Adam Dunn

AL Strikeout King: Felix Hernandez

AL Dark Horse Strikeout King: Matt Moore

AL Cy Young Winner: Felix Hernandez

AL Dark Horse Cy Young Winner: Ubaldo Jiminez

AL Batting Champ: Adrian Gonzalez

AL Dark Horse Batting Champ: Eric Hosmer

AL HR King: Jose Bautista

AL Dark Horse HR King: Evan Longoria

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera

AL Dark Horse MVP: Albert Pujols

2012 World Series:

2012 World Series: Tigers def. Cardinals in 6

2012 WS MVP: Justin Verlander

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How we voted for American League MVP:

Me: 1) Ellsbury  2) Bautista  3) Verlander  4) Granderson  5) Cabrera

Griff: 1) Bautista  2) Ellsbury  3) Granderson  4) Pedroia  5) Zobrist

Dee: 1) Ellsbury  2) Bautista  3) Pedroia  4) Verlander  5) Kinsler

Jim: 1) Verlander  2) Ellsbury  3) Cabrera  4) Bautista  5) Granderson

Towel: 1) Bautista  2) Granderson  3) Verlander  4) Ellsbury  5) Cabrera

Final Vote:

1)    Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Boston Red Sox

2)    Jose Bautista, OF, Toronto Blue Jays

3)    Justin Verlander, RHP, Detroit Tigers

4)    Curtis Granderson, OF, New York Yankees

5)    Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Detroit TIgers

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-  What a weekend for baseball.  The Rays were able to pull within 2 games of the Red Sox and the AL Wild Card spot. The best play of this series was started by David Price’s chest, though.

-  Justin Verlander is a beast.  12 consecutive starts, and 12 consecutive wins.  Not to mention he has now won 24 games this season.  But that’s the obvious.  Here are a few nifty stats for you sabr-minded folks:  Verlander has a WAR of 7.0-still a full 1.1 WAR behind Doc Hallady; Verlander has guys swinging at pitches out of the zone at a whopping rate (33.8%); He is also only throwing pitches in the strike zone 42% of the time while getting hitters to swing and miss at a rate of 10.2%.  Dude is filthier than the turds I leave in the toilet after a night of partying.

-  Apparently Dmitri Young is ready to play baseball again…I know, I didn’t believe it either.  It must be that whole older brother/younger brother rivalry thing. I can’t think of any other reason for a 40-year-old 1B to come out of retirement after four years.

-  Being a fantasy nerd, and at the same time absolutely loathing reality television, I am so thankful for Grantland’s GLRTFL.  It now gives me a new perspective on watching the hideous programming that my girlfriend prefers.

-  Speaking of fantasy, here is a quick rundown of how the Denslow Cup standings are looking heading in to the final week:

1. Asik and Destroy  ——————-139
2. The Clownpenis. Farts  ————-137
3. So Fresh n So Sheen Sheen  ——–118.5
4. Dingo Teriyaki  ———————–113
5. tits and giggles  ———————–100
6. The Nads  ——————————-97
7. Dingleberry Smoothies  ————–90.5
8. The Blump Cornelius  —————–78.5
9. Capital City Corporate Towls  ——-62
10. Quade Steak Burritos —————–57.5
11. The Religion of Mike Hunt  ———-55
12. Ardi’s A-holes   ————————-44

As you can see there is quite a race for the championship.  Fellow writer Barfy is the manager of Clownpenis. The battle for 3^rd is a good one too, with my team (Sheen Sheen) hoping to lock down its first podium finish ever.  Editor in Chief, Mike (The Nads), is actually losing to his girlfriend Julia (tits and giggles) but has an outside shot of overtaking her.

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Lefty pitchers are baseball’s equivalent of kickers in the NFL.  They are just a little bit different.  However, because we lefties are such a minority in the realm of baseball, it allows us to provide the rest of you with a unique perspective on the game.  Since I have this special ability to provide a different look, I will be giving that to you each and every day.  So, without further ado, here is the first ever issue of “Changeups and Screwballs: A Southpaw’s Perspective.”

-       While it may not be the most honorable reaction, I was thrilled to find out that Bryce Harper’s season was ended early due to a hamstring issue.  I suppose that is what happens when you decide to run hard for a full 90 feet.

-       Seeing Joe Mauer play right field made me laugh.  Any coach that is worth his paycheck could probably teach a monkey to play a corner outfield spot.  Mauer looked like a natural by the third fly ball he caught.

-       Watching A-Rod make a nice barehanded run-through play to get Ben Revere out on Sunday makes me think he will be just fine post surgery.  Did you realize that he is already 36?

-       Big ups to Jered Weaver on that healthy new contract.  Here’s hoping that he turns out to be more like Cliff Lee or C.C. Sabathia, and does not turn in to John Lackey or A.J. Burnett.

-       It finally appears that someone really does want to win the A.L. Central.  The way the Tigers beat down Cleveland, coupled with Justin Verlander leading that staff, leads me to believe that they will find themselves in the ALCS.  Just don’t let Miggy have any champagne.

-       Even though the Astros have the worst record in the bigs, I still believe that they are only the second worse team in the league.  The Cubs are pathetic.

-       I am so happy that my Astros will be getting the first overall pick next June.  I have to find some sort of light at the end of this tunnel.

Having not written anything recently, I feel completely lost as I try to put together something for Sombrero Nation.  I checked the files on both my work computer and home computer, and found out that I have eight different blog posts started, just waiting for me to finish them.  For whatever reason, I just have not finished anything I started to write.  It is time to fix that.  Forget the lead in.  Forget fluency.  Forget about even reading a “true” article.  All this is going to be is a collection of my thoughts on baseball.  I call them…Randoms.

-       Tim Kurkjian recently said he believes that the Astros will lose 300 games over the next 3 years.  Oddly, I am not surprised by, or in tears because of, this estimate.

-       Bubba Starling choosing the Royals over the Huskers makes me smile.  For one, I hate watching phenomenal athletes waste their time playing other sports when they could be playing baseball.  Secondly, Nebraska is where college quarterbacks go to die, and that would be a terrible endgame for such a gifted athlete.

-       I tried to explain that opinion to my mom at dinner last night.  All she could do is smile and nod her head.  At least she checks the blog on a daily basis.  Love you, mom!  Thanks for your support.

-       I wish Brettsta would write more for the Sombrero.  He has nasty wordplay skills.  (Editor’s note: I agree and welcome any and all submissions.)

-       Being an Astros fan is finally exciting again.  As much as I will miss competing, I find the direction the club is heading to be fulfilling enough right now.

-       Why is Carlos Zambrano so far removed from his own sanity?  Was he dropped on his head as a newborn?

-       I had a legitimate discussion with one of the 6^th graders in my classroom about how Justin Verlander should win the AL Cy Young.  I was very impressed, to say the least.

-       Will somebody please kick Bryce Harper in the junk already?  Seriously, this is inexcusable at the professional level.

-       Why do I keep falling for Ricky Nolasco’s Jekyll and Hyde routine?  That 33 era he posted the other night might have finally done it for me.

-       I really wish I had learned how to throw a cutter when I was in college.  It is just such a nasty pitch from the left side.

-       The Fantasy Focus baseball podcast on ESPN is excellent.  I listen to it everyday at lunch and thoroughly enjoy listening to the hilarity interspersed with fantasy analysis.  If you have not listened to it, I suggest you check it out.

-       I would really like to find out how many other people are tired of the Brian Wilson “I’m Trying Really Hard So Somebody Please Look at Me” show.  He should really just sit down with Timmy Jim, burn one down, and relax.

-       This was a fun piece to write.  Let me know if I should do something like this once a week.