It's that time again

And down the stretch we come, to the end of the 2008 baseball season that is. From now until the playoffs we will be running down the list of awards for the year. Keep your eyes open in the coming days as we should be following this schedule:

Rookie of the Year – AL (9/19)
Rookie of the Year – NL (9/20)
Rolaids Reliever of the Year – AL (9/21)
Rolaids Reliever of the Year – NL (9/22)
Manager of the Year – AL (9/23)
Manager of the Year – NL (9/24)
Cy Young – AL (9/25)
Cy Young – NL (9/26)

Note: there are a couple of extra days built in at the end in case we have to push back a game for rain or snow. The Card does not agree with Ernie Banks; there will be no double headers here.

Let’s start off with a pretty easy one. The A.L. Rookie of the Year award was sewn up by the All Star Break for sure.

Winner: Evan Longoria

Evan Longoria is one of the most valuable rookies to a postseason team in recent years. The Rays probably would miss the playoffs without him in the lineup, and in fact, they almost did as they struggled when he was out with an injury.

Longoria is batting .281 with 25 HRs and 78 RBI in 2008. The Rays have been the pleasant surprise (for everyone outside Boston and N.Y.) of the year, and he has been their posterboy.

Runner up: Alexei Ramirez

Maybe you haven’t heard of this guy because he plays for the White Sox, but he’s been a stud in 2008. His .296 batting average is even better than Longoria’s and he has been one of the catalysts for a very good lineup in Chicago. What keeps him from winning the award are his low RBI (66) and run totals (58). You either have to drive them in or score them to beat Longoria. His 18 HRs are pretty impressive for a 2B though.