Pick Six

Some of the 2009 Major League Baseball postseason awards should be no-brainers while others require some thought and analysis. Since I'm just some schmuck off the street, I'll make my picks off the cuff:

• AL Cy Young Award: Zack Greinke, Royals. Winning 16 games for Kansas City and posting a 2.16 ERA in the American League both are near impossibilities these days. Those accomplishments alone put him above the rest.
• NL Cy Young: Chris Carpenter, Cardinals. Of the top three contenders -- the Cards' Adam Wainwright and the Giants' Tim Lincecum being the other two -- Carpenter's ratio of baserunners-to-innings pitched was the lowest (156 hits, 38 walks in 192.2 IP). Two bonuses: the ERA title and fewer than five losses have to count for something.
• AL Manager of the Year: Ron Gardenhire, Twins. Mike Scioscia's Angels did what was expected, as did Joe Girardi's Yankees. Gardenhire had much less to work with (in terms of payroll/talent) and still managed to compete with the big boys.
• NL Manager of the Year: Jim Tracy, Rockies. Tracy took over a team that was headed for the NL West cellar and guided them to the playoffs.
• AL MVP: Derek Jeter, Yankees. Teammate Mark Teixeira had better overall numbers, and Minnesota's Joe Mauer had an incredible season, but Jeter was the epitome of an offensive catalyst for the World Series champs. It's safe to say that without him, the Yankees don't win the title, and that's the purest definition of an MVP.
• NL MVP: Albert Pujols, Cardinals. From strictly a numbers standpoint, Pujols is a runaway. And no other NL player stands out in Jeter-esque fashion.

World Series Champion New York Yankees

No, the New York Yankees did not answer the critics, as some media members are saying. They only confirmed -- for the first time in nine years, by the way -- what the critics have been saying about them all along:

• Yes, they overpaid most of their players.
• Yes, they aggressively went after coveted free agents during the offseason.
• Yes, they built a brand new stadium for an ungodly amount of money.

So, what did the Yankees do differently from 80 percent of the other clubs in the major leagues?

Nothing, except they did all those things a little better while finding a winning formula on the field. They did what they had to do to win a title. Nobody in their right mind can criticize them for that.

Congratulations, Bombers.

Yankee Haters Rejoice

OK. So the New York Yankees crumpled for one night in Philly. All the better: The Bombers get a chance to close it out at the new Yankee Stadium with Dandy Andy Pettitte on the mound against an old familiar nemesis, Pedro Martinez. They couldn't ask for a better scenario for their 27th World Series title.

Gotta tip my cup to that Chase Utley guy. Unlike his larger, more powerful peers (Yes, that means you Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriguez), the Philadelphia Phillies' scrappy, little second baseman is putting on a clutch-hitting clinic, and he's doing it with pop. Two more homers Monday night gives him a record-tying five for the series, and as hot as he is, he certainly has a legitimate shot at becoming the sole record-holder.

For their part, the Yankees shouldn't get too comfortable. We all know what happened when they let down their collective guard in the 2004 ALCS. That's the proverbial monkey on their back if there ever was one (hmmm, can I come up with any more cliches?). Anyway, it's five years past, and I still can't believe it happened.