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.