Award 1: Cardinal Player of the Year

Lance Berkman

Matt Holliday

Albert Pujols

Comment: Berkman was the most-valuable Cardinal and led the team in win-probability added. Pujols was a close but clear second.

Award 2: Cardinal Pitcher of the Year

Chris Carpenter

Jaime Garcia

Jason Motte

Comment: Carpenter led the staff in WAR by far with 5.0. Garcia was a distant second with 3.6.

Award 3: Regular Season Game of the Year

April 3 vs. San Diego (Garcia shutout)

September 7 vs. Milwaukee (Carpenter shutout, Morgan dustup)

September 24 vs. Chicago (Marmol meltdown)

September 28 at Houston (Carpenter shutout on last day)

Comment: The Sept. 24 comeback proved the team’s never-say-die mettle. The game graph was one of the most delightful of the season, not to mention Ryan Theriot’s 10.78 leverage-index plate appearance, the highest of the team’s season.

Award 4: Post-Season Game of the Year

NLDS Game 5 (Carpenter vs. Halladay)

NLCS Game 6 (sent Cards to World Series)

WS Game 3 (Pujols 3 HR)

WS Game 6 (two rallies with one strike left)

WS Game 7 (champions)

Comment: As someone who remembers the 1986 World Series Game 6 (as a Mets fan), we must say that the 2011 Game 6 takes the cake, with not one but two utterly improbable comebacks.

Award 5: Surprise Player of the Year

Lance Berkman

Allen Craig

Jon Jay

Jason Motte

Other:

Comment: A surprise is something unexpected or astonishing. Berkman’s return to prominence may have been greater than planned, but it was just that: a return. Kyle Lohse, on the other hand, tossed career bests in FIP (3.67) and xFIP (4.04). Given consecutive ballooning-FIP seasons from 2008-2010, no one (not even Dave Duncan) could’ve expected Lohse’s best campaign of his career at age 32.

Award 6: Disappointing Player of the Year

Miguel Batista

Ryan Franklin

Colby Rasmus

Ryan Theriot

Comment: Rasmus had the deck stacked against him, with his manager unwilling to support him through a prolonged slump, which in turn led to a cascade of problems. A couple of minor injuries along the way didn’t help (abdominal muscle pull, calf strain), but ultimately Rasmus didn’t come close to following up his high-expectation-setting 4.3-WAR 2010 season (1.3 WAR in 94 games). As for the others, realistically low expectations meant that their poor seasons couldn’t be disappointing.

Award 7: Cardinal Rookie of the Year

Adron Chambers

Allen Craig

Lance Lynn

Eduardo Sanchez

Comment: Craig posted the fifth-most WAR among NL rookies and led the Senior Circuit’s noobs with a .399 wOBA.

Award 8: Pre-Season Acquisition of the Year

Lance Berkman

Nick Punto

Ryan Theriot

Comment: The fact that Berkman didn’t have any competition in this category shouldn’t detract from his worthiness. He was quite possibly the best offseason acquisition of any team last winter.

Award 9: Mid-Season Acquisition of the Year

Octavio Dotel

Rafael Furcal

Edwin Jackson

Marc Rzepczynski

Comment: Given the price paid for Dotel, Jackson and Rzepczynski and the lack of contract longevity for the first two, we couldn’t consider any of them (even Dotel, who had the most impact, with 0.9 WAR) as the best. Furcal didn’t provide the offensive bang or the defensive solidity that the team expected, but at the time, it was the best move.

Award 10: Most Anticipated Cardinal

Matt Adams

Zack Cox

Carlos Martinez

Shelby Miller

Yes, Adams is exciting and put himself on the map this year. But the most anticipated is still Miller, even if some shine is off the apple due to his worrying “drug of abuse” suspension.

Award 11: Best Individual Cardinal Blog (written mainly by one person)

Award 12: Best Team Cardinal Blog (written by two or more people)

Award 13: Best Professional Cardinal Blog

Bird Land

Cardinal Beat

Obviously, You’re Not A Golfer

Award 14: Best Rookie Cardinal Blog (began December 1, 2010 or later)

Aaron Miles‘ Fastball” /> Aaron Miles’ Fastball

Birds On The Bat 82

El Maquino

Bleed Cardinal Red With Me

Cards Droppings

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Goodnight

Redbird Dugout

The Redbird Menace

Rob Says Really?

STL: Fear The Red

Award 15: Post of the Year

http://robsaysreally.blogspot.com/2011/07/open-letter-to-execs-of-mlb-network-and.html

http://www.cardinal70.com/stlouiscardinals/happily-ever-after.php

http://www.pitchershiteighth.com/2010/12/30/dumb-trade-ideas-belong/

http://www.birdsonthebat82.com/books-im-reading/recommended-reading-cardboard-gods-by-josh-wilker/

http://diamonddiaries.net/2011/06/22/9-years-later/

http://cardsnstuff.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/nls-best-rotation-1-nls-best-offense-1-on-to-the-stl/

http://stanmusialsstance.com/2011/10/09/a-pre-game-speech/

http://www.i70baseball.com/2011/10/28/backyard-dreams/

http://aeryssports.com/aaron-miles-fastball/friends-rivals-and-a-deciding-game/

http://aeryssports.com/aaron-miles-fastball/tony-la-russa-mvp/

http://www.fungoes.net/2011/10/10/why-the-cardinals-will-still-beat-the-brewers/

Award 16: Best UCB Project

Get To Know A UCBer

Progressive Game Blog

Roundtables

Top 7 Prospects

Award 17: Most Optimistic Cardinal Blog

Award 18: Best UCB Podcast

Conversations With C70

Gateway To Baseball Heaven

Pitchers Hit Eighth Podcast

Redbirds of a Feather

UCB Radio Hour

Award 19: Best UCB Twitterer

Award 20: Best Fake Cardinal Twitter Account

BuschSquirrel

Stlcardsbullpen

SirGlovingtonAWilson

TortyCraig

This entry was posted by Pip on Sunday, November 20th, 2011 at 12:02 am and is filed under awards, group blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.