Second Annual Cardinal Blogger Awards...

The United Cardinal Bloggers are conducting their second annual Cardinal Blogger Awards. All of the information you need can be found right here, courtesy of C70 At The Bat. Scheduled to participate by posting their picks on their blogs today (November 21) is an All-Star cast of bloggers including Busch Birds, Bugs and Cranks, CardinalNationGlobe, The Cardinal Virtue, CardinalsGM, Fungoes, La Beisbolista, Mike on the Cards, Obviously You’re Not a Golfer, Pitchers Hit Eighth, The Redbird Blog, Redbird Ramblings, Redbird Review, Redbirds Fun, Rockin' the Red and The Rundown.

I've posted the awards ballot below. My picks are highlighted and I've provided some explanation for my picks as well. You can visit all of the sites linked above for their respective picks. C70 will compile and tabulate the voting results and will post them the week of November 24. Of course I'll post a summary here at The Redbird Blog. So, without further ado, the ballot and my picks:

1) Player of the Year
Ryan Ludwick
Yadier Molina
Albert Pujols

No brainer here. Luddy had a great season, but Pujols was simply the best player on the planet in 2008.

2) Pitcher of the Year
Kyle Lohse
Braden Looper
Adam Wainwright

From August 1 to the end of the year (i.e., when the Cards really needed to put some wins together), Braden Looper managed a record of just 2 wins and 6 losses. And his overall numbers don't compare to either Lohse or Wainwright. I'd like to give Wainwright this award, as his stats were impressive and he really looked like a #1 starter. But his significant loss of time due to injury makes me lean towards Lohse. Kyle had a nice 15-6 record along with a 3.78 ERA. Further, he won his last three starts down the stretch. Don't pay attention to the month of August when he went 1-5.

3) Game of the Year
July 5 vs. Chicago
August 22 vs. Atlanta
August 27 vs. Milwaukee
September 9 vs. Chicago

I have to go with the game on August 27 vs. Milwaukee. The Cards were trying to hang onto their playoff chances, and found themselves up against an overly-demonstrative Brewers team. El Hombre took offense to some ridiculous gesturing by Milwaukee's pitcher, so he put the team on his back and willed the Cards to a late inning, come-from-behind victory.

4) Surprise Player of the Year
Kyle Lohse
Ryan Ludwick
Skip Schumaker

No question here. Ludwick was simply awesome, and there just wasn't a history to suggest that he would have such an amazing year.

5) Disappointing Player of the Year
Chris Duncan
Ryan Franklin
Jason Isringhausen

My vote here probably has more to with my expectations than anything. I have just not been impressed with Chris Duncan, and I didn't expect much out of him in 2008. But Izzy's inability to hold together the Cardinal bullpen is the single biggest reason the Cardinals failed to make the postseason.

6) Cardinal Rookie of the Year
Joe Mather
Kyle McClellan
Chris Perez

McClellan got a lot of publicity this year, and he showed some nice stuff. But a closer look at his numbers gives cause for concern. Check out his ERA by month during 2008:

April: 1.72
May: 2.92
June: 3.38
July: 3.07
August: 5.59
September: 12.27

McClellan had 30 "holds" during 2008, but I think that's a stupid and misleading statistic. McClellan did an o.k. job with the cardinals as a rookie, but he's not my ROY. Instead, I'm going with Chris Perez. Perez was 7-for-11 in save opportunities (not stellar) with a 3.46 ERA. But he did strike out 42 batters in 41.2 innings pitched, and he had to deal with TLR's refusal to name him as the closer, and the persistent uncertainty surrounding his role in the bullpen. Perez has great stuff--he just needs to be trusted by his manager.

7) New Cardinal of the Year
Troy Glaus
Cesar Izturis
Kyle Lohse

Glaus had a nice 2008, and he remained healthy for the full year. Clearly the cards came out ahead in the Rolen trade. But Glaus has obvious holes in his swing and really never carried the team for any significant period of time. Lohse, on the other hand, really brought reliability and consistency to the starting rotation in a year that saw significant injuries (and re-injuries) to Carp and Waino.

8) Most Anticipated Cardinal
Bryan Anderson
Colby Rasmus
Jess Todd

As much as I'm looking forward to seeing Todd in St. Louis, hard to argue that Rasmus' arrival is not the most scrutinized and hyped since the arrival of Mr. Ankiel (as a pitcher, I mean).

9) Best Individual Blog (A Cardinals blog written by one individual writer)

I'd like to vote for myself here, but I'm still growing (hopefully) as a blogger. My personal favorite in the "solo blogger" category: Fungoes. Great statistical analysis and reasoned commentary.

10) Best Team Blog (A Cardinals blog with multiple writers)

My choice here is Future Redbirds, you're one-stop-shop for all things regarding Cardinal minor league affiliates and prospects.

11) Best Professional Blog
Bernie's Extra Points
Bird Land
Obviously, You're Not a Golfer

I have to go with Goold's Bird Land. Derrick does a great job of breaking news, breaking down stats, and interjecting his own sound and rationale (usually) opinions into his P-D forum.

12) Best UCB Project
Progressive Game Blog
Roundtables (Example: October's)
Top 7 Prospects

I thought the progressive game blog was a lot of fun, but I think our best project this year was probably the roundtables. They bring a lot of good info and opinions to our readers.

13) Most Optimistic Blog

C70 At The Bat. Sometimes I think Daniel really wants to bash the Cardinals (whether it be a GMs failure to make a trade or TLR's sometimes insane lineup moves), but he's just a nice guy who loves his team. Daniel does a great job of not jumping to conclusions or overreacting, and I admire that.

14) Funniest Blog

I have a man crush on BertFlex. Not everything there is related to the Cardinals, but those guys do a great job of writing, in addition to posting some hilarious shit.

15) Best Blog Post/Series of the Year
Beer Vendor (Warm and Cold)
Biggest Plays of 2008 (Sample: Part 4)
Reading the T-Shirts
Scott Rolen vs. Eddie Vedder

I've got to vote for my own piece, right ;-) Seriously, though, I liked my Costas piece better, but I'm not the ballot-maker.

16) Rookie Blog of the Year
4thebirds
Busch Birds
Pitchers Hit Eighth

Tough call here, but Busch Birds has put together an attractive blog that also has a lot of "meat" to it. But nice efforts from all three bloggers.