Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - It may not be fully cranked up, but Major League Baseballs hot stove is definitely starting to heat up. Managers are being hired, players have been tendered contracts, options are being picked up and declined, rumors are starting and some of the lesser awards have already started to be doled out. Yes, ladies and gentleman, we are in full-fledged offseason mode. We have already uncovered our loser of the offseason and that is former Chicago Cubs manager Rick Renteria, who was fired last week once Joe Maddon became available. I get it Maddon is probably a better manager and if you have a chance to get him you do it, but you have to feel a little bit sorry for Renteria, who led the Cubs to 79 wins, or seven more from the previous season. The runner up to this award could be the Philadelphia Phillies, who are supposedly trying to deal first baseman Ryan Howard. I expect teams to be lining up by the droves for a shot at his services. Lets hope they have other plans this offseason in case that one doesnt come to fruition. Wouldnt you love to be a fly on the wall of those conversations with Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and other GMs? And what would an offseason be without some Alex Rodriguez drama? I hope you are all sitting down, but apparently Rodriguez was lying when he said he had no connection to Biogenesis. And get this, he may have even dabbled in some performance-enhancing drugs. I know its crazy, but I am starting to think that guy might be a little bit phony. But there will be plenty of time to discuss all that. Before the offseason really gets underway, though, theres a little business of handing out the only awards that anyone really seems to care about, those that are handed out by the Baseball Writers Association of American. So without further ado, here is how I see them going this year: AL MVP: MIKE TROUT, LA ANGELS Trout probably would have won this award in either of his first two seasons had his team made the playoffs. Trout had another spectacular season, as he hit .287 to go along with a league-best 115 runs scored, while setting career-highs with 36 home runs and 111 RBI. He also stole 16 bases in 18 attempts However, he did lead the AL with 184 strikeouts. With Derek Jeter gone, MLB needs a new face. This MVP Award will go a long way toward making Trout that guy. AL CY YOUNG: FELIX HERNANDEZ, SEATTLE It was a historic season for King Felix, as he put forth the best statistical season of his career and a new major-league record with 16 consecutive starts in which he allowed two or fewer runs in at least seven innings of work. Hernandez, who won this award in 2010, was 15-6 this season and led the league with a 2.14 ERA and a 0.915 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) over 34 starts.He was also fourth in the league with 248 strikeouts and held opponents to a league low average of .200. As we have seen in the past the key to winning these awards is how you perform in September. Well, Hernandez posted a 1.66 ERA over his final six starts. AL ROOKIE: JOSE ABREU, CHICAGO Abreu has won every rookie award this offseason and will likely add another trophy to his mantel next week. The Cuban first baseman excelled in his first year in the big leagues, as he hit .317 with 35 doubles, 36 home runs, 107 RBI, a major league-best .581 slugging percentage and a .383 on-base percentage. Abreu was also the first rookie in baseball history to rank among the Top 5 in his league in each Triple Crown category and joined Hal Trosky (1934), Ted Williams (1939) and Albert Pujols (2001) as the only rookies to record 30 doubles, 30 homers and 100 RBI in a season. AL MANAGER: BUCK SHOWALTER, BALTIMORE Showalter seems to win one of these Manager of the Year Awards every 10 years. He won in 1994 with the New York Yankees, then again in 2004 with the Texas Rangers. And wouldnt you know it, hes headed toward a third this year after guiding the Baltimore Orioles to their first AL East title since 1997. Should he win, he could become just the second manager to win the BBWAA award with three different organizations. Tony La Russa, a four-time winner, won with the Chicago White Sox (1983), Athletics (1988 and 1992) and the St. Louis Cardinals (2002). NL MVP: CLAYTON KERSHAW, LA DODGERS Kershaw is trying to become the first NL pitcher to win an MVP Award since Bob Gibson in 1968. In fact there hasnt even been a pitcher finish in the top-3 in MVP voting since Greg Maddux finished third in 1995. Kershaw should absolutely top Maddux and will likely join Gibson after one of the better seasons in recent memory. He was absolutely marvelous for the Dodgers this season, as he led the majors with a 21-3 record, an .875 winning percentage, a 1.77 ERA and an 0.86 WHIP. He was also second in the NL with 239 strikeouts, three behind Johnny Cueto of the Reds and Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals, in 27 starts. The highlight of Kershaws season came on June 18 when he struck out 15 in a no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies. NL CY YOUNG: KERSHAW Look above. While, hell likely become first player since Detroits Justin Verlander to win both awards, Kershaw will most certainly nail down his third NL Cy Young Award in four seasons. NL ROOKIE: JACOB dEGROM, NY METS Everyone knew the New York Mets had a wealth of young pitching and most thought a lot of that talent would start to come to the forefront last season. But, the pitcher who impressed the most was certainly not the one anyone would have expected. When Jacob deGrom was recalled in May the thought was he would help out of the bullpen. Injuries, though, thrust him into the rotation and he excelled, going 9-6 with a 2.69 ERA in 22 starts. While he may not have been very highly thought of at the start of last season, hell enter the 2015 campaign as part of the organizations backbone in the starting rotation, along with Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler. NL MANAGER: MATT WILLIAMS, WASHINGTON Luckily for Williams these awards are voted on before the start of the playoffs. While his Washington Nationals may have flamed out in the postseason, Williams did guide them to an NL East title with a league-best 96 wins in his first year as the teams skipper. The one knock on Williams is that he clearly walked into a terrific situation, as the talented Nationals just underperformed a year ago under Davey Johnson. But, he also had to deal with a ton of injuries throughout the season and is the only one of the three finalists to have won a division. . Granlund scored 2:04 into the first period. Max Reinhart, on his first NHL shift of the season, neatly stripped the puck from Zack Smith at the Senators blue-line. As he moved in, his attempted shot deflected into the slot where Granlund buried a shot past Craig Anderson. . Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored in the shootout to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over Nashville on Saturday night.
http://www.tigersgearshop.com/Tigers-Sp ... ds-Jersey/. Raonic, the No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., fired 11 aces and did not have a double-fault as he comfortably advanced to the third round at the Masters Series event. . Granato was an assistant for the Pittsburgh Penguins for the last five seasons, and he was also part of Team USAs staff at the 2014 Olympics. .com) - Will Conant booted a 39-yard field goal as time expired and Air Force played spoiler with a 27-24 win over 21st- ranked Colorado State on Friday. CLEVELAND -- Over the course of a long season, every team will experience some difficult losses. The Los Angeles Angels endured a really difficult one Thursday. Ernesto Frieri gave up a two-out grand slam to Nick Swisher in the 10th inning and the Cleveland Indians sent the Angels to a 5-3 loss on the final stop of a six-game road trip. The Angels were on the verge of a satisfying win after Albert Pujols two-run single gave them a 3-1 lead in the top of the 10th. Angels manager Mike Scioscia used rookie reliever Cam Bedrosian (0-1) to begin the bottom half and Frieri finished off the loss. "Ernie has been struggling a bit and we wanted to give them a fresh look," Scioscia said. "(Bedrosian) is a guy they hadnt seen and we hoped that he could make some pitches. Got close, he couldnt get it done." Frieri has given up six runs in his last three outings, including four Saturday in Atlanta and another on Tuesday against the Indians. "Today I missed a pitch again and I got hurt. It cost us the win," Frieri said. "Im fighting, man. I dont know. Been working, been watching videos, asking questions. It feels like nothing wants to go my way." Even though the calendar says its June, the loss wasnt easy to take. Starting pitcher C.J. Wilson, who allowed one run in seven innings, knows how important it is to not let games like this get away. "Were running out of games. Were almost halfway through the season and we need to win," Wilson said. "We cant afford to lose games like this." Swisher had gone 0 for 4 with three strikeouts before he hit a 1-2 pitch into the right-field seats to cap an improbable comeback. Pujols put the Angels ahead when he slapped a 3-2 pitch from Scott Atchison through the open right side of the infield to break a 1-all tie. The Indians were playing the slugger to pull. "Youve got to take something away, fortunately we were able to come back and win the game," Indians manager Terry Francona said. &qquot;Wed do it again, but it was hard to see that ball go through the infield.dddddddddddd" Atchison struck out the first two hitters in the 10th before Kole Calhoun singled. Mike Trouts double, extending his hitting streak to 13 games, moved Calhoun to third. Trout also walked twice and has reached base safely in 36 of his last 37 games. Hes batting .407 (35 for 86) in his last 23 games. The Indians responded off Bedrosian (0-1). Michael Bourn drew a leadoff walk and took third on Jason Kipnis one-out double. Carlos Santana walked to load the bases and Frieri replaced Bedrosian. David Murphy flied out before Swisher delivered. Kyle Crockett (1-0) retired the final hitter in the 10th for his first major league win. Wilson and Justin Masterson both allowed one run in seven innings. Both pitchers had their starts pushed back by Wednesday nights rainout. Mastersons wild pitch put Los Angeles ahead in the second, but Bourn tied it with an RBI groundout in the third. Masterson held the Angels to four hits, walked three and hit a batter. Wilson allowed three hits, walked four and struck out six. Howie Kendrick doubled with one out in the second and took third on a groundout. With David Freese batting, Mastersons low and outside pitch skipped past catcher Yan Gomes, allowing Kendrick to score. Gomes led off the third with a single for Clevelands first hit. He moved to third on a walk and a fielders choice, and scored on Bourns grounder. NOTES: The teams will make up Wednesdays rainout on a mutual day off at Progressive Field, with July 28 being the most likely possibility. The Angels begin a series in Baltimore the following day while the Indians start a homestand the next day. ... Angels LHP Tyler Skaggs (strained right hamstring) is expected to throw a simulated game Friday. ... The Angels, who finished 2-4 on their trip, return home for six games, beginning Friday against Texas. RHP Garrett Richards (6-2) will pitch the opener. ' ' '
