The Mark Reynolds Debate

After I came out with the Midseason Awards, there were of course a few grumblings here or there about exclusions. Sure, that was to be expected.

One of them came from Bob, who thought his pickup of Mark Reynolds - or Joe's dropping of him - should have been considered for an award, or at the very least honorable mention.

"Did you know Mark Reynolds is rated as the 10th best fantasy player in Yahoo?" Bob asked me at the time.

I gave it a quick chuckle, didn't think much of it and went on with the rest of my day.

Bob didn't, though. He brought it up again Thursday night after Reynolds clubbed his 19th homer of the season, helping Bob to a 9-8 lead over Shea.

More after the jump.


"I think Mark Reynolds deserves an apology for not being considered in the worst drop, best pick up categories," Bob said Thursday. "He told me earlier that he's going to use that as motivation for the rest of the season."

Well OK then, look out league. But, let's revisit this for a couple minutes. Here are Reynolds' stats, going back to Tuesday when the awards came out: .267, 18 HR, 49 RBI, 98 K. Pretty darn good, for sure. But Edwin Jackson (Chris) won the award for best pick-up, with Chris Carpenter (Jack) and Jason Bartlett (Joe) as honorable mention. Hard to argue with any of them, especially Bartlett (.370 AVG/.988 OPS/14 SB currently) because of his position. So who gets the boot for Reynolds?

The worst drop is a little more debatable. I gave Tommy Hanson (Dave) the award because of his upside and promise, most notably his keeper potential on a team with an expiring contract. Matt Wieters (Adam) was on there because of his potential as well at such a limited position. The third one, Huston Street (Ken), is probably where Reynolds could have gone. Street's had a nice season, sure, but he hasn't been as valuable as Reynolds.

I guess if Reynolds is the reason Bob beats you one week you have me to blame!

So, with that said, what's everyone else think? Does Bob have a point? Who would you have put in there?
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Midseason Awards

Gentlemen, here is this year's Midseason Awards. Remember, this is all good-natured, so don't get too high or low over it. Again, remember to stay tuned last this week for something that will revolutionize the league! Without further ado:


Best pick-up: Edwin Jackson (Chris). Honorable mention: Chris Carpenter (Jack), Jason Bartlett (Joe).

Worst drop: Tommy Hanson (Dave). Honorable mention: Matt Wieters (Adam), Huston Street (Ken).

Player who survived on a roster too long: Ben Sheets (Adam). Honorable mention: Andy Sonnanstine (Jack), Daisuke Matsuzaka (Andy).

Best (and worst) trade: Grady Sizemore for Dustin Pedroia and Raul Ibanez (Adam and Chris). Honorable mention: Ryan Theriot for Adam Lind (Richie and Andy)

Best draft pick: Zack Greinke (Chris). Honorable mention: Raul Ibanez (Chris), Torii Hunter (Ricky).

Worst draft pick: David Ortiz (Bob). Honorable mention: Magglio Ordonez (Joe), Francisco Liriano (Shea).

Best keeper decision: Robinson Cano (Ken). Honorable mention: Jason Bay (Jack), Justin Upton (Richie).

Worst keeper: Ervin Santana (Shea). Honorable mention: Jimmy Rollins (Dave), Brandon Webb (Chris).

Midseason MVP (player): Albert Pujols (Ricky). Honorable mention: Raul Ibanez (Adam), Zack Grienke (Chris).

Midseason LVP (player): David Ortiz (Bob); Honorable mention: Jimmy Rollins (Dave), Magglio Ordonez (Joe).

Best stiff: Livan Hernandez (Chris). It won him the week, and to quote Bob, "It was a professional one too, (he) did it 20-25 minutes before rosters switched over to Sunday." Honorable mention: Josh Outman (Andy).

Worst stiff: Dontrelle Willis (Ken). He claimed he wasn't stiffing, but we all saw through that. Karma came back to bite him! Honorable mention: Chan Ho Park (Bob).

Best team name: Byrnes When I Peavy (Dave). Honorable mention: Commish is a Commy (Chris).

Worst team name: waldr83 (Richie). Honorable mention: only can beat richie (Shea).

Best win: Ken, Week 11. 10-8 over Joe. Honorable mention: Jack, Week 11. 14-4 over Ricky.

Worst loss: Bob, Week 4. 18-1 to Jack. Honorable mention: Ken, Week 8. 15-1 to Jack; Ken, Week 7: 15-2 to Joe.

Most dramatic win: Adam, Week 11. 9-8 over Shea thanks to Juan Pierre's heroics.

Most heartbreaking loss: Richie, Week 4. 10-9 to Dave thanks to endless extra-innings.

Best manager: Joe. Honorable mention: Jack.

Biggest surprise (manager): Adam. Honorable mention: Bob.

Most improved from last year: Adam. Honorable mention: Jack, Andy.

Best team: Joe. Honorable mention: Jack, Andy.

Worst team: Richie. Honorable mention: Shea, Dave.

2nd half predictions:

*Denotes wildcard
Brad Lidge Division:
1. Jack 14-5-3
2. *Chris 12-7-3
3. *Ricky 10-9-3
4. Adam 11-11
5. Richie 4-17-1
6. Shea 3-19

Tug McGraw Division:
1. Joe 16-4-2
2. *Andy 14-6-2
3. *Ken 14-7-1
4. Bob 11-10-1
5. Mike 8-13-1
5. Dave 6-15-1
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