Baseball

In 2012, the Twins most likely will not have the AL MVP, Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove Winner, Cy Young or Relief Man of the Year. Still, the Twins are still in the running for a few official MLB awards.

This article discusses realistic chances of Twins winning official awards and assigns fictional team awards to key players.

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There's a certain stigma attached to Ryan Braun's name following last year's PED controversy, however, that shouldn't stop the writers from giving him a much deserved, second straight NL MVP Award.

Now before you jump to conclusions, I'm a Reds fan and have no bias favoring Braun. The fact of the matter is that Braun's numbers are far and above every other player in the National League.

Nick Swisher is a good Yankee.

In almost four full seasons, he has a .362 on-base percentage and 101 home runs. He's a decent right fielder and has proven his worth at first base in 2012 while Mark Teixeira deals with a calf injury. He's also a clubhouse and fan favorite.

Unfortunately for Swisher, who has embraced New York, his days as a Yankee are numbered.

Third place doesn't doesn't seem like much of a prize, particularly in the National League Central. But it could mark the way to bigger and better thingsin the future. Relative to the past few years, Pittsburgh is on its way up. Milwaukee has seen better days, although this relationship is the reverse of what has happened this year.

Despite the ups and downs during his time as manager in Cincinnati, Dusty Baker deserves to win the 2012 National League Manager of the Year.

After narrowly missing out on the award when he led the Reds to the NL Central title in 2010, Baker should receive some recognition for his work with the team this season. 

The New York Yankees were supposed to see a familiar face out on the mound on Tuesday night for the first time in a couple of months, but Mother Nature had other plans.

Ryan Howard's highly anticipated return following his devastating Achilles tear was the talk across Philadelphia for quite sometime, but once Howard took to the field, it was clear that he was not same player he once was. The injury has definitely left a hitch in Ryan's step and the Phillies are left with a player they owe a lot of money to in the coming years.

On Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a two-year player development contract with the Buffalo Bisons of the International League (AAA). The players will leave Las Vegas and begin playing baseball in Buffalo as soon as next year. The contract runs through to 2014.

The Miami Marlins signed Heath Bell in the offseason as part of their expensive and aggressive push to win in their new stadium for 2012.

If anything has gone over worse than the dancing Marlins statue in center field, it has been Heath Bell's first year in Florida.

This Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies, Matt Harvey will look to end his rookie season on a good note. 

The flame-throwing righty is 3-5 in nine games started with a 2.92 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP and 63 strikeouts. 

Harvey won't be able to finish his season with a .500 record, as the New York Mets look to rebound after a 3-1 loss last night to the Phillies.