Opinion

On Wednesday, it will be once more unto the breach in the war between old-school and new-school MLB awards voters.

It's a good time to be a bullpen ace.

Before the San Francisco Giants' run of even-year championships was killed by their bullpen at the end of 2016, it was wounded by their lack of power.

Their leading home run hitter was Brandon Belt, who cranked just 17 homers. 17. The bullpen shouldn't be forgotten, but this is also a problem that needs fixing this winter.

It seems the Giants have just the guy in mind.

Terry Francona would surely trade his American League Manager of the Year award—and presumably every other piece of hardware in his trophy case—for another crack at the 2016 World Series.

His Cleveland Indians got to Game 7. They could taste it. Their first championship since 1948. 

Instead, it was "wait until next year."

You know those people who seem to excel at everything? Mookie Betts is one of them.

There's a one-in-three chance Justin Verlander will win the American League Cy Young Award on Wednesday. Two things will happen if he does.

One: A trophy case that already features a Cy Young alongside a Rookie of the Year Award and a Most Valuable Player Award will look even better. Two: His trade value, which skyrocketed in 2016, will inch even higher.

When you're also up for the Most Valuable Player Award, winning Rookie of the Year is a mere formality.

Still, Corey Seager will take it.

From now on, I'm calling these the Mike Trout predictions, because for five years running, that's basically what they have been.

Oh, there's an argument every now and then about the Rookie of the Year or the Manager of the Year. The Cy Young Award winners aren't easy to figure in either league this year.

To say New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez had a good rookie year is an understatement of Ruthian proportions.

And yes, we just invoked the Bambino.

Sanchez is 694 home runs shy of Babe Ruth on the all-time list. But after cracking 20 homers and posting a .299/.376/.657 slash line in 53 games, he's at the forefront of an enviable youth movement in the Bronx.

Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista are free agents with qualifying offers from the Toronto Blue Jays sitting in front of them.

That means the door isn't merely open for one or both players to return to the Jays—it's swinging on its hinges.