qvist was sharp early on and aggressive outside his crease - wh

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. Frank Howard Jersey . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Rusty Greer Jersey . The 36-year-old Colts receiver is going back to the playoffs as a division champion. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/1572h-jason-grilli-jersey-rangers.html . Second-seeded Sloane Stephens of the United States made lighter work of her day as she beat 2009 champion and Swiss wild card Timea Bacsinszky 6-3, 6-3. Two seeds fell: No. 4 Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium lost to Katarzyna Piter of Poland 6-4, 6-2, and No. Shawn Kelley Jersey . The Pope greeted Klose at his general audience Wednesday and the pair had a long chat. Klose is German like the pope, although he was born in Poland. In Sundays derby, Lazio took the lead in the seventh minute after Maarten Stekelenburg brought down Klose, resulting in the Roma goalkeeper being sent off and a penalty that Hernanes converted. Steve Buechele Rangers Jersey . J.J. Hardy drove in a run for the Orioles, who bounced back from an 8-4 loss in the series opener on Friday. Fresh off the 15-day disabled list, Derrek Lee went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Jake Arrieta (7-3) gave up three runs on five hits over six innings to pick up the win.Every night of the Stanley Cup playoffs, TSN hockey analyst and former NHL goaltender Jamie McLennan breaks down each goalies performance. Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings (4) - Quick made a big save early on, 30 seconds in on Nash, blocker side and had another big save on Marc Staal with the left pad. His rebound control was strong that period, the first goal by McDonagh coming on a screen shot, that tipped off of Jarret Stolls right leg and finds the net on the blocker side. The second goal came off a shot going two feet wide that hit Mats Zucarello and dropped down for the empty net. He made a good save on Anton Stralman early in period but got beat by Martin St. Louis on a two on one. On that one he was victim of an aggressive play, St. Louis making a perfect shot under the bar. The fourth goal was a bad turnover by Willie Mitchell, but Quick popped the puck up over Mitchells stick. It was awkward for him to go back to the net and he actually fell, but Derrick Brassard put it in the Open Net. The second was not a great period for him. He would have a strong third period, where he was not overly tested. He made a massive left pad save on Brad Richards at 4-4 that preserved the tie, that was vintage Quick. He made a good save early on in first overtime, while getting some help from a post on the shot by Chris Kreider. He then then made a great breakaway save on Kreider with under four minutes left and a nice left pad save with 30 seconds left on him.dddddddddddd Quick always finds a way to make the big save when his team needs it. Scoring chances were 18-18 this game, he came up with one big save more than Lundqvist tonight. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (4) - Lundqvist was sharp early on and aggressive outside his crease - which is more rare for him. He made a big save on Marian Gaborik which was tipped and another good blocker save on Tyler Toffoli. He also made a nice glove save on Alec Martinez. He gave up an early go to Stoll on a rebound and and ends up way out of net by oversliding leaving it wide open. He was outstanding on the penalty kill, making big saves on Justin Williams and Dustin Brown. The Mitchell goal was a screenshot from the point. He made a huge save on Williams where he tracked the puck and waited to make the glove save with a great read. The third goal couldve and shouldve been goaltender interference by Dwight King, leaving no chance for Lundqvist. The fourth goal was a scramble play, the second in the game where he was caught a bit for positioning. He was great early on in first overtime, making big saves on Trevor Lewis and Tanner Pearson twice. The winner in double-OT was a redirection by Brown in the high slot, leaving not a lot of chance on the goal. Sometimes those are the hazards of playing a deeper game, more net to see if there is a tip. ' ' '