CURT SCHILLING BLOODY SOCK AWARD FOR TOUGHNESS

This Award goes to a player or players who went through tough times - through injury, through illness, through personal matters, through a harsh slump - but came out on top.

There was only one nominee I could think of off the top of my head, so he wins it. And the nominee/winner is…

Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox!



Pedroia wasn’t a highly touted prospect like Nomar Garciaparra, Hanley Ramirez, or Jacoby Ellsbury were. He was a solid player in the minors, hitting .305 with 5 homers at AAA Pawtucket in 2006. He came into what has been a tough position for the Red Sox the past few years. In the last two decades, second base has seen the arrival and departure of Mark Bellhorn, Tony Graffanino, Mike Lansing, Jose Offerman, Mark Loretta, Todd Walker, Rey Sanchez, Mike Benjamin, Jeff Frye, Luis Alicea, Scott Fletcher, Jody Reed, and Marty Barrett.

When Pedroia entered the fray, he struggled. He hit .182 in April, with a poultry .236 slugging percentage and only a pair of RBI. Despite the success of the team, Dustin was becoming the focus of scrutiny from the fans. It appeared as though he didn’t have what it took to be a Major Leaguer.

But Terry Francona and the Sox stuck with him. And it paid off. Pedroia had an outstanding month of May, hitting .425, slugging .600, and getting on base 47% of the time. In June he hit .333, then .299 in July, .346 in August, and .302 in September.

He finished the season with a .317 average, a .380 OBP, 50 RBI, and 86 runs scored. He was 10th in hitting in the American League. Placido Polanco and Chase Utley were the only 2B to sport higher averages. Pedroia won the Rookie of the Year Award, getting 24 of 29 first place votes.

Pedroia hit .345 in the ALCS, with 3 doubles, a homer, and 5 RBI. In the World Series, he hit .278, with a double, a homer, and 4 RBI. He also filled a spot in the lineup that had been tossed around like a hot potato: the leadoff spot.

He stayed strong despite all the negative attention. He remained confident that he would find his groove. It’s hard for a player to begin a season in a slump, especially when it’s your first season. But Dustin’s ability to stay inside the game was a big reason why the Red Sox won the World Series.

TOM BRADY AWARD FOR BIGGEST SURPRISE OUT OF NOWHERE

This Award goes to a player or team that nobody expected to do well. It goes to someone that people had hardly heard of, but who has since become a hero.

The nominees are:

Dustin Pedroia - 2B, Boston Red Sox
Tim Thomas - G, Boston Bruins
Randy Moss - WR, Patriots
Hideki Okajima - RP, Boston Red Sox
Boston College football

And the winner is…

Hideki Okajima of the Red Sox!



Nobody knew anything about Okajima when the Red Sox signed him to a modest $1.25M per year contract. The signing occurred almost simultaneously with the Daisuke circus. With the Red Sox adding Matsuzaka, JD Drew, and Julio Lugo; Okajima didn’t get any attention.

Most fans saw Okajima as a perk given to Daisuke, a buddy from the old country to help ease the adjustment to the new, a fellow speaker of Japanese in the locker room who could be Matsuzaka’s surrogate big brother.

But we all found out that Okajima was in fact, a phenomenal pitcher. The wakeup call came on April 20th. Before then, Okajima had been used in somewhat of a mop up role, pitching in blowouts or losses. He had impressed Francona, though, so Terry put him into the fire.

On the 20th, the Yankees were in town. The Red Sox scored 5 runs in the 8th to go from 6-2 down to 7-6 up. But Papelbon wasn’t available to pitch the 9th. So Francona called on Okajima to face Jeter, Abreu, and Rodriguez. Hideki got Jeter to groundout, walked Abreu, A-Rod lined out, and Thompson struck out to end the game. It was Okajima’s first save of his Major League career, and it was about as hard as a save can get.

The next game, also against New York, Okajima pitched a perfect 0.2 to earn the first Hold of his career. He’d go on to get 27 Holds, good for 3rd in the American League. He also added 5 Saves, and only 2 Blown Saves.

By the end of the season, he appeared to run out of gas. On July 14th, his ERA was 0.79. This would balloon up to 2.22 by the end of the season. Until games 3 and 4 of the World Series, he was not scored upon in the playoffs. He still had solid post-season numbers, with a 2.45 ERA and a WHIP of 1.091, but removing those last two outings makes his numbers look astonishing. Apart from the last two games, he pitched 9.2 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 walks, and 0 runs. That’s a 0.00 ERA, and a WHIP of 0.827.

Okajima went from a shot in the dark signing perceived by most to be an effort to please Dice-K, to an All-Star, to an integral part of the Red Sox World Championship. The only thing that would make him more like Tom Brady would be a degree from Michigan and a supermodel girlfriend.

TED WILLIAMS AWARD FOR RED SOX PLAYER OF THE YEAR

With all that’s going on with the Patriots and Celtics, the Red Sox winning the World Series is almost at the backs of our minds. But they lead from wire to wire, spending more days in first place than any other Red Sox team in history, winning the AL East for the first time in 12 years, and becoming the first two-time World Champs in the 21st century.

Here are the nominees for Red Sox Player of the Year:

Jonathan Papelbon - Closer
Hideki Okajima - Reliever
Mike Lowell - Third Base
Dustin Pedroia - Second Base
Kevin Youkilis - First Base
Josh Beckett - Starting Pitcher

And the winner is…

Josh Beckett!



After what we saw in the post-season, is there any doubt that Beckett was the best pitcher in baseball In ‘07? But Beckett’s playoff performance may have overshadowed what was a truly amazing regular season. Beckett went 20-7 with a 3.27 ERA. After allowing 36 homeruns last year, he yielded a mere 17 in 2007. After walking 74 batters in 2006, Beckett only issued 40 free passes this season. He only hit 5 batters, as opposed to 10 in ‘06. He only threw 3 wild pitches, as opposed to 11.

Then there was what Beckett did in the post-season. He started 4 games, winning them all. He threw 30 innings (7.5 per start), allowing 4 earned runs (1.20 ERA), 2 walks, 19 hits (0.677 WHIP), and striking out 35 batters (10.5 per 9 IP). To do that in the playoffs, against the best teams in baseball, is absurd.

Combining his regular season and post-season numbers, here’s what Beckett gave us:

34 starts, 230.2 IP, 24 wins, 7 losses, 3 no decisions, 2 complete games, 1 shutout, 208 hits, 42 walks, 80 runs, 77 earned runs, 229 strikeouts, 3.00 ERA, 1.083 WHIP, 8.9 K/9IP, 6.78 IP per start, and a 5.45:1 K/BB ratio.

That’s insane.

DREW BLEDSOE AWARD FOR PATRIOTS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Here’s another Award that could go to about a dozen different people. The Pats are the best team in the NFL, and may just be the best team ever.

Here are the nominees:

Tom Brady - Quarterback
Randy Moss - Wide Receiver
Wes Welker - Wide Receiver
Logan Mankins - Guard
Kevin Faulk - Runningback
Vince Wilfork - Defensive Tackle
Ty Warren - Defensive End
Mike Vrabel - Linebacker
Asante Samuel - Cornerback

And the winner is…

Wes Welker!



Yes, Brady and Moss have the numbers, the records, and the highlights. In fact, Welker isn’t even going to the Pro Bowl. But the player who has impressed me the most on the Patriots has been Welker.

He was a workhorse. He got the couple yards here and there that kept drives alive, and set-up the big downfield plays to Moss. Welker had 112 catches, surpassing Troy Brown’s club record of 101. Wes was a lot like Deion Branch in terms of dependability. Of his 112 catches, 65 were for first downs.

He was a diversion. Defenses couldn’t put all of their focus on Moss going down the sidelines because Welker would be lurking underneath and exploit deep coverage for a big gain after the catch.

He was a slippery SOB. I could count on one hand how many times the first attempted tackler took Welker down. He seemed to get an extra 3 yards on every play, sometimes getting 10 or 15 bonus yards.

He did everything. He rushed the ball 4 times this season, breaking one of those for 27 yards. He returned 7 kickoffs for 176 yards, or a 25.1 average. He returned 25 punts for 249 yards. Although he never returned one all the way, his 10 yard return average always gave the Patriots a nice boost to start their offensive onslaught. And in a pinch, he could have replaced Gostkowski as the place kicker.

He did everything he was asked to do, and did it well. He had good numbers and was Brady's most dependable option.

BILL RUSSELL AWARD FOR CELTICS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Last year this Award was a no brainer. There wasn’t even another nominee besides Pierce. But this season, I think you can guess as to who the three nominees are:

Paul Pierce - Forward
Kevin Garnett - Forward
Ray Allen - Guard

And the winner is…

We have a tie. The entire PGA Tour will be sharing this award!



We all know the story. Last year, the Celtics were in the lottery. This year, they’ve already surpassed their win total from the 06-07 campaign, and are on pace for a staggering 74 wins. The C’s are 11 games ahead of Toronto, the largest divisional lead in the NBA. The PGA Tour just finished a 4-0 West Coast road trip, something unimaginable last season.

Combined, Pierce, Garnett, and Allen are averaging 20.0 rebounds a game, 11.6 assists per game, and 59.5 points per game. They’ve also made other players better, like Tony Allen, Kendrick Perkins, Eddie House, Rajon Rondo, and Glen Davis. And defensively the Celtics have held opponents to 87.8 points per game, the lowest points allowed total in the NBA.

The Celtics are back in business, and it is thanks to the PGA Tour.

BOBBY ORR AWARD FOR BRUINS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Patrice Bergeron would have probably won this were it not for his injury. Without him, the Bruins have still remained in the mix, but he has been sorely missed.

Here are the nominees:

Tim Thomas - Goalie
Chuck Kobasew - Center
Marc Savard - Center
Marco Sturm - Right Wing

And the winner is…

Marc Savard!



The veteran from Ottawa is fourth in the NHL in assists with 34. He’s been the key to most of the Bruins offensive opportunities this year. Last season, he totaled 74 assists and 96 total points in a career year. With the absence of Bergeron, he’s become the Bruins’ most potent offensive weapon with 9 goals, and 43 total points.

DOUG FLUTIE AWARD FOR COLLEGE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

This goes to the New England college athlete that performed the best. Included for consideration is the size of the stage an athlete performed on. In other words, Boston College dominates this Award.

Here are the nominees:

Jamie Silva - DB, Boston College football
Matt Ryan - QB, Boston College football

And the winner is…

Jamie Silva of Boston College!



Matt Ryan got all the attention and the Heisman hype in the middle of the season, but his lackluster performances to finish the year eliminated him from contention for this Award. Silva, on the other hand, is a Rhode Island product; and was an absolute beast on the football field, leveling some mammoth hits and making big plays in big games, including a pick in the Champs Sports Bowl.

I don't think Jamie will get drafted, and if he does, it will be in the 5th round or later. But I do think he'll wind up in the NFL. He's got a nose for the ball, and his ability to set-up and execute big hits is something that could prove very valuable on special teams.

BBS AWARD FOR PATRIOTS HOTTEST CHEERLEADER

An extremely objectifying Award, but trust me, these girls are athletes. Unfortunately, they’re all so gorgeous, my simple male mind can’t get past their hotness in order to determine which one of them is the best cheerleader.

And the winner is...

Alyssa Caddle!



Yeah, that's nice.