This week’s fantasy dish is going to be different than that of previous ones. I am going to be giving out awards for the 1st half of the fantasy baseball season. These awards will be for both the good and bad performances so far this season.  Let’s get things started with the first award of the half-season….

The Lance Berkman Award for a player not showing up in the first half and expected to have a big second half goes to……

Mark Teixeira 1B ATL- Tex got off to an atrocious start this season and only recently has begun to start raking in the Homeruns and RBI’s. Last season Teixeira’s numbers were decent at the midway point. Right now at 16 HR and 62 RBI, Tex is already on pace for a better year than last year. His .276 Batting Average is low for him but he should perform better in the 2nd half of the season. You need proof? After the all-star break last season Tex hit 6 more HR and drove in 23 more runs in less games than he did before the break. This season he has only started to inflate his stats with a 3 HR game a week ago and a couple more dingers spread out. In 2006, Tex’s post all-star break numbers dwarf his numbers before the break. He hit an outstanding 15 more HR in 14 less games. 

The Scooby Doo Award for biggest “mystery” of the fantasy season goes to…..

Miguel Cabrera 1B,3B DET- Miggy was supposed to push the Tigers from being a contending team in the putrid AL Central, to the best team in the galaxy. With only 11 HR and 48 RBI, fantasy owners are furious with the 1st round picks they spent on the youngster. There hasn’t been many signs of him turning around and I don’t think he will push his numbers to the point where he is a 1st round pick. In Yahoo! he is ranked 120th overall. Ian Kinsler was the runner up to this award because he is a player i just can’t figure out. Is he the number 2 ranked player in fantasy baseball? Or will he drop out of the top 25 like Jude Law out of important movie roles. 

The Ben Sheets Award for a player who is injury prone and has stayed healthy so far this season but in the end will finish the year on the DL goes to….

Ben Sheets SP MIL- I think Sheets has won this award about 4 times in his career and he hasn’t turned 30 yet. So far this season Sheets has stayed relatively healthy, and being dominant as usual. When he isn’t dominating the 60-day DL, Sheets usually dominates on the mound. So far this season, Sheets is 9-2 with a 2.83 ERA a 1.07 WHIP and 91 K’s. He has also thrown in 3 Complete Games and 1 Shutout. Be patient Sheets owners, you will have to save a spot for him on the DL at some point this season and the good news is, Mark Mulder pitched last night so pick him up!!!!! Once Sheets gets hurt of course. Would it be nuts to say Ben Sheets could be one of the greatest pitchers of our generation if he wasn’t hurt all the time? I don’t know, I probably shouldn’t have even brought that up.

This next award is called the Most Likely To Become Archie Bunker Award and the winner is…

Bobby Jenks RP CWS- Just looking at this man, it is hard not to think that he will become Carol O’Conner in about 15 years. Jenks is listed at 275 pounds but i don’t think that’s right. Nonetheless, if Archie Bunker could throw a baseball like Jenks, maybe he wouldn’t have sat in his chair all day. Jenks has 18 saves with a 1.95 ERA and 19 K’s. With the White Sox scoring more and more runs lately, Jenks opportunities may dwindle but he should still get his 35 saves. 

The final award is known as the Justin “Fans Want to Have Your Children” Timberlake Award, one of the most prestigious in fantasy baseball. This year’s award goes to… 

Evan Longoria 3B TB- David Wright and Grady Sizemore were close to taking this award away from Evan “I’m not married to Tony Parker” Longoria. The reason why he wins is because of how he and his fellow Rays have helped bring Tropicana field to life. Longoria attracts women to the ballpark which could alone double the attendance of last seasons Ray’s home games. With 15 HR, 47 RBI, and 41 runs scored, Longoria is also performing very well in his rookie season. Watching him play is like watching a smooth jazz player going off on a riff on his saxophone. He is a big time celebrity in Tampa and this may sound cheesy but the sky’s the limit for this kid and his devilish smile.