This thread now contains news of the announcement of the 2008 American League Most Valuable Player. Dustin Pedroia? A-Rod? Morneau or Mauer? Carlos Quentin? Josh Hamilton? Francisco Rodriguez? Cliff Lee?

Update: Pedroia wins

Who should have won? And why?

And we all breathe a big sigh of relief.

The first couple of standard projection methods have come out so lets start seeing what our 2009 Blue Jays might look like.

Baseball America publish their top ten prospects today, followed by a subscriber chat this afternoon.  Thanks are due to mylegacy who has reported the top ten from the actual paper which has already been mailed to subscribers. 

Previously headlined:
More awards coming today ...
Shortly, this very thread will carry news of the announcement of both the AL Cy Young Award winner and the 2008 AL and NL "lineups" of Silver Sluggers.

Before we get to the announcements -- they're still a few hours off -- tell us, who will win? Who should?

Update: Lee wins; Jays' Halladay a far-distant second
Update II:  And here are your Silver Sluggers '08.

No real surprises here. Well, maybe that Maddon wasn't unanimous, but still ...

Oh, and that Matt Holliday trade finally happened, for real this time.

Thoughts, comments, punditry, witticisms? ...

Sabathia? Santana? Lidge? Webb? Nah ... Tim Lincecum nabbed the 2008 NL Cy Young Award, the first Giant to do so since Mike McCormick in 1967.

So ... the "real" voters agreed with Baseball Prospectus. Good decision? And a bonus challenge question ...

In a result that I'm sure is surprising to nobody, Geovany Soto and Evan Longoria have won their respective Rookie of the Year Awards. And in CRAZY BREAKING NEWS, the A's swooped in from left field to acquire Matt Holliday. I'm hearing Greg Smith and Brett Anderson are part of the package, but it's still being finalized.

Another Trade! (9:14PM) The Nationals have just traded Emilio Bonifacio along with prospects Jake Smolinski and P.J. Dean for Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham, according to Peter Gammons.

Update (4:18PM): A few sources seem to indicate that the final A's package consists of Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith and Huston Street.

Update (3:57PM): Greg Smith has been confirmed as part of the package. Anderson, Ryan Sweeney, and Carlos Gonzalez are also in the mix per ESPN.

In another thread, Mike Green muses, "As long as Bob Walk isn't pitching ..." which led me to think, "Yeah, and you could pull him from the game and lose nothing by bringing in Grant Balfour."

See where this is headed? I have nothing specific in mind, but instead just invite everyone here to brainstorm and nominate the players who would make up the all-disastrously-named squad. From Balfour and Walk to Klutts and Kluttz, who belongs on this team? Remember, no nicknames, so Hugh "Losing Pitcher" Mulcahy is right out ...

Yesterday, we reviewed Baseball Prospectus' AL 2008 Internet Baseball Awards, and Roy Halladay was mentioned prominently, if not invited into the winner's circle. Today we learn the NL winners ...

• Albert Pujols edged Man-Ram (correction ... Han-Ram!) and Lance Berkman for MVP;
• Tim "He was almost a Blue Jay?" Lincecum is your Cy Young winner, bettering Johan Santana and far ahead of third-place CC Sabathia;
• Geovany Soto was rookie of the year. Duh.
• Lou Piniella, manager of the year? Over Charlie Manuel? Really?

A few questions and comments ...

Note: this is NOT intended to be a political thread!

Four years ago, on the eve of John Kerry's regulation loss to George W. Bush (the previous Gore contest went extra innings, you may recall), we published a Hall of Names All-U.S.-Presidents Team. With the latest election behind us -- no, there has never been an "Obama" to play professional ball, much less in the majors (this guy is closest) -- we are left with, at least, a Question of the Day ...

There's no doubt that George W. Bush, formerly owner of the Texas Rangers, was one of the true "baseball guys" to ever inhabit the U.S. White House. What effect -- if any -- will his departure from office (and the impending Obama presidency) have on major league baseball?

 It's official (well, as close as can be.) AJ Burnett will opt out of the last two years of his contract, forgoing 2 years and $24 million.

Baseball Prospectus' AL 2008 Internet Baseball Awards have been announced, and Toronto's Roy Halladay placed a strong second in the balloting, trailing only Cleveland SP Cliff Lee, in what could be a preview of the BBWAA Cy Young results.

Though Halladay finished a fair pace behind Lee -- he was more than 25 percent back -- it's worth noting that the good Doctor's final ballot tally was greater than the totals of the third place through eighth place finishers (Lester, F-Rod, Daisuke, Rivera, E. Santana, Mussina) combined.

A.J. Burnett finished 12th in the Cy Young voting. No Blue Jay position player made the top 15 in MVP (which went to Dustin Pedroia), though Halladay was 10th (Lee finished 5th); nor did any Jay crack the top 10 for Rookie of the Year (which went to Evan Longoria).

It's that deadest time of the baseball year, after the World Series, before the Winter Meetings ... The notable trade this week wasn't Tigers/Rockies but rather Pistons/Nuggets ... Who's the MLB equivalent of Allen Iverson, anyway? ... In G.M. news, your World Champion Phillies (that still looks strange) tabbed, to nobody's surprise, Ruben Amaro Jr., while the Red Sox re-upped Theo Epstein ... Is new pitching coach Mike Maddux the Rangers' most significant pitching acquisition since Fergie Jenkins 35 years ago? ... The Brewers placed a "courtesy" bid on CC Sabathia -- where's he going to end up, anyway? ...

What else is going on?

In a move that was widely expected, the Jays have picked up the option on catcher Rod Barajas for next season.