It is generally a tradition for fans and sports writers to hand out midseason awards during the All-Star Break in the middle of the Major League Baseball season. With less than two hours to go at the time of writing this article before the 77th Annual All-Star Game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pa., here are my 2006 Major League Baseball Midseason Awards:

First, the awards for the AMERICAN LEAGUE...

The Primary Awards

MVP: Boston Red Sox 1B/DH David Ortiz - Big Papi currently leads the majors in home runs (31) and RBI (87) in a pivotal season for the Boston Red Sox, who have had to replace the void in their offense made by the departures of first baseman Kevin Millar, second baseman Tony Graffanino, third baseman Bill Mueller, shortstop Edgar Renteria and outfielder Johnny Damon with former San Diego Padres second baseman Mark Loretta, former Florida Marlins third baseman Mike Lowell and shortstop Alex Gonzalez, former Cleveland Indian outfielder Coco Crisp, and in-house first baseman Kevin Youkilis. While the additions of Lowell, Loretta and Gonzalez to go with the promotion of Youkilis have helped Boston become one of the best infield defenses in the American League, there has been somewhat of an offensive dropoff and Ortiz has been there (along with left fielder Manny Ramirez) to pick up the slack. Interestingly enough, the 30-homer outing by the Boston designated hitter is the first 30+ outing by a Red Sox at the break, an interesting tidbit considering how many sluggers have played in Boston such as Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx and Carl Yastrzemski.

Some argue that Chicago White Sox 1B/DH Jim Thome should be the winner of the award but while his numbers (30 home runs, 77 RBI) are impressive, Thome has not been as much of a help to the White Sox as Ortiz has been for the Red Sox. Chicago has first baseman Paul Konerko (21 long balls, 67 RBI), second baseman Tadahito Iguchi (57 runs, 10 home runs, 40 RBI) and outfielder Jermaine Dye (25 homers, 68 RBI) providing a good portion of the White Sox offense along with Thome. Sure, Thome has had an impressive first half, but Ortiz is simply more valuable to the Red Sox than Thome is to the White Sox.

Cy Young: Toronto Blue Jays SP Roy Halladay - Some trendy picks besides that of Halladay, who has a 12-2 record with an ERA of 2.92 and a WHIP of 1.03, are Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon and Minnesota Twins starters Johan Santana and Fransisco Liriano. The problem with the other three is that they have not been as successful as Halladay has been this season. Santana, a former Cy Young winner, has a record of 9-5, an ERA of 2.95, a slightly better WHIP than Halladay with 1.00 and 138 strikeouts. Most of the people who are picking Santana are doing so because of his resume and the high strikeout total but the Venezuelan-born starter has struggled at times this season, especially in the beginning of the season when he was 0-3 with an ERA of 4.81 in his first four games. Most attribute that to missing spring training time pitching in the World Baseball Classic but that is just excuse making. Halladay has been more consistent over the course of the season.

Liriano and Papelbon provide the top two challenges for the award and interestingly enough, both are rookies. Liriano started the season in the Twins bullpen, a move that has opened up the Minnesota front office for outlash from the fans because the Dominican-born pitcher has gone 9-1 with an ERA of 1.36 in 10 starts this season. Those are Cy Young-level numbers but unfortunately for Liriano, he simply has not been starting long enough to overtake Halladay for the title. If he keeps up those numbers in the second half, he more than likely will leapfrog the Blue Jays ace but not so for the first half. Papelbon has been an incredible closer for the Red Sox, converting 26 of 29 save opportunities (tied for the AL lead with White Sox closer Bobby Jenks) with a jaw-dropping ERA of 0.59 but a successful starter is much more valuable than a successful closer.

Miscellaneous Awards

Rookie of the Half: Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon - see above. The nod goes to the Sox closer over Liriano and Detroit Tigers starter Justin Verlander (10-4 record with an ERA of 3.01) because he has pitched better over a longer period of time than Liriano and Liriano's numbers are just plain better than Verlander's.
Most Disappointing Player: Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira - Teixeira's power output this season (only nine home runs) is pretty poor for a guy who has hit 26, 38 and 43 long balls over the past three seasons. Teixeira has also seen a dip in his RBI numbers as well. (49 this season after 84, 112 and 144 outputs over the past three seasons.) The Rangers are currently tied for first place in the AL West with the Oakland Athletics but if those numbers continue for the Texas first baseman, it will be hard for the Rangers to maintain that position in the standings.
Biggest Surprise: - Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer - At one point late in the first half, Mauer was flirting with approaching a .400 batting average but he went 0-for-10 in his last 10 at-bats to drop his average to .378. (It was .392 at the turn of June to July.) In only two-and-a-half seasons, Mauer has become a leader for the Twins and is a bat to be feared at the third spot in the Minnesota batting order.

And now, the awards for the NATIONAL LEAGUE...

The Primary Awards

MVP: St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols - Like Ortiz, most writers and fans are tabbing Pujols as the first half MVP and for good reason. The St. Louis slugger has 29 home runs on the season and 76 RBI and while those numbers are impressive and arguably the best in the National League, they could have been much better for last season's National League MVP. Pujols was on a monstrous tear to start the season when he was on pace to overtake Barry Bonds' all-time single season home run record (73 long balls) and Hack Wilson's all-time single season RBI record (191 runs driven home) but Pujols was injured in a June 3rd loss to the Chicago Cubs, forcing the slugger to sit on the disabled list for the first time in his career. After missing 18 days, Pujols returned to the Cardinal lineup and has struggled to maintain his previous pace, hitting only three home runs in his last 17 games. Nevertheless, Pujols has been putting up those numbers on a Cardinal team that has very little offensive weapons. Third baseman Scott Rolen has provided some offensive support (.331 batting average, 14 homers, 57 RBI) but besides the Cardinal third baseman and Pujols, there hasn't been a whole lot of offense coming from the other seven positions.

Washington Nationals left fielder Alfonso Soriano has put up impressive numbers (.272 batting average, 27 home runs, 56 RBI and 20 stolen bases) as has New York Mets third baseman David Wright (.316 batting average, 20 homers, 74 RBI and 11 steals) but both have their downsides. Soriano plays on a Nationals team that is most likely going to be a seller at the trade deadline and the player's value to his team's playoff hopes is something that is rated by fans, writers and MVP voters. Wright is an emerging star with plenty of power potential but in a lineup loaded with offensive firepower (outfielder Carlos Beltran, first baseman Carlos Delgado, shortstop Jose Reyes and catcher Paul Lo Duca), for Wright to be considered more valuable to the Mets than Pujols is to the Cardinals. There simply is no other player in the National League who has been more valuable to their team than Pujols has been.

Cy Young: Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Chris Capuano - Of the awards to be handed out, the National League Cy Young award is one of the hardest to make next to the American League Rookie of the Half. Numerous candidates have impressive numbers but it is hard to say that one of them stands out above the rest. Mets starter Tom Glavine is 11-2 so far on the season with an ERA of 3.48, Los Angeles Dodgers starter Brad Penny (the National League's starting pitcher in the All-Star Game) is 10-2 in 2006 with an ERA of 2.91, Milwaukee Brewers starter Chris Capuano has posted a record of 10-4 with an ERA of 3.21 and Arizona Diamondbacks starter Brandon Webb has gone 9-3 with an ERA of 2.65. When the numbers are as close as they are with these pitchers, part of what should be factored in to break the tie is how valuable the various pitchers are to their respective teams.

Glavine pitches for a Mets team that lacks quality starting pitching in the back end of the rotation but New York does also have Pedro Martinez and Steve Trachsel in the rotation and an overpowering lineup. Penny plays for a Dodger team that added shortstop Rafael Furcal, third baseman Bill Mueller and first baseman Nomar Garciaparra to the offense and has had nice production from rookie outfielders Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier. Webb has a young offense behind him that has not necessarily had consistent production from a single player but has been productive as a team. But the Diamondbacks are fading in the NL West and as it goes with the MVP voting, playoff position is an important factor and Webb takes a hit in that category.

Capuano gets my nod because he has helped lead the Brewers into playoff contention in the NL Central and the Wild Card with not a whole lot of help behind him. The Milwaukee rotation has been mediocre this season behind Capuano and without starter Ben Sheets and the offense has little production coming from anyone besides outfielder Carlos Lee and first baseman Prince Fielder. The choice is a close one and ends up falling in Capuano's court. Hopefully as the second half progresses a serious contender for the vote will emerge.

Miscellaneous Awards

Rookie of the Half: Florida Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla - Uggla has been a splendid surprise for the Marlins, batting .307 with 13 long balls and 51 RBI and could be one of the NL's biggest surprises on a team that very few expected to produce as they have this season. Mark it down: the Marlins will be a contender again possibly as early as next season.
Most Disappointing Player: Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Tim Hudson - Hudson has never had a double-digit loss season but with a record of 6-8 with the disappointing Braves this season, it looks like that status will be eliminated unless the Braves starter gets hurt or puts up a Cy Young-esque second half. Another disappointing stat linked to Hudson: his 4.56 ERA is more than 100 points higher than his career average.
Biggest Surprise: - New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes - The baseball world discovered that Reyes was a tremendous talent in 2005, his first full season in the majors, when he scored 99 runs and stole 60 bases. However, his batting average of .273 and on-base percentage of .300 were concerning. Those concerns were removed this season as the Mets shortstop has hit .300 with an OBP of .357, 8 home runs (one more than his 2005 total), 41 RBI, 39 steals and a staggering 75 runs scored. Although Reyes will be ways away from approaching Billy Hamilton's all-time runs scored in a single season record of 198, he is on pace for a total of 139 runs, a very impressive number indeed.

(Ortiz Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated; Pujols Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated)