As alluded in the comments, next up is probably the minor-league awards, which are typically named during the final home series (a.k.a. this weekend). In the spirit of what you typically see prior to the Emmys or Oscars, I’ll repeat my fearful predictions:
HITTER
Should win: Phillip Glasser
More likely: Yoyo Morales
PITCHER
Should win: Riley Cornelio
More likely: Alex Clemmey
BASERUNNER
Should win: Marconi German
More likely: Andrew Pinckney
DEFENSE
Definitely not Caleb Lomavita. I can barely run this site, let alone watch enough games to have a credible opinion. Life is a lot different than when this site was born. That said, I can totally envision the Nats naming someone like Seaver King to distract from their disappointing production… just like they did with Elijah Green last year (though there was certainly enough raw talent to make that believable).
NATIONALS WAY
Phillip Glasser and/or Riley Cornelio. This would be an easier call had the Nats not called up so many guys to fill the numerous holes at the AAAA level.
Clemmey has already been named the Nationals Minor League Player of the Year by the Boys in Durham, so I’m much more certain with that pick.
Of course, all of this is presuming that the Interim front office will do this and/or won’t scale back to just two players the way it was 15 years ago. Given the autopilot nature of things since Rizzo’s departure, they probably will repeat the exercise without giving much thought. And do the awards again.
The AFL starts two weeks from yesterday. I haven’t heard from Lee, but I am considering him retired and will thank him in this space again for his service to the site. As mentioned when the rosters dropped, with so many pitchers, there may be several days where no National appears, so this may be fortuitous.
With that, I’ll close this post and wish those who celebrate a shanah tovah umtukah. Otherwise, you can celebrate National Dogs in Politics or National Great American Pot Pie Day.