As the All-Star break comes and goes this year with all of the regular festivities, it is time once again to dish out some mid-season hardware. With so many teams still in the race and a little under half of the season left, here is how it looks for the top awards baseball thus far. MVP: American League: In one of the more clear cut races so far, this award has to go to David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox. Even though he doesn?t play the field, Ortiz has been off the charts for this past month and has clearly taken the title of the most clutch hitter in the game today. He leads not only the American League, but all of baseball with 31 home runs with 87 RBI, as well as being one of only nine players in all of baseball with a slugging percentage over .600. Teammate Manny Ramirez, and Chicago White Sox Jim Thome also are worthy candidates, but this is a one-man race for the leader on what many consider the best team in baseball. National League: Unlike their counterparts in the American League, this race has too many people to list that should walk away with the hardware. In the end, the incredible season that St. Louis? Albert Pujols has turned in and the major effect he has on the play of the Cardinals makes him the MVP over such players as Nomar Garciaparra of the Los Angeles Dodgers and David Wright of the New York Mets. Pujols has hit .316 this season with 29 home runs and 76 RBI. He also has the highest slugging percentage in all of baseball at .703, which is almost .100 points better than the second best mark. Pujols was also on track to make a run at Barry Bonds? mark of 70 home runs before an abdominal injury. Cy Young: American League: Even in limited duty, Minnesota Twins? co-ace Francisco Liriano has torched the baseball world and is the Cy Young at the halfway point. At 10-1 and a 1.83 ERA, Liriano was a late add to the All-Star team and shows no signs of slowing down after the break. A top prospect for a few years now, Liriano is teaming with Santana to form the best one-two punch in the game, while striking out 102 batters in 88.1 innings. Other candidates are Santana and Toronto?s Roy Halladay. National League: Some weak starting pitching has made this an open race, but Brandon Webb has a slight edge on the field because of his dominance with his sinker. Webb doesn?t have the strikeout numbers, but at 9-3 and a 2.65 ERA, he has been lights out for the Arizona Diamondbacks. If Arizona can stay in the race, it will surely help his chances, but other players who can make a move in the following months are San Francisco?s Jason Schmidt, Los Angeles? Brad Penny, and New York?s Pedro Martinez if he can return to his early season form after injuries. Rookie of The Year: American League: Even though Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers has been one of the most pleasant surprises in baseball this year and Boston?s Jonathan Papelbon has been off the charts at the end of games this year for the Red Sox, Francisco Liriano is the real deal in a starter?s role. Liriano just seems to get better and better with each start and wins a tight race over Papelbon because of the fact that he is a starter. National League: This is a great rookie class of hitters for the National League, and even though Dan Uggla of the Florida Marlins has had an All-Star type season, this award has to go to Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals. Zimmerman is batting .285 with 12 home runs and 58 RBI, while playing stellar defense at third base and being a mainstay in the middle of the Nationals? line-up. He doesn?t get the recognition he deserves because of where he is playing, but with what Zimmerman is doing at such a young age, it won?t be very long until he is in the David Wright category of third basemen. Manager of the Year: American League: In another no-brainer, this award has had Jim Leyland?s name on it for about three months now and it will be his for the rest of the season. Leyland has turned around a once-proud franchise from laughingstock to legitimate contender in less than one half season. While this team had the talent to start being competitive, Leyland pushed it out of them and might have sowed up this award in spring training when he changed the demeanor of this franchise of losers to winners. National League: In a bit of a surprise, I believe Jerry Narron of the Cincinnati Reds deserves this honor for the way he has managed a team that has the talent, but not always in the right areas. The Reds have talent on this roster, but it is bunch up in power bats instead of more pitching and fielding. However, Narron has worked this roster to form a formidable team and put them right in the middle of the wild card race at the break. Other candidates are Willie Randolph of the New York Mets, and Grady Little of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Executive of the Year: American League: In a tight race, I think Ken Williams of the Chicago White Sox has solidified himself as a top general manager for not standing pat after winning the World Series. He shrewdly picked up Jim Thome and Javier Vazquez without giving up an extraordinary amount of talent. These two moves have cemented the White Sox has a bona fide contender come October, and shorten the gap between championships this time around. National League: It is tough to tell how successful a GM of a club with an open checkbook is, but it is hard to argue that Omar Minaya has made the most of his resources. The New York general manager traded for Carlos Delgado to solidify the middle of the order, signed Billy Wagner to shore up the end of the game, and lured Julio Franco away from the Braves in one of the better moves of the winter. Sure he had more resources than most general managers, but he went after his most pressing needs and made the Mets one of the best teams in the National League.