Look Out, Bono!

The baseball season is still going on and Albert Pujols has already started to accumulate awards like it's nobody's business.

Today the slugger grabbed the Sporting News Player of the Year award, which is voted on by 314 fellow Major Leaguers. This comes just a few days after Prince Albert grabbed the MLBA's NL Outstanding Player trophy (also voted on by the players).

Albert is also up against Cliff Lee and Man-Ram for the Players' Choice Player of the Year Award, which will be announced later this week.

The real question though is whether or not El Hombre will be able to capture his second NL MVP after posting a .357 average (2nd in NL), knocking out 37 bombs (T-4th) and driving in 116 runs (4th).

His stiffest competition for the MVP would seem to be Ryan Howard, who despite leading baseball in homers and RBIs (by a lot) only managed to hit for a .251 average, and Man-Ram, who I believe actually put the other 24 members of the Dodgers on his back and went into the outfield to listen to music on his .mp3 Oaklies en route to taking the Dodgers to their first NLCS since Madonna was hot (unless you're A-Rod).

The thing that those two have working for them though is the fact that their teams made the playoffs. Remember, this is the same Albert Pujols that bitched and moaned two years ago, when Ryan Howard beat him out for the MVP in a year that the Phils didn't make the postseason.

At the end of the day though, Howard's average and Manny's limited time (53 games) in the NL will be tough to gloss over.

After being screwed over by Bonds and Howard in the past I think it would be a travesty to have such a consistent machine like Albert Pujols end his career with only one MVP, and I think the voters will recognize that.

By the end of awards season, Albert can expect his trophy case to get even fuller, even more so than Bono's.