SNY ON DIRECTV

The Mets finally agreed to a deal with DirecTV, so SNY will be available on my TV beginning on Wednesday - just in time for game 2 of the season. Now, hopefully, the weather will also cooperate.

Tuesday is an off-day for the Mets, so I will do what I've forgotten to do the past couple of days...post my picks for end-of-season awards. I made these picks Monday morning (which will be obvious when you see some of them, pre-D.L., and pre-getting-smoked), just so no one thinks there's anything untoward going on. Besides - I am awful at this. Not sure why I even bother.

NL Cy Young Award: I'm going with Tim Hudson, although I think Derek Lowe will get a few votes here (I expect a big season from him in L.A.).

AL Cy Young Award: Barry Zito. (Like I said, before their games on Monday...and he can't do any worse.)

NL MVP: Pretty generic, but I think it'll be Albert Pujols. I can't think of anyone else who will be that valuable to their team - I pick the Mets to do really well, but I don't think they're going to have that MVP-type standout guy. Everyone will contribute.

AL MVP: I think David Ortiz gets his due this year. He keeps getting better.

NL Manager of the Year: Willie Randolph will get recognized for unseating the Braves, edging out Grady Little.

AL Manager of the Year: Might be Eric Wedge, because Guillen won it last year.

NL Comeback Player of the Year: Nomar Garciaparra (if he ever gets off the DL).

AL Comeback Player of the Year: Mike Lowell. I'm not sure if they even break up the Comeback Player award into AL and NL anymore, but if they do, these are my picks. If it's a Major League Comeback Player of the Year award, I'll go with Lowell, since he's a crossover between leagues anyway.

NL Rookie of the Year: I'm not too familiar with the rookies this year, so I'm going to go with what I know, and say Brian Bannister, if he sticks around all year in the rotation and picks up 10+ wins.

AL Rookie of the Year: Whichever pitcher has a bigger impact on the Red Sox' staff - Jonathan Papelbon, or Craig Hansen.

Those are my picks for whatever they are worth. Wednesday night I'll try to do a post-game posting. We'll see how late these games end.