The MLB season has officially ended. Now, that does not mean that baseball is gone by any means. Alex Rodriguez kicked off the off-season (a bit prematurely) during the final innings of the Boston's World Series clinching Game 4 by announcing his decision to opt-out of his contract. But seeing as there will be no MLB games played until next spring, UPDATE! decided to dole out some awards to the winners and losers of the 2007 season:

ALEX RODRIGUEZ, New York Yankees 3B
Comment: A-Rod may have shown the country that he's a total jackass by taking the spotlight away from the World Series during the tail end of Game 4 on Sunday, but you can't argue with the man's season: .314 AVG, 54 HR, 156 RBI, 143 R, 24 SB. He blew the rest of the competition out of the water in 2007 and those of us who drafted him were rewarded handsomely. Only question is, where does the A-Rod show go next?

MAGGLIO ORDONEZ, Detroit Tigers OF
Comment: Ordonez did not get the attention he truly deserved this season. If A-Rod wasn't around, Ordonez would have been the hands-down winner of the Fantasy MVP award. With a maniacal .363 batting average, 28 HR, 139 RBI and 117 R, he showed the world that he was still a fantasy force. He was viewed as a Top 20 outfielder entering this year, but he should be at the top of the rankings by the time cheat sheets are put together for next season's drafts.

PRINCE FIELDER, Milwaukee Brewers 1B
Comment: His name may be Prince, but this 23-year old has royal power befitting to a king. Cecil's kid put up stellar stats in 2007 with a .280 AVG, 50 HR, 119 RBI and 109 R. The most staggering aspect about his season is that he was fairly inconsistent during the months of June, July and August. Imagine if he played strong all year! He should easily be a first-round selection in 2008 fantasy drafts.

CARLOS PENA, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 1B
Comment: Before this season, if someone had told you that some guy named Carlos Pena would be among the Top 5 in the AL in home runs, RBI, OPS, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, extra-base hits and walks, you would probably think they were as crazy as Milton Bradley. But lo and behold, the former top prospect had an outstanding season at the ripe age of 29. Of course, being in a contract year probably had something to do with it, but regardless of the reason, Pena was waiver wire gold to fantasy teams in 2007.

ANDRUW JONES, Atlanta Braves OF
Comment: Guess Jones didn't realize that you are supposed to have your best season in a walk year. Jones finished with a horrific .222 average and his numbers fell way below expectations. Not that it will matter much with agent Scott Boras calling the shots. UPDATE! is sure that some team out there is willing to overpay for a guy who has hit over .300 just once in his career. Just make sure that you don't do the same when you are putting your team together before the start of next season.

HANLEY RAMIREZ, Florida Marlins SS
JIMMY ROLLINS, Philadelphia Phillies SS
Comment: Remember when New York Mets SS Jose Reyes was the consensus No. 2 overall pick among fantasy owners heading into 2007 drafts? Billed as the best shortstop in baseball, it turns out he wasn't even the best shortstop in the National League East. Ramirez (.332 AVG, 29 HR, 81 RBI, 125 R, 51 SB) and Rollins (.296 AVG, 30 HR, 94 RBI, 139 R, 41 SB) both trumped Reyes statistically, whose cocky attitude and silly dances drew the ire of Mets fans as the team's collapse in the end of the regular season came to fruition.

ROCCO BALDELLI, Tampa Bay Devil Rays OF
Comment: Enough with Rocco! That's what the credo of fantasy owners should be heading into 2007 drafts. Yes he's extremely talented and has all that five-tool ability, but the man's odds of playing an entire season healthy are about as good as David Wells' chances of passing a hamburger joint without salivating. Hamstring woes put a damper on this particular injury-plagued season and instead of wondering if he will ever reach his potential, baseball enthusiasts should begin taking bets on what type of injury will befall Baldelli in 2008.

TREVOR HOFFMAN, San Diego Padres RP
Comment: Expecting to see the 2007 Mets here? While New York's meltdown was a team effort, the Padres late-season demise can be shouldered primarily by one man, the all-time saves leader. All San Diego needed Hoffman to do was get the save against Milwaukee in the team's final regular season game to clinch the NL Wild Card and avoid a one-game playoff against the Rockies. In a twist of delicious irony, Tony Gwynn Jr. (whose father has a life-size statue sitting outside of Petco Park) tripled off Hoffman and the Brewers toppled the Padres in extra-innings. But Hoffman's failures did not end there. In the one-game playoff against Colorado Hoffman was again called upon, this time to protect a two-run lead. He promptly coughed up three runs and a post-season spot while recording just one out in the appearance. While Hoffman had another productive fantasy season in 2007, causing your team to miss out on the post-season has to have some effect on his psyche. Do not be surprised if Hoffman catches a case of Brad Lidge syndrome in 2008.

ROGER CLEMENS, New York Yankees SP
Comment: The end has finally come. At least that's what we are hoping Clemens is thinking right now. He was fantastically mediocre this year with a 6-6 record, 4.18 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and just 68 SO in 99 innings. All that for a pro-rated $28 million contract. After not being able to even compete in the post-season, the Rocket will hopefully spare us the dread of another speculative Spring/Summer where everyone wonders if he will "un-retire" once again.



Starbonell is UPDATE! Major League Baseball Editor.