With the first chunk of the MLB season in the books -- a bizarre one in Toronto -- one Blue Jays pitcher might be in line to bring home some hardware.

So here we are at the mid-point of the 2009 Major League Baseball season. Well, not statistically, that was a couple of weeks back, but traditionally the mid-summer classic, a.k.a. the All-Star Game, provides the perfect pause to look back at what went on with the Toronto Blue Jays and look forward to what may lie ahead.

Let's get started by handing out some silverware to those who have excelled around the majors.

AL MVP -- Kevin Youkilis (Red Sox). The 'Greek God of Walks' is found somewhere inside every Red Sox rally, of which there are many. With injuries having rendered 'Big Papi' Ortiz a mere shell of his former self and Mike Lowell just a stellar defender, Youkilis remains toughest out in the Boston line-up. Honourable mention: Joe Mauer (Twins), Torii Hunter (Angels), Miguel Cabrera (Tigers), Ben Zobrist (Rays).

AL CY YOUNG -- Zack Greinke (Royals). While my heart says Roy Halladay, my head tells me Greinke, whose ERA is over a half run lower and has allowed a run or less in half his starts. Plus, in his five losses the Royals have scored only three total runs. Throw in the trials and tribulations of his return to the majors and Greinke is the story of the first half. Honourable mention: Halladay (Blue Jays), Edwin Jackson (Tigers), Felix Hernandez (Mariners), Josh Beckett (Red Sox).

AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR -- Ron Washington (Rangers). Without his best hitter Josh Hamilton for most of the first half and an evolving left side of his infield, Washington has coaxed some top notch performances out of his team. But what has made the Rangers a contender in the first half is their pitching which has been an annual non-factor. Now if they can just keep from wilting in the August heat. Honourable mention: Jim Leyland (Tigers), Don Wakamatsu (Mariners), Cito Gaston (Blue Jays - first 41 games only).

AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR -- Ricky Romero (Blue Jays). Not even on the radar when spring training began, pitching guru Brad Arnsberg was finally allowed to coach the youngster aside and the results, except for a brief trip to the D.L., have been outstanding. Comparisons to Johan Santana, especially his change-up, are not off-side. Honourable mention: Rick Porcello (Tigers), Andrew Bailey (Athletics), Jeff Niemann (Rays), Nolan Reimold (Orioles).

NL MVP -- Albert Pujols, (Cardinals). Could this be the year that the one they call 'The Machine' wins the elusive Triple Crown? He currently sits fourth in average (.017 behind the leader) while leading in home runs and RBI. His projected numbers for the season (.332, 58 HR, 155 RBI) put him in the same sentence as the likes of babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx. Honourable mention: Raul Ibanez (Phillies), Ryan Braun (Brewers), Prince Fielder (Brewers), Hanley Ramirez (Marlins).

NL CY YOUNG -- Tim Lincecum, (Giants). The slight right-hander with the unusual delivery is halfway to joining Sandy Koufax, Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson in the back-to-back Cy Young club. He has allowed three earned runs or less in 16 of his 18 starts and leads his league with 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings. And to think that Alex Rios and him were once linked in a trade rumour. Honourable mention: Dan Haren (Diamondbacks), Matt Cain (Giants), Josh Johnson (Marlins), Heath Bell (Padres).

NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR -- Bruce Bochy (Giants). The pre-season pundits had his Giants pegged as no better than a third place-team in the West yet they currently sit 10 games over .500 leading the wild card race. It doesn't hurt that Lincecum and Cain make 40 per cent of your starts but he has finally pulled this team out of Barry Bonds' shadow and has made them play hard on a daily basis. Honourable mention: Joe Torre (Dodgers), Tony LaRussa (Cardinals), Ken Macha (Brewers).

NL ROOKIE -- Colby Rasmus, (Cardinals). Still a month short of his 23rd birthday, he leads all major league rookies with 11 HR, 34 RBI, .807 OPS and 31 extra-base hits. Rasmus has been used in every spot in the line-up except third -- that's where Pujols is chiseled in stone -- and his .333 average since June 1st is sixth highest in the N.L. Honourable mention: J.A. Happ (Phillies), Ryan Hanigan (Reds), Randy Wells (Cubs), Casey McGehee (Brewers).

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For the Blue Jays, it may have been the strangest first half in franchise history. Not much was expected from Canada's last remaining team. Manager Cito Gaston even said so back before the team assembled in Dunedin for the start of spring training. But they bolted from the gate, winning 18 of their first 27, and then reached the high water mark back on May 18th when they swept away the White Sox in a four-game series at Rogers Centre to lead the A.L. East by 3.5 games thanks to a 27-14 record.

But from that point on, the Jays have been one of the worst teams in baseball. They went out on a nine-game road trip and lost every game, a franchise first. The bats went cold, especially in the clutch, the rotation was overrun by injuries leading to five starters making their major league debut this season, and the bullpen, once considered their strength, was out of sorts when B.J. Ryan couldn't throw his fastball even near 90, and everyone else in the pen found themselves in unfamiliar roles. And, finally, the unthinkable: the possibility that Roy Halladay will be traded to start yet another rebuilding phase -- all that within a span of three months and two weeks.

With that, the spotlight falls on general manager J.P. Ricciardi, much maligned by the media and in the blogosphere by fans. It's up to him to decide if dealing the best home grown pitcher in franchise history is in the best interests of the ball club moving forward. Based upon his trading history since taking over the team in November of 2001, that is a very big if. And it also makes you wonder just how long Ricciardi, who arrived with such great bluster as a Billy Beane disciple from his years in Oakland, will remain running the club. After never meeting a camera or microphone he didn't like for his first seven seasons as GM, Ricciardi has been eerily quiet this season, rarely seen on the road, only heard on the radio in five-minute segments. He came in with a mandate to strip down a bloated payroll that didn't allow much roster movement, and he may leave it in the same manner, thanks to big money/low output contracts given to Rios, Vernon Wells and the recently-released Ryan.

Now sitting at 44-46, after losing 32 of their last 49 games to fall to fourth in the A.L. East, 11 games behind the front-running Red Sox and no longer showing up on the wild card radar, I'm not sure what to expect on the second half. One thing is for sure: a deal to send Roy Halladay off will be a franchise-altering moment. Whether the fans, tired of waiting until next year yet again, will buy into is a big question. Whether J.P. Ricciardi should be the one making that deal is an even bigger one.