Kuzul

San Diego’s Bud Black won the 2010 National League Manager of the Year award on Wednesday, beating out Cincinnati skipper Dusty Baker by one vote.

Black finished with 104 points, topping the 103 of Baker, who led the Reds to their first playoff appearance since 1995. Bruce Bochy of the World Series champion San Francisco Giants finished third with 30 points, while Atlanta’s Bobby Cox (28 points), Philadelphia’s Charlie Manuel (20) and Houston’s Brad Mills (3) rounded out the voting.

Black won 90 games with a Padres team that many predicted would finish last in the National League West, holding the lead for 131 days before finally giving way to the eventual World Champion Giants on Sept. 25.

Still, the Pads pushed the Giants to the final day of the season before San Francisco’s win finally eliminated San Diego.

Following are five of the top reasons why Black received his first manager of the year honor.

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With the San Francisco Giants relishing the glory of winning their first World Series since arriving in the Bay Area in 1958, that leaves only eight franchises that have yet to experience the emotional release of becoming World Champions.

As the final chapter is closed on the 2010 season, we take a look at the remaining Empty Eight and analyze their chances at escaping the purgatory that comes from not giving their city a day off to celebrate with a downtown parade.

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The National League’s rookie class of 2010 has already made an impact among all three pennant races, and while the most ballyhooed member of the freshman crop (some kid named Strasburg) has garnered the bulk of the attention, the other nine players have made headway toward launching successful careers.

Only time will tell if Houston’s Chris Johnson is a late-blooming star or if the final seven weeks will unveil a potential franchise anchor, but for now, let’s appreciate the 10 rookies that have shined thus far.

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Andre Dawson’s induction into the Hall of Fame on Sunday will mark just the second time Cooperstown will honor the legacy of the Montreal Expos.

For a time in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the best organization in baseball resided north of the border; where Dawson, fellow Hall of Famer Gary Carter, Steve Rogers, Tim Raines and Warren Cromartie were the vanguard of a team that sprouted prospects and fielded competitive teams that spent many a September in the heart of the National League East pennant chase.

While the team fell a game short of the World Series in 1981, Montreal’s greatest team was the 1994 edition that bolted out to a 74-40 record before the strike delivered what would prove to be the death knell to the franchise’s existence in Canada.

Currently disguised as the Washington Nationals and featuring several players (Stephen Strasburg, Ryan Zimmerman) who may one day merit Cooperstown consideration, the club’s heart will always belong in Montreal, which is why we take the time to salute the 25 greatest players who donned the blue, red and white from 1969-2004.

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With every pitch, Roy Oswalt’s time with the Astros comes one step closer to its end.

One of the game’s premier pitchers since 2001, Oswalt is the biggest bargaining chip for an Astros franchise in desperate need of an overhaul. At age 32 and the author of 139 career wins, Oswalt’s name will be linked to trade talks as the season reaches its make-or-break point in July, where contenders (and pretenders) will dial up Astros general manager Ed Wade with possible scenarios to entice Houston to play “Let’s Make a Deal.”

As the season continues to take form, there are at least five teams that would have the right combination (playoff aspirations, quality young prospects and the ability to absorb the remaining $30-plus million of Oswalt’s contract) that would force the Astros to part ways with the second-winningest pitcher in franchise annals.

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