EVIL~! alkeiper

6-0 Marlins. I give up.

There's five games left. Give it time.

I almost feel physically ill after watching that game. Seriouisly, every day I get this feeling of impending doom. And Jeff F'n Conine? Why is it that some guys wait until the worst possible opportunity to stop being worthless?

I usually like Jayson Stark's writing, but the reasoning here is terrible. EVERYONE has bad stretches over the course of the season. You could do this kind of micromanaging to discount anyone's MVP chances. For example, Miguel Tejada. He hit .161/.230/.286 in the entire month of April. The A's started 12-13. If he had hit then, they might not have to worry about this silly playoff race. I can't wait to see the supporters of the contending teams only argument come up with their top 10s.

They've won a single playoff game since 1925. And that NFL title in 1925 is heavily disputed.

That's a bad argument, because you can apply it to other teams as well. The Cardinals would have missed the playoffs without Pujols. You can't limit the MVP race to players from four teams. All three finished ahead of Kiner in the batting race, which mattered alot to MVP voters of the time. Heck, the first MVPs were simply to honor the league batting champions. In any case, Bill James' Win Shares lists Musial with 40 WS, Kiner with 37, Robinson with 36, and Schoendienst with 29. So you can make a legitimate statistical argument against Kiner. That was quite possibly the worst award pick in MVP history. Robin Roberts and Dell Ennis were better players on the Phillies that year. But Kiner wasn't the guy screwed that year. Stan Musial was. The problem is, Kiner was never the league's BEST player in those seven seasons. Stan Musial was better six times, and Johnny Mize was better in '48. By comparison, Rodriguez was the very best player in the AL in '96, 2000, 2002, and so far this year. Here's some more numbers for A-Rod. Bases Loaded .571/.500/1.143 Men On w/ Two Out .312/.407/.645 Close and Late .271/.407/.743

I cheated slightly and finished this before the Dodgers/Padres, Rangers/A's, and Mariners/Angels results were in. As of this writing all the respective leaders are up by five runs, so this seems pretty safe. Nothing earth shattering changes if a big comback occurs. Philadelphia @ Florida Kevin Millwood vs. Dontrell Willis. IT'S ON! Phillies are a game behind Florida in the Wild Card. Lets run down the scenarios. Florida wins 3. Phillies are eliminated from the playoffs. Florida wins 2. Florida takes a two game lead in the Wild Card. Phillies win 2. Tied. Phillies win 3. Phillies take a two game lead in the Wild Card. So as you can see, this race can take quite a turn based on the outcome of these three games. Keep in mind that if this game requires a playoff, it would take place in Florida. Baltimore @ Boston Eric DuBose vs. Tim Wakefield. The Red Sox are five back of the Yankees, and two and a half ahead of the Mariners for the Wild Card race. The Red Sox look to be in good shape at this point. Cleveland @ Minnesota Jake Westbrook vs. Kenny Rogers. The Twins hold a five game lead over both the Royals and White Sox. All three teams have six games left. The Twins can clinch a division tie with a victory tonight. Detroit @ Kansas City Mike Maroth vs. Jose Lima. Last night's win brings the Royals to just five games back, with six to go. Yeah, its about over. A loss here combined with a Twins win would end the playoff hopes of the Kansas City Royals. The best the Royals can hope for is to hang on. Still, this season has been terrific for the Royals, and they should hold their heads high. NY Yankees @ Chicago White Sox Mike Mussina vs. Mark Buehrle. The New York Yankees are five games ahead of the Boston Red Sox in their quest for the division title, and four games ahead of the A's for home field advantage. They have already clinched at least a playoff berth. Like the Royals, the White Sox are fighting for their playoff lives. Seattle @ Anaheim Freddy Garcia vs. Scott Shields. The Mariners are 2 1/2 back of the Red Sox, and four back of Oakland. They've got five games left, and they need three of them to tie, and that's assuming Boston loses every game. Texas @ Oakland Ryan Drese vs. Rich Harden. Oakland looks to maintain their four game lead over Seattle. They're also three and a half back of the Yankees for home field advantage. Chicago Cubs @ Cincinnati Kerry Wood vs. Seth Etherton. The Cubs are now tied with the Houston Astros in the NL Central. The Cubs will get two starts out of Kerry Wood, so its a good chance for Wood to prove himself to the Chicago fans. Montreal @ Atlanta T.J. Tucker vs. Shane Reynolds. The Atlanta Braves are percentage points behind the Giants in the home field advantage department. The Expos are mathematically eliminated, as their is no scenario which would allow them to overtake both the Phillies and the Marlins. San Francisco @ Houston Jason Schmidt vs. Wade Miller. The Astros must break out of their three game hitting streak, but they'll have to do it against the best starting pitcher in the national league. The Giants are simply shooting for home field advantage at this point. St. Louis @ Milwaukee Woody Williams vs. Ben Sheets. The Cardinals are now out of the Wild Card race. They still have an outside shot at the NL Central. They're 3.5 games out, with five to play. They can ill afford another loss at this point. Arizona @ Colorado Brandon Webb vs. Darren Oliver. The best Arizona can do at this point is tie for the Wild Card. If they lose a single game, they're finished. Luckily, they draw Darren Oliver tonight. Los Angeles @ San Diego Wilson Alvarez vs. Jake Peavy. The Dodgers can still finish as high as 89 wins. They've got seven games left to play. They need every win at this point if they're going to have a prayer at the Wild Card. Games that don't matter Pittsburgh @ NY Mets Tampa Bay @ Toronto

I'm glad to see Bowa shuffled the rotation to set up Millwood twice.

Well, tomorrow actually, but this is easy enough to write up the night before. Florida @ Atlanta Mark Redman vs. Mike Hampton. This game determines the direction of the NL Wild Card race. A win, and the Marlins pull a full game ahead of the Phillies. A loss, and its a dead heat. Considering the Marlins play the Phillies for three games beginning Tuesday, the Marlins could really use a win here. Looking ahead at the Phillies/Marlins series, I think each team needs to win 2 out of 3 to win the Wild Card. Baltimore @ Boston Jason Johnson vs. Jeff Suppan. After yesterday, the Sox' playoff hopes look great. 2 1/2 games up in the Wild Card with seven to play. It doesn't hurt that the Sox play their last seven games against the Orioles and Devil Rays. NY Yankees @ Chicago White Sox David Wells vs. Bartolo Colon. Last week at this time, the White Sox were looking ahead at a series against the Twins, and a chance to take the AL Central lead. Now, they're 5 1/2 games back. The only way they can catch the Twins is if the Twins lose about every game. The Twins have four games against the Tigers coming up. The Yankees, meanwhile, have a 4 1/2 game lead over the Athletics in the race for home field advantage. Detroit @ Kansas City Gary Knotts vs. Paul Abbott. The Tigers will get listed for the rest of the season, as long as they have a shot at the NY Mets 1962 futility record. Right now, the Tigers have lost 117 games, with seven to play. It will take serious effort to avoid at least tying that record. The Royals are 5 1/2 games out, in the same boat the White Sox are in. San Francisco @ Houston Jerome Williams vs. Ron Villone. The Giants are looking for home field advantage. The Astros are now a scant 1/2 game ahead of the Cubs in the NL Central. Not a good time to see the Giants roll into town. Seattle @ Anaheim Jamie Moyer vs. Jared Washburn. The Mariners are four games back in the West, and 2 1/2 back in the Wild Card. They can't afford to lose any more ground. They wrap up the season with three games at home against Oakland, so as long as they're within 3 in the West, they have a chance. Texas @ Oakland Tony Mounce vs. Barry Zito. Tony Mounce on the mound is the Rangers way of saying "we give up." Oakland is 4 games up in the Wild Card, and would like to keep that cushion going into the game's final weekend. Los Angeles @ San Diego Edwin Jackson vs. Mike Bynum. The Dodgers are 2.5 games out. That's all I've got, really. Games that don't matter Tampa Bay @ Toronto

Hopefully the Braves can pull this game out. Either way, it doesn't matter to much. Its clear that the Phillies will need to win 2 of 3 from the Marlins to stay in the race.

For all the anti-Rodriguez for MVP talk I've heard, he's dominent so far.

AL MVP 1. A. Rodriguez 2. Delgado 3. B. Boone 4. M. Ramirez 5. Ja. Giambi 6. Posada 7. C. Beltran 8. Garciaparra 9. Magglio Ordonez 10. Bill Mueller NL MVP 1. Pujols 2. Bonds 3. Sheffield 4. Thome 5. Javy Lopez 6. Todd Helton 7. Marcus Giles 8. Chipper Jones 9. I. Rodriguez 10. B. Abreu AL Cy Young 1. Halladay 2. Hudson 3. Loazia NL Cy Young 1. Schmidt 2. Prior 3. K. Brown AL Rookie of the Year 1. Berroa 2. Matsui 3. Mark Teixeira NL Rookie of the Year 1. B. Webb 2. S. Podsednik 3. Dontrelle Willis AL Manager of the Year 1. G. Little 2. J. Torre 3. K. Macha NL Manager of the Year 1. J. McKeon 2. B. Cox 3. F. Robinson

I'm going to try and do this every day until the playoffs. Florida @ Atlanta Carl Pavano vs. Greg Maddux. Florida regained the lead in the wild card race last night with an 11th inning win against the Braves. Every game counts, and the Marlins need the next two games to set themselves in a good position for this week's crucial games against the Phillies. The Braves, meanwhile, are scant percentage points behind the Giants for claiming home field advantage, which matters only if the Braves face the Giants in the NLCS. Cincinnati @ Philadelphia Aaron Harang vs. Vicente Padilla. Padilla has come up big recently, posting a 1.64 ERA this month. The Phillies hope for a big performance out of him, as they can not afford to lose this game. Houston @ St. Louis Jerome Robertson vs. Sterling Hitchcock. The Astros are a game and a half above the Cubs, and with a win (and Cubs loss) they can really take charge of the NL Central. The Cardinals are on the very edge of the playoff race, and if they lose, they're completely out of the wild card race. Montreal @ NY Mets Tomo Ohka vs. Jae Sao. Last chance for the Expos. If they lose, they're out of the Wild Card race. Chicago Cubs @ Pittsburgh Mark Prior vs. Oliver Perez. The Cubs are quickly flushing their playoff hopes down the toilet. They're 1.5 games behind the Astros, and 2.5 behind the Marlins. They need to start winning games NOW if they hope to make the playoffs. This could very well be Mark Prior's most important start of his career. Arizona @ Milwaukee Curt Schilling vs. Wes Obermueller. The Diamondbacks are 4.5 games behind the Marlins. Even if they win every game, they'll likely lose out on the playoffs. Still, stranger things have happened. Well, actually they haven't, but the mathematical possibility requires me to list it here. San Francisco @ Los Angeles Kevin Correja vs. Kaz Ishii. The Giants are looking for home field advantage, while the Dodgers are 3.5 games behind in the Wild Card. Boston @ Cleveland Pedro Martinez vs. Cliff Lee. The Red Sox are just about out of the division race. They still hold a 1.5 game lead over the Mariners. Its not a big margin, and they have to work hard to hang on and win. NY Yankees @ Tampa Bay Roger Clemens vs. Jeremi Gonzalez. The Yankees are well ahead of the A's for home field advantage. Detroit @ Minnesota Nate Cornejo vs. Brad Radke. The Twins are loving this. They get the worst team in baseball while the Royals and Whitw Sox beat up each other. The Twins look well on their way to a second straight division title. Kansas City @ Chicago White Sox Darrell May vs. Jon Garland. With the WHite Sox 4.5 games out, and the Royals 5.5 out, it looks like curtains for both teams. Better luck next year. Seattle @ Oakland Gil Meche vs. Rich Harden. This race looked like Oakland's just 2 days ago. Now the Mariners have cut the lead to three games, and a win today propels them to just 2 games out. The Mariners are also 1.5 games behind Boston. Games That Don't Matter San Diego @ Colorado Anaheim @ Texas Toronto @ Baltimore

There ya go. Its September, and EVERY GAME MATTERS!!!

The Phillie fans invented it.

Bottom 10. Bases Loaded, 1 out.

Braves score 2 in 9th! Thank you god.

Other players deserve consideration. But so far, I have not heard a single person argue that A-Rod does not deserve the MVP because player B is having a better year. The only argument anyone advances is the winning team argument.

Worst Angle of All Time? Eric by a longshot.

Texas Rangers Cleveland Indians Toronto Blue Jays Teams with good minor league talent, and in the case of the Jays, good management.

Hits also count in On Base Percentage. The problem with batting average is that it doesn't tell the whole story. Plate discipline is a skill, and a guy who hits .300 with 100 walks is very different from a guy who hits .300 with 20-30 walks. I don't like batting average because I can't tell if a hitter is all that good just from looking at it. Tell that to Earl Weaver. Seriously though, its not about home runs. OBP is a pure succes rate. One side is getting on base, and the other is making outs. OBP is more important than slugging, or any other offensive stat.

Boston's win means Toronto is officially eliminated.

Phillies win! Marlins lose! Phillies are now 1/2 game ahead in the Wild Card, and control their own fate.

In 1979, Willie Stargell split the MVP with Keith Hernandez, and he played 126 games.

Bonds wasn't hurt. He missed time because he took off due to the illness and death of his father.