EVIL~! alkeiper

The problem is that Taveras has done nothing to earn it besides play all season. Taveras hits for a good average. Beyond that, he does little to help his team win games. Let's take a quick look at the numbers. Taveras collected 159 hits so far in 549 at bats, for a .290 average. He drew 23 walks, a very low total, placing his OBP at .325. Using 150 at bats as a minimum, Taveras is 19th in OBP among NL rookies. For a leadoff hitter, that's pathetic. In addition, Taveras in 549 at bats has collected just 18 extra base hits. The only advantage Taveras has is his 33 steals. Along with 11 caught stealings, that adds about four runs a season. Compare Taveras to Juan Pierre. Pierre is considered a major disappointment this season, but he's still putting up better numbers than Taveras. And that Taveras produces these numbers in a good hitters' park, he is doing very little to benefit the Astros. But maybe this is all stathead foolery, and Taveras speed throws off the opposing pitchers, makes him a menace on the basepaths, and wins games for the Astros. The problem is the Astros' offense is considered poor, and they are just 12th in the league in runs scored. And again, that is in one of the best hitters' parks in the league. Willy Taveras is the new Alex Sanchez.

Eventful day today. The Yankees move just 1.5 behind the Red Sox for the wild card. A White Sox loss brings the Indians to 4.5 back of the AL Central. The Tigers hold a big lead against the Angels and if the Tigers win, we once again have a tie for the AL West. Atlanta's win gives them a comfortable margin on the NL East. Houston holds a .5 game lead over the Phillies and Marlins. We are now down to a 15 game sprint for the NL wild card. Washington at 2.5 back is the only other team with a reasonable shot. And since it seems no one will stop talking about how great the wild card is because of these races, let's run a few what ifs. Under the old setup, the White Sox would lead the AL West by 7 games and the Cardinals would lead the NL East by 15 games (ouch). The Braves would hold a 5.5 game lead over the Astros in the NL West. However, the AL East would see Boston holding a 1 game lead over Cleveland and 1.5 over the Yankees. So we would still see an exciting pennant chase without the wild card.

Perhaps, but it is not just a recent phenomenon. There is a sizeable historical precident at work. Jackie Robinson, for whom the award is named, played several years of negro league baseball before entering MLB. Don Newcombe, Jim Gilliam, Sam Jethroe and Joe Black all enjoyed some success in the negro leagues before entering MLB, and all won the Rookie of the Year award. To me, the rookie of the year is an entry award, and since it really doesn't mean much in the long run, no big deal. If you think the rules should be changed, that's a viable argument. But eligible players should not be downgraded based on personal biases regarding eligibility.

Lame

Philly fans need to remember we are just one of three teams here. This is not just something they can just walk into by not screwing up.

Cantu collected 173 at bats last season, making him ineligible. As for the Iguchi, regardless of one's personal feelings regarding the voting, the rules state that Iguchi is eligible. If he's having the best year of all rookies, he deserves to win, Japanese experience or not. AL MVP- Alex Rodriguez Ortiz is having a fine season, but Rodriguez has a better batting average, on base percentage, and OPS, and does it playing in a more difficult hitting environment. Plus, Rodriguez steals more bases, grounds into less double plays, and can play the field. AL Cy Young- Mark Buehrle Buehrle does not get the attention he deserves because he is not a strikeout pitcher. All Buehrle does is pitch a ton of highly effective innings every season. Buehrle's first in innings pitched, second in ERA and fourth in wins. AL Rookie of the Year- Tadahito Iguchi See above. NL MVP- Albert Pujols Like I mentioned in another thread, the Cardinals lost their third baseman, left fielder and right fielder for long periods of time, and they lead the National League in runs scored. The Cards are cruising to victory, but the fact that no other team can compete with them should not be held against Pujols. NL Cy Young- Chris Carpenter Clemens possesses a historic ERA, but the gap in that stat does not make up for the advantage in wins, strikeouts, innings pitched, walks, etc. That Clemens does not usually go deep into games is certainly a factor. Carpenter has seven complete games and four shutouts while Clemens has one complete game and no shutouts. NL Rookie of the Year- Jeff Francouer Ridiculous numbers in clutch situations put him ahead for now.

This time last week the Phillies were swept by the Astros, and fell 2.5 games out of the wild card race. They tied for the wild card lead again, and face the Marlins in Florida this weekend. Except this time we face the Marlins' good pitchers. Once again though, we dare hope the Phillies can pull this off.

Ramon MARTINEZ~! hits a grand slam to put the Phillies ahead 7-0. Ryan who? Since we tossed Anglesault, I think most Yankee fans, and baseball fans in general on this board, are quite reasonable.

We didn't give up anything important for those guys though. The Byrd trade was bad, but Marlon was expendable. Lieberthal's outperformed Estrada this season. There are some questionable trades on Wade's resume, but no outright Kansas City style robberies. We got 2 very good years out of Placido Polanco, and of course the Billy Wagner trade.

Like Kevin Stocker for Bobby Abreu?

Quite honestly, all of that is true. I shouldn't mean to badmouth Ortiz or Jones because quite honestly, there's little bad to say about them. The problem is that there's one MVP per league, and they are not it.

I assume you have a better plan then? Just how do we deal with Thome's contract AND keep Howard? I like Howard as much as anyone, but it may be in the best interests of the organization to trade him, especially now that his perceived value is so high. A SF columnist wrote the Giants should go head over heals to acquire him. Trading Howard could provide long-term solutions at third base or catcher.

Alex Rodriguez in 1996, 2000-02 about fits the bill. There's a ton of guys who have had seasons like that and not won the MVP. Although Ortiz over A-Rod is not as absurd as Andruw Jones winning the award.

It's amazing. A-Rod's on a winning team and we're STILL looking for ways to fuck him over in the MVP voting.

Incidently, I wrote up a short post about the Yankees/Devil Rays at NMB. Looking at the numbers, the Yankees have actually scored a run more a game against the Devil Rays, but allow 1.5 more per game.

And why the heck couldn't Gavin Floyd do this at Scranton?

I've been watching season two again lately, and I've been surprised how good some of those episodes are as well.

Carlos Silva is out for the year, so let me point out that Silva's walk rate is the best in the majors since 1900, an incredible feat.

There's a difference between Jon Papelbon throwing straight gas at 24/25 and Todd Van Poppel doing it right out of high school. Throwing a curve will put more strain on an arm than a fastball generally. And Papelbon is already better than Van Poppel ever was.

A day earlier, but I wanted to get back on the Monday-Sunday track. Tonight we start a huge four game series between the Astros and Marlins. Florida trails Houston by half a game, so the winner earns the wild card lead (unless the teams split and the Phillies sweep Atlanta). Game one features Dontrelle Willis vs. Brandon Backe. In addition, the Giants and Padres start a series at SBC Park. The Giants can get back into the race with a sweep, and Barry Bonds returns tonight. Adam Eaton vs. Kevin Corriea. In the American League tonight, we have Oakland at Cleveland. Cleveland is leading the wild card, and actually beginning to put slight pressure on the Chicago White Sox. The Sox' lead is down to 5.5 games, less than any NL division lead. Danny Haren vs. C.C. Sabathia. The A's trail the wild card by 2.5 and the west by 2.

Andruw Jones is having a nice season, but I can't see him as the MVP. Albert Pujols has more runs, more hits, more doubles, more walks, less strikeouts, a higher batting average, a higher on base percentage, and a higher slugging percentage. Value? The Cards are 91-53 despite losing their all-star third baseman for the season, and both corner outfielders for significant lengths of time. Andruw Jones is 20th in win shares. No amount of clutch hitting is going to close that gap.

Seriously, from listening to the tail end of Dodger games and his radio show, Charlie Steiner is an insufferable, pompous ass.

Schilling's performance so far today is certainly an encouraging sign for the Red Sox.

I imagine it is simply health concerns. It is not as easy for a big player like Shaq at his age to compete like younger players can.

Exactly. Layland was once a good manager, but I was unconvinced that he was the correct fit for the Phillies. What exactly did Ed Wade do wrong here? We had two outs and a one run lead in the ninth, with a "proven closer" on the mound. We got the clutch hitsd we needed, and everything went right up until that point, save for David Bell's futile run towards the plate. If anything, this should display the folly of spending $8-9 Million to resign Billy Wagner when the club has more pressing needs.