American League MVP

[mike546 0]

And again, of course A-Rod had to do with Bret Boone and Mike Cameron breaking out, and he also caused FOUR Seattle pitchers with ten wins or more, with Moyer having 20, Garcia 18, PAUL ABBOT with 17, Halama with 10, and Pinero going 6-2 with a below 3 ERA. And he also caused Sasaki to be signed, and have 47 saves.

[Fökai 0]

Of course A-Rod leaving was the reason for Texiera and Blalock become all stars, and Fransisco Cordero becoming an elite closer. And of course him leaving also was the reason Juan Gone and Palmero both left, making room for Kevin Mench, Deluchi, and Lance Nix.

 

What power he has!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Not to mention they got a suitable bat in return with Soriano.

 

If you want to call it the Ewing Theory, then so be it. But don't think there's actual merit behind that ridiculous claim.

[Brett Favre 0]

The Mariners never got further, without A-Rod, than they did with him. And its the Rangers own fault for spending so much money on Rodriguez, although they have proven, without or without him, they won't make the playoffs because of no pitching.

[Fökai 0]

Patrick Ewing: The namesake of the Ewing Theory. His most prominent Ewing Theory moment was when the New York Knicks make it to the NBA Finals without Ewing in 1999 when many thought the lack of his inside presence would doom the team. Contrary to misconceptions, Ewing's college career does not provide strong support for the Ewing Theory. In his four seasons at Georgetown, the Hoyas made the Final Four three times (winning the title once); the Hoyas have not returned to the Final Four since Ewing graduated in 1985, despite the later presence of stars such as Allen Iverson at Georgetown. However, in certain games, Georgetown was perceived by some to have played better when Ewing was out due to injury or foul trouble.

 

# Dominique Wilkins: In 1983, the year after Wilkins leaves the University of Georgia, the Bulldogs, with virtually the same lineup apart from Wilkins, make their first and so far only Final Four. Throughout his NBA career, Wilkins had a pattern of producing great statistical performances despite this not translating to team success.

 

If that's all it takes, we should rename this the "Michael Jordan Owned Your Ass On An Annual Basis Theory". My god, Dominique has such little help around him for years that it is ridiculous to call him a "choke" or anything to the like.

[Slayer 0]

Let me clear something up by saying I don't think Rodriguez is a bad player. He's a HoF player with good numbers. However, I find claims of the "value" he brings to teams to be quite dubious.

 

After all, it's possible to be a great player without contributing to your team's success (see also: Bonds, Barry)

[mike546 0]

Wait, are you on crack, or did I not understand what Slayers trying to say? Bonds basically caried the Giants on his back the last two years, and this year was an example of how they'd do without him.

[Slayer 0]

Bonds was valuable to his team, but he was also problematic to the team at the same time.

 

I'll say he deserved his MVP's far more than Rodriguez did his, though.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Bonds is a very, very bad example of this. The year before Bonds arrived, the franchise was inches away from moving to Tampa Bay. The Giants stayed, signed Bonds, and won 31 more games than they did the previous year. They lost 16 more games when he missed most of this year.

 

As for Rodriguez, the Mariners only won one division title after he left, and none before he arrived. They won 116 games in 2001 because of luck, Bret Boone, and Ichiro Suzuki. The Rangers had an abysmal pitching staff, hardly his fault as they also allowed a high amount of runs in 2000, so I doubt his defense was the issue. The Rangers again failed to finish above .500 this year.

 

Great players always contribute to their teams' successes. If the team fails, it is because of the failure of other players. You can tell a bad organization by its tendencies to place its blame on its best players.

[The Niggardly King 0]

17. Chone Figgins 6

 

Chone was robbed.

[Slayer 0]

Maybe they should check for votes under "Shawn Figgins"

[Precious Roy 0]

Patrick Ewing: The namesake of the Ewing Theory. His most prominent Ewing Theory moment was when the New York Knicks make it to the NBA Finals without Ewing in 1999 when many thought the lack of his inside presence would doom the team.

 

Except, Ewing was on that 98-99 team, averaged 17-9 in the regular season, even played some in the playoffs, but got injured during the 2nd rd. Some might even say the team rallied around their injured captain to make that improbable Finals run. They definitely could have used him against Duncan/Robinson in the finals, where their lack of size killed them.

 

He was on the team the next year too. Was traded after the 99-00 season.

[randomguy 0]

The "Ewing Theory" is by that guy Simmons at ESPN. He is a comedy writer, not a serious sports writer. This is the same guy that said the Astros were done against the Cards after Pujols hit his 9th inning homer against them. Another brilliant Simmons theory.

 

The guy just plays for laughs. The fact that someone is using his material to make a serious argument is pathetic.

 

The fact is, A-Rod is a better all-around player than Papi. And, without A-Rod the Yankees would have a gaping wound at 3rd base and in the lineup. Without Papi the Red Sox have no problem in the field and about a same-sized hole in the lineup.

 

Hitting dramatic home runs late in games is cool, but runs scored early count just as much. A run is a run no matter what inning it comes in. If a guy isn't playing the field at all he shouldn't win MVP unless he is clearly way ahead of everybody else at the plate.

 

It would probably be harder for the Red Sox to replace Manny than Ortiz. Manny had similar numbers and plays a surprisingly decent outfield. (He makes some awful plays, but he also plays the monster pretty well) Let me put it another way: If Papi went down, A-Rod could fill in for him and the Sox would be about the same. If Papi went down, a Manny clone could fill in for him and the Sox would be about the same. If A-Rod or Manny went down, Papi would not come close to replacing them.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Manny had similar numbers and plays a surprisingly decent outfield. (He makes some awful plays, but he also plays the monster pretty well)

He better, if half his games are played at Fenway.

[Guest StylesMark]

As a Yankee fan, I could not have been more pissed at A-rod than I was during the ALDS. Hell, I was at game 4. Game 4 mind you, which JETER was CLUTCH by singling to score Posada. So Jeter wasn't just clutch hitting a HR in inning 7 in game 5, then singling with 0 outs in inning 9. Just pointing out, it was 2 games in a row that Jeter was clutch for them, when they needed it most.

 

At the end of the season and with A-rod having 0 post season RBI's, I didn't want him to win MVP (simply out of anger). But, he did deserve it more than anyone else, including Mr Ortiz. A-rod was TOO good at 3rd base...had he been average at 3rd, I could see the argument. But, he was GREAT at third.