TWiB 9/11 - 9/17

[Brett Favre 0]

Voting for Jeter doesn't mean he doesn't deserve it. Santana definitely should get consideration, but this exuses for Jeter stuff makes no sense. He's having an MVP type season on the best team in the league. Just like A-Rod won it last year. Best numbers on a playoff team.

 

And I haven't even said Jeter should win it, so before anyone jumps on me "OHH YANKEE HOMER!", I thought that should be mentioned.

[randomguy 0]

Given those numbers I would agree on Santana. I wasn't aware the disparity was so high between him and the other Twins pitchers.

 

Given their record with and without him its pretty impossible not to call him the MVP.

[Mik 0]

Marlins put a class A beat down on the Mets tonight to gain a half game in the WC as the other teams are idle.

 

Miguel Cabrera took over the batting lead from the suddenly floundering Freddy Sanchez. Hopefully he can hang on to it.

[vivalaultra 0]

Am I the only one that thinks it's kinda unfair to give the MVP to a pitcher? I mean, David Ortiz, Jeter, Hafner, Dye, Thome, or even Bobby/Bubba Crosby could never win a Cy Young. Give Johan the Cy and either Ortiz or Dye the MVP. But there is the problem that nearly as many pitchers deserve the AL Cy Young as position players deserve the AL MVP...

[Guest Princess Leena]

I still don't believe a pitcher should be in consideration for MVP. I know, Santana has a +21 game differential when he starts. Halladay is +16. Most aces are in the +10-+15 range.

 

I can't give the MVP to someone who only plays less than 25% of the season.

[randomguy 0]

If pitchers are not in consideration they should change the rules, or introduce a non-pitcher award. (Which is slightly different from an offense award in that it also rewards field play)

[jwest27 0]

Am I the only one that thinks it's kinda unfair to give the MVP to a pitcher?

Don't tell that to Clemens. He'll crack your head open.

[Guest NYankees]

Am I the only one that thinks it's kinda unfair to give the MVP to a pitcher?

Don't tell that to Clemens. He'll crack your head open.

 

 

I think it's unfair to give the award to a Pitcher however I still think Guidry should have won it in 1978.

[Guest NYankees]

I'd say Santana for MVP as well, but there might be a situation like Pedro faced in 1999 where some voters will flat out refuse to vote a pitcher as MVP. Plus, Jeter's the big name, so writers will come up with as many excuses as they can to vote him over Santana or Hafner.

 

IMO, Ortiz has slipped a little behind those guys over the past month with his absence and mini-slump beforehand.

 

 

Ortiz just slipped down a Mountain with his stupid quotes from yesterday. The guy clearly has become me first and team second kind of player. It's a joke that he is ONLY concerned about an MVP award on 9/11 when his team fell right out of the playoff hunt over the past month and a half.

[CanadianChris 0]

I'd say Santana for MVP as well, but there might be a situation like Pedro faced in 1999 where some voters will flat out refuse to vote a pitcher as MVP. Plus, Jeter's the big name, so writers will come up with as many excuses as they can to vote him over Santana or Hafner.

 

IMO, Ortiz has slipped a little behind those guys over the past month with his absence and mini-slump beforehand.

 

 

Ortiz just slipped down a Mountain with his stupid quotes from yesterday. The guy clearly has become me first and team second kind of player. It's a joke that he is ONLY concerned about an MVP award on 9/11 when his team fell right out of the playoff hunt over the past month and a half.

Oh, puhleeze. He was asked a question after a game (on 9/10) and he answered it. Don't act like he held a press conference just to bitch about not being considered for MVP.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I'd say Santana for MVP as well, but there might be a situation like Pedro faced in 1999 where some voters will flat out refuse to vote a pitcher as MVP. Plus, Jeter's the big name, so writers will come up with as many excuses as they can to vote him over Santana or Hafner.

 

IMO, Ortiz has slipped a little behind those guys over the past month with his absence and mini-slump beforehand.

 

 

Ortiz just slipped down a Mountain with his stupid quotes from yesterday. The guy clearly has become me first and team second kind of player. It's a joke that he is ONLY concerned about an MVP award on 9/11 when his team fell right out of the playoff hunt over the past month and a half.

 

Did you even read the article?

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I wonder if Frank Thomas gets any MVP consideration. His team's probably postseason-bound and these last couple of weeks have bloated his offensive numbers.

[Guest NYankees]

I wonder if Frank Thomas gets any MVP consideration. His team's probably postseason-bound and these last couple of weeks have bloated his offensive numbers.

 

 

I think he will but he is so far under the radar. In terms of power numbers all the talk is Ortiz, Hafner and Dye. Mauer and Jeter are getting talk due to all of their intangibles and great seasons. Frank Thomas is going to finish anywhere from 4th to 6th.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I wonder if Frank Thomas gets any MVP consideration. His team's probably postseason-bound and these last couple of weeks have bloated his offensive numbers.

 

His VORP is only 42.9 and his WARP1 is 4.6, which I don't think would even put him in the top 20. He's fifth among DH's in Equivalent Average.

 

If you look at his more traditional stats, he will barely crack 100 RBI's, won't score 100 runs, won't bat .300 and doesn't play the field. He should get very little consideration.

 

Good story? Yes. Comeback Player of the Year? Absolutely. MVP candidate? Not really.

[Precious Roy 0]

http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view...rticleid=157114

 

“I’m not thinking about the MVP,” Jeter said. “No one’s focus here is individual awards. We’ve still got something to play for this season."

 

BURN

 

Comeback Player of the Year? Absolutely.

 

I think Jim Thome has something to say about that

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Thomas did about as poorly, though. You take away the homers and he had a miserable season. I think there was more faith in Thome bouncing back than Thomas, who many thought was finished.

[strummer 0]

from the Fire Joe Morgan Blogspot. An excerpt from a John Heyman article about Moneyball. Quoting an "NL Executive"

 

 

"Billy Beane has got a way of finding winning players," the executive said. "The A's don't have anyone who stands out for talent, except maybe Frank Thomas. But they have a lot of winning players. Take Nick Swisher, for instance. He knows how to play to win."

 

OH.MY.GOD Chris Russo is an NL Exec!!! Pure idiocy

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Just to sort of put a bookend on the MVP discussion, here's a list of the top candidates based on WARP1. I was a bit surprised to see Johan so far out in front. Really seems like it's his award to lose at this point.

 

Player WARP1

Santana 10.4

Jeter 8.5

Mauer 7.8

Hafner 7.7

Dye 7.5

Rivera 7.4

Liriano 7.2

Morneau 7.0

Verlander 6.8

Ortiz 6.5

Konerko 6.4

Thome 6.0

Ramirez 5.7

[vivalaultra 0]

Am I the only one that thinks it's kinda unfair to give the MVP to a pitcher?

Don't tell that to Clemens. He'll crack your head open.

 

Very true...I think Clemens deserved it in 86, and, looking at the numbers, it looks like Johan Santana's so far ahead from every other pitcher and hitter in the AL that he probably deserves it this year. What are the odds that Johan gets the MVP and Verlander or someone else gets the Cy Young? That would be weird.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

What are the odds that Johan gets the MVP and Verlander or someone else gets the Cy Young? That would be weird.

 

0%

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I think it's silly to discount a player from a losing team being MVP given the manner in which we can separate a player's individual performance from his team these days. I don't think MVP voting should come down to who has the best teammates. In fact the MVP voting instructions specifically state, "The MVP need not come from a division winner or other playoff qualifier."

 

It really shouldn't be an issue. The MVP comes from a last place team maybe 10-15% of the time. The only losing team player really in consideration this year is Travis Hafner, who's out for the season and a DH. There are rare circumstances where a last place player is so much better that he deserves consideration. It doesn't happen often.

 

As for a separate award, first remember that the best player contributes both offensively and defensively, so creating a best hitter award wouldn't work. Besides, the fans wouldn't buy it.

 

As for Johan Santana, that statistic quoted earlier is telling. However, if you were to point out that the White Sox were much better last year in the month Frank Thomas played (not true, just theoretically), would that make him the MVP? Or would you point out that a guy who missed five months of the season couldn't possibly be the MVP? There is no doubting Santana's dominance. The question is whether a player who plays 20% of the games can be the Most Valuable Player. Santana's at least top five, but I'm not sure if I'd make the jump.

[Bored 0]

Fun fact: Roger Clemens finished 3rd in the MVP voting in 1990 (behind Rickey Henderson and Cecil Fielder) and received three first place votes yet he lost the Cy Young to Bob Welch, who finished only 9th in the MVP voting with no first place votes. Clemens should have won the Cy Young but Welch won yet simply because of his gaudy win total.

[vivalaultra 0]

How can the people who get paid to write about baseball be so unqualified to vote on awards given out for players in baseball? And don't they have the Hank Aaron Award to give to strictly the "best" hitter in each league?

[Guest NYankees]

Did Welch have 27 wins in 1990? It's funny to think that Dave Stewart had 4 straight 20 win seasons from 87 to 90 and he didn't win the Cy Young award.

[Guest NYankees]

Godzilla makes his return to the Bronx.

[Guest NYankees]

Bobby Abreu with a homerun and a double, 6 rbi's in the first inning.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Good gawd that's crazy. As an Abreu owner, however, I'll gladly take it.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Bynum's in the lineup for the third game in a row and made two errors in the first inning.

 

Dusty doing his part in the drive for 100!

[Guest NYankees]

Good gawd that's crazy. As an Abreu owner, however, I'll gladly take it.

 

 

Abreu just had a sac fly. 9 rbi's in the past 2 games so far.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

7 RBIs for Abreu now with a sac fly in the third. Of course, the Yankees will lose this game because Abreu doesn't hustle.