It’s not typically a tough call for the MVP voters in either league these days. There’s usually a pretty clear choice. Every few years there’s a couple stars at the top, and it could go either way, but there’s almost always a favorite, and sometimes one of overwhelming levels.
But I can’t remember the last time it was as easy as it is in 2007, at least in the American League. The National League is indeed a toss-up, with Prince Fielder, Jimmy Rollins, David Wright and Matt Holliday battling it out on four contending clubs.
Not so in the junior circuit.
Alex Rodriguez is so far and away the league’s most valuable player that the commissioner’s office should strongly consider dis-allowing the AROD-hating media’s vote on anyone else.
Most consider Rodriguez the favorite, with Detroit’s Magglio Ordonez a distant second and the Halos’ Vladimir Guerrero and even more distant third.
I propose a new voting method, however.
Instead of the 1-2-3-4-5 slotting system where the Baseball Writers Association of America vote candidates in places ranked first to 10th, it would be much more fitting if they simply voted for the winner, and left everyone else out of the equation.
If Rodriguez is your choice, why does 2nd and 3rd place matter? And this season, the only way Ordonez or Guerrero end up with a respectable number of first-place votes, if any at all, is if the writers hold something against Rodriguez for previous gaffes in his attempts at PR improvements.
Rodriguez has done it all this season, and the Yankees are riding his legendary season into October as the league’s hottest club and as the favorite to win it all.
Here’s how my ballot would look, if I was lucky enough to have one that counted:
| American League MVP - 2007 |
|||||||||||||||||||
| PLAYER | Team | 2007 Season | |||||||||||||||||
| 1. A. Rodriguez |
NYY | .310/.415/.638/1.054 - 53 HR, 151 RBI, 91 BB, 24 SB | |||||||||||||||||
| 2. M. Ordonez | DET | .357/.427/.588/1.015 - 28 HR, 136 RBI, 52-2B, 74 BB | |||||||||||||||||
| 3. V. Guerrero | LAA | .323/.401/.542/.943 - 26 HR, 123 RBI, 45-2B | |||||||||||||||||
| 4. Ichiro | SEA | .350/.396/.431/.827, 6 HR, 68 RBI, 37 SB, DEF | |||||||||||||||||
| 5. C. Granderson | DET | .301/.358/.554/.912 - 23 HR, 23-3B, 74 RBI, 23 SB, | |||||||||||||||||
| 6. J. Posada | NYY | .334/.423/.545/.967 - 20 HR, 42-2B, 72 BB | |||||||||||||||||
| 7. D. Ortiz |
BOS | .322/.437/.600/1.037 - 33 HR, 48-2B, 114 RBI, | |||||||||||||||||
| 8. M. Lowell |
BOS | .324/.380/.500/.880 - 20 HR, 111 RBI, DEF | |||||||||||||||||
| 9. V. Martinez |
CLE | .301/.373/.510/.883 - 25 HR, 40-2B, 110 RBI | |||||||||||||||||
| 10. C. Pena |
TB | .277/.402/.606/1.008 - 43 HR, 118 RBI, 96 BB | |||||||||||||||||
To further cement Rodriguez’s dominant case:
He’s been better after the break than before it - .663 SLG and 30 HR versus .616 and 23 HR pre all-star. He’s posted a line of .297/.395/.588 with 26 homers and nine game-winning hits versus the contending teams he faced in 2007: Seattle, LAA, NYM, AZ, BOS, CLE, DET and COL.
AROD is slugging .714 versus finesse pitchers, but .726 against power arms, and he led the league in slugging percentage (.455) and OPS (.768) when behind in the count.
He’s hitting .338/.455/.722 in Yankees wins and .281/.363/.532 in their losses, and leads all of baseball in RBI per plate appearance at .225. He’s driving in almost a quarter run per plate appearance. Geez.
Sure, RBI are dependent on your teammates getting on base in front you, that’s very true. But how about this?
AROD’s OPS with runners on base is currently 1.142. With the bases empty it’s still a ridiculous .952. With runners in scoring position he’s hitting .326/.447/.667 and with runners in scoring position and two out, the dude is raking at .317/.440/.793 for a 1.233 OPS.
After the 6th inning in games where the lead is less than three runs, AROD is hitting .357/.432/.686. He’s hitting .500 with a 1.286 slugging percentage with the bases loaded, including three salamis and two bases-clearing doubles.
His OPS is over 1.000 leading off an inning, with runners on any base or base combinations, with any number of outs with runners on base in any combination - except second and third. But with runners at second and third with two outs, he’s hitting .339/.455/.739 with nine home runs and 13 doubles.
That is absurd. You can argue that clutch hitting is not a special skill in and of itself, and I’ll agree. But Rodriguez is a great hitter whose been unbelievable when it’s counted the most for the Yankees in ‘07.
Furthermore, AROD’s OPS+ this year is currently 180, adjusted for ballparks, which is the third highest OPS+ since 1967, among players not strongly connected to steroids. Only Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez have posted a better OPS+ in the last 40 years.
He’s had an excellent year defensively at an important defensive position, has cut his strikeout rate down while his walk rate is slightly up, and he’s swiped 24 bases in 28 attempts.
I just don’t think there is anything anyone could expect from a player on a team that has a legitimate chance to win the World Series.
If the vote is not unanimous, it is because there is a memeber of the BBWAA that just doesn’t like Rodriguez for personal reasons. His 2007 season ranks right up there with any offensive season in the past 50 years, and he’s never been connected to steroids or any other banned substance at any time in his career.
Side Note: Considering Bonds’ obvious connection to steroids and other banned supplements and substances, and the suspicions surrounding Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, it appears that the two greatest players of the last 20 years made their mark as Seattle Mariners superstars.
And not only is AROD the clear choice for the best player in the game today, he’s easily surpassed Junior as the best player, maybe ever, but certainly of this generation - and the last.
The only thing left for Alex to do is dominate in October wearing those pinstripes. He’s done it in an M’s uniform, hitting .409/.480/.773 with two homers against New York in the 2000 LCS. He was also stellar in ‘04 with the Yankees going 16 for 50 with three homers and eight RBI.
If Rodriguez maintains his season-long hot streak throughout October, we’ll have witnessed one of the very few greatest seasons ever achieved in Major League Baseball history.
But for now, he’ll have to settle for his third American League MVP.
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I see Carlos Pena at the bottom of that list. Any possible interest from the Ms?
What a player Granderson turned out to be eh? Great to see some true leadoff hitters who can really wreak havoc coming back to the game (Reyes, Rollins, Granderson).
Church, who are your top 5 leadoff hitters in the game today? Any up and comers to watch? How is this Ellsbury kid?
Pena would be an ideal fit for the m’s. Imagine adding his lefty power bat to the middle of the m’s lineup. The question is, what will the m’s have to give up to get him, and how high on the priority list would adding him be. The obvious problems to be addressed are adding starting pitching, trying to find a suitor for Richie Sexson, and figuring out what to do with Jose Guillen.
I’m starting the “Johan Santana to the M’s in 08′” campaign.
Pena isnt going anywhere, unforunately. He’s cheap, not a free agent at season’s end and Tampa would be asking for a king’s ransom if they dealt him.
Top leadoff hitters? Tough one, since there aren’t a lot of good ones, and among some of those, they aren’t prototypical leadoffguys.
Ichiro, Sizemore, Roberts, Granderson, Soriano…
Figgins has been sensational this year, but he hasn’t been this good for very long, so we’ll see.
I think Carl Crawford should be leading off on that DRays team.
Jose Reyes is awesome, of course, Jimmy Rollins has had a great year, and Hanley Ramirez is unbelievable. Ramirez might be more valuable in the 2 or 3 hole, but he also might be the game’s best leadoff hitter.
Ellsbury has those skills; can work a count, be patient, make a lof contact, has gap power ala Johnny Damon 10 years ago…
Carlos Pena’s had a hell of a year. Add to the fact that he’s damn good defensively as well, and Tampa would ask the moon for him, and rightfully so.
Upton would probably be Tampa’s best leadoff hitter, actually, despite the fact that he K’s at an insane rate. He has a terrific eye and tremendous speed. The only thing that would hurt is that you’d cut down on his RBI opportunities, and he has middle of the order type power.
I’m interested in seeing Tampa Bay next season. There’s no excuse that they don’t finish at least ahead of the Orioles, and win at least 75 games. Talent wise, next season will easily be their most talented roster ever, with the additions of Longoria and several Durham pitchers (Niemann and Talbot).
Crawford is their best leadoff type, even though he, too, is all but ideal.
He has great speed, great base stealer, has pop, limits Ks and draws an acceptable amount of walks in proportion.
I am furious that bavasi is back. I don’t want to hear “you have to give him credit for the good moves he has made” anymore!!! The bottom line is the man was hired to construct a winner. He hasn’t done it! There is no excuse for this team to not be in the playoffs with the type of payroll they have. Did anyone hear Armstrong, and Bavasi’s quotes yesterday. I swear i wanted to wring bavasi’s f’n neck. The biggest priority going into this offseason is going to be upgrading the starting pitching, and the only way to reasonably upgrade the starting 5 is through trade. Who is comfortable with bavasi (considering his track record) pulling the strings to bring in some quality arms. Not me, thats for sure! How many more carlos guillen for ramon santiago, horrible ram for rafael soriano, jeff weaver for 8 mil, scott speizio, pokey reese, jarrod washburn, old decaying mother f’n vets do we have to watch bavasi bring into the fold. I am so sick and tired seeing him try and plug the holes in the m’s sinking ship with aging pricey vets, that i am about to snap. I will give him credit for the acquistions of miguel batista, jose guillen, and adrian beltre. I love guillen and beltre, and batista has earned his money. Its easy for me to sit here and play arm chair gm, but i have so much passion and pride for my hometown 9, that i am just to the point where enough is enough. The sad fact is that all our ranting and raving will not make a difference, safeco is a cash cow, and whether the m’s are in the postseason or not, the money is there to be made, and as long as the money is there, the suits in the front office will be content with a 2nd place team….
How can you be angered at Bavasi coming back and not absolutely ticked off to no end that McLaren is back?
I agree! I have less of a problem with Bavasi as I do with Mclaren being back. Johjima, Ibanez and Guillen should not be in the starting lineup for the rest if the year! Clement, Wlad and Jones should be starting every day and Mac is still trotting them out… Rediculous.
Mac’s claim that he’s doing it to be fair to the teams still fighting for playoff positioning is preposterous.
The Indians and Angels haven’t trotted out their No. 1 lineup since they clinched.
And I don’t know that you bench Johjima, Ibanez, etc, that’snot really a great idea, but the kids should have been starting in at least five of the team’s last eight games.
This front office is completely puzzling and inept in their moves. Do they have no inkling that there are better options out there, most notably LaRussa/Jocketty? Did they even consider going after these guys? This will understandably piss off and confuse a lot of Mariner fans. It seems like these guys are hiring from within their circles. They dont want to seek out a wiser GM than Bavasi? And geez, they want McClaren back are you serious!?! Did they not witness the moves he made down the stretch with Rick White?! That was ridiculously moronic to put him in the game in those situations time after time. I bet any knowledgeable fan out there was wondering what that was all about. Those moves shot us out of a chance at a playoff spot and they want this guy back!?! Haaahahah, laughable.
Given, the Batista deal worked out, as well as the Guillen and Vidro deals. But as much as we love how well Beltre has played this year, we cannot forget the past two years when he was probably the biggest disappointment on the team. If money was not a factor, there is probably no one we could have gone to to fill the hot corner better at the time than Beltre (maybe Glaus). Yet for 13m a year, (a huge contract in the FA market for that year) the Beltre signing has been a big let down. Thank god for his glove or he would have turned out to be a disastrous signing. The more I read about it though, it seems as though it is not so much Bavasi, as it is the pressure he gets from the suits that corners him into making some of these deals.
I remember Jason you said a couple years back Bavasi wanted Glauss and Delgado at the corners instead of Beltre/Sexson, though the front office forced him that the latter direction. Then the organization was tired of seeing Carlos Guillen underachieve and just wanted him out, so Bavasi dealt him. Sounded like from the talk at last years winter meetings, Bavasi was pressured into using Soriano to find a starter. He tried Kuo, was turned down by LA, then settled on Ramirez. Bavasi does diserve a lot of blame for these moves but I dunno, I think if he ever gets fired, it would be interesting to hear an interview on his experiences as the M’s GM. He might have some unfavorable things to say about the guys upstairs.
As worthless as some of these deals have proven to be, this off season has the makings for even more of the same thing. Bavasi will probably trade Balentein and/or Clement for some middle of the rotation vet who will help us for a couple years then fizz out. Than those guys will turn out to be good pieces that we could have built upon.
Great piece Jason. Totally agree on ARod. If he isn’t the unanimous choice it’s an absolute travesty.
Jason,
I could care less about being fair to Cleveland and LA… We should be fair to the organization and see what we have for kids that can actually play at this level.
Regardless of exactly how many days per week the kids are playing, it should be substantially more, especially now that the “we’re still mathematically in the playoff race” argument is dead.
I am ticked off that mac is back for next season. Just sick and tired of bavasi, and forgot to include a rant about mac in my last post.
Colin,
Don’t get me wrong, I’m with you on that. That was McLaren’s thing.
McLaren owes more to HIS TEAM than he does to baseball. He serves baseball by making his team better–and sometimes, that means playing the youngsters when the opportunity is there and the cost is low.
If I was Bill Bavasi,or whoever ultimately would make such a decision, I’dremove McLaren’s veteran toys and not give him a choice.
No Sexson, no Vidro, and maybe no Guillen.
Jones has to play.
isn’t the most probable thing going into this offseason that Sexson will be moved. Bavasi said under no circumstances will he trade Jones or Clement, so that seems to say that Jones will start next year (Clement, I’m not so sure, but he has looked impressive in his 8 or whatever AB’s) No one will take Vidro espechially with the vesting option we added, and Guillen’s agent was here the other night, and it looked like Guillen wanted to admit that a deal was close in his interview. If Sexson is gone then that will force Mac to platoon, Vidro, Ibanez, and Broussard at first, and DH (if he’s still here) I like Guillen even more after hearing his comments about how in other words Mac needs to grow a pair in dealing with his players, but I don’t like the idea of tradeing Wlad unless its for a legit #2,3 pitcher. Bavasi wanted to trade him straight up for Dotel. It seems like in a couple years Wlad could give you the same or more offensivly then Guillen can, while coasting much less. Did anyone see the HR Wlad hit off of Carmona, it was a sinker almost in his betters box in the middle of his shins, that’s a lot of power. (I might be exagerating a little bit, but that’s how it looked to me).
Saying he wont deal Jones or Clement no matter what means nothing but that it’ll take a king’s ransom for him to do so.
He’d trade one or both if he was offered the right starting pitcher in return. He’d be stupid not to.
But that type of deal is unlikely anyways.
But it’s just GM speak. Ignore it at face value and look a little deeper.
You’ll notice Jones is not in the lineup again tonight.
I really, really dislike John McLaren.
Well, c’mon, Adam, he has to start Raul, or he’ll whine, and Ichiro is Ichiro, can’t take him out, and Guillen has to get his 100th RBI.
Love how they are treating Balentien as well. Only has 3 ABs and has hit a double and homerun with 4 RBI in those at bats.
Do you watch “The Office”, Jason?
Michael had a great quote last night:
“Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked. But it’s not like this, compulsive, need, to be liked. Like my need to be praised.”
Couldn’t help but think of McLaren.
What’s baffling is that he’s finding time for Clement, but Jones can’t get a sniff of the field.
If I chose an alternate team to root for, does it have to be in the NL? I’m really looking into becoming a closet D-Rays fan. Or maybe the Rockies?
Clement is looking pretty good
If Jones was lefthanded he’d be starting more.
Church, any chance the M’s try to trade Vidro as well and let Clement get some PT at DH/1B. You would think Vidro has value if you chip in some salary. Vidro is definitely worth 3 million to a contending team.
Clement looks to have a strong eye for the strike zone and seems to approach each at bat with a plan. He takes pitches and then waits for his pitch. He attacks when he’s ahead in the count, Mr. Lopez needs to take notes. Get rid of Sexson and Vidro and give the extra AB’s to Clement/Jones. Re-sign Guillen or trade for lefty power stick to play RF and the offense is set.
Yeah, sure, it’s possible.
Clement’s value is as a catcher, though, and the right thing to do would be to send him back to AAA to finish off his work behind the dish…
Clement clearly does one thing that’s critical to his success, and it’s something that Beltre, Betancourt and Lopez do not do…
He gets a pitch he can hit before he swings. 2-0 count and Wood gave him a changeup down the middle, but he clearly was not looking change and would have wasted a swing had he offered at it.
So he let it go. So what, it’s 2-1, you don’t have to swing at every freaking strike. Clement didn’t and look what happened.
I think A-Rod is a worthy AL MVP, but Mags a distant 2nd. Since I’m a Tigers fan, I’ll play devils advocate and compare the stats that you mentioned.
First, you got the pre all-star & post all-star stats backwards. A-Rod had .663 SLG% & 30 HR’s pre all-star and .621 SLG% & 24 HR’s post all-star break. Either way you cut it, those are damn good numbers.
Versus contending teams faced in ‘07:
A-Rod .297/.363/.588 20 HR and 47 RBI
Mags .359/.440/.627 13 HR and 60 RBI
Behind in the Count:
A-Rod .273/.289/.471 10 HR,39 RBI,0 BB,60 SO
Mags .259/.263/.382 3 HR,24 RBI,0 BB,48 SO
OPS with runners on base:
A-Rod 1.142
Mags 1.217
OPS with bases empty:
A-Rod .952
Mags .963
RISP:
A-Rod .330/.455/.676 18 HR, 97 RBI,37 BB,45 SO
Mags .423/.491/.630 7 HR,105 RBI,30 BB,26 SO
With 2 outs:
A-Rod .304/.410/.727 25 HR,70 RBI,28 BB,47 SO
Mags .332/.426/.545 9 HR,45 RBI,33 BB,24 SO
With bases loaded:
A-Rod .500/.444/1.286 3 HR,25 RBI,1 BB,1 SO
Mags .300/.385/.300 0 HR,10 RBI,2 BB,0 SO
Leading off:
A-Rod .327/.433/.673 13 HR,23 BB,23 SO
Mags .333/.397/.582 7 HR,15 BB,17 SO
Fielding:
(Hard to compare 3B vs. RF and vice versa, but I think it’s underrated by most fans & voters)
A-Rod 370 TC,106 PO,251 A,13 E,.965 FPCT
Mags 266 TC,261 PO, 4 A, 1 E,.996 FPCT
As of today Churchill`s prediction was right.
“PI’s TEAM PROJECTION 2007: 87-75, 2nd in AL West”
Mags had a great year, but AROD wins out in the end, even looking at the numbers side-by-side.
But Alex put up those numbers on a team that made the postseason. Mags, well, he didn’t, giving Rodriguez yet another edge.
Also, RF defense in general doesn’t compare to 3B - and it’s not close. And AROD is a better 3B than Mags is a RF. Using total chances, errors, assists, putouts and fielding percentage are useless defensive numbers.
Mags WOULD have beat out Morneau last year, and maybe Ortiz a few years back, had Detroit won the division.
This was simply AROD’s year.
Other numbers to consider…
EqA
AR - .354
MO - .351
Adjusted SLG
AR - .712
MO - .650
RC/G
AR - 10.9
MO - 10.9
And a stat I created, Scoring Position Percentage,or SPP -
AR - .151
MO - .125
AROD ranked 3rd in the AL, Ordonez fifth behind AROD, David Ortiz, Carl Crawford and Curtis Granderson.
Wow, Eric, I was just now, at 1:48 AM, going to too my own horn on that, and I see your comment on it.
How about that?
Let’s go Rangers!
LOL im only up because of pain at the moment.
To me we were one non bad slump away from making the playoffs.
I did just remmember that prediction not too long ago.
I just don’t think A-Rod is better when you look at the numbers side-by-side.
Mags was better vs. contending teams.
Had a better OPS with runners on base.
Had a better OPS with bases empty.
Was better with RISP.
Was better with 2 outs - Extending innings more often than A-Rod.
Mags has 26 less HR’s than A-Rod, but only 18 less RBI’s and 32 more hits that A-Rod. That means he put the ball in play more than A-Rod, giving the Tigers more scoring opportunities. The fact that the Tigers didn’t capitalize on those opportunities can’t be used against Mags. After all it’s the MVP (Most Valuable PLAYER) award, not the MVT (Most Valuable TEAM) award.
As far as the “other numbers to consider”…..
EqA isn’t that great of a stat, it gives extra credit for being hit by a pitch. Walks and HBP’s are added together and multiplied by 1.5, why I don’t know. That means a BB or HBP counts for 1.5 bases instead of 1 base. I think we can all agree that being hit by a pitch doesn’t require a lot of batting skill. It’s a padded stat if you get hit a lot, like A-Rod.
Adjusted SLG%, I’m not sure what is being adjusted. The only adjusted SLG% stat that I’m aware of is Park Adjusted. Mags park adj. SLG% is .422 and A-Rods is .414.
RC/G is another questionable stat. There are 24 different equations used to figure out Runs Created, using different combinations of offensive stats. If you use the SB or HR RC equation, A-Rod’s Runs Created and therefore his RC/G is higher. If you use the BA or Hits RC equation, Mags Runs Created and RC/G is higher.
And as for creating stats, I came up with the
Total Batting Stat or TBS.
This is the equation used.
(((G+AB+R+H)-(2B+3B+HR))/((RBI+TB+BB-SO)+(SB-CS)))
DIVIDED BY
(((OBP+SLG+AVG)*(SF+SH+HBP))/(NP/XBH))
TBS
Mags = 6.478
A-Rod = 1.429
How is the fact that Maggs has a lower OPS reconcile with this supposed split situation?
Had a better OPS with runners on base.
Had a better OPS with bases empty.
ESPN’s split statistics are off.
I’ve been told those won’t be corrected until sometime after the World Series.
Because, obviously, it’s impossible to have a better overall OPS if your OPS was lower both with runners and with the bases empty.
But if anyone thinks Mags should be the MVP over AROD, take it elsewhere, your ridiculous opinion will not be heard here.
You could argue that without A-rod the Yanks would not be in the playoffs, I think that alone gives him a huge edge over Mags.
I don’t think you could argue against that, 01…
I feel pretty confident saying this:
If you replaced AROD with any other third baseman in all of baseball,the Yankees would have missed the postseason.
He was directly responsible, as direct as it gets, for eight wins, saved four others with game-tying hits with two outs in the 8th or 9th inning.
If the replacement won and saved half that amount, the Yankees miss the postseason and Ordonez and his Tigers with the wildcard by two games.
It’s a no-brainer this year.
bedir than average, thanks for catching that mistype. It was supposed to be OBP, not OPS. I get stats from MLB.com, the stats should be right.
I don’t think Mags should win the MVP, but I think he could win. There are 29 “official” batting stats that can be split 35 different ways on MLB.com. You can also compare a hitters stats against any team they faced or any individual pitcher they faced. Given enough time and patience I could crunch stats and possibly show that Mark Grudzielanek should be named AL MVP, because individually he was more valuable to the Royals than any other player was to their particular team.
A-Rod had a killer regular season and will win the AL MVP, there’s no doubt about that. But, he won’t win it because he was categorically the most valuable player in the AL.
He’ll win it for these 4 reasons:
1. He had a great regular season.
2. He’s on one of the top 6 AL teams.
3. He lead the AL in HR’s & RBI’s (the 2 glory stats).
4. People vote on the award. It’s the “last man standing” theory, it’s how Bush became the President.
As far as the AL MVP being a “no-brainer”, I don’t think so. If it was a “no-brainer”, you wouldn’t have had to write 18 paragraphs explaining why it’s a “no-brainer”. Nothing that gets voted on is a no-brainer, the state government of my beloved Michigan proves that.
There’s no such thing as “cetegorically the most valuable player.”
And dude, AROD is NOT liked by many media members, players, fans, etc.
THAT is why I wrote 18 paragraphs. And because there are homers like you that just won’t accepts facts for what they are.
I spoke to one of the local BBWAA members last week and he knows of several other voters who will vote for Mags just because the other choice is AROD.
It’s stupid, and their voting rights should be revoked, but that’s the way it is right now.
And I said the CHOICE is a no-brainer, not the actual vote.
No brainer, if you’re smart and objective.
2nd to 4th isnt good for 90-114 million damn i miss how gillick treated our org so bad?I wish Bumbling Bill could get us to 1st next year for 120 million.Dont complain about success until we had failure and are GM is a failure…Anyone who says they like rebuilding go out in your back yard and get a shovle and a pix ax and go to work this sucks watching Lou in Melvin In ,Gillick in and us with the highest bpayrole out?Someone needs to be held accountable and i think it is Bavasi?
I think it’s Lincoln, not that Bavasi should have a job here anymore either.
But in the end it’s Lincoln’s decision to bring Bavasi back, as it was to bring him in.
Things will not change here until Nintendo sells and the entire front office, suits and all, are replaced.
“There’s no such thing as “categorically the most valuable player”.” That’s exactly my point, it’s all in the stats you choose to use. The whole system is subjective and biased toward what you think is important. There’s 1,015 MLB official batting stats when you factor in all the splits. That’s a lot of stats, what are the most important? Home runs, RBI’s, BAvg., hits, runs, OBP, OPS or is it all those stats when played on grass? I don’t know the anwser to that.
“And because there are homers like you that just won’t accepts facts for what they are.”
“I don’t think Mags should win the MVP, but I think he could win.” This is what I wrote, if that makes me a “homer” so be it. I wrote the things I wrote because A-Rod is not the runaway MVP favorite, there is good competition for the award. As far as accepting “facts for what they are”, come on!! The facts are, A-Rod is leading/ahead in some stat categories and Mags is leading/ahead in some stat categories. A-Rod mostly in power stats and Mags mostly in finesse/small ball stats. The “facts” that you typed aided your point of view, my “facts” were a rebuttal for a different point of view. No reason to bust a nut, because somebody doesn’t agree with you 100%.
The fact that you are here going hard at Mags’ defense is what makes you a homer.
And sure, the “system” is biased, but it’s biased against AROD if anything.
My system, personally, is biased to the player that is most valuable.
And you are clearly one of those who just don’t get it. AROD is indeed the runaway favorite and just about everyone, even a few of his biggest detractors, have come forth and said so.
And if you don’t like the way I responded to you, go away. I’m not on your turf, pal, you’re in my house.
I’m not here to make friends.
Speaking of ownership… You mentioned a couple months ago that you would send out a newsletter with information on ownership stuff that you had talked about during the *Yay! Hargrove is gone!* get-together. But you never did send anything out, was there anything substantial regarding it or just the usual?
The newsletter got sent out, but there wasn’t room for the ownership stuff. It wasn’t really anything all too earth-shattering, but I’m prohibited, by confidentiality and a pinky swear, from posting that here at PI.
Damn pinky.
e-mail me, yohn, I’ll fill ya in.
Now that the seasons over has the draft order been figured out, or does postseason standings come into play?
The M’s are tied for 20-22nd… we’ll find out later.
Jason, I usually get the newsletter, but I didn’t get it this time.
The newsletter he was referring to was sent out in the middle of July.
My bad, that’s what I get for not reading all the comments. I normally just read what Jason has to say, I should have looked above it. Thanks.
sent several e-mails to lincoln,offering to buy him theatre tickets…
m’s are in the wrong league..
Philadelphia - 89 wins
San Diego - 89
Colorado - 89
Mets - 88
Mariners - 88
all these teams are gripped in playoff fever .. cept mets and m’s (and the mets were till yesterday)
You forgot Cubs - 85. The Mariners would of won the NL Central by few games.
RE: 49, that sucks
Hey Jason, this is off topic, but what are the M’s plan with Mike Morse next year? Is he going to get a shot with them this year?
I doubt it. He’s out of options, I bet he gets dealt.
couple questions about future posts…
Will there be a post on who we got from the international signings?
What about what you think the M’s should do this offseason?
The International Signings piece is one I’m wrestling with, simply because it’s been tough to get information on these guys. I have stuff Dejesus, but info on Noriega and Nunez has been tougher to corner.
I have several feelers out there right now and if I don’t get some info on the other two major signings by, say, the end of the week, I’ll roll with what I can get from non-scouts.
I’ll go ahead and add that to the Feature Schedule.
As far as the M’s offseason, I’m not sure if I’m going to do a solo piece on that this year.
I’ll probably share thoughts on who makes sense as the winter goes along, but a plan, PI style, probably isn’t in the works.
Jason,
Do you think the M’s would ever consider trading Kenji? He is one of the few players that have value where we have some depth.
A team like the Mets might be interested with Lo Duca not likely coming back.
No.
Hey Jayson. Do you have any idea whether we could offer Guillen arbitration after his contract? Are we going to get a pick should Guillen decides to walk?
Guillen has more than 6 years here so no arb avaliavle.
actually, Eric, mabalasek is wondering about free agent arbitration.
When a player is a free agent, his team has to offer him arbitration in order to get draft pick compensation if and when he leaves for another team.
And yes, if Guillen’s option is picked up by the Mariners and he declines, they can offer arby and get a draft pick.
They can even offer arby if they decline their end no matter what Guillen decided, and get a draft pick.
They should decline just for the draft pick. (;
With McLaren back, I have a feeling that Jones won’t be an ‘08 regular. He really wants Guillen back and I doubt that they trade Richie. It seems to me that McLaren is gonna have an outfield of Raul, Ichiro, Guillen. He’ll want the veteran prescence of Vidro, so he’ll make him the DH.
am I the only one who feels this way?
I’ve heard that even McLaren knows Jones has to play in 2008, and is fine with the idea.
Mac is right about one thing. It’s different when you start the season with an inexperienced guy as an everyday option than when you are supposed to replace a veteran in the lineup with a rookie midway through.
Tougher job, different approach. It’s still the right thing to do, but it’s not easy.