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I'm with the DJ
2006-11-21 09:47
by Alex Belth

I know that it is foolish to get too caught up in awards, but it would be really cool if DJ wins the AL MVP this afternoon. The only thing that would burn my ass is if they give it to Justin Morneau. If Joe Mauer or Johan Santana win it, that's one thing as I think they are both deserving, but Morneau? That pick gets that Gas Face. Reading articles like this don't exactly fill you with confidence in the voting process.

Comments
2006-11-21 10:02:20
1.   YankeeInMichigan
The Phillidelphia Inquirer article doesn't bother me much. Most of the quoted writers acknowledged that the choice Howard and Pujols was a tough one. Their VORP scores (85.4 and 81.5) back up this assertion.

Defenses of Morneau's candidacy, on the other hand, make me sick. Ditto for Ortiz, whose September games were no more meaningful than Hafner's.

2006-11-21 10:18:29
2.   YankeeInMichigan
Gleeman speaks of Mauer as an unheralded up-the-middle contributor, but he ignores Carlos Guillen. Granted, Guillen loses out in an apples-to-apples comparison with Jeter, but he was the only consistent offensive contributer for the AL champs (Guillen's OBP .400, next best on team .350). Guillen is #4 on my "ballot." He'll be lucky to finish 10th among the writers.

On the brighter side, Mauer has finally replaced Ortiz among the "top 4" on mlb.com.

2006-11-21 10:28:41
3.   Aaron Gleeman
2 This actually isn't true at all. I didn't mention Guillen in my entry today, because it was focused primarily on the Twins, but I placed him sixth on my ballot for the very reasons you outlined above. Here's the link to my ballot, which includes an explanation for why I think Jeter was slightly more valuable than Mauer this season (and why Morneau wasn't even close).

http://tinyurl.com/w8a8e

While my Gas Face won't be quite as strong as Alex's, I agree that Morneau is not a deserving AL MVP.

2006-11-21 10:30:28
4.   Jurgen
I love that Andre Dawson's 1987 season (as all us Jamesians know, one of the worst MVP selections in a long, long time) is STILL brought as one of the few exceptions of where a guy with "off the chart" numbers deserving the award regardless of whether he played for a contender. Wow, voters LOVE those homeruns. (The more things change...)

If your MVP comes from a contender, Ozzie Smith or Jack Clark would have been fine. But you're telling me Will Clark, Darryl Strawberry, Tim Raines, Dale Murphy all got 0 first place votes?

2006-11-21 10:44:59
5.   YankeeInMichigan
3 Sorry for the false accusation. I'll count you among those who give Carlos Guillen his due respect (when even the Detroit media do not).

Your ballot is charitable to Morneau, whose VORP doesn't even put him in the Top 15.

I am curious how you (and many others) were able to put Ortiz above Hafner. They are very similar players who both played for non-contenders, and Hafner's numbers are better.

2006-11-21 10:54:01
6.   jonnystrongleg
5 I think I would call the Red Sox a "contender" last year since they were in first place for a strong majority of the season. And Ortiz played 151 games to Hafner's 129. If Hafner had stayed healthy for a few more weeks, he'd be ahead of Ortiz, but not playing 21 fewer games.
2006-11-21 11:03:07
7.   unmoderated
M&TMD say it's Morneau.
2006-11-21 11:03:37
8.   Yankee Fan In Boston
jeter was robbed.
2006-11-21 11:04:49
9.   3rd gen yankee fan
Screw MLB.
2006-11-21 11:07:11
10.   tommyl
8 Its not that Jeter was robbed, its that Jeter, Santana and Mauer were robbed!
2006-11-21 11:08:27
11.   3rd gen yankee fan
9 I apologize to MLB. I just realized I'm blaming the wrong people, I'm so aggravated!
2006-11-21 11:15:17
12.   Saburo
Player analysis really HASN'T changed since the days of Babe Ruth. I'm almost surprised...
2006-11-21 11:26:50
13.   Aaron Gleeman
Oh well. Sorry.
2006-11-21 12:33:49
14.   Jen
Should we get some ice for Alex's ass?

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