Justin Morneau is starting to get MVP talk again. Let me first say, he is my favorite player in baseball, but he doesnt deserve it right now. if he hits .320, and drives in 125, then maybe. I rarely miss a Twins game, but I can say this year has been a down year as far a clutch hitting goes. Then again, he has also hit some big ones too. HR's are down alot though.
Pedroia has at least one vote for AL MVP Getty Images Let's get this straight. My favorite soup isn't clam chowder. I don't drink Sam Adams. Green, unless a cash deposit, does little for me. And the Kennedy I knew best was left-handed Joe, God rest his soul, not John, Robert or Teddy. So this admission comes without bias: Dustin Pedroia is the American League most valuable player. There, I said it wrote Denver Post baseball writer Troy E. Renck.
It doesn't get much better than this: a supremely confident athlete reaching his apex when his team needs him most.
Pedroia is the AL MVP. Why? A seventh-inning stretch of reasons:
• Playing in Boston is harder than calculus. Pressure is paramount. Pedroia glows in the spotlight. Because of the Manny Ramirez trade and injuries, Pedroia has hit cleanup in four of the past five games despite being smaller than half the kids at Williamsport. All he's done is go 11-for-17 with two home runs and six RBIs.
• He leads the American League in batting average (.333), inflating his statistics with helium during a current 21-for-34 tear.
• He has two fewer extra base-hits than Texas' Josh Hamilton (63 to 65) and the same number as White Sox slugger Carlos Quentin. Those are his primary rivals in the MVP race, which figures to feature one of the most unlikely winners ever, a fact that works to Pedroia's advantage.
• After watching Pedroia reach base the first 11 times in last weekend's series, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen intentionally walked the second baseman. "I never thought I'd walk a jockey," Guillen said. "I must be the worst manager ever, walking a guy that just came from being on top of Big Brown to beat the White Sox."
• Pedroia has just six errors at second base. He's not going to make anyone forget Bill Mazeroski - in fact, when Maz was asked about Pedroia at the Hall of Fame, he didn't know who he was. But he's solid and would rather eat tinfoil than give ground on a double play.
• It's a flawed field. Hamilton is a wonderful story, but the Rangers will be lucky to finish with a winning record. If the White Sox make the playoffs, Quentin could easily overtake Pedroia. Same goes for former MVP Justin Morneau of the Twins. One of their candidacies will be weakened, regardless.
That leaves Pedroia, AL MVP.
Bill wpkoughan@yahoo.com Collecting 1970-1979 PSA 9 & 10 Baseball Cards
three weeks-plus of baseball left, that's all I know. If Pedroia keeps up this pace, the award is his as he will have taken the Sox on his back and propelled them into the playoffs. There's plenty of time for someone else to do the same for their team and win the award (Quentin, Morneau, Arod for example)
Carlos Quentin has a broken wrist . . . if the White Sox fall apart now, does that help him in the voting since it would demonstrate his value to the team?
<< <i>Carlos Quentin has a broken wrist . . . if the White Sox fall apart now, does that help him in the voting since it would demonstrate his value to the team?
With Quentin out of the picture, this helps Pedroia a ton....right now, he leads the league in hits, runs, and BA...if they come back and win the division, I think Pedroia takes home the hardware. And if he gets to 20 HR and 90 RBI, it becomes a landslide, unless KRod gets to 60 saves, in which case all bets are off.
Are there players having better seasons then him?....of course there are (probably 10-15 actually). But with no clear cut favorite, the best player on a team that made up 5 games in September to win the division (and potentially the best record in the AL) will get a lot of votes.
Its down to Morneau & Hamilton, and according to some guys here, a fellas that has driven in 40 RBI's less than Morneau with 50 more at bats. I guess that puts Joe Mauer in the MVP race too!
Morneausy also has 70 walk/71 K's, pretty good ratio there. Oh yeah and he is hitting .311, not bad.
I would love to have Dustin on the Twins, but I cant see him having a shot at the MVP. If the Twins DO win the Division, Morneau gets his 2nd MVP trophy.
<< <i>Espn holds alot of the weight when it comes to who gets the MVP. I have yet to hear ANY Dustin talk, at all. I watch espn way too much by the way. >>
and Todd (Philly): Is Quentin being injured hurting his MVP chances in combination with Pedroia being red hot?
Steve Phillips: I think Carlos Quentin is still in the mix for the MVP, but he's far from a sure thing. I think Morneau, Pedroia, and Quentin are the leading candidates. If I had a vote today, I might pick Pedroia, as he leads the league in hits, batting average, and is third and total bases. Chat with Steve Phillips
1. Carl Yastrzemski ... often compared with Kaline but he was much better >>
I always end up comparing Kaline with Clemente and Yastrzemski with Henderson. Looking at them side by side, it is easy to see Yaz was better than Kaline, though the gap was small
<< <i>2. Dwight Evans and Fred Lynn were both much better than people think; as Red Sox fans perhaps you will recognize the irony that this is mostly due to over-adulation of Jim Rice >>
And Reggie Smith is even more underappreciated
Tiant is behind several pitchers not in the Hall-of-Fame
<< <i>If the award truly is about 'value', then it has to go to Arod, for without him, the yankees are in dead last and a sub .500 team. Arod even has a higher VORP over Pedroia, despite missing a month! >>
The award has never been about a players value, it has always been about the value of a good players teammates. And Pedroia has far more valuable teammates than Rodriguez
Morneau hit a grand slam last night and has 113 RBIs ---
Quentin is a boob! >>
K-Rod, while having a great season has no business being in any MVP - (Most Valuable PLAYER) discussions. He will garner some votes, but not enough to make a serious run IMHO.
Comments
Steve
The boy is hot!
Steve
Pedroia has at least one vote for AL MVP
Getty Images
Let's get this straight. My favorite soup isn't clam chowder. I don't drink Sam Adams. Green, unless a cash deposit, does little for me. And the Kennedy I knew best was left-handed Joe, God rest his soul, not John, Robert or Teddy. So this admission comes without bias: Dustin Pedroia is the American League most valuable player. There, I said it wrote Denver Post baseball writer Troy E. Renck.
It doesn't get much better than this: a supremely confident athlete reaching his apex when his team needs him most.
Pedroia is the AL MVP. Why? A seventh-inning stretch of reasons:
• Playing in Boston is harder than calculus. Pressure is paramount. Pedroia glows in the spotlight. Because of the Manny Ramirez trade and injuries, Pedroia has hit cleanup in four of the past five games despite being smaller than half the kids at Williamsport. All he's done is go 11-for-17 with two home runs and six RBIs.
• He leads the American League in batting average (.333), inflating his statistics with helium during a current 21-for-34 tear.
• He has two fewer extra base-hits than Texas' Josh Hamilton (63 to 65) and the same number as White Sox slugger Carlos Quentin. Those are his primary rivals in the MVP race, which figures to feature one of the most unlikely winners ever, a fact that works to Pedroia's advantage.
• After watching Pedroia reach base the first 11 times in last weekend's series, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen intentionally walked the second baseman. "I never thought I'd walk a jockey," Guillen said. "I must be the worst manager ever, walking a guy that just came from being on top of Big Brown to beat the White Sox."
• Pedroia has just six errors at second base. He's not going to make anyone forget Bill Mazeroski - in fact, when Maz was asked about Pedroia at the Hall of Fame, he didn't know who he was. But he's solid and would rather eat tinfoil than give ground on a double play.
• It's a flawed field. Hamilton is a wonderful story, but the Rangers will be lucky to finish with a winning record. If the White Sox make the playoffs, Quentin could easily overtake Pedroia. Same goes for former MVP Justin Morneau of the Twins. One of their candidacies will be weakened, regardless.
That leaves Pedroia, AL MVP.
wpkoughan@yahoo.com
Collecting 1970-1979 PSA 9 & 10 Baseball Cards
I think Pedroia's chances continue to improve.
Broken Wrist - Broken Opportunity?
<< <i>Carlos Quentin has a broken wrist . . . if the White Sox fall apart now, does that help him in the voting since it would demonstrate his value to the team?
I think Pedroia's chances continue to improve.
Broken Wrist - Broken Opportunity? >>
Ian Kinsler is having surgery for a "sports hernia" -- the competition is falling by the wayside!
Are there players having better seasons then him?....of course there are (probably 10-15 actually). But with no clear cut favorite, the best player on a team that made up 5 games in September to win the division (and potentially the best record in the AL) will get a lot of votes.
I see their point, however at the same time runs do win ballgames.
D.Pedroia has had an MVP type season and is hot at the right time.
Hamilton was hot during the first half yet seems to have cooled.
F-Rod may garner a few votes too.
I'd be interested in seeing how the breakdown in votes winds up.
Anyone know who won an MVP (Since 1946) that had the least amount of total votes?
This season may produce such a winner.
Steve
Runs== Someone else Da Man
Morneausy also has 70 walk/71 K's, pretty good ratio there. Oh yeah and he is hitting .311, not bad.
I would love to have Dustin on the Twins, but I cant see him having a shot at the MVP. If the Twins DO win the Division, Morneau gets his 2nd MVP trophy.
<< <i>
Ohh snap
ESPN loves the Red Sox (and so does Gammons)...its only a matter of time before they start touting his case.
I know it's unfathomable to some that a 5'-9" 180 lb guy should be in the running, but everything seems to be falling into place.
After getting a gift MVP a couple years ago, maybe there is a faction of voters who will vote for Morneau again.
<< <i>Espn holds alot of the weight when it comes to who gets the MVP. I have yet to hear ANY Dustin talk, at all. I watch espn way too much by the way. >>
That's interesting. Maybe you get a different version of ESPN than I do?
Pedroia - No. 1 -- For Now
and
Todd (Philly): Is Quentin being injured hurting his MVP chances in combination with Pedroia being red hot?
Steve Phillips: I think Carlos Quentin is still in the mix for the MVP, but he's far from a sure thing. I think Morneau, Pedroia, and Quentin are the leading candidates. If I had a vote today, I might pick Pedroia, as he leads the league in hits, batting average, and is third and total bases.
Chat with Steve Phillips
And John Kruk on ESPN radio (at about the 2:50 mark):
ESPN Radio - MVP Discussion
1. Pedroia
2. K-Rod
3. Morneau
Morneau hit a grand slam last night and has 113 RBIs ---
Quentin is a boob!
Erik
<< Espn holds alot of the weight when it comes to who gets the MVP. I have yet to hear ANY Dustin talk, at all.
All last week I heard them talking him up. They even had him on one morning.
Guy deserves the props.
Steve
<< <i> as a gesture of good will:
1. Carl Yastrzemski ... often compared with Kaline but he was much better >>
I always end up comparing Kaline with Clemente and Yastrzemski with Henderson. Looking at them side by side, it is easy to see Yaz was better than Kaline, though the gap was small
<< <i>2. Dwight Evans and Fred Lynn were both much better than people think; as Red Sox fans perhaps you will recognize the irony that this is mostly due to over-adulation of Jim Rice >>
And Reggie Smith is even more underappreciated
Tiant is behind several pitchers not in the Hall-of-Fame
needed him to be all summer long.
Expect him to have a monster last 2 weeks of the season.
Steve
<< <i>If the award truly is about 'value', then it has to go to Arod, for without him, the yankees are in dead last and a sub .500 team. Arod even has a higher VORP over Pedroia, despite missing a month! >>
The award has never been about a players value, it has always been about the value of a good players teammates. And Pedroia has far more valuable teammates than Rodriguez
<< <i>With Quentin out it should go to Arod . >>
<< <i>Right now:
1. Pedroia
2. K-Rod
3. Morneau
Morneau hit a grand slam last night and has 113 RBIs ---
Quentin is a boob! >>
K-Rod, while having a great season has no business being in any MVP - (Most Valuable PLAYER) discussions. He will garner some votes, but not enough to make a serious run IMHO.
.303 31 124 .365 .543
Hamilton