Just wanted to lob this one in the direction of Nils: Rob Neyer explains why Joe Mauer should have been AL MVP instead of Dustin Pedroia.
And "impossibly handsome sideburns" wasn't even part of his analysis!
Other than the thought of Nils high-fiving himself over the Mauer-love, this story is relatively uninteresting. The AL MVP was a total wash this year. Lots of pretty good candidates, but no one that really gets me excited. The more interesting part is looking to see which random dudes picked up MVP votes from the BBWAA.
My favorite was Jason Bartlett receiving a 5th-place vote (!!).
He missed 34 games, had an OPS+ of 82 (100 is league-AVERAGE), and he hit three fewer home runs this year than.... Carlos Zambrano.
Why not just totally mail it in and throw a vote Pavano's way?
Showing posts with label rob neyer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rob neyer. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
A Pre-emptive Rant Against the BBWAA
I normally enjoy the work of Rob Neyer over at espn. For example, in his piece today breaking down the Cy Young award candidates, I agree with his take on the NL race, in that it should be a two-horse race between Santana and Lincecum (although I, personally, would give Santana the slightest of edges due to the fact that his games actually, you know, mattered).
That being said, the fact that people continue to include Francisco Rodriguez in the list of AL candidates is maddening. Let's do one of those blind taste-test type exercises:
Player X: 68+ IP, 2.24 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 2.26 K:BB ratio.
Player Y: 70+ IP, 1.40 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 12.83 K:BB ratio.
Which one of those relievers do you want? Hmmmm, probably Player Y, right? (P.S. Player Y is Mariano Rivera.)
Oh, you are one of those who believe that starters are more valuable than relievers just because they pitch three-to-four times as many innings over the course of a season? That's actually a good reason. Which brings me to my second beef with this year's AL Cy Young campaign, that being that it can ONLY go to K-Rod or Cliff Lee. And while we have already shown that K-Rod would be an atrocious selection, what about Clifford?
Well, I actually wouldn't argue if Lee wins. But consider the following:
Player A: 223+ IP, 2.54 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 5.00 K:BB ratio.
Player B: 246 IP, 2.78 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 5.28 K:BB ratio.
That's pretty damn close, no? I'm still not entirely sure why everyone has dismissed Roy Halladay (Player B) as a legitimate candidate. The dude had a REALLY good season. At least as good as Lee's, right?
That being said, the fact that people continue to include Francisco Rodriguez in the list of AL candidates is maddening. Let's do one of those blind taste-test type exercises:
Player X: 68+ IP, 2.24 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 2.26 K:BB ratio.
Player Y: 70+ IP, 1.40 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 12.83 K:BB ratio.
Which one of those relievers do you want? Hmmmm, probably Player Y, right? (P.S. Player Y is Mariano Rivera.)
Oh, you are one of those who believe that starters are more valuable than relievers just because they pitch three-to-four times as many innings over the course of a season? That's actually a good reason. Which brings me to my second beef with this year's AL Cy Young campaign, that being that it can ONLY go to K-Rod or Cliff Lee. And while we have already shown that K-Rod would be an atrocious selection, what about Clifford?
Well, I actually wouldn't argue if Lee wins. But consider the following:
Player A: 223+ IP, 2.54 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 5.00 K:BB ratio.
Player B: 246 IP, 2.78 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 5.28 K:BB ratio.
That's pretty damn close, no? I'm still not entirely sure why everyone has dismissed Roy Halladay (Player B) as a legitimate candidate. The dude had a REALLY good season. At least as good as Lee's, right?
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