Manny 4 VP!

Had enough MVP talk yet? Cool, me neither. If you read the Press-Enterprise, you undoubtedly have heard of column-writer Gregg Patton. For those of you who have not, you're in for a treat.

Manny Ramirez is in LA now, so it figures he'd get movie star-style hype.

But he deserves the Most Valuable Player Award about as much as he deserves an Oscar.

Cute analogy. LA, Movie Star, Oscar--classic. But yeah, I pretty much agree here. Manny for MVP = Dumbass Decision

Putting the Dodgers left fielder in the MVP discussion is just silly talk. He's been a difference-maker only slightly longer than Sarah Palin.

Another great analogy. Spot on. Although, if we're going to put the impact of Manny on the same level as Palin, I think it'd be safe to say that Manny deserves the MVP.

Anyway, me and Gregg are still pretty much in agreement at this point.

Two months does not an MVP make, no matter his statistics or the effect on the team. It wouldn't be an issue if the league had a clear-cut candidate. But if Ryan Howard gets Philadelphia past the New York Mets or into the wild-card spot, it suddenly has one.

Wow...

Ryan Howard
.337 OBP-- 51st in NL
.874 OPS-- 20th in NL
31.6 VORP-- 33rd in NL
4.6 WARP1-- Bad

Manny Ramirez
4.6 WARP1-- In 467 less plate appearances

I would seriously give the MVP to Manny Ramirez over Ryan Howard at this point (neither one even comes close to deserving it, though). It puzzles me how Howard can be considered for MVP despite having an OBP ten points below league average. Also, Carlos Delgado > Ryan Howard. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

The fact that the Dreaded One

lol... Clever.

has been averaging about an RBI per game and a home run every three games, and that his batting average is pushing .400, makes a pretty good case -- for a second consecutive Player of the Month citation, but not the big trophy.

How he manages to go from insane to sane in a matter of sentences is a mystery to me.

And now let's move on to the AL:

As good as the Angels are, they have only one MVP candidate, and he's a dubious choice because he's a relief pitcher.

Oh boy... I think we all see where this is going.

I'm not a big fan of pitchers winning the MVP anyway -- since they have their own Cy Young Award to put on the mantle -- but Francisco Rodriguez will get votes and deserve them.

Yes, he will get votes. No, he will not deserve them.

Interestingly, while it's a foregone conclusion that Cleveland's Cliff Lee will get the Cy Young, K-Rod and his record-breaking number of saves made the Angels the best team in the league.

That right there sums up the absurdity of the interpretation of the MVP award. Cliff Lee will be deemed the superior pitcher, while K-Rod will be deemed as being more valuable to his team. So basically, less production equals greater value. I know, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Also, while it's still very debatable as to whether or not the Angels are the best team in the league, I think it's safe to say that if they were to claim that spot it would be largely in part to the addition of Mark Teixeira, who has a 179 OPS+ with them in 43 games. Francisco Rodriguez does not make them the best team in the league.

Sounds like an MVP in a league that really doesn't have a standout candidate.

I just have one thing to say to this.

Clifton.





Phifer.





Lee.



And one lonely tidbit on football before we go.

After the Chargers lost their first game to Carolina on the last play of the game, San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers said that blowout wins were nice, but the most fun he has in football is playing in tight games that come down to the wire. Maybe so, but I'm guessing he'd be more than thrilled with one of those blowout wins right about now.

Some things, Capt. Obvious, just go without saying.