I Would Stil Send Him Packing

Though a strong believer in all things Bill James, I have to disagree with his #1 ranking of the Prince as the number one player 29 or younger. Based on right now, as you existentialists like to say, this is true. But baseball is judged in the long term. Guys have unbelievable single seasons, and then go into the tank. Look at Bill Hall. Also, fat guys who mash dont age all that well. And he is only getting fatter, often having difficulty bending over to dig a ball out of the dirt.

This bodes well for the AL team that at some point in his career will inevitably pick him up, hopefully sooner than later, and hopefully for young pitching. But this is Milwaukee people. We play in the non-wuss league, where players like Craig Counsel and Jack Wilson have exuded gameyness since before God, and probably get paid as much. Look at Juan Pierre for the love of pete. I am under the opinion that in order to be a good ball player in the NL, you have to be a good baseball player, using as many of the 5 tools as possible all of the time. There is more to the game than hitting, though it is a pretty big part of it. Look at the chart before the one in question. That looks pretty bad. Even known fattys like El Caballo dont show up in the top, or bottom, ten players. Granted I will take 30-45 homers per year any day, but at the sacrifice of said bending over, or climbing the ladder to grab a high throw, or ranging to the right to get a hot grounder(as you know it is tough for Weeks to get there), or going to third on a single to right.

Fat guys who mash dont age all that well. In a couple more years of NL ball, the knees give out, random muscle injuries happen, and sooner or later walking is a lot tougher than eating. It is tough business playing 1st base every day. Ask Jeff Bagwell. But I digress.

Speaking of the big guy, did you see this one from baseball dude?

With the Cardinals finishing fourth, I voted Pujols seventh on my ballot. I don't consider MVP to be "the most outstanding player" award and therefore don't just go by who had the best stats. I like to credit players for lifting their teams to the post-season or at least keeping them in the race until the very end.

So one team finishes 86-75 because of the offensive prowess of one player, who plays a pretty good 1B by the way. The other wins the division with a 92-70 record because of a whole lineup that can hammer the ball. In fact, I would go on to say that Chase Utley is a better all around baseball player that Howard, despite Howards league leading 48 bombs. He - Utley - plays a decent 2b, and hits for more extra bases.

Now compare Howards line, with that of Pujols. Questions?

But the real problem is, voting Prince over the Hebrew Hammer, Senor baseball guy. If you are going to base MVP voting on hrs alone, like it looks like you did, who wins? Not to mention that fact that Braun was hurt for a big part of the season, and played better over 162 games. To quote an unpopular punk rock band of the late 90s, "I dont know what you've been smoking but pack another bowl for me."

UPDATE: I just noticed that baseball guy posted another one about why he voted the way he did. In his normal way, he was a bit angry at all of the dissension in the ranks.

I choose to not be a slave merely to statistics. If you want to pick the MVP solely on statistics every year, we can hire a statistical outlet to name the winner and just do away with balloting. We can call it "Most Outstanding Statstical Player." And, certainly, Pujols had great statistics, as he always does.

So the measure of how good a baseball player you are, numbers or how you perform, arent the most important thing? Thats like saying that because Anakin Skywalkers midiclorian count was higher than the Emperors, he isnt the chosen one. Or I Iike oranges better than apples because they make me feel better.