Slappy beats Papi

[Willets Point]

Your 2005 American League Most Valuable Player is Alex Rodriguez.

[Guest rpackrat]

Much as I hate to admit it, it's almost certainly the right choice.

[Elster88]

Me too.

[Centerfield]

What is amazing is that I know quite a few MFY fans that were rooting against A-Rod in the MVP race. I hear "The choker doesn't deserve it" and other garbage like that. It's astonishing how unfairly a player of his caliber is treated in this town...and it shows how badly some fans are in need of a scapegoat.

I wonder if A-Rod is somehow becoming the MFY's Benitez. And maybe that means he'll end up getting traded across town. (to play second base).

[Willets Point]

And then the Mets can sign Clemens to a one-year contract! The Mets would rule then, although you'd have to hold your nose to cheer for them.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Boo.

I was really hoping Ortizzle would somehow pull it out.

[Elster88]

Centerfield wrote: I hear "The choker doesn't deserve it" and other garbage like that. It's astonishing how unfairly a player of his caliber is treated in this town...and it shows how badly some fans are in need of a scapegoat.

I thought I was the only one who felt this way.

[Elster88]

Rotblatt wrote: Boo. I was really hoping Ortizzle would somehow pull it out.

Why? If it's pure Yankee-hatred I can understand that. I'd be surprised if you thought Ortiz was more deserving. Fo shizzle.

[MFS62]

Slappy wins?
Well maybe there will be a chance next year for Curley, Larry, Mo, Shemp, Doc, Sneezy, Grumpy (the other dwarfs only DH), Huey,Looie, Dewey, Groucho, Harpo, Zeppo and Chico.

Later

[Guest Rotblatt]

Nah, A-Rod clearly should have won the award. It's pure Yankee hatred. Well, tempered with a little Ortiz love. He was just fun to watch last year. A-Rod was only fun to watch during the post-season.

[Frayed Knot]

MVP voters (2 per city) list their top 10.
14 points are awarded for a 1st place vote, then 9 for 2nd, 8 for 3rd, 7 for 4th ... 1 for 10th

ARod: 16 -11 - 1 = 331 ... (3rd?)
Papi: 11 - 17 - 0 = 307
Vlad: 1 - 0 - 9 = 196 ... (a 1st place vote?)
Manny: 0 - 0 - 9 = 156
Hafner: 0 - 0 - 5 = 151
Konerko: 0 - 0 - 2 = 128
Teixeira: 0 - 0 - 1 = 106
Sheffield: = 84
Rivera: 0 - 0 - 1 = 59
Jeter = 23



I have no problem with the outcome. Besides, it'll cost the Yanx an extra $1mil for it -- unless Texas agreed to pay for all such nonsense in order to get rid of him.

But most of the press reports are wrong. They're saying that it's the 1st NYY MVP award since Mattingly in '85, except that this shouldn't count because we all know that A-Rod (all together now) ISN'T A TRUE YANKEE!!!!

[Elster88]

="Frayed Knot"]They're saying that it's the 1st NYY MVP award since Mattingly in '85, except that this shouldn't count because we all know that A-Rod (all together now) ISN'T A TRUE YANKEE!!!!

Somewhat refreshing. I'm sure I'd be sick of it if they were gloating about it. There are just so many ways to hate Yankee fans.

[Valadius]

This is utter bullshit.

David Ortiz should have won this one.

With all the clutch hits he delivered, he deserved to win the MVP. I think it's safe to say that without David Ortiz, the Red Sox would not have made the playoffs. He carried the Red Sox on his back during the final weeks of the season.

[Elster88]

Valadius wrote: With all the clutch hits he delivered, he deserved to win the MVP.

I think ARod had good numbers down the stretch too. But only in games where they were way up or way down, right? Benitez couldn't get it done in the clutch either.

[Guest rpackrat]

David Ortiz, as much as I like him, was somewhat LESS valuable than Slappy as an offensive player, and he didn't even play defense. There is absolutely no way that Ortiz shoudl have won, other than pure Yankee hatred (not that there's anything wrong with that).

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

Elster88 wrote: ="Centerfield"]I hear "The choker doesn't deserve it" and other garbage like that. It's astonishing how unfairly a player of his caliber is treated in this town...and it shows how badly some fans are in need of a scapegoat. I thought I was the only one who felt this way.

I still wonder how the media/fans would have treated him if things had turned out differently back in the 2000/2001 offseason

You know, it'd probably be worse than it is now as fans/media would be blaming ARod for

-Lack of pitching signed for 2001, therefore no replacement for the departing Mike Hampton

-Despite great overall numbers a percieved "softness" of his home power numbers due to hitting in a pitching park

and of course

-Shouldn't he have gotten the Mets into the postseason by NOW?

Steve

[metirish]

Not surprising that Rodriguez is getting pretty much hammered in the papers today, his conference call with reporters yesterday and his bit on M&MD was pure bullshit, IMO he came accross as if he were being persecuted just for being A-Rod......

[Elster88]

The hate for ARod is unbelievable. While watching MNF with a couple of buddies yesterday, one of them, who is very sports-intelligent and a Met fan, insisted he would not want ARod on his team (and we were doing this in the hypothetical where he doesn't cost $25 mil per year).

Among his arguments: "He's a cooler." "Every time he left a team they got better." "He doesn't come through in the clutch."

My arguments: "Two-time MVP" "Most home runs by a right handed hitter ever at a park that's been around a long time." "Arguably one of the best shortstops in history" (All handily shot down because ARod is a "cooler".)

Look at the two sets of arguments.

To hear this drivel from an intelligent being drove me near insanity. If it was a moronic Yankee fan I wouldn't care, but how can an otherwise knowledgeable Met fan insist that he wouldn't want one of the greatest players of his (or any?) era on his team?

Thanks for letting my rant, if you're still reading.

[metirish]

That's the thing Elster, it's not just fans that call him "the cooler" but wasn't that term coined by a former Rangers teammate?

[Elster88]

metirish wrote: That's the thing Elster, it's not just fans that call him "the cooler" but wasn't that term coined by a former Rangers teammate?

I didn't know that. I can chalk that up to his teammate either thinking ARod is a whiny prick (understandable and possibly true?) or jealous of his money and ladies (also understandable).

But there's no excuse for an intelligent fan saying he wouldn't want ARod on his team when money is out of the equation.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Elster88 wrote: But there's no excuse for an intelligent fan saying he wouldn't want ARod on his team when money is out of the equation.

Would you say the same thing about Roger Clemens? (Forget his age, let's say it's the Roger Clemens of five years ago.)

His talent is undeniable, yet he'd be a hard guy to root for.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

I don't particularly like Slappy, but he's not evil in the way that Clemens is evil. Throwing at people's heads is a whole different matter.

[Elster88]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: ="Elster88"]But there's no excuse for an intelligent fan saying he wouldn't want ARod on his team when money is out of the equation. Would you say the same thing about Roger Clemens? (Forget his age, let's say it's the Roger Clemens of five years ago.) His talent is undeniable, yet he'd be a hard guy to root for.

True...but I was talking about ARod. When ARod hits Mike Piazza in the head with a fastball and then throws a bat at him in the World Series, then there is an excuse not to want him on your team.

I don't put trying to knock a ball out of a guy's glove (and then lying like a 5 year-old caught stealing a cookie) in the same ballpark with Asshead's history.

[MFS62]

This gets me into the definition of most valuable.
To me, its is the player who helped his team most, and if he weren't in their lineup, how well would they have done.
A-Rod may not have been the most valuable player on his own team. Many Yankee fans who have been calling the talk shows (and a few of the ESPN radio hosts) would have considered Mariano Rivera more valuable, especially when the Yanks had other great hitters in that lineup. The rap I hear most for A-Rod is that he is a complier- great stats but not many of his hits game-changing.

Papi had many late inning hits this year that led directly to Boston wins, and many have doubted if the Sox would have been contenders if he were not in the lineup.

But my vote would have gone to Vlad. Early in the season, when he was hurt, his team was far behind Oakland in the standings. But as soon as he returned to the lineup, they surged to the top of their division. His presence was demonstratably most valuable (to his team) IMHO.

Don't get me wrong. A-Rod ain't chopped liver. And most fans would want him on their team. But for this particular award, in this particular year, I owuld have voted for Vlad.

Later

[Elster88]

MFS62 wrote: The rap I hear most for A-Rod is that he is a complier- great stats but not many of his hits game-changing.

Benitez has a similar rap.

I think there is a strong argument that he's not the most valuable on his own team because of Rivera, but I'd take him to play short over wunderkind Jose Reyes (blasphemy, I know).

[Guest Edgy DC]

No, I think most agree.

The compiler-not-a-winner argument is almost always a loser.

[Willets Point]

Elster88 wrote: While watching MNF with a couple of buddies yesterday, one of them, who is very sports-intelligent and a Met fan, ...

Get him to sign up here. We'll set him straight.

[Guest rpackrat]

The idea that a closer, even one as good as Rivera, meant more to his team than a superstar everyday player, is laughably silly.

[nymr83]

unless you were to put rivera on some team where there are no good hitters i have to agree.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yankee fan decries typical Yankee fans.