BBWAA awards AL MVP to Travelocity Gnome
Dustin Pedroia, all 4 feet of him, wins it. Mauer 4th, Sizemore 10th. Cliff Lee 12th. Raul Ibanez actually got a vote.
Everyone back at the Keebler tree is very excited.
about 3 years ago
nickjs21
82 comments
8 recs |
Email
PrintComments
I’m not opposed to Pedroia winning, but once again there is some absolutely puzzling voting.
K-Rod only got one first place vote, thank God. Joe Mauer didn’t make it on every ballot, and neither did Pedroia. Who are these people?! Why do we trust them with ballots?
Steel Nick
I agree — there were many worse candidates. Morneau got second — really? Moreneau?!? And a first place vote for K-Rod??
The problem is that most fans think these guys were good choices. The voters should be smarter than the average fan, but unfortunately they’re not.
The best thing probably is to hit [Grady] 2nd -- Jay
by Buckeye Brad on Nov 18, 2008 2:41 PM EST up reply actions
Morneau was close to winning, in terms of having the stats that voters like. They just worship RBI.
In truth, this is a step forward for the voters, who generally are morons in terms of recognizing the contributions of skill position players.
That’s very true. That’s why I’m not upset about Pedroia winning; he wasn’t as good as Mauer or Sizemore but at least they didn’t vote for the slugger with the highest HR and RBI like they usually do. They also recognized that it wasn’t Pujols’ fault that the Cardinals didn’t make the playoffs. They still have a long way to go, though, to get it right.
The best thing probably is to hit [Grady] 2nd -- Jay
by Buckeye Brad on Nov 18, 2008 4:28 PM EST up reply actions
You’d think he would draw more walks
by cleveland teamer on Nov 18, 2008 2:20 PM EST up reply actions
I joined just to rec this. Amazing.
by Aaron Campeau on Nov 18, 2008 6:24 PM EST up reply actions 7 recs
Same here.
I also made it the display picture for my baseball group. Epic.
by philkid3 on Nov 19, 2008 12:21 AM EST up reply actions 3 recs
+1
" He throws it where he wants it, his breaking ball kept getting better and better and of course God gave him that special arm. He's great." ~ Neftali Feliz on Derek Holland.
by Kinslerhomer on Nov 25, 2008 10:20 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
35 recs and counting
Anti-Ben Fran before it was cool.
by Gradyforpresident on Nov 18, 2008 10:16 PM EST up reply actions
This is from another website. Called No Maas. From April 15, 2008. Check it out.
They should probably be getting linked if people are taking this all over the netz, though I’m sure nobody meant to pass it off as their own.
rec'd
Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Washingtonhighways.org
by Corco on Nov 21, 2008 12:27 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
how does a thread become a Featured Post on the SBN main page?
Because this needs to be there.
You know Selig? Ombudsman.
well, Lookout Landing’s post made it there.
My question: Is LL calling the relationship or Pedroia himself a “retarded puppy”? I’d like to think it’s the latter.
You know Selig? Ombudsman.
With you on the hate. This guy makes me look at Jeter in a better light.
"Lotta heart in Cleveland." - Ian Hunter
by Denver Tribe Fan on Nov 18, 2008 3:44 PM EST up reply actions
Here, let me ruin everyone’s day:
Dustin Pedroia has an MVP. Grady Sizemore does not. This is positively atrocious.
Don't be stupid. PUT IN MELOAN.
Yeah, but you can’t scrape Grady off the bottom of your shoe.
"Lotta heart in Cleveland." - Ian Hunter
by Denver Tribe Fan on Nov 18, 2008 3:44 PM EST up reply actions
So we can make MVPs of guys who are not home run leaders as long as they’re Red Sox? Got it.
by fleerdon on Nov 18, 2008 2:55 PM EST reply actions
Cliff Lee got more 4th and 5th place votes than Sizemore. Atrocious.
Travis Hafner is overrated. Clarity is underrated. David Dellucci is David Dellucci.
Lets see…I think my ballot would be:
Sizemore
Mauer
Quentin
Longoria
Midget
Hamilton
Lee
K-Rod
Beard Senior
Morneau
Travis Hafner is overrated. Clarity is underrated. David Dellucci is David Dellucci.
Isn’t it about time he gave it back? Poets need their souls. Baseball players? Probably not so much, unless they’ve sold it to play for the…
Wait a minute…
If A-Rod has sold his own soul to play for the Yankees, how can he have the soul of a poet, since no poet would every play for the Yankees?
Now I’m just left with a sad metaphysical quandary.
by woodsmeister on Nov 19, 2008 9:48 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah, he should be in the top 5.
The best thing probably is to hit [Grady] 2nd -- Jay
by Buckeye Brad on Nov 18, 2008 4:30 PM EST up reply actions
Sorry, you don’t get to call anyone else’s votes atrocious when your ten-best-players ballot includes the fourth- or fifth-best reliever in the league.
Exactly. K-Rod shouldn’t be in the top 20 of MVP voting.
The best thing probably is to hit [Grady] 2nd -- Jay
by Buckeye Brad on Nov 18, 2008 4:31 PM EST up reply actions
puke
Anti-Ben Fran before it was cool.
by Gradyforpresident on Nov 18, 2008 3:39 PM EST reply actions
Just perusing the “How I Voted” articles floating around the interwebs. Some tidbits:
Rosenthal on why he voted for Morneau:
I was never comfortable with my vote.
Usually, I lean toward middle-of-the-diamond performers in MVP discussions. Morneau, though, was more of an offensive force than Mauer and Pedroia, though perhaps less of a force than Youkilis.
Very good, Ken. You A) made a vote you yourself didn’t feel good about, and B) admitted that there was a better 1st baseman to consider.
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News is the hot rod that left Pedroia off his ballot. Evan, trust me, we here at LGT are all 100% behind this decision. But we don’t get paid to take something like this seriously. So what’s your excuse?
In retrospect, it was a mistake.
Here is my full ballot:
Kevin Youkilis, Francisco Rodriguez, Justin Morneau, Josh Hamilton, Carlos Quentin, Alex Rodriguez, Cliff Lee, Joe Mauer, Grady Sizemore, Carlos Pena.
Did I perhaps get too “cute” at the bottom of the ballot? Yeah, probably. Was that a mistake? Yeah, probably …. In this case, perhaps I gave it too much time and overanalyzed, particularly at the bottom of the ballot.
…. But I will have you know that Pedroia was 18th in OPS, 27th in RBIs, 30th in batting average with runners in scoring position and 53rd in on-base percentage with runners in scoring percentage.
That last one isn’t a stat. Except for Sal Fasano. His scoring percentage is always 100%, amiright?
But I give him credit for being a BBWAA member who actually tried to analyze a bit.
Mark Feinsand voted Morneau first, but that’s not even the best part of his article. It’s this gem:
8. Mike Mussina, Yankees: The only pitcher on my ballot, Mussina benefited from playing for the team I cover.
….Mussina’s 20-9 record made him the oldest first-time 20-game winner, as he trailed only Cy Young winner Cliff Lee in victories. His 3.37 ERA ranked sixth in the AL and he finished in the top 10 in winning percentage (.690) and WHIP (1.22), as Mussina put together a season no one could have envisioned. The Yankees missed the playoffs, but without Mussina, they would have been out of the race a lot earlier than they were.
So in essence: I, Mark Feinsand, am openly admitting that I don’t really care for objectivity and voted Mike Mussina over any other pitcher because I’m a Yankees fan. Look, I’m even pointing out how Cliff Lee was better than him and Mike didn’t even play on a postseason team! Isn’t this the kind of public statement that the BBWAA could take your membership away for?
On a separate note, 18 of the 28 voters put Alex Rodriguez on their ballot. Really? In my estimation, A-Rod was probably the fifth-most valuable player on the Yankees behind Mussina, Mariano Rivera, Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu. I know he had great overall stats, but if you watched the Yankees on a regular basis, you know he was far from their MVP, let alone the league’s MVP.
Oh, die.
I wonder how badly the guys at FJM are considering coming out of retirement.
Steel Nick
by nickjs21 on Nov 18, 2008 10:44 PM EST reply actions 3 recs
Coming out of retirement for that would be like Michael Jordan coming back to play in high school. Just too easy.
by Brad D on Nov 19, 2008 12:52 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Except for Sal Fasano. His scoring percentage is always 100%, amiright?
I mean, he’s no Masa, but okay.
by Logodaedalus on Nov 19, 2008 11:47 AM EST up reply actions
Jonah Keri thinks Cliff Lee should be the MVP. Here is his reasoning:
Actually, picking Lee wasn’t that difficult for me. While it’s not a perfect measure of value, VORP has Lee (76.5) well above the best AL position player (A-Rod at 62.4, surprisingly). In fact, Roy Halladay is much closer to Lee in that category than A-Rod, Mauer, Pedroia, Sizemore or anyone else.
I don’t know how valuable it is to compare VORP between pitchers and position players; maybe someone here can help me on this. But the gap between Lee and everyone else is large. He mentions that VORP doesn’t take in to account defense, where of course Sizemore and Mauer contribute greatly.
So for a pitcher to win the award, I like to see a truly incredible performance from said pitcher, combined with no truly dominant position players in the league in that given season. Use Cliff Lee’s 22-3 record and 2.54 ERA if you’re a traditionalist, or his terrific Support-Neutral numbers if you’re a stathead, and you arrive at the same conclusion: In the era of the five-man rotation and closely monitored pitch counts, this was a season for the ages. So too, while we’re here, was Roy Halladay’s. That’s why I have Lee 1st and Halladay 2nd on my fake ballot.
My top seven:
Cliff Lee
Roy Halladay
Joe Mauer
Grady Sizemore
Dustin Pedroia
Alex Rodriguez
Kevin Youkilis
He also added this about Pedroia, which I’m sure you all will love.
A Yankee fan friend and I have taken to calling him Dusty McHustlePants (my buddy because he hates the Sox and Pedroia drives him crazy, me because I delight in writers and broadcasters who praise Pedroia’s grit/hustle/scrappiness, while ignoring the fact that he’s also a very talented athlete).
The best thing probably is to hit [Grady] 2nd -- Jay
by Buckeye Brad on Nov 19, 2008 11:06 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
LGT 2009 SCHOOL PROJECT: Get PED on the first page of these results.
Travis Hafner is overrated. Clarity is underrated. David Dellucci is David Dellucci.
No reason, I just feel like posting this. By westbrook, from here.
by fleerdon on Nov 26, 2008 12:15 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
I was gonna look for that the other day, when I saw the # of recs Midget has. I didn’t want to be wrong, but I wanted to say something like “this passes the # of recs on my Justin pic as the most I’ve ever seen”
Travis Hafner is overrated. Clarity is underrated. David Dellucci is David Dellucci.
me too
Anti-Ben Fran before it was cool.
by Gradyforpresident on Nov 26, 2008 4:02 PM EST up reply actions
wow. i remember that thread, but don’t remember typing a single one of my posts in it as i went back through it (thinking the whole time "yeah, that’s something i’d say).
i’d pu that on the short list of epic gamethreads, for sure.
Tribe hat Robert Smith, drinking alone, blue-collar fans beating professionals to death during the ballgames, girls actually talking on the site… It’s roughly 8% baseball. “Jhonny’s steak is alive!”
by fleerdon on Nov 28, 2008 9:28 AM EST up reply actions
yea i just reread some of it last night… I have no idea what that 90 cents joke I made was referring to. Anyone remember?
Travis Hafner is overrated. Clarity is underrated. David Dellucci is David Dellucci.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
Featured Stories
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recent FanShots
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Josh Hamilton on public relapse: ‘It was just wrong. That’s all it comes down to.’
- Photo: The Marlins’ ridiculous-looking home run sculpture is almost complete
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman lures alleged stalker into police dragnet
- Report: Josh Hamilton had a relapse with alcohol
- Happy Birthday Boy! Wes Ferrell, the best-hitting pitcher of all-time, would be 104
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
