Ready To Rumble

Where's Michael Buffer when you need him? The MVP races have the feel of a heavyweight fight, don't you think? A couple of juggernauts just spent 12 rounds going toe-to-toe, and now we're relying on the judge's scorecards to determine the winner. And you know the fight was so close that the decision has no choice but to be controversial. Howard vs. Pujols on the undercard. Jeter vs. Ortiz (or perhaps Morneau or Dye) in the main event. As Michael Buffer would say: "For the thousands in attendance and the millions watching around the world. Ladies and gentleman. Let's get readyyyyyyyyyyyy to rumbllllllllllllllle."
The Pujols/Howard fight is over and I personally thought Pujols put up the better fight. The judges however gave Howard the victory with a split decision. I think you can argue either way one's worthiness over the other. Both had monster years. Both hit for average, both had power, and both knocked in a lot of runs. Pujols hit for a higher average, had a higher OBP and a higher OPS. Howard was better in the power department, but one could make a case that Pujols, had he not played in 16 less games mainly in part to being injured, could have put up equal if not better power numbers than Howard. The stat that sticks out most to me is the number of strikeouts Pujols had compared to Howard. 50 to 181. That differential is insane. Pujols was 1 HR shy of having the same number of HRs as he did strikeouts. That's amazing. The Cards won the World Series. The Phillies missed out on the playoffs. The Cardinals weren't exactly dominant in the regular season and played in a weaker division, but leading your team to the playoffs should count for something, especially when the race is so close. I think in the end it came down to who was flashier. As they say, chicks dig the longball. Apparently, so do baseball writers. As a Yankee fan, I hope that doesn't ring true tomorrow.
We're about 19 hours or so from hearing who won the AL MVP. The Yankee Captain, Derek Jeter is moving up in weight class to take on Big Papi. On second thought make that several weight classes. To be fair, there are others worth consideration, but it wouldn't be the greatest rivalry in sports if we didn't make it Jeter vs. Ortiz: Rivalry Revisited. If you've ever read my blog before, you know I'm pulling for Jeter. That shouldn't surprise anyone. I've written many times before as to why. For those of you new to the blog or want a refresher, click here, here, here, and/or here. I won't bother getting into it again. From what I'm hearing, most people "in the know" agree with me. Those people being writers, analysts, radio and TV hosts. Most people are backing Jeter. As I blogged yesterday, most of the public agree. Which brings me to my this.
I was left an interesting comment from a Red Sox fan on my post yesterday. Perhaps interesting isn't the right word. More like puzzling?
"Ortiz has better numbers than Jeter. This doesn't prove that Red Sox fans can't see anything except through 'red-colored glasses'...this proves that Jerter's reputation is what people seem to vote on, not his actual stats."
Not so fast. As Luckyleftie, frequent reader of this blog, pointed out, Ortiz has better power numbers. Consider this: Who's average was higher? Who's OBP was higher? Who scored more runs? Who had more doubles? Who had more stolen bases? Who struck out less? Who knocked in more runs if you factor into account the number of runners they had to knock in? Who won a Gold Glove for their defense? Who's team finished in first? Who sees my point? The only thing Ortiz has on Jeter when you look at numbers is HRs and SLG, which go hand-in-hand. Do you care to rethink that statement? Furthermore, they try to make the point that people only seem to vote for Jeter because of his reputation. I'd love to rehash what I wrote but I'll just cut-and-paste the highlights from my comments:
"What does that say about Papi's reputation? He is after all "the most clutch hitter" in the game, right? It's commonly known, yes? Assuming Ortiz again finishes the runner-up, that would be 2 years running. His performance is enough to have garnered a reputation worthy that of Jeter's. Or maybe it's that Jeter's reputation carries throughout the country whereas Ortiz's reputation is limited to the New England states. Jeter's reputation goes hand-in-hand with his stats and his style of play. Apparently it's not Sox fans that are wrong, but it's the entire country that's apparently mistaken. Your assertion proves my point. As I and many others have discussed before, the game isn't all about power. Maybe in New England/RSN it is. The rest of the country is inclined to disagree. There's no way Ortiz is the MVP over Jeter. The entire country with the exception of New England/RSN apparently agree."
Pretty solid rebuttal I must say. I've yet to hear one solid argument for Ortiz being the MVP over Jeter, except from Red Sox fans, and I'd hardly call their arguments solid as evidenced above. I don't think I'm going to. And I'm supposed to believe it has nothing to do with wearing "red-colored glasses." Okay, he said in a sarcastic tone. Even I can take off the "pinstriped" glasses. When Jeter won the Gold Glove, I had a post making a case against that victory. I even went as far as saying Sox SS Alex Gonzalez would have got my vote. But a Sox fan rightfully admitting that Jeter had a better year than Ortiz? Good luck finding one.
At 2pm tomorrow, I'm predicting that the baseball writers will get this vote right. And by right I mean they won't vote for Ortiz. But alas, they're baseball writers. They've gotten it wrong before.
J-Boogie