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Re: MLB- Playoff Run
Haha, just clicked MLB to read up, and this article was front page...
From sports illustrated...
Pujols' time has come
Andruw Jones lit into a couple more pitches Sunday, launching two home runs while the Braves crossed off another win and the growing "Jones for MVP" chorus revved up once again.
Without Jones this year, the Braves would be scrambling to stay afloat. He is, at the very least, their most valuable player. When Chipper Jones went down with an injury, Andruw was there. When all the rookies came up from the minors, Andruw showed them the way. When the Phillies and Marlins and Nationals and Mets made their runs, it was Andruw who beat them back.
Yes, Andruw Jones is having a heck of a year. As of Sunday, he led the majors in homers, with 49, and the National League in RBIs, with 121. But you know what?
Give me Albert Pujols for MVP.
What we have here is a case of a really good year by a very good player (that would be Jones) placed against another exceptional year in an already historic run of exceptional years by a truly exceptional player. Yes, Jones has been good. But he doesn't match up to Pujols, the Cardinals' first baseman.
(Before we go further, I have to mention the Cubs' Derrek Lee here, who also has produced an outstanding year. His team, though, has stumbled badly, which has hurt Lee's game and his MVP chances over the past month and a half. He's now behind both Pujols and Jones in the MVP race.)
I could rip off stats galore in this Jones vs. Pujols argument, but instead of doing that, let's just go with an abridged version of the numbers debate. Jones leads the league in homers and RBIs. Pujols is fairly close in both categories, ranking third in homers and second in RBIs. End of that.
Pujols leads Jones in just about every other meaningful statistical category: on-base percentage, slugging percentage, combined on-base and slugging (OPS), extra-base hits, total bases, batting average (that's not even close), hitting with runners on, hitting with runners in scoring position, walks, strikeouts, walk-to-strikeout ratio (that's not close, either), steals, runs, runs created ...
You get the idea.
Of course, that's the easy part of the equation. It gets a lot more difficult to pick an MVP when you take into consideration the intangibles. You know, the "most valuable" part.
Jones has been an integral part of the Braves, both with his typically wonderful play in center field and his place in a lineup that has undergone some painful changes. But no one has meant more to his team than Pujols.
Yes, the Cardinals have other stars, including center fielder Jim Edmonds. But the Cardinals, like the Braves, have had plenty of upheaval. They started the season with a new middle infield combination and a new catcher. They have played without third baseman Scott Rolen for most of the season (and he's now out for good). Outfielders Larry Walker and Reggie Sanders, key components to the lineup, have been injured for extended periods, too.
Pujols has been the Cardinals' rock, the steadiest part of a team that has the best record in the majors. He's missed one game all season. He leads the team in every offensive category. He has been everything that anyone expects out of an MVP: The leader, the example, the cornerstone.
Manager Tony La Russa raves about Pujols' work ethic. Everyone else raves about the results and the numbers he constantly, and consistently, churns out. Pujols has become the first player in history to hit .300 with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs in each of his first five seasons. As of Sunday, he was hitting .337, four points shy of Lee, well within reach of his second batting title. He also had 39 homers and 107 RBIs. He was the only player in the NL in the top three in batting average, homers and RBIs, and he was also in the top three in on-base percentage (he led that category) and slugging percentage (he's second to Lee).
In 2002 and '03, Pujols played backup to Barry Bonds for the MVP award. Last year, he finished third (behind Bonds and the Dodgers' Adrian Beltre).
That also-ran streak should end this year. No one has been a better all-around player than Pujols. No one has meant more to his team.
If that's not an MVP, I don't know what is
Haha, just clicked MLB to read up, and this article was front page...
From sports illustrated...
Pujols' time has come
Andruw Jones lit into a couple more pitches Sunday, launching two home runs while the Braves crossed off another win and the growing "Jones for MVP" chorus revved up once again.
Without Jones this year, the Braves would be scrambling to stay afloat. He is, at the very least, their most valuable player. When Chipper Jones went down with an injury, Andruw was there. When all the rookies came up from the minors, Andruw showed them the way. When the Phillies and Marlins and Nationals and Mets made their runs, it was Andruw who beat them back.
Yes, Andruw Jones is having a heck of a year. As of Sunday, he led the majors in homers, with 49, and the National League in RBIs, with 121. But you know what?
Give me Albert Pujols for MVP.
What we have here is a case of a really good year by a very good player (that would be Jones) placed against another exceptional year in an already historic run of exceptional years by a truly exceptional player. Yes, Jones has been good. But he doesn't match up to Pujols, the Cardinals' first baseman.
(Before we go further, I have to mention the Cubs' Derrek Lee here, who also has produced an outstanding year. His team, though, has stumbled badly, which has hurt Lee's game and his MVP chances over the past month and a half. He's now behind both Pujols and Jones in the MVP race.)
I could rip off stats galore in this Jones vs. Pujols argument, but instead of doing that, let's just go with an abridged version of the numbers debate. Jones leads the league in homers and RBIs. Pujols is fairly close in both categories, ranking third in homers and second in RBIs. End of that.
Pujols leads Jones in just about every other meaningful statistical category: on-base percentage, slugging percentage, combined on-base and slugging (OPS), extra-base hits, total bases, batting average (that's not even close), hitting with runners on, hitting with runners in scoring position, walks, strikeouts, walk-to-strikeout ratio (that's not close, either), steals, runs, runs created ...
You get the idea.
Of course, that's the easy part of the equation. It gets a lot more difficult to pick an MVP when you take into consideration the intangibles. You know, the "most valuable" part.
Jones has been an integral part of the Braves, both with his typically wonderful play in center field and his place in a lineup that has undergone some painful changes. But no one has meant more to his team than Pujols.
Yes, the Cardinals have other stars, including center fielder Jim Edmonds. But the Cardinals, like the Braves, have had plenty of upheaval. They started the season with a new middle infield combination and a new catcher. They have played without third baseman Scott Rolen for most of the season (and he's now out for good). Outfielders Larry Walker and Reggie Sanders, key components to the lineup, have been injured for extended periods, too.
Pujols has been the Cardinals' rock, the steadiest part of a team that has the best record in the majors. He's missed one game all season. He leads the team in every offensive category. He has been everything that anyone expects out of an MVP: The leader, the example, the cornerstone.
Manager Tony La Russa raves about Pujols' work ethic. Everyone else raves about the results and the numbers he constantly, and consistently, churns out. Pujols has become the first player in history to hit .300 with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs in each of his first five seasons. As of Sunday, he was hitting .337, four points shy of Lee, well within reach of his second batting title. He also had 39 homers and 107 RBIs. He was the only player in the NL in the top three in batting average, homers and RBIs, and he was also in the top three in on-base percentage (he led that category) and slugging percentage (he's second to Lee).
In 2002 and '03, Pujols played backup to Barry Bonds for the MVP award. Last year, he finished third (behind Bonds and the Dodgers' Adrian Beltre).
That also-ran streak should end this year. No one has been a better all-around player than Pujols. No one has meant more to his team.
If that's not an MVP, I don't know what is
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