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Friday, September 19, 2008

FOX Sports: Kriegel: Manny has done enough to be NL MVP

If you say so, Kriegel. Now get back to work on that “Gilloon: The Life of a Pete Maravich Wannabe” book!

Then came Manny, who made everybody forget that vast fortunes had been spent on Jones and Jason Schmidt. The Dodgers were hitting .256 that day. According to Stats Inc., they’ve been hitting .285 ever since. As of Friday morning, they are 80-73, in sole possession of first place, and a lock for the playoffs.

“He made the difference,” Torre said the other day.

Ramirez single-handedly changed the Dodgers from a bad-hitting club to a good-hitting one. Jeff Kent (the relentlessly dour veteran whose departure may have actually added to the club’s recent good fortune) was hitting .255 when Ramirez arrived, but .343 thereafter. Andre Ethier, one of those aforementioned “kids” — a .274 hitter on August 1 — is batting .453 in front of Ramirez.

As for the prospective MVP himself, he’s batting .400 with 44 RBIs in as many games. He has six game-winning hits. His slugging percentage is .738. His on-base percentage is .485. Even when he has a bad day, as he did Thursday, he walks a couple of times.

Repoz Posted: September 19, 2008 at 06:07 PM | 30 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: awards, dodgers

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1. Darnell McDonald had a farm Posted: September 19, 2008 at 06:39 PM (#2947715)

How cute, a numbnuts sportswriter playing contrarian. Hopefully Arizona can pull off a miracle comeback

On a related topic, I just discovered that Aubrey Huff is currently 3rd in the AL in VORP

2. Eric J is Financed by a Rich Grandpa Posted: September 19, 2008 at 06:40 PM (#2947718)

Manny: Manny hasn't done enough to be NL MVP

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgersfyi18-2008sep18,0,954302.story

3. Bob Dernier Cri

Posted: September 19, 2008 at 06:45 PM (#2947727)

I demand that Marty Bystrom be given the 1980 NL Cy Young Award retroactively.

4. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: September 19, 2008 at 06:50 PM (#2947735)

a suitably obscure West New York, NJ reference

5. Alberto Gilardino Posted: September 19, 2008 at 06:58 PM (#2947755)

I like the supportive quote

“He made the difference,” Torre said the other day.

Oh OK. Give it to him then.

6. Blackadder Posted: September 19, 2008 at 07:22 PM (#2947785)

Are there an unusual number of these "random player X deserves MVP award" articles this year? It seems like some of the writers are really struggling ton convince themselves not to give it to Pujols again. Still, I maintain my position that in the end they will do the right thing and give it to him.

7. Walt Davis Posted: September 19, 2008 at 07:22 PM (#2947786)

post hoc ergo proctor hoc

Manny since Aug 1: 390/480/720
Ethier since Aug 1: 365/428/615

Ethier for MVP!

Since Manny's arrival, Matt Kemp has been worse; Loney has totally tanked in Sept (after a fine Aug); Martin has stunk; and Blake has been Blake.

Obviously the upgrade from Pierre/Jones to Manny is huge. But the Dodgers scored more runs in July than August (and more per game) and also more in April and nearly as many in May. Granted, the OPS is much, much better since Manny's arrival and Sept/Oct should be their highest scoring month but this "miracle turnaround" is two red-hot hitters.

8. Perros Posted: September 19, 2008 at 07:24 PM (#2947790)

Who really cares about the MVP, awards, or any other such subjective nonsense. Manny is hitting 390/480/720 with a 206 OPS+ since coming over from the AL.

If he gets the Dodgers to the World Series, the trade to get him will go down as one of the greatest acquisitions in sports history.

9. Greg Maddux School of Reflexive Profanity Posted: September 19, 2008 at 07:33 PM (#2947808)

BBWAA rule #2, "Number of games played": Manny hasn't done enough to be NL MVP

10. rfloh Posted: September 19, 2008 at 07:51 PM (#2947832)

Manny: Manny hasn't done enough to be NL MVP

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgersfyi18-2008sep18,0,954302.story

From the article,

"I voted for Pujols," Ramirez said.

The vote that Ramirez was talking about was for the player of the year of the Players Choice Awards, for which the Dodgers were handed ballots Wednesday. The MVP award is voted on by baseball writers.

Someone who was only here for two months doesn't deserve it. It should go to someone who played the six months of the season."

11. Repoz

Posted: September 19, 2008 at 07:55 PM (#2947840)

a suitably obscure West New York, NJ reference

Hey...I've always looked for a way to bump my old HS chum.

Greatest...player...evah!

12. Curse of the Andino Posted: September 19, 2008 at 08:11 PM (#2947865)

On a related topic, I just discovered that Aubrey Huff is currently 3rd in the AL in VORP

Huff-daddy for you. He hated the boos (and apparently has been this good since making adjustments last August at the behest of much-maligned hitting coach Terry Crowley.)

If the O's had managed to keep just one pitcher from the Opening Day roster off the DL--just one!--they'd totally be 72-79 now. Maybe even 74-77. That's how good the offense has been.

The pitching, oi.

(Dunno if Huff or Mora can repeat their performances of this year, Mora's particularly unlikely to, but then, getting R. Hernandez, Payton and Millar off the team might help as well.)

13. plim Posted: September 19, 2008 at 08:14 PM (#2947873)

If he gets the Dodgers to the World Series, the trade to get him will go down as one of the greatest acquisitions in sports history.

Randy Johnson says hi.

either as a mid-season, or off-season acquisition.

14. HGM Posted: September 19, 2008 at 08:14 PM (#2947876)

#9, where can you get the rules for the MVP award? I tried some googling but came up empty

15. Flynn Posted: September 19, 2008 at 08:18 PM (#2947880)

I emitted a rather loud and embarrassing ARGH on Carnaby Street today, slightly embarrassing myself since two other people heard, when Eric Karabell from the ESPN Baseball Today podcast tried to argue that Ryan Howard was more valuable than Albert Pujols (whoever wrote that the men who invented the MVP would have made it more brunt it was to go to the league's best player rather than the best story is bang-on). I hope I don't find out Manny has been voted MVP on a major shopping thoroughfare, otherwise I might embarrass myself by dying from an exploding head in the middle of big-time pedestrian traffic.

16. Greg Maddux School of Reflexive Profanity Posted: September 19, 2008 at 08:23 PM (#2947887)

#9, where can you get the rules for the MVP award? I tried some googling but came up empty

I don't think they're officially available anywhere. If you happen to know what they are, you can Google specific phrases and find various writers and bloggers who've posted the letter that gets sent to voters every year, which includes the five rules:

1. Actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense.
2. Number of games played.
3. General character, disposition, loyalty and effort.
4. Former winners are eligible.
5. Members of the committee may vote for more than one member of a team.

17. Walt Davis Posted: September 19, 2008 at 08:36 PM (#2947892)

I might embarrass myself by dying from an exploding head in the middle of big-time pedestrian traffic.

Just make sure it gets on youtube.

18. Nasty Nate Posted: September 19, 2008 at 08:45 PM (#2947900)

for those of you that for whatever reason care about these awards: why do writers (and posters here) need to decide their 'pick' when the season isnt even over? Why not just wait and see what happens in the next 2 weeks?

Its like if we had to pick our favorite year of this decade right now. hey, wait a minute, 2009 might be good...

19. SoSHially Unacceptable Posted: September 19, 2008 at 09:27 PM (#2947921)

for those of you that for whatever reason care about these awards: why do writers (and posters here) need to decide their 'pick' when the season isnt even over? Why not just wait and see what happens in the next 2 weeks?

I wonder how many of these "(Insert Undeserving Player Here) for MVP" pieces are written by guys with actual votes. My gut feeling says very few.

20. Nasty Nate Posted: September 19, 2008 at 09:34 PM (#2947928)

I wonder how many of these "(Insert Undeserving Player Here) for MVP" pieces are written by guys with actual votes. My gut feeling says very few.
Page 1 of 1 pages

right, but even if its just spouting personal opinion, why not wait until all the evidence is in? its almost there.

21. Blackadder Posted: September 19, 2008 at 09:37 PM (#2947931)

I always forget that Terry Crowley is the hitting coach for the Orioles. I mean, seriously, how hilarious is that?

22. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: September 19, 2008 at 09:40 PM (#2947935)

Terry Crowley enjoys watching Orioles games just like any other fan.

23. akrasian Posted: September 20, 2008 at 01:08 AM (#2948143)

right, but even if its just spouting personal opinion, why not wait until all the evidence is in? its almost there.

Because they had a deadline to meet.

24. Greg Pope Posted: September 20, 2008 at 01:41 AM (#2948208)

Its like if we had to pick our favorite year of this decade right now. hey, wait a minute, 2009 might be good...

No kidding. When Chinese Democracy comes out, 2009 will go down as the greatest year in musical history.

25. sunnyday2 Posted: September 20, 2008 at 02:56 AM (#2948396)

Stupid.

26. Darren

Posted: September 20, 2008 at 03:17 AM (#2948426)

1. Actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense.

I really like this one. It seems to me to say that you really should be focusing on the tangible benefits that a player brings to his team. It also emphasizes that we are talking about his offense and defense, not how his skills fit into the context of his team or how his playing influenced the pennant race.

27. As foretold by the prophesy (JFSE) Posted: September 20, 2008 at 03:48 AM (#2948442)

I might embarrass myself by dying from an exploding head in the middle of big-time pedestrian traffic.

Just make sure it gets on youtube.

Hey, Exploding head syndrome is a real condition...

28. SacBunt Posted: September 20, 2008 at 03:59 AM (#2948447)

post hoc ergo proctor hoc

That's a brilliant pun. Or a crazy typo.

29. Walt Davis Posted: September 20, 2008 at 04:45 AM (#2948463)

That's a brilliant pun. Or a crazy typo.

Let's not discount the bad memory for that sort of thing hypothesis.

30. DCW3 Posted: September 20, 2008 at 04:51 AM (#2948466)

for those of you that for whatever reason care about these awards: why do writers (and posters here) need to decide their 'pick' when the season isnt even over? Why not just wait and see what happens in the next 2 weeks?

Heck, last year, if the writers had been allowed to wait until the end of the regular season to turn in their ballots, Matt Holliday probably wins the MVP.

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FOX Sports: Kriegel: Manny has done enough to be NL MVP

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