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1. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless LeaderA tad? A tad?!?!?
Well, they did help revive the Baltimore chop, and they did create the exciting new category of the Texas League inside the park home run!
I now see why the Pirates signed Hinske instead of Mientkiewicz. They wouldn't be able to trade Mientkiewicz at the deadline without pissing off the fans again. Fans didn't develop an irrational attraction to Hinske.
Are NY sports talk hosts already saying A-Rod should be benched in favor of him?
I was kind of hoping that he would become a Twin, since the Pirates had said they were interested in Luis Ayala and they make a similar amount of money. Twins fans have been seeing way too much of Brian Buscher. Oh well.
Never thought I'd see that one.
Sure! I haven't banged my head against a wall enough lately.
While we're at it, could we also discuss whether baseball is better with or without a DH? I think we're only one good thousand post thread away from coming to an agreement on that one.
(But Ichiro really is awesome)
Backup at all of those positions, and bat off the bench?
1) Spelling ARod, now that it's guarunteed that he needs days off
2) Spelling Damon and Swisher in the OF, since one or both are bound to wear down.
WHAT...?!?!?
THE Yurendell DeCaster???
There's only one Francouer thread on Hot Topics right now. Surely, their must be another news item on him that needs linking. God, we get it. He sucks! Can we talk about someone like Clint Zavada instead?
Does he suck most because he can't hit? Or is it his inflated sense of his own abilities? Or is it that he inspires the AJC to write thousands of articles to the great glory that is he? Or is it that he's a Delta shill?
Personally, I'm going with the last one. Delta sucks.
But...but...Ichiro is hitting .372, his UZR is off the chart and he's probably going to get over 200 hits again!
But as a secondary topic, is there any chance Mauer might win the MVP finally? How are the writers going to screw him this time?
edit: As a third topic, any chance Scutaro makes the all star team? (Thanks for that, Billy. Man, I miss Scooter.)
I still hate watching him bat. That swing is ugly as all hell.
But as a secondary topic, is there any chance Mauer might win the MVP finally? How are the writers going to screw him this time?
Twins miss the playoffs, Tex wins the MVP.
edit: As a third topic, any chance Scutaro makes the all star team? (Thanks for that, Billy. Man, I miss Scooter.)
no
You obviously never entered one of the Vet's bathrooms.
At this very moment, I am ashamed to know that we're somehow related.
Okay, so his swing is occasionally awful looking, but there's still something wonderful about the way he just seems to be able to hack away at anything, and still get a hit out of it.
There's a chance. I mean, if he ends the season hitting .386 with a .670 SLG and both lead the league, he's probably the favorite. But Ichiro! is batting .442 over his last 32 games (61-138). If he gets close enough to .400 for people to notice, especially if he manages to touch .400 for his season average at some point, then I think he would immediately become the favorite for MVP. If he actually hit .400 for the season, he'd more likely than not win the thing unanimously.
If it makes you feel any better, my real name is not Jones.
It does make me feel better to know that I am not distantly related to some filthy Canadian.
no
He's 3rd in the AL in VORP. Scutaro, Jeter and Bartlett are the class of the AL. If the AL goes with three SS's (which isn't uncommon) he should make it.
Yeah, I remember the discussion, when we were trying to figure out what relatively bland pitcher from the 70s I should take as my new handle. I believe that we decided that "Dave Roberts" would be suitably generic.
If it makes you feel better, I've started bathing regularly.
But the question remains, are you Randy?
Also, I don't think there's any way Ichiro wins the MVP on such a god awful team.
The utility infielder Dave Roberts seems even more generic. Though I guess there's the #1 pick in the draft and no minor leagues distinctions.
Verducci likes Scutaro, too! Of course, each will have to decide for themselves whether this bolsters my support for Scooter or not.
Seriously? Wow, I never would have guessed that (not that I had some specific patient shortstop in mind; I just would have assumed somebody would have done so).
And who would know better than a Romanian dictator?
I would have guessed Ozzie, but he peaked at 89.
edit: Petrocelli had 98 in 1969 when he was still a SS. Trammell and Yount never came close to a 100. I can't think of many other guys to check. Fregosi had 93 in 1969.
Rod Carew's 1977 MVP would be the closest parallel, I think - the Twins finished 4th that year (84-77, 17.5 GB). Although I do think that in Ichiro's case .388 won't be close enough. But it's very difficult to overstate how wildly popular Ichiro is with sportswriters and it's also, I think, hard to overstate what a big deal it would be for somebody to hit .400.
Last time I looked (30 seconds ago) Seattle was still over .500.
-- MWE
But it's a tradition for .400 hitters not to win the MVP.
Larkin came close: 96 once (1996) and 93 another time (1999)
1. Cal Ripken 1988 - 102
2. Alex Rodriguez 2000 - 100
3. Walt Weiss 1995 - 98
3. Toby Harrah 1975 - 98
3. Rico Petrocelli 1969 - 98
6. Barry Larkin 1996 - 96
7. Bud Harrelson 1970 - 95
8. Barry Larkin 1999 - 93
9. Jim Fregosi 1969- 93
10.Hanley Ramirez 2008 - 92
But then we couldn't be so snarky about the idiocy of this column
!!!
I forgot about Harrah's time at SS. Weiss surprises me, too.
He's not *that* popular, at least not enough for sportswriters to overcome their bias against MVPs from bad teams. The year that Ichiro hit .372 and set the hits record, he only finished 7th in the MVP vote, because the Mariners were a last-place team. In the very unlikely event that he does hit .400, he'll probably win, but if he doesn't, he's got no chance.
If he peaks at .372, I agree, no chance. If people start writing articles in August asking if Ichiro can hit .400 this season, then he's an MVP candidate. If people are writing articles in September asking if Ichiro can hit .400 this season, he's the favorite.
EDIT: And, as others have noted, the Mariners have a winning record and are only 3.5 games out of first. They're not THAT bad and if Ichiro hits .420 the rest of the season (which is close to what he'd probably have to do to hit .400 for the year), how much worse are the Mariners likely to be the rest of the way?
I just looked up Joost on bb-ref, and he must have driven some of his fans crazy. In 1947, he hit .206, with 114 walks but also a league leading 110 strikeouts, and in spite of all those walks he only scored 76 runs in 151 games. His OPS+ was a dismal 87, he made 38 errors at shortstop (second most in the AL), he stole but 6 bases in 11 attempts---and yet he somehow managed to finish 11th in the MVP voting.
My only reaction to that is: What kind of dirt did Joost have on those writers' private lives? I'd hate to see what the other 189 AL players must have been like that year.
Anyway, I don't think people were voting for Joost for MVP on the basis of his standing among the all-time A's shortstops, so I can't explain that part. (I mean, it was still a decent season, but if nothing else, it certainly is not a performance you would expect to be well-appreciated in 1947.)
If statheads get mad about MVP voting today, I can only imagine the reaction had we been around in 1947. Eddie Joost got two first-place votes. George McQuinn--a first baseman who hit .304/.395/.437--got three first-place votes, the same number as given to Ted Williams, who hit .343/.499/.634, missed one game all season, and won the friggin' Triple Crown.
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