On-Deck: First Half Awards

Posts: 4543 · Posted: Jul 14, 2005 7:15 am

On Deck: First Half Awards

by Chris Wang It's already the All-Star break and it's time to hand out the first half awards. And the...

Posts: 314 · FIC Veteran Joined: 25 Mar 2005 Posts: 314

Since it is the First Half Awards, I think Tejada and Roberts are interchangable for the AL MVP.

Always good, Chris.

Posts: 77 · FIC Starter Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 77

Funny that Hafner is right up there for AL MVP but was snubbed from the All Star team

Posts: 9394 · Posted: Jul 14, 2005 4:08 pm

Good article Chris; however, while there's no doubt in my mind that Lee would be running away with Offensive Player of the Year if there were such an award, but I'd be tempted to say that Pujols really does challenge him in the MVP race, and that it is by no means a runaway.

For years Bonds got the award because he had to carry the rest of the team around him, and the Giants typically found themselves either in the playoffs or darn close to it. This year, I think the same can be said of Pujols.

Reggie Sanders has exceeded expectations this year, but he's put together nothing more than a very good season. Edmonds had a sparkling season last year, and while this season has still been very good (I know he's near the top in OPS leaders in the OF), he has dropped off. Rolen's been out most of the year and was nothing special when he was in. Same story with Larry Walker.

To be truthful, I think it would be pretty accurate to say that the St. Louis Cardinals have been lifted to the best record in the NL by Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter, and Matt Morris with some occasional chipping in by role players (like Nunez, Taguchi, Reyes, and Tavarez). It does, in a way, mimic the Giants' success. An amazing hitter, and one or two good pitchers (Schmidt+ the flavor of the year, a la Russ Ortiz) with some important but forgettable role contributions.

I think that Lee and Pujols are the only two viable candidates for the award, but to be fair, it really does matter where the Cubs finish in the voting. If they win the Wild Card or finish a few games out (but still finishing 2nd in the NL Central), Lee should and will get it. However, if the Cubs finish way out of the Wild Card race (and especially if they finish 3rd in the division), I think Pujols will get it.

But this is just my opinion.

P.S. I thought the Barry Bonds award went to the World's Largest Head.

Posts: 2963 · Posted: Jul 14, 2005 4:48 pm

Yeah Mike I think I got a bit overzealous in my defense of Lee - the media/ESPN has been doing a good job brainwashing me lately. I still believe that Lee has the 1st half edge in the MVP race, but Pujols has a great shot at the title for the year. Lee has been absolutely incredible in the first half, but his career .275 average and his injured shoulder is likely going to cool his production and he'll fall short of the triple crown.

It's interesting that Lee is being hyped for the triple crown, but there is little to no mention of Albert Pujols chasing the same and he probably has a better chance being in a better lineup. Pujols ranks #2 in average, #5 in homers and #3 in RBI. If I were to place a bet, I'd put my money on Pujols...

Your comparison of the Cards and Giants lineups is a big stretch though IMO. The Giants had no support for Barry while the Cards have several big bats - you left out Eckstein who is having a great season at leadoff; Edmonds is top 10 in OPS and Sanders top 20 in the NL. On the pitching side, the Cards have the lowest ERA in the NL for two years runnings - that's more than just Carpenter and Morris...

Anyone want to nominate someone for World's Largest Head?

Posts: 77 · FIC Starter Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 77

Jose Canseco's head is huge. And to make matters worse, it hard to tell where his head ends and his neck begins. Plus, I think there's an unwritten rule that if a ball bounces off your head for a homerun, you have to be nominated.

Posts: 6137 · Zen master Joined: 15 Apr 2002 Location: Tulsa Posts: 6137

I'm sorry, guys -- that post was from 1993. Don't know how that got in here.

Posts: 9394 · Posted: Jul 14, 2005 5:27 pm

I did stretch it comparing the lineups, but I stand by the statement that Pujols really has carried the team. I knew of the OPS #s of Edmonds and Sanders, but the thing about those guys is they're about as streaky as they come. One or two bad weeks really puts a dent in those #s (and yet somehow Edmonds still finds his way back to the top, that's why he's my favorite player). There's no doubt that Eckstein's had a great season, but he's not one of the "big boppers" by any means. It doesn't hurt Pujols that he's got a capable leadoff hitter ahead of him, but it's not the same protection as Walker/Rolen/Edmonds. Sorry about confusing you there.

I was way off about the pitching though, probably because Mulder/Suppan/Marquis can't be consistent. Apologies there, but it's easy to overlook the competence of the bullpen when you have two horses like Carp and Morris.

I don't know if you can find it Chris, but Baseball America wrote an article where they did an analysis on Lee and Pujols' chances of the Triple Crown, and based upon some of their statistical projections, Lee had a 10% chance of winning the T.C. and Pujols' chances were at 15%.