And the race continues......but not just for division winners
Yes, the divison races continue, with no team having clinched yet. And of course the Wild Card races will be continuing for some time.
But, I'm talking about the race for the MVP and Cy Young Awards.
Pujols tried to amp up support for voting him the NL MVP a 2nd year in a row the last couple of games. Before Sunday's game Pujols' 39 homers was good enough to be tied for 3rd in the NL and his 109 ribbies also ranked him 3rd.
Then on Sunday, he went deep 3 times and came up just short of making it four. (Mark Whitten anyone??) That brought him up to 42 as well as 2nd place and within 6 of Big Ryan Howard who has been pounding the stuffing out of the ball all year long. Then, what happens? Howard also decides to go deep 3x. Unbelievable. It's a crazy night in the majors when A-Rod going deep twice seems like small potatoes.
So, today after Miles spoiled the (apparently elusive) no-hitter of Ortiz, Pujols also decided to spoil the shutout (and as a result, the complete game) by going deep again. But, Howard is refusing to be gained upon. He matched Pujols once again and now is sitting at 53. Wow. He leads Pujols by 10 homers and 19 RBIs.
In my opinion, if Pujols finishes within striking distance of Howard in terms of the long ball and RBI total, he's definitely got the MVP wrapped up. I still think he's likely to get it anyway because Howard has two things going against him. One, his team might not make the playoffs and there is a definite bias against guys whose teams don't end up in October. And, two, he is nowhere near the well-rounded player that Pujols is. Pujols is a candidate for his first ever gold glove and has played great defense this year. Plus, he's a great base runner and just an all around excellent baseball player.
Plus, some people casting their ballot may be of the school of though that says, "Experience is worth consideration." Some people don't look at just 2006, but of the career of a player. And Pujols has proved to be the man year in and year out. Something I think is definitely worth pointing out is that Howard, while leading in home runs, is also 2nd in the NL in strikeouts. Well, all great sluggers strike out a lot, right? Wrong. Howard has 154 Ks. You know how many Pujols has? 40. That's right. 40. Howard has a strikeout for nearly every game played this year. And Albert strikes out every four games or so.
Some are talking about the Carlos' (Beltran or Delgado) as potential threats to win the MVP. While they're putting up good numbers, I just don't think they're quite good enough. Pujols leads them in every category that matters. He's first in the NL in average, on base percentage and slugging. Howard comes in 2nd in all those categories, with Beltran and Delgado bringing up the rear. Have I mentioned that Pujols has done all this with less at-bats? He missed a couple weeks early in the season and has 12 less at-bats than Delgado, 16 less than Beltran and a ******** 63 less at-bats than Howard. You have to figure with Pujols averaging a homer for every 10 at-bats, he'd have around 6 more putting him quite close to Howard's numbers.
So I think it comes down to Pujols and Howard. If you're voting on power alone, right now Howard's your guy and some people will vote based on the two categories of homers and RBI total alone. So I figure he will garner some first place votes. But, I think more people will vote on the complete package, which is what the MVP represents. So, for my money, Pujols is the winner.
Of course, any one of these guys could go on a complete tear in September and shake things up a little bit.
Of course, you might think I'm a St. Louis fan and therefore, bias towards Pujols. If that's the case, I'd love to hear your argument for who should be MVP. Howard? Beltran? Someone else? I'm totally open to a well reasoned argument. Also, any suggestions for the AL Cy Young? I don't follow the AL as closely so I'm interested in what AL fans think.
Well, I was going to touch on the prospective NL Cy Young Winner, but it's late and I'm tired. So I will try to get around to that tomorrow night.
Stay tuned,
Tiffany
P.S. As I type this, the Giants just pulled ahead 5-4 in the 10th inning. Hopefully, they'll win and the Reds will stay back 6 games and far away from the Redbirds.
I think that if Ryan Howard hits 60 that he gets the MVP even if the Phils don't make the Wild Card.
BTW, I need the Cards pitchers to throw belt-high fastball strikes to Eric Byrnes for the rest of the series. He's 5-31 and coincident with this slump is the fact that he has not played the same outfield position 2 nights in a row. I think there's a connection. If there is, he needs something to help him snap out of it or we are going to see him in different part of the lineup again. (He's started everywhere but third and ninth this year). I have never seen a supposed everyday player treated so much like a utility player as Byrnes has been.
Surely the Cards can figure out a way to win even with Byrnesie pounding the stuffing out of the ball!
Kellia
Life, Baseball & Eric Byrnes
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Thank you, Cards! It's not true elation YET, going into the 4th, but Byrnesie has 3 RBI so far.
Kellia
Life, Baseball & Eric Byrnes
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I truly appreciate the Cardinals contributing proof to my theory that pitchers who throw high strikes to Eric Byrnes often need a replacement baseball. :D
I will be equally appreciative if pitchers on all other teams the D'Backs meet during the next three weeks do likewise. :D
Kellia
Life, Baseball & Eric Byrnes
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Kellia,
I can't say I am as excited about you regarding the Cards/D-backs series, but I guess it's in the past now.
BTW, Howard's only four dingers away from the 60 you thought he'd need to claim the MVP.
Tiffany
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Tiffany,
And you must be even less excited now that the D'Backs have blown yet another lead to the lowly Nats.
As for Cy Young, I think you make a great case for Carpenter, but I like Brandon Webb. And, of course, since a write a D'Backs blog, I can be accused of bias. But consider how well he has done with the lowly D'Backs, whose bullpen can, more often than not, be counted on to blow it. He's the only one of their starters I trust (and Vizcaino is generally a trustworthy reliever). The Cards and the Dodgers are leading their respective divisions. The D'Backs are leading in the production of ulcers. He's also doing well while bouncing back from an elbow problem.
Yup, 4 Dingers for Howard to reach 60. (To hit as many as he has so far as a sophomore, and really in his first FULL year in the majors, is just amazing. And Byrnesie needs two more homers and 4 more SBs to be 25/25. Needless to say that I have fingers, toes and eyes crossed for that to happen.
Any chance the Cards could use a CF or LF who would love to start 145+ games? I know Tony LaRussa has a rep for collecting ex-A's.
Kellia
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Kellia,
It's nice to hear that you see the case for Carp, even being a D-backs fan. And of course I would expect you to remain loyal to the team and root for Webb. Clearly, I don't see as much of him as I do Carpenter, so I am definitely interested to hear from people who watch him regularly why he's worthy of the Cy Young.
Good luck to Byrnes for his 25/25 season. Hey, I wouldn't mind having more speed on our team, but our outfield situation is definitely up in the air. Edmonds has an option, but that won't matter if he can't get well from post-concussion syndrome. We still have Juan for a couple of years. Basically, our outfield is a mess. Edmonds, Encarnacion, Duncan, Spiezio, Taguchi, Rodriguez, Wilson....who knows who we'll have next year. Most of these guys haven't been everyday players, though, so you probably wouldn't like Byrnes being signed by St. Louis
Tiffany
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Basically, our outfield is a mess. Edmonds, Encarnacion, Duncan, Spiezio, Taguchi, Rodriguez, Wilson....who knows who we'll have next year. Most of these guys haven't been everyday players, though, so you probably wouldn't like Byrnes being signed by St. Louis.
Tiffany,
I want Byrnes to go to a contender that needs a CF or LF that can make 145+ starts. (Or the Giants, who might not be contending next year as they rebuild, but it would be home for Byrnesie).
Seems like we are hearing a lot about post-concussion syndrome this year. Matt Metheny got it also. Best of luck to Edmonds because anythng involving the brain is serious stuff.
Kellia
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Kellia,
I'm definitley worried about Edmonds. Mike (Not Matt :)....he used to be a Cardinal!)Matheny's out for the year and other guys (hockey players, football players) have had their careers cut short from too many concussions.
If he's gone, then clearly we'll need a centerfielder. But, Edmonds has been doing some light hitting and working out lately. And I think we'll see him back in the lineup at some point before the postseason.
Tiffany
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Mike (Not Matt :)....he used to be a Cardinal!)
Goes to show you how much I follo9w the Giants. Anyway, glad to hear Edmonds can take some BP. Indeed concussions can cut short a career.
IU was there when Johnny Damon had his infamous concussion in '03. First time I had ever seen an ambulance on the field.
Kellia
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I thought it was pretty funny that you called Mike 'Matt' because of something that happened to me last season. I was at the stadium and was standing outside. Almost everybody was gone and we were walking down the street and we saw Jim Edmonds pull out in his car. I wasn't going to bother him, but a few other people went over to ask for his autograph, so we decided to as well. He was really nice and signed everybody's stuff, when suddenly one guy appeared out of nowhere and came RUNNING over to his car. "Come on, Mike, one more, please?" he said as all of us real Cardinal fans stood there aghast in shock. Mike? Mike?! Come on dude. Of all the people on the Cardinals team to know, you should know who Jim Edmonds is. And I told him exactly that. Mike Matheny was a Giant by this point, so there wasn't even that excuse. So whenever I think of Mike Matheny I think of that story.
Tiffany
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