Well, it has to be done. The time is near, I may as well get this going.
State who you think should be MVP, and why.
Obviously a little biased, but Matt Carpenter. He has done at least everything that Andrew McCutchen has done offensively less the stolen bases. He leads the NL in runs by 16, in doubles by 11, and overall hits by 11. He even has two more triples than McCutchen does. As a leadoff man, he has driven in 4 less than McCutchen has batting number three, and he is only batting 3 points less. And did I mention his 119 runs as of September 17th? The man is destroying the NL. I get it, McCutchen is vital to that Pirates team because they score less runs. But the Cardinals lost their leadoff man late last year, and were in desperate need. They had no one else that could do it, and Carpenter stepped up big time. Given past performance by their players in the leadoff spot, Carpenter has added probably 40+ runs over anyone else who would have led off.
WAR is a joke. It almost took the MVP away from a TRIPLE CROWN winner last year. Until the effect defense has on WAR (and Carpenter has made some dandy defensive plays, just not in CF) is scaled down, I will not regard it as a true measure of a player's value.
You want proof? Allen Craig, who was batting almost .500 with RISP and had 97 RBI before going down with injury has a worse WAR rating than Nick Punto, who has played in about half the games Craig has.
More you say? Wellington Castillo is 21st on the list. I don't see the Brewers trading Juan Segura or the Dodgers trading Adrian Gonzalez for Wellilngton Castillo, both of whom are lower on the WAR list.
But come on, 119 runs?! Are you kidding me?
State who you think should be MVP, and why.
Obviously a little biased, but Matt Carpenter. He has done at least everything that Andrew McCutchen has done offensively less the stolen bases. He leads the NL in runs by 16, in doubles by 11, and overall hits by 11. He even has two more triples than McCutchen does. As a leadoff man, he has driven in 4 less than McCutchen has batting number three, and he is only batting 3 points less. And did I mention his 119 runs as of September 17th? The man is destroying the NL. I get it, McCutchen is vital to that Pirates team because they score less runs. But the Cardinals lost their leadoff man late last year, and were in desperate need. They had no one else that could do it, and Carpenter stepped up big time. Given past performance by their players in the leadoff spot, Carpenter has added probably 40+ runs over anyone else who would have led off.
WAR is a joke. It almost took the MVP away from a TRIPLE CROWN winner last year. Until the effect defense has on WAR (and Carpenter has made some dandy defensive plays, just not in CF) is scaled down, I will not regard it as a true measure of a player's value.
You want proof? Allen Craig, who was batting almost .500 with RISP and had 97 RBI before going down with injury has a worse WAR rating than Nick Punto, who has played in about half the games Craig has.
More you say? Wellington Castillo is 21st on the list. I don't see the Brewers trading Juan Segura or the Dodgers trading Adrian Gonzalez for Wellilngton Castillo, both of whom are lower on the WAR list.
But come on, 119 runs?! Are you kidding me?
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