A-Rod gets the nod over Ortiz by a slim margin, his second overall since
winning with last place Texas. Apparently most writers are old school and feel that the DH position doesn't merit the award. But, at least 11 writers (first place votes) thought that his accomplishments far exceeded his position. But, here's the kicker - if Ortiz had played half the year at first, even horribly, this race wouldn't have been close (see Don Baylor). This award has always been about offense, not defense (see Canseco). Today's ESPN poll of 90,000+ participants, over 55% thought Ortiz should win. What it really comes down to is which team suffers more if you remove the player. Ortiz performed far better & won more games then A-Rod in the clutch. How many games did A-Rod win with his glove? Nuff said...GM RUMORS:
Latest GM rumor is that Theo has been offered the position for the Dodgers. The wildcard here is that they reportedly offered him a small piece of ownership. Will it be enough to sway him? Chances are no based on his unwillingness to work in a difficult environment (which may be the same in LA). Could change based on the SIZE of the ownership. Still think he will act in a consulting type role, or even ESPN analyst until the job he covets opens up (Washington?).
FREE AGENCY:
Friday marked the first day that teams lost exclusive negotiating rights with their free agents. It's been fairly quiet across baseball, and not much info is floating out there yet. Here's a few tidbits:
Manny - reports are saying Sox must be bowled over with an offer to move him. With no one team apparently in that position, it will take 3 teams to get involved. Most think he will stay in Boston.
Damon - report leaked that the Sox had extended an offer, and most assume it was to Damon. Sox are thought to be aggressive going after him. They almost have to be, as his agent, Boras, loves to drag negotiations on. If they wait to long, it could interfere with other needs or trades (Manny).
Nomar - Cubs reportedly have asked him to look elsewhere. Injuries have been decimating & humbling. Sox would be crazy not to offer him a job at 2nd. An incentive based contract, based on health, for one year until he proves himself (to go back out on open market). Won't hurt to have Pedroia start in AAA or platoon. That is, if he can get past the trade. Can you imagine Fenway if he steps up to the plate? Wow. May solve part of offensive issue if Manny is dealt...
5 comments:
you said..."This award has always been about offense, not defense"
Vlad had a .973 for fielging last year and Alex had .971 this year. When you go back to high school after the Turkey break take stss 101 and look at the fielding of the past five AL MVPs. Not a bad fielder in the bunch.
Wow, look at who actually had a relevant comment! Still haven't figured out the whole spellcheck thing though. Maybe you should go back to high school to figure it out. (By the way, the words in capitals should be read louder than the other ones)...
Nice of you to use a sample size that conforms to your argument.
But the actual POINT is that the best fielders or gold glove winners don't win UNLESS they have strong OFFENSIVE numbers.
You can argue that if stats were dead even, defense could be a tiebreak. But Ortiz was clearly superior when it COUNTED. He won more games and was more VALUABLE to his team...
Yea..we're working on the spelling thing..I'm taking Spalling 101. I'm in the seat to your left.
Nice Blog here.
Will the Redsox ever win back-to-back world championships? The last time was 1916.
Absolutely. The farm system is starting to pay off. There is a young and talented pitching core coming in. Papelbon is the first out of the gate. The farm is setting them up for a Braves type run (but with rings). Second, third, starter, and couple of relief arms will be farm products on the big club in 2006.
Couple of other arms & some OF prospects will probably see playing time by mid season.
A healthly Schilling could jumpstart the run next season. It's all about the pitching...
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