Odds and Sods

Alex Rodriguez had one of the greatest seasons ever by a right-handed batter.  He hit .314 with 54 HR and 156 RBI.  He had a .422 OBP and a 1.067 OPS.  And, he did all of this while playing in one of the most unfriendly parks for right-handed hitters in the game at Yankee stadium.  He also stole 24 bases just for the hell of it.

Not surprisingly, he won the American League MVP award in a landslide.  He earned 26 out of 28 first place votes from writers in AL cities.  Two writers bucked the trend and voted for Magglio Ordonez of the Tigers in first.  Tom Gage of the Detroit News and Jim Hawkins of the Oakland (Mich) Press.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Magglio had a fine year, but he simply wasn’t as good of a player as Alex Rodriguez.  He did edge him in batting average (.363 to .314) but when the more indicative on base percentage is included the disparity (.434 to .422) is far less.   A-Rod beat Ordonez in slugging percentage (.645 to .595) and overall OPS (1.067 to 1.029).  He hit nearly twice as many home runs (54 to 28), crushed him in stolen bases (24 to 4), and drove in 17 more runs.

Both players had fine offensive seasons, but nothing about them bucks the conventional wisdom that Alex Rodriguez was a better player than Magglio Ordonez.

There is the “intangible” and “valuable” factor.  But that should go to A-Rod as well.  The Yankees made the playoffs and the Tigers collapsed down the stretch.

How do the writers defend themselves?

Tom Gage - I saw an MVP year there were stats to back up the impression that I came away with during the regular season.

Jim Hawkins - I saw Magglio play every day.  What I saw was a player having an MVP year.

That’s brilliant.  Magglio is an MVP because he is an MVP.

Tom Gage - Home Runs are a glamor stat.  Home Runs and RBI grab everyone’s attention, but why isn’t it equally impressive that Magglio had a .363 batting average - the highest by a Tiger since Norm Cash in 1961.

This may be a long shot.  But, perhaps more focus is placed on home runs and RBI than batting average because they are more important!  Magglio had 30 more hits than A-Rod did, but A-Rod had 20 more walks than Magglio did.  There is a disparity with their batting average, but hardly any with their on base percentage.

Jim Hawkins - You have to ask yourself where the Yankees would have finished without A-Rod and where the Tigers would have finished without Ordonez.  A-Rod had a better supporting cast than Magglio did.  I know for a fact that the Tigers would not have been anywhere close and certainly not in wild card competition without Magglio.

First, it’s comical to even suggest that one can hypothetically calculate how a team would have performed in terms of wins and losses with another player playing said position, let alone stating that you know such a thing for a fact.

Second, even under the assumption that one could calculate something not possible to calculate, A-Rod would still be more important.  Replacing A-Rod with an average player at third base may have cost the Yankees the wild card.  Replacing Magglio in the Tigers lineup would have brought them from not contending to not contending even worse.

Tom Gage - (Ordonez) had the finest season I’ve ever seen a Tiger have since I’ve covered baseball.

Ok, so why exactly is the History of the Tigers in the last thirty or so years relevant to the 2007 MVP discussion?  Even using that false logic, A-Rod probably had the best season any Yankee has had during that same time period.  And there have been a lot better players playing for the Yankees.

These votes were nothing other than blatant homerism.  In the age of 24 hour ESPN, the extra innings package and the internet having no knowledge of what is going on in the rest of the league, when it is your job is inexcusable.  Localism is not relevant anymore and the Baseball Writers Association should adjust to a merit rather than locale based voting system.

That said, just because the voting system is not designed to guard against idiocy does not absolve these two writers for being idiots.  It is one thing to be a homer in a venue that doesn’t count, but MVP voting should be held to a higher standard than “he played for the local nine and looked good so I am going to vote for him.”  The actions of Tom Gage and Jim Winters were inappropriate and inexcusable and their voting rights should be taken away.

Jimmy Rollins won the National League MVP award.  Fair play to him.  One Problem.

It’s November 20th!

Michigan has already played Ohio State.  People’s thoughts are wrapped up with turkey, football, and family.  No one cares about this!

What compelling reason could baseball have for announcing their regular season MVP and Cy Young awards 50 days after the end of the regular season and  23 days after the Red Sox won the World Series?

Baseball maintains that the post-season is not taken into account in the determination of the award.  The votes are taken immediately after the regular season ends.  What is the point of sealing them and then releasing them almost two months later?

The post-season doesn’t count for the awards, but it certainly colors everyone’s mindset.  No one would argue  with C.C. Sabathia’s numbers in the regular season giving him the nod for the Cy Young.  But, Josh Beckett and the Red Sox’ lineup making him look silly in the ALCS cheapens it a bit.

Similarly, Jimmy Rollins had a fabulous season and there isn’t much to complain about with him winning the NL MVP.  But, it looks rather ridiculous after the Phillies were unceremoniously swept out of the playoffs and Matt Holliday led the Rockies to the World Series.

What are more people talking about?  Alex Rodriguez winning the MVP?  Or, Alex Rodriguez’ contract dealings?

The awards are undeniably overshadowed by what happens in the post-season.  They are overshadowed by football and everything else going on during the holiday season.  They are even overshadowed by baseball’s own hot stove.

The simple solution is just to announce the awards right after the votes are in.  There is a two day period between the end of the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs.  Everyone during that period is excited and talking baseball.  It wouldn’t overshadow the playoffs because it’s not that important and also because most often the players discussed are on playoff teams.  It would be the time where the awards would get the most attention and they would be the most relevant.

It just plain makes sense, which is why Bud Selig will never do it.

The Guardian, citing an anonymous source close to the England setup, is reporting that Steve McClaren will drop goalkeeper Paul Robinson in favor of Scott Carson for tomorrow’s crucial qualifying match against Croatia.

The impetus for the change was apparently “a series of mistakes” in training, and had nothing to do with his palpably painful performances for both club and country the past 18 months.

Robinson is unfit mentally. He has lost all confidence whatsoever in his ability to make a correct judgement. He handles crosses with the aplomb of an acne covered 13 year-old trying to chat up a beautiful woman. He is, quite simply, playing merely not to make a mistake.

He is also unfit physically. He’s fat. As John Nicholson once described, his knees have their own beer bellies. He looks more like someone who would unclog your toilet rather than a world class athlete.

He could also do with a little bit of work on his technique. Why does he do that pointless hop before he actually jumps after a ball?

The fact is that Carson has, for quite a while, been the best goalkeeper in England. He impressed on loan at Charlton last season and has been impressive so far this season with Aston Villa. England were not winning because of Robinson, but in spite of him. The move has made complete sense for quite some time and, with his back to the wall, McClaren has finally made the correct decision.

Better late than never.