NL MVP?

[Broncmet724]

Hmm, to me MVP is the Most Valuable player to the team. And with all the injuries the Cards have had I think its Pujols year, with Andruw a very close 2nd.

[Kingctb27]

Wow, no love for Andrew? I, personally wouldn't vote for him, but I'm suprised he has less votes than Miggy on this one.

[brandnew]

Well, the poll is all screwy.

[Jack-In-A-Box]

Why is it wrong to say where a team is in the standing has something to do with the voting? The goal is winning. No matter what. If someone puts up the exact same numbers but one team makes the playoffs and the other doesn't, who is more valueable to his team then? The guy whose team won more games. It has to play a part in deciding who wins MVP. If Pujols, Lee, Jones all had 40 HR, 120RBI, .300BA but Pujols got most of his numbers to help give his team the lead or victory and the other guys just got their numbers when it didn't really matter, wouldn't it make sense to say Pujols is the MVP because he helped his team win more than the other two? The same reasoning is applied here when you look at A.Jones this year.

Saying if Pujols were a Brave that he would have done the same thing isn't true. Pujols couldn't help you win games in the OF like Andruw can. Almost any major leaguer can play 1B. Except Piazza. What Andruw does with his glove for that team also goes into how valueable a player is. Both Lee, Pujols are gold glove 1B probably, but you can get a good defensive 1B pretty darn near anywhere. A game changing CF, not so easy to come by. Ask the Yankees. There's more to MVP than just who is the best hitter. Team record, defense, all that has to be accounted for. Which is why I think Andruw has as good a chance to win MVP as Pujols, Lee.

[brandnew]

I don't think it's more of a question of who you think will win it, but rather who you think should win it.

[Tavish]

Why is it wrong to say where a team is in the standing has something to do with the voting? The goal is winning. No matter what. If someone puts up the exact same numbers but one team makes the playoffs and the other doesn't, who is more valueable to his team then? The guy whose team won more games. It has to play a part in deciding who wins MVP. If Pujols, Lee, Jones all had 40 HR, 120RBI, .300BA but Pujols got most of his numbers to help give his team the lead or victory and the other guys just got their numbers when it didn't really matter, wouldn't it make sense to say Pujols is the MVP because he helped his team win more than the other two? The same reasoning is applied here when you look at A.Jones this year.

Unfortunately the same doesn't apply here. Jones hasn't put up the same numbers as Pujols and both of the teams are going to make the playoffs. Jones supporters seem to want to give him the award because his team is going to win their division by only 5 games versus the 15 the Cards are going to win by. Jones supporters are punishing Pujols because he has helped his team win more games. Didn't you claim to support the exact opposite in your statement? Shouldn't the player on the team that won more games get more credit?

Saying if Pujols were a Brave that he would have done the same thing isn't true. Pujols couldn't help you win games in the OF like Andruw can. Almost any major leaguer can play 1B. Except Piazza. What Andruw does with his glove for that team also goes into how valueable a player is. Both Lee, Pujols are gold glove 1B probably, but you can get a good defensive 1B pretty darn near anywhere. A game changing CF, not so easy to come by. Ask the Yankees. There's more to MVP than just who is the best hitter. Team record, defense, all that has to be accounted for. Which is why I think Andruw has as good a chance to win MVP as Pujols, Lee.

I asked this before but didn't get much of a response from those using Jones' position as a way to overcome his disadvantage offensively. In your opinion how much more valuable is a Gold Glove calibre CF compared to a Gold Glove calibre 1B strictly on defensive merit? How many more runs does that save, how many more games does that win? There is definitely an advantage for Jones in this regard but I don't think its nearly as much as people are making it out to be.

[KolbSaves]

I think it's really interesting that Pujols 1, 2, and 3 are all tied, but Pujols 4 has 0 votes.

[HOOTIE]

If Andrew dosent win the MVP it is really messed up. Pujols is the best player in the game imo but the award dosent go to the best player it is the MVP. Without Andrew the Braves are way back in the devision not chasing another title.

The MVP criteria mentions nothing of standings, titles, wins. By imposing this criteria, you penalize Pujols for having a better team, and Lee for having a worse one. The numbers show Jones has created less, and in effect has helped his team win less, then the other 2.

[KolbSaves]

From the THT article:

The rules of the voting remain the same as they were written on the first ballot in 1931:

1. Actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense.
2. Number of games played.
3. General character, disposition, loyalty and effort.
4. Former winners are eligible.
5. Members of the committee may vote for more than one member of a team.

[George_Foreman]

Jones supporters seem to want to give him the award because his team is going to win their division by only 5 games versus the 15 the Cards are going to win by.

To be fair, it's not the lead per se but the fact that the NL East is a MUCH tougher division than the NL Central this year. the fact that the braves had to beat out three teams with a better-than-.500 record while the cards just had to deal with the one.