This was Pokey's year and he blew it . That being said it comes down to the Red sox vs. Yankees. If the race stays very close and those six games are filled with clutch hits, it depends who wins the AL east. Sheffield will probably get it if the Yanks dip below the Red Sox but come back to win it. Of course he has to perform well in those games. If the Red sox win I would go with Manny, because if he was in Seattle he would perform better, than if Ortiz was stranded with the Mariners. And if then Angels win the wild card you probably go with Vlad.
If they stick to the silly rule that the guy actually has to play in that league, then my vote goes to Sheffield. Its pretty close between the top 5-6 guys.
1. vlad (done so much with so many injuries)
2. tejada (missed #1 because of mora; how can you not drive in tons of runs batting behind mora??)
3. manny (he's a consumate professional; big nomar fiasco, and he just goes out and has one of his best years)
4. ortiz (manny makes him better, not so much the other way around, IMO)
5. sheff (he's hitting behind arod and jeter, and in front of matsui and posada. i mean, common)
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I like the comment that Manny makes Ortiz better and not the other way around as that is how it has seemed to me this year. That said, I find it hard to give it to one of them with so many good players on the team.
I think Vlad is my candidate. Simply, the Angels would not be in contention without him. He has held them together. If you lose Manny or Ortiz, you still have the rest, plus a pretty good surrounding cast with some above-average pitching. If you had lost Vlad this year, that team would have fallen out of contention with its terrible pitching and injury-riddled lineup. Of course, Vlad did have Guillen who has 'quietly' had a 100RBI year already, so maybe that hurts Vlad too. But Vlad, as of today, is my man (there is still a lot of baseball to play, so that could change).
It's Manny or Ortiz imho. If Bos win the East it can be no other. If Bos falter and the Angels win the west it may be Vlad. But if I had to rank the top 5 contenders in order it'd be
1. Vlad - because he's meant more to the Angles IMO w/all the injuries
2. Pudge - anybody still remember this guy, you know the guy who hit .500 for a whole month , AND he was helping turn a young pitching staff into something resembling respectable? And it's not like he's exactly playing on the Angels, Sox, or Yanks. The only reason I don't have him number one is that he doesn't have a chance of getting the Tigers to the playoffs unlike the other three.
3. Manny - he just keeps rollin' no matter what the trade rumors are (unlike some SS's)
4. Sheff - I would put him higher, but the argument about a loaded team comes into play here if it does for Rolen/Pujols/Edmonds
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by Pokey Reese MVP » Thu Sep 02, 2004 6:40 pm 
. That being said it comes down to the Red sox vs. Yankees. If the race stays very close and those six games are filled with clutch hits, it depends who wins the AL east. Sheffield will probably get it if the Yanks dip below the Red Sox but come back to win it. Of course he has to perform well in those games. If the Red sox win I would go with Manny, because if he was in Seattle he would perform better, than if Ortiz was stranded with the Mariners. And if then Angels win the wild card you probably go with Vlad.
Wow. I didn't think I would ever hear Manny referred to as a "consumate professional".
