MVP, Or How I Learned To Love The Bomb (Hail Mary)

We are getting very close to the end of the year, especially now that some of our MVPs may start to sit out some of the games as their teams shore up home field for the playoffs. I think there is no real clear cut favorite, but quite a few players that do have the chops to be considered. Here is my list:

Peyton Manning

Its hard to argue with 13-0, very hard, only this year there are two teams! Who would have fucking guessed that multiple teams would be knocking on the door of Patriots and Dolphins territory? Regardless of record, Manning has had a phenomenal season, and there is a good argument that he is having a better year than Brees. The difference is that Manning has the AFC up against him and Brees has the NFC. I see the NFC as stronger this year, though teams like the Packers and Eagles have 4 losses on their record. Manning, despite playing in the AFC, has shown that he is worthy of our consideration due to his abnormally high QB rating (a weird stat), TD passes, and yards per completion, though the record speaks for most of it.

Drew Brees

Over the last 3 years, Brees has redefined the QB position. He throws TD after TD after TD, and rarely gives up a pick. His team is also the other 13-0 contender, and I actually believe he means just as much to the Saints success as Manning to his team's. Brees leads the league in Passer rating, TDs, and just about every category, therefore making him the favorite, and if the Saints stay undefeated as it now looks like they will, who knows if there is a discussion even. The problem is that Brees and the Saints have come EXTREMELY close to losing each of the last two weeks to teams they should destroy, so things are maybe not as peachy in Saints land as once expected.

Chris Johnson

I wish Johnson could get some type of award this year, because he is so ridiculous in his stats for 2009. Im actually sure if the Titans were 9-4, his contributions would be more looked upon as an MVP, but like baseball, Wins in a team sport is all that matters. I will say this, without Johnson, the Titans are 1-12, so to say they have done as much as they have is a testament to his contributions to his team. So far, Johnson leads the league in YPC, Yards, gains over 40, gains over 20, and a bunch of other stuff, all while on his way to a possible 1900 yard season. Pretty nuts.

Brett Favre

I would have been laughed off the internet if I said Favre was going to be in this position come December. Funny enough, he is here and actually healthy, which is all the better for the NFC north leading Vikings. I believe without Favre, the Vikings are a third place team, but he wont even come close to MVP consideration as long as Brees and Manning are doing what they have done. Favre's only argument is that he is doing all of this at 40 years of age, and to think that he only has 6 picks this whole year is crazy. If you look back to what he has done before, this is truly a great year for him, more so than many of his glory days with the Green and Gold.

Obviously, the MVP is going to come down to the last few games, and if Manning is pulled for rest, it could decide it. I still think Favre has a chance if the Saints lose a few of their remaining games, though I doubt that is likely at this point. I would think that as things draw to a close, Brees is probably going to run away with it, deservedly so, but Im not sure if that will translate into January. Remember, the MVP only means so much, and I guarantee you that every one of those players would like a playoff win more than some hardware.

Two Amazing Games In Two Days

What a high I am living right now, my Twins beat the Tigers in one of the best games in the team's history, and the Vikings go and beat the crap out of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers (literally). Its the first time in a long time that its a great week to be a Minnesota sports fan.

Granted, the Twins are going to go to New York and get destroyed like the Death Star, but this win was good enough to validate their improbable ascension to division champs after losing Morneau and half their pitching staff. It sure helps that the Tigers had an epic collapse, but it was still a great victory none-the-less.

Photo Credit to AP

My main man Joe Mauer also should have secured himself the MVP, as if he didnt deserve it already. To the idiotic writers, the stats he put up would only have been enough if the team had made the playoffs, and now it looks like his resume is complete. That makes me very happy, as he is more

deserving than anyone in the AL, no question.

Photo Credit to UD Blog

As for Favre and the Packers game, I couldnt be happier for both him and for my favorite cattle roper Jared Allen. They did an amazing job putting up points against a good Packer defense, and it was awesome to see Aaron Rodgers get the shit kicked out of him on the other end of the ball. Yeah, yeah, I know it wont last, but it was nice regardless. The true test will be against Baltimore in 2 weeks, with one of the best defenses in the league, as well as a good offense with Flacco, Mason and company.

It was also sweet to see Sidney Rice have another great game, and I dont think much will be made of it, which is unfortunate. Rice had a great TD catch as well as two possible game saving onside kick recoveries, which definitely contributed to the win. Favre and Allen got the spotlight, but Rice deserves some of it.

Peterson, surprisingly had a mediocre game, mainly due to the Packers loading up the box. Of course, they paid for it, but it was discouraging to see him play just okay. The big play was the strip for a TD, and its scary to think that he has the most fumbles of any back in the last 2 years. That is not a good thing.

Lastly, I dont think I can watch another monday night ESPN game as long as Favre is playing. Gruden had crawled so far up Favre's ass that he may as well try and get a couch in there with some direct TV. Its fucking brutal.

Here's to another great Minnesota sports week, hopefully the high will continue.

Joe Mauer: MC Minnesota Bats?

Usually I hate reading about baseball through ESPN or whatever magazine there is, unless its through Baseball Prospectus. Usually pieces are written for entertainment purposes and contain nothing but useless stats and ugly conjectures about what is actually happening. Over at yahoo, Jeff Passan is the worst of the worst in some cases. In fact, his cliches are so bad, I have to keep a bucket by my keyboard to catch stray puke particles.

Today is just as bad as ever, especially with his ridiculous article about Joe Mauer, sports god. He talks for a good 1000 words about how Mauer is good at bowling, golf, and well, pretty much everything. He even goes as far as saying his swing is "as pure as morning dew."

Are you kidding? This guy is the face of yahoo baseball?

Either way, Mauer is having a great season, leading the league in pretty much every stat that actually does matter. Feel free to check Baseball Prospectus for me on that one, im not smart enough on Sabremetrics to write about it. Then again, Passan doesnt focus on that, he focuses on Mauer's rapping ability, even to the point of asking Kevin Slowey if Mauer is a good dancer. You know what? I dont fucking care, and Passan needs to be a little more selective on his story subjects. I mean, when was the last time a Catcher, coming off one of a bad off season, comes back a month into the season and does what Mauer has done? I think his EqA speaks for itself, as well as his win share percentage. DJ Jazzy Joe is ridiculous, and not because he can rhyme like fiddy cent.

Who's glad he bought a ton of Mauer stuff when it was cheap?

*Raises Hand*

People Who Vote On Football HOFers Are Just As Stupid As Their Baseball Counterparts

The 2009 Hall Of Fame Football Class has been announced, and for the second straight time, they forgot one person who should be in there, without even a thought. Cris Carter has over 1100 career receptions, 130 career TDs, and over 12,000 yards in his long career with Philly and of course, Minnesota.

Im not saying that the others werent worthy, but I cant understand why it takes WRs so fucking long to get in. Carter deserves to be there, no doubt about it, and I hope he doesnt turn into a Bert Blyleven situation.

AL MVP - Who Should Win, Who Should Not

When you look at MVP, a lot of people have ridiculous ideas of what makes a person the most valuable player. Some use HRs and RBIs as the measure, others say it is whether or not the person made the playoffs with the team, most people just look at who they remember as being the best player they saw play. I am telling you that there are specific stats we should use, and thankfully enough people voted for Pujols that I didnt have to write this post for him.

Here are the ways I look at it, mostly through stats created for the very reason of determining a player's value to their team, like WARP and VORP, or Wins Over Replacement Player (Pitchers and Batters) and Value Over Replacement Player (just hitters). So, if we have a stat that determines it, why not use it as a "qualifyer" at least.

Here are the VORP leaders in the AL:

1. AROD: 62.4
2. Sizemore: 60.7
3. Pedroia 59.8
4. Mauer 57.1
5. Bradley 56.2
(FYI - PUJOLS: 98.7, or, in other words, completely fucking ridiculous)

Here are the WARP1 Leaders (pitchers rarely win MVP):

1. Cliff Lee 10.4
2. Mariano Rivera 10.3
3. Roy Halladay 9.8
4. Dustin Pedroia 9.8
5. Joe Mauer 9.6

Now, the formula factors in a ton of different things that determine value, and I could lay it out, but really it wouldnt make sense to anyone without a statistics background. But, regardless, the higher the better. The higher the number, the higher value the player has in their 2008 statistics. Personally, that list is pretty good. Lets delve a little deeper with Win Shares, or, the number of times a player directly factored into a win for their team (paraphrase). Here are the 2008 leaders:

1. Mauer 31
2. Morneau 29
3. Youkilis 29
4. Sizemore 28
5. Hamilton 27

So again, both Mauer and Sizemore are back in it, I agree with that. How about some more basic categories like OBP, AVG and SLG? Here are the leaders in those:

OBP

1. Bradley .436
2. Mauer .413
3. Markakis .409

AVG

1. Mauer .328
2. Pedroia .326

SLG

1. ARod .573
2. Quentin .571
3. Youkilis .569

OPS

1. Bradley .999
2. ARod .965
3. Quentin .965

Ok, those all seem about right, and funny enough, Pujols is at or near the top in every category we have done so far. Yet, I have yet to see any of the front runners for the AL have a considerable lead in any race based on stats that matter. Its basically a dead heat in terms of importance within the league. However, I dont see A-rod talked about in any discussions for MVP which is pretty crazy considering that his stats say otherwise. Its so shocking here, that no one seems to realize that the the MVP is not about making the playoffs (a team acheivement), hitting the most HRs (an acheivement that rarely equates anywhere else in valuablity), or even the most RBIs (if you hit .500, but there is no one on base, RBIs would be a bad stat to judge your worth). Its more about who is the most valuable PLAYER based on your production and value over another player on the team and in the league.

Do I think Mauer, my favorite player, will win? No. Should he win? Maybe. It comes down to the fact that Pedroia will win because the voters dont know how to correctly judge a player. Look at how many voted 1st place for Ryan Howard - they are complete ASSHATS. Ill tell you, I wish FJM were still around because my stat knowledge is so minimal that I can only say so much, they say it much better than I could. Pedroia is a top candidate, dont get me wrong, but they make the decision for the wrong reason. A hitter is not about how many HRs or RBIs he can produce, its about factoring into a winning situation the most times, being a good defender, and putting up mammoth hitting stats in ones that matter.

Why cant Baseball Prospectus choose who wins the award?

UPDATE (Or further proof that the voters are complete douches):

WHO THE FUCK GAVE JASON FUCKING BARTLETT A 5th PLACE VOTE? I WANT TO GO TO THEIR HOUSE AND HAVE A HORSE KICK THEM IN THE BALLS. TWICE.