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Defending Barry Postseason failures have no bearing on this year's MVP racePosted: Wednesday September 18, 2002 1:52 PM
Click here to send a question to Tom Verducci's Baseball Mailbag Tom, I enjoyed your nostalgic visit to the 1960s that mentioned Dusty Baker's framed picture of Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. Let's move forward to reality. Barry Bonds has never led any of his teams to the World Series. He could be the second coming of Babe Ruth for all I care. Bonds will go to the Hall with no rings. Clemente had two, Mays had one, and Aaron had one. How about we see if Barry can lead his team past the Dodgers before "giving" him the MVP. Just what is your definition of MVP, anyway?
Ernie Banks was one of the all-time greats, never played a postseason game and yet won two MVP Awards. Bonds will, as he did last year, play for a team that will contend at the very least until the final days of the season. He's had the best year -- easily -- of any player on a contender. That's an MVP in my book. Did you see that Los Angeles walked him with two outs and nobody on base in the fourth inning Tuesday night? The Dodgers weren't sure they could keep Bonds in the park. That respect is amazing. Listen, the guy has a terrible postseason record, but he's the most dangerous hitter in the game. I was surprised that you already picked Barry Bonds as NL MVP. I think some things should be taken into account when voting: 1) A minimum number of at-bats: Due to walks, Bonds has about 200 fewer at-bats than most of the other top candidates; 2) Giants in the postseason: If Bonds' team doesn't make the playoffs, that should affect his chances of winning the MVP award, and the same applies to Alex Rodriguez; 3) Leadership and influence: Don't you think the MVP should be a team leader, motivator and someone to look up to? Does Jeff Kent vote?; 4) Two prizes: Distinguish the Most Valuable Player from the Player of the Year (if there was a Player of the Year award).
1) Bonds has so few at-bats because teams fear him so much they've walked him a record number of times; 2) The Rangers haven't played a meaningful game since April. The Giants are contenders; 3) So-called team leaders should get extra credit, especially if the race is close, but Kent is no leader, either; and (4) There is a Player of the Year award. Major League Baseball gives out the Hank Aaron Award, and the players' association names its Player of the Year, as does the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers Association. Now that the Hank Aaron Award is given to the best all-around hitter in each league, why aren't Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling running 1-2 on people's MVP lists? And why do they lose points for appearing in only 35 games when they spend more time involved in plays in a single game than a position player does in five?
The Hank Aaron Award is given by Major League Baseball. The major awards (MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year) have always been handed out by the Baseball Writers Association. I don't think you totally exclude pitchers from the MVP, but position players with MVP-quality numbers definitely get the edge over guys who wear sneakers in the dugout four out of every five games.
We all know the Braves have the pitching to make it to the World Series, but what about their offense? Yeah, they have a few dangerous sluggers, but will they be able to get the big hits and score runs off the likes of Schilling and Johnson? I have my doubts. It's tough for any team to beat those two guys, but the Braves are a middle-of-the-road offensive club that's going to have to win a bunch of 2-1, 3-2 games to get to the World Series. Plus, their bullpen will have to be near-perfect. You've mentioned Torii Hunter, Miguel Tejada, Jason Giambi and Alfonso Soriano as AL MVP candidates. I am going to assume that you inadvertently left Garrett Anderson off that list. If anyone deserves MVP consideration, it's the Angels' spectacular and consistent left fielder. I am shocked that so many experts ignore him when listing MVP candidates. What's up with that?
I should have mentioned Anderson as a candidate, of course, which illustrates your valid point that he often gets overlooked. Why is that? Good question. Maybe his low on-base percentage, lack of speed and lack of big-time power work against him -- in other words, he's not flashy. He's just a solid, consistent run-producer who's posted more total bases than Tejada. Anderson definitely deserves a look. What do you think the Red Sox are going to do next year? Will they trade key players, such as Nomar? Could a rebuilding season or two be in the works? What about getting rid of Grady Little and replacing him with a tougher manager to ignite the Sox's underachieving players?
I spoke with one GM about the Red Sox and he believes they're going to get worse before they get better. They're stuck with some contracts that limit flexibility and there isn't much coming up through the farm system to keep costs down. I think Little will be back, though obviously he found out that managing in the big leagues is different from the minors. He needs to make the adjustment (i.e., get firmer) next year or he'll be gone. I think the biggest question now for Boston is what to do about the GM job. Doug Melvin? Brian Sabean? J.P. Ricciardi? (Forget Billy Beane.) I do think the Red Sox need to re-tool, and they'll need an aggressive manager to get it done. What do you think will happen with the Expos between now and 2004? Will they play in Montreal in '03 to really small crowds? Where do you think they will play in '04? You've already said that you don't think Frank Robinson will babysit the franchise next year. Who will? Wouldn't this be a great opportunity for baseball to showcase some young up-and-coming managerial prospects.
Robinson now says he'll think about coming back next year. I believe the Expos will play again in Montreal in '03 before the usual small crowds. I think Major League Baseball will give them about six months to see if any local buyer wants to step up and keep the team there now that the new labor agreement is in place. Failing that last-ditch save, I think they'll move by the time the 2004 season starts, with Washington at the top of the list of potential destinations.
Has anyone in the media bothered to check whether Ichiro has been playing hurt? His average has dropped 35 points since the All-Star break, he's only attempted to steal half the bases he tried to swipe last year, and he's been caught the same number of times. He's too good a player to be in that kind of slump. Seems like some sort of leg injury to me. Great point, though so far nobody is saying that. Manager Lou Piniella simply thinks that Ichiro is wearing down. The travel from Seattle is a bear and the grind of a second Major League season is catching up to a guy with a small frame. It seems to me that Derek Jeter has lost his ability to hit with power. All of his hits seem to be of the flair or infield variety. Is it possible that he has residual problems from the physical beating he took last year, or has he just worn down? He's still one of the top four shortstops, but seems to be losing ground. Any thoughts?
I agree that Jeter's pop seems to be down this year. I don't believe he's limited physically because his play at shortstop, especially his range, has improved this season. He is a very unorthodox hitter who keeps his hands inside the ball better than just about anybody in the game. He can definitely turn on pitches when he wants, but I just don't see him doing that as often this season. I think overall Jeter's had a down year with the bat, fighting his lower-than-usual average, and maybe that's kept him from turning it loose more often. What has happened to Felipe Alou? I think he could be the answer in San Francisco should Dusty Baker leave. What do you think?
Alou has agreed to help out the Detroit Tigers. As for Baker, I think ultimately he and the Giants work something out to keep him there. With the young talent the Padres have (Sean Burroughs, Adam Eaton, Oliver Perez, Dennis Tankersly, Jake Peavy), how long will it be until all it all comes together and wins? And what do you think of Mark Kotsay? He has the most outfield assists of any player since 1996, and his offense seems to have improved. How do you think he will do in the future?
I'm surprised they're pitching Eaton this late in the season rather than giving him some more time to recover from Tommy John surgery. Burroughs has looked much better at the plate since he came back, though the Padres wonder if his shoulder still isn't quite right and may need arthroscopic surgery after the season. Yes, I agree, the Padres have real good young talent, and maybe 2004 looks like the year they'll start to contend in a very tough division. I like Kotsay and believe he's very underrated only because he doesn't put up power numbers -- but he hits good pitching and provides Gold Glove-caliber defense. He reminds me of Steve Finley. The short-term question is what do they do with Phil Nevin? People have talked about him going back to catcher, though I don't see that happening. I think he may be in left field next year. Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci covers the baseball beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send a question to his Mailbag. |
