Let's get this right out of the way so that fans of Jimmy Rollins or Philadelphia can think about jabbing the pitchfork through this blog rather than no thought whatsoever: Jimmy Rollins is a good shortstop and has been one of the best in the National League for years. Teams would kill for a guy like him to play position 6 for several years. His game has transformed him from being a speed guy to an all-around, perennial All-Star shortstop.
But he is not the MVP of the National League. In fact, he is not the MVP of his team.
That distinction goes to Chase Utley. I realize Utley's playoff performance was a disappointment while Rollins showed up, but the playoffs do not dictate who the MVP of the regular season is. The Phillies could not have gotten to the playoffs without the play of Rollins, Utley or Ryan Howard, the reigning MVP of last season. The team went through a roller coaster ride all season; from a manager on the hot seat to the team losing pitchers to injury to a head-#### starter-turned-closer losing his head (only this time it was not on his wife), to making an improbable comeback to win the division. Who was the one guy Philly could not play without? Chase Utley. When he was hurt, Philadelphia went into a funk. When he came back from injury, they starting clicking again. That is why he is the MVP of this team. They were not the same team when Utley was out of the lineup.
As for Rollins, who played a big role in Philadelphia's run for the playoffs, is to his team what Kenny Lofton was to Cleveland in the mid-90's, what Roberto Alomar was to the Toronto Blue Jays in the early 90's and what Derek Jeter has been to the New York Yankees. All rock-solid players who are valuable to their team - but none of them have an MVP under their name during the regular season. Seems strange because those guys were impact players in their prime (in Jeter's case he still is an impact player), but that does not downplay how great they were or are. Rollins is that guy.
But don't go Barry Larkin and give him the MVP.
Who takes the award then?
Some people are saying Matt Holliday. Granted, Holliday plays in Colorado - a place known for offense but he certainly had a great year. However, Holliday wasn't even on the radar until the last week of the season. An MVP should have had strong consideration before September 15th. Therefore, Holliday is not an option.
This decision, however, will allow you to pile up ridicule.
David Wright.
I realize New York just had one of the biggest choke jobs in baseball history. But Wright was the man the entire year, hit for a great average with great power, fielded his position like a gold glover and added 30+ stolen bases to his credit. Not to mention that his second half and September batting average was incredible. So how do you fault the guy? The Toronto Blue Jays choked a big lead away in 1987 to the Detroit Tigers when they lost their final 7 games of the season. The man who won the MVP award that season was George Bell, who played with the Jays. He was the MVP that season and David Wright should be the MVP of the National League.
Other Awards:
- A-Rod should win the AL MVP, Jake Peavy should win the Cy Young Award in the NL and I'd give the AL Cy Young to Josh Beckett with C.C. Sabathia being a close second. Give Ryan Braun the Rookie of the year in the NL and Dustin Pedroia the Rookie of the year in the AL. Coaches of the year? Let's go with Eric Wedge and Bob Melvin.
***My show has been on hiatus since Sept 20 as I have been working on other projects while recharging the batteries. I will be back next Tuesday October 16 at 9AM EST.
I am a big Matt Holliday fan. THis guy was amazing for the Rockies. I have heard alot about his playing in Coors Field being a deterrent for the voters. Please, Rollins plays in just as much of a hitters park as Holliday does.
The big thing for me is that in the second half Holliday went beserk. In 71 games after the break, he mashed 21 homeers, knocked in 68 runs, stole 7 bases, batted .338, slugged .651 and got on base 42% percent of the time. Despite playing sixteen more games in the first half, he hit six less homers and knocked in just one more run.
Wright also had a sensational second half, but it wasnt on par with Hollidays. But i agree with you about one thing. Wright deserves it more than Rollins, who like you said, wasnt even the MVP of his own team.
You know how much I respect your sports knowledge. But I have to disagree with you on this one. The NL MVP is certainly a wide open race, but Rollins absolutely deserves to be part of the conversation.
While the Phils did seem to slip without Utley in the lineup, that's probably more due to the math of three superstars in the lineup at the same time being better than only having two of them. Now, if Rollins had been hurt at some point and the team didn't miss a beat and then when Utley got hurt the team suffered, it would be a different story.
And Rollins' numbers were pretty eye-popping, 30 homers, 40+ SB, and only 11 errors in field at a premier defensive spot playing all 162 games. And not to mention what he did against Philly's two main rivals - he hit +.340 against both the Braves and Mets.
Personally, I wouldn't have a problem if either Wright or Holliday won as they both had fantastic seasons, but Rollins very much deserves to be in the conversation.
Again, I respect your opinion on this and can appreciate the case you made for Wright.
Your way off base but understanding your a Mets fan I get it. Let me tell you this when Chase Utley went down the Phils were 53-49 when he returned they were 69-62. The team actually played better while he was out. I would agree Chase is the MVP for the Phils but not this year. I will disagree with you observation on Holiday also his numbers earn him consideration and if he wins out over Rollins I can live with that. But David Wright, come on after the way the Mets played in the last month of the season nobody from that team should rank and I mean rank in every sence of the word, should be considered for MVP.
Chitown - Wright carried the team when Reyes slowed down, Beltran faded and Delgado was having an off year. Let's also mention the uncertain outfield situation and LoDuca's lack of production. Wright was phenomenal this year and I'm surprised the Met meltdown didn't happen sooner.
Nooch - I think Rollins deserves consideration, just not the award. I'd put Rollins in the top 5. Just not my top 3.
pjm - Either Utley is the MVP of his team or he isn't. He can't be the MVP but not this year. And I never said Holiday shouldn't be considered because he should be. All I was saying is he wasn't being recognized as an MVP calibre guy until the season was nearly over.
MEAN - Didn't forget about ya. Projects seem to be on course but obviously patience can be a ####. Hope you're doing well with your projects as well. Keep in touch bro. Cheers.
Dan,
Check your space heater it might be leaking carbon monoxide. Rollins did have an MVP worthy season and while I agree with you Utley also had one until he got injured, as for you liking Wright that's why arguing baseball is fun, but diminishing Rollins hardly buttressed your argument. Rollins was the only guy on the team who said the Phillies were the team to beat, and lord knows they were beaten silly in the 1st 30 games...that's why he's MVP-worthy, he had the baseballs to say it and then smack the catcrap out the ball to put them in position to benefit from the Mets sucking chest wound collapse...great scribble...
Ed - I don't think of my blog post as diminishing Rollins. I put him in the same category as Alomar, Jeter and Lofton for what they do for their teams (or did). I also said off the top that he's a good player and I would LOVE to have him as my shortstop for my favorite team.
Also want to point out that Rollins said when they were 17-20 that this was a rebuilding season to one of his teammates. Bad judgement on his part since it wasn't the quarter season mark at that point.
Just to clarify that by no means was this meant to diminish what Rollins has done, but I don't see him being more valuable than Utley, let alone Wright or even Holliday.
Well said! I wrote a blog on this same subject (shaunpayne.blogspot.com):
Jimmy Rollins will probably win the NL MVP award this season. Rollins will win because of the hype of the Phillies storming back to overtake the Mets late (even if things don't stay that way). He will win because of his counting stats--30 homeruns, 93 RBI, 39 steals, 209 hits, 137 runs (as I write this). He will not deserve the MVP.
My definition of "Most Valuable" is the guy who does the most to contribute to his team winning. Can anyone tell me why a player who has made an out more frequently than 102 other players that qualify for the batting title is the MVP? Can anyone tell me why a player who has made an out more frequently than eight of the eleven leadoff hitters that qualify for the batting title is the MVP? Can anyone tell me why a player who has made an out more frequently than twelve other shortstops that qualify for the batting title is the MVP?
Rollins does have the most plate appearances in baseball, so you could make the argument that even if he makes an out at a higher rate than a lot of others, he's still made more of an impact. But although he has ten more plate appearances than the number two player (Jose Reyes) he ranks only ninth in times on base (i.e., times he avoided an out).
Maybe I just have some backwards definition of "Most Valuable." Maybe the voters will surprise me and give it to a more deserving player. I am not trying to knock Jimmy Rollins as a player. He's a fine player. If I were a Phillies fan, I would be thankful that Jimmy Rollins was our shortstop.
Rollins is a gold glover (at a middle infield position none the less) and his numbers are just as good, if not better than Wrights. Plus Most Valuable Player should factor in leadership which Rollins obviously has and Wright fails to show.
And if not Rollins, what about Prince Fielder. Prince carried the Brewers this entire year with little consistancy from anyone else but Ryan Braun, and yet they just missed the playoffs. Lets not forget about his immergence as the team leader in only his second year.
And you talk about Lofton and Jeter not winning regular season MVPs...well Lofton should have in the mid-90s, and Jeter should have won last year after he dragged the sorry Yankees into the playoffs.
You pick David Wright because you want to be different...but come on.
Rollins is a bona fide all-star. He can hit, field, run. He can do it all. He is a leader on his team. Yada Yada Yada......And how does David Wright not fit the same bill? Rollins and Wright are near clones until you get to the numbers that matter
The numbers speak for themselves. Wright is the better offensive player and he is a pretty good fielder. David Wright is always striving to be better than he is.
As far as being a leader, Wright got the entire team to shave their heads durin a prolonged team slump in the beginning of the season. He was outspoken when Mota was bagged for steroids. He was always out there in the public doing charity work and he is always the first or second guy to speak out when someone steps out of line. It was Wright and Franco who put Milledge in his place with the "remember your place, Rook" sign.
The difference that puts my vote with Wright is his attitude and his personality. He is not arrogant and he does not shoot off his mouth.
Last edited by jedi105 on October 11th at 10:52 AM.
Lets face it. The Mets choked bad. I don't dispute that. But there were times throughout the season when the Phillies had the opportiunity to take over the division. They sismply did not. They got lucky at the end of the season because the Mets pitching tanked. The Mets offense was still doing its thing scoring 7, 8, 9 runs a game but their pitchers always seemed like they wanted to give them all back. The Phillies were not the "Team to beat" in the NL. The Mets were, and they were beat. I don't dispute that either. But lets put this in perspective, the Phillies played 3 more games than the Mets. Big deal, they won the division. They pulled it out by the skin of their teeth and only because the real team to beat fell apart. No excuses. Congrats to the Phillies for pulling it off by staying close enough to take advantage of the Mets downfall. But Rollins is not an MVP. David Wright is the only one worthy of that distinction this year. Props to Fielder and Utley and some others who performed to a high level this year, but Wright was simply the MOST VALUABLE
Last edited by jedi105 on October 11th at 10:55 AM.
philly needs to win something that wasn't hnded to them like the nl east race. give the damn mvp to rollins and bring that big gold trophy with all the flaps to colorado. I am sure matt would agree
The Dan
This'll be just one of those accolades that not not everyomne will be satisfied with whoever wins it. Some'll say that it should've gone to Fielder, some'll say Holliday . And others could say that it should go to Utley or even his teammate Ryan Howard. It'll all come down to the favorites of the adjudicators as far as I'm concerned. And whomever they choose we the fans still won't be satisfied with the decision.
IF THE METS DIDN'T LOSE ALL THOSE GAMES & WERE IN THE PLAYOFFS INSTEAD OF THE PHILLIES WOULD ROLLINS NAME STILL BE CONSIDERED. I AM A METS FAN BUT I THINK WHEN YOU HIT FOR AVERAGE, HOMERUNS & RBI'S & ARE ATOP IN 2 OUT OF THE 3 CATEGORIES YOU SHOULD BE THE MVP. HE IS ALSO STILL IN THE PLAYOFFS. NO QUESTION.
How could you give Ryan Braun the ROY award? Troy Tulowitzki should be the obvious... He was way better then Ryan Braun. Granted Ryan Braun played less games but Troy had 24 homeruns, 99 RBIs, over 30 doubles, over 175 hits and batted almost .300 in 155 games. Troy had only 11 errors and over 100 more chances then anybody else while playing at shortstop... Thats incredible. He should win hands down. He was a rookie who hit in the number two hole for about half the season and did great setting up Holliday and Helton. Without Troy Tulowitzki Holliday wouldn't win the MVP award.
"An MVP should have had strong consideration before September 15th. Therefore, Holliday is not an option."
What logic or made up rule is this???
Holliday was strong all year long, but made the biggest impression the last few weeks of the season because he was hitting homers like a madman. As with Heisman Trophy voting, it's sometimes the player who voters remember most recently who gets the win. And, definitely more than one time in the past, the best player didnt necessarily win the award.
This argument always comes down to how you define MVP. Most years the qualification is how valuable the player is to the sport, not just his team. How else would you explain Barry Bonds and his 7 awards? His teams suck, but his homers kept the bored public watching.
I have a dark horse choice for the award... Jose Valverde. The guy came out of nowhere this year to close big games for the Diamondbacks, and he set a team record with his 47 saves, to go with his 2.66 ERA and nearly 11 K's per 9 innings.
However, my mind would say Holliday gets the nod with his being in the Top 5 in HRs, RBIs, and AVG, and leading in 2 of them. I don't care that he plays in Colorado. This guy has an eye, and he'd hit anywhere.
Racine - Holliday has been and should continue to be a hitting machine.
Tophatal - That's always the case. Watching how the vote goes down every November is proof of that. Thanks for checking in and for all those e-mails on my show account.
road warriors - Thanks for dropping by
kylan - I picked Braun. That doesn't mean Tulowitzki is ####. It isn't true. Troy can play. Without Braun, Milwaukee would have been gone by July. Instead, they were in it until September. And I didn't say Holliday can't win the MVP. What I said was that he was not really considered prior to the last 15 games of the regular season. He was just another player with big stats on an average team. Then they sneak in the playoffs and everything changes. Had the Rockies missed the playoffs Holliday gets no respect.
dan the man you're forgeting about the YOUNGEST player in MLB to belt 50 homers in a season and that is Prince Fielder. Who cares about what he said about his father. That's his business and as long as he produces the Brewers will be contenders with their young core of solid infielders. Brewers in 08. However Braun should get rookie of the year they probabley will give it to the dude from Colorado because they made the playoffs and the Brewers choked.
I think Holliday is the MVP but Rollins deserves it more than David Wright. Rollins led the NL in runs, is the best defensive shortstop in the NL, and he picked this team up when they needed him to, something David Wirght couldn't do. And I don't know if saw the same things I saw but Wright made a ton of mistakes defensively that killed the Mets. And Rollins had a 30-30 season too.
What a pile of #### from an obvious Met fan. Wright had a terrible start...where were you. He got hot in late May and stayed there. He had a nice season...not an MVP season. He showed little or no leadership and even tried to distance himself from the role.
Rollins, despite his January proclamation that his team was the team to beat, should be embraced by you Met fans. he filled up every category on offense. He led the league in fielding his position. He didn't do a #### after every run he scored, unlike your immature superstar at short. He has class, dignity and is a huge presence in that locker room. Utley is great..no doubt. But his absence was mitigated by a great pickup in Taguchi. Howard was leaking oil atthe end. Rollins was running smoothly all year. Jimmy Rollins is clearly the NL MVP for all of the tangible and intangible reasons.
Holliday comes in second for all the right reasons and he will be a force for the next 8 to 12 years.
Chipper Jones is third. Wright maybe makes the top 5.
First of all, you obviously haven't watched many Phils games this year if you think Chase is the MVP of the team. You're just looking at the numbers.
Second, is it possible to show you're a bigger Mets homer by picking David Wright? I mean, Wright won't even finish in the top 3. It's gonna go Rollins, Holiday, Fielder or Holiday, Rollins, Fielder.
Whoever let you have your own blog made an enormous mistake.
Go back to Canada, you hoser! Oh wait...you're already in Canada?
These discussions can be fun...or they can be mind-numbing. Awards like this seem to be 10% statistical & performance analysis, and about 85% misguided marketing perception. Yes, I left out 5%...for all the unnecessary #### that goes into these discussions.
Everybody has their own opinion, and that's really the problem with these awards. When there isn't a clear cut winner like A-Rod, opinions are all over the place.
My top 5 for the NL would be: Hanley Ramirez, Matt Holliday, Jimmy Rollins, David Wright, Prince Fielder. Utley would have been in there if he hadn't missed time with injury.
Personally, I'd say any of those guys qualify...but I'd give it to Holliday. I wouldn't fault him because he didn't draw the right kind of media attention playing in Colorado. He put up big numbers all year...it wasn't like he came out of nowhere.
For the record, I don't think you're an #### or a loser. Just a hoser.
Take care, Dan the Man! Good to see that you're still rollin'...
Good job...it looks like you have done your homework. However, I would have to disagree with you on your decision. Wright's numbers are fantastic and he had one heck of a year, but he is not the MVP. If anyone, it should be Matt Holiday. He lead the NL in RBI's and BA; one category short of a triple crown. And not to mention, during the Mets' blowout at the end of the season, three of the last ten games the Mets lost were due to errors by David Wright in the ninth inning. Certainly doesn't help his cause.
David Wright is a great player, however, his numbers were not much more impressive that Atlanta's Chipper Jones. Chipper had a great year, finished first in OPS, second in BA, and third in SLG %. He also only had 9 errors; David Wright had 21. Granted Wright played in 26 more games than Chipper, but Chipper still was only 1 HR and 3 RBI's behind Wright. He would have blown him out the water had he played in more games.
Wright had a great season, but not better than Chipper's season and Chipper is not even mentioned in MVP talk. MVP should go to Holliday or Rollins. Both men carried their teams and both are deserving.
you are obviously a mets fan and this is the only thing you have left to your choke season and over paid we wish we were the yankee's payroll!!! Jimmy Rollins was one of three players to hit atleast 20 homers, 20 triples, 20 doubles,and 20 stolen bases,but the 139 rbi's are only second in baseball history for a shortstop, some other guy named a-rod had 142 but thenagain he plays for the real NY team
There are a lot of comments here so I'll address them as so:
- Thanks for reading.
- Anyone who calls me a Mets fan has no clue, therefore doesn't deserve a reply.
- Thank you for checking in SHOOTERB
- The Phillies did not begin their charge until Chase came back from injury.
- Rollins will have more runs scored hitting in front of Utley and Howard. Wright hit 5th (little protection), then 3rd in front of Beltran and Delgado - both guys having off years.
- Holliday was MUCH better at home - Colorado factor.
- Anyone who plays 'drive-by', the guys who comment and have no blog, need to check themselves before calling out anyone.
- I signed up to blog, you can too. It's easy. That is why I have a blog.
- Taking this post personal makes no sense. I've seen posts with a hint of racism, sexism, facism and other isms you can think of. This has none of the above, so take a deep breath and relax.
YOU ARE A dumb man matt is the mvp i am so sick of you people thinking that if you don't play in a big market you do not count i was listing to a sport show last week when the rockies were up 2-0 on the phillies and some #### said "o yea the phillies are going to win this thing" and two other panelist agreed the reason you never heard of matt holiday is because you probaley live in new york and can't see past the george washington bridge. do not call yourself a sports fan if all you know about is what you read in your local paper.he did not get all those rbi after 9-15 or all hrs or his batting avg oh and by the way your mvp will be watching the playoffs having lost everything while my mvp will be playing
I would agree with Rollins not being the MVP. However, I would disagree with Wright.
Living near Philly, I hear quite a bit about Rollins. He's an outspoken team leader, and he backed up his talk this year with production, especially in big games (such as seemingly every game against the Mets). But the Phils only got started when Howard started hitting after his quad problems and Utley returned. At any point during the season, either Utley (spring especially) and Howard (fall especially) helped Rollins carry the team.
Wright, with 21 errors, did NOT play gold-glove defense. He would get a web gem here and there, but that's too many errors to be considered "gold glove". A-Rod earned the nickname "E-Rod" with only three more than that number last year. I would agree with this article - that an MVP should be considered for the entire season. Then why do we not look at the beginning of the season for Wright? How many at-bats did he go with that home run drought? Maybe the Mets could have gotten a win or two if he were more productive during that time. Just like how Morneau shouldn't have won last year - the reason the Twins were in such a big hole was because he was a gaping black hole in the lineup for the first two months of the season (almost getting shipped down to AAA).
The only winner here is Holliday. The reason he has not gotten enough credit is because he plays in Colorado - nobody thought they could contend, so nobody paid attention to them. He single-handedly carried the team in the first half, putting up outstanding, MVP-caliber numbers in th
(continued) the spring, only to post better numbers after the break. He kept the Rox afloat when nobody else was hitting. He has played consistently all-year long, coming up with timely hitting seemingly every game. The combination of Holliday, Helton's steady hitting, and Atkins's re-emergence as a hitter (roughly .245 before the break, .340 after) led to the Rox's late-season surge (arguably the biggest comeback in baseball season history).
Holliday has raked all season long. When his teammates started to wake up they took the Rockies from a .500 team to a World-Series caliber team. His consistency has enabled the Rockies to stay alive.
One more thing about Wright - he's not really a leader, as he said a few weeks ago that he's not ready for the responsibility of being a team leader.
My picks in order:
Holliday
Fielder
Rollins
Pujols
Wright
Peavy (I know, a pitcher, but look at the amount of quality starts he has. Add a potent offense to that and you're looking at 25+ wins)
PS has it occurred to anyone else that Pujols isn't in this discussion? Funny seeing as that he's always top 2 every year. His "off" year was still very good.
David Wright finished tied for first in times on base even though he finished eighth in plate appearances, 67 behind Rollins. Plus he finished seventh in total bases. Wright led the league in Runs Created and second in VORP. Wright is certainly more deserving than Rollins. Hanley Ramirez is more deserving than Rollins.
I have heard alot about his playing in Coors Field being a deterrent for the voters. Please, Rollins plays in just as much of a hitters park as Holliday does.
Wright: 13.2
Pujols: 12.5
Holliday: 12.1
Rollins: 11.7
Utley: 11.0
M. Cabrera: 10.9
H. Ramirez: 10.5
C. Jones: 10.1
Rowand: 9.6
Fielder: 8.0
R. Howard: 7.4
And the NL Rookie of the Year candidates ranked by WARP-3:
Tulowitzki: 10.4
Pence: 6.8
Braun: 5.3
In my 2007 MLB Awards Bonanza, I picked Hanley Ramirez as my NL MVP and Ryan Braun as my NL ROY, but after looking at WARP-3, I'm changing them to David Wright for MVP, and Troy Tulowitzki for NL ROY.
Last edited by UltraMegaOK1988 on October 11th at 8:32 PM.
First off it isn't very sporting to refute my argument with facts when clearly they're no friend of mine...I have to go give my annual Flat Earth Society Lecture;
"Columbus, Did He Scream When He Sailed Off The Edge of the Earth?" which also eschews facts wherever possible....
btw, I hope nobody construed my remarks as an attack on Dan, he makes a great argument but as a rabid Philly guy I just go All World Homer whenever anyone mentions Phillies or Eagles...
Last edited by edhardiman on October 11th at 8:38 PM.
I'm a Mets fan and I can tell you firsthand that David Wright has yet to play "gold glove-caliber" defense during his time in the majors. His defense is something he needs to improve.
Holliday is a nice player but his stats away from Coors are sad. He's good... but he's not as good as his stats. To me, he's Jason Bay... not an MVP-caliber star.
We can argue all day about Rollins, Utley and Howard. Truth is, Howard missed like 20 games and still put up monstrous numbers. Furthermore he was huge down the stretch. In my opinion, Howard and Rollins deserve MVP before Utley does.
Realistically, you'd have to say that these three guys are going to lose votes to one another. That leads me to believe Holliday, Wright and Fielder have the upper hand.
I'm going to say...(drum roll) Fielder.
I'll take Sabathia over Beckett. I'm not crazy about the Petco pitchers but Peavy deserves Cy this year. Tulowitzki and Pedroia as ROY.
Last edited by TrainOntheBall on October 11th at 8:39 PM.
Also, in case no one bothered to click the link I provided for WARP-3, that statistic measures both offensive and defensive contributions. VORP (which I haven't listed) is offense-only.
Man, I didn't know The Dan was a Met's fan who lived in New York City... That explains all the angst about Josh Towers and Ted Lily last year, though...
The one opportunity I had to see the Rockies this year, Holliday was not exactly overwhelming... I think he scattered five or six hits over a four game series and had two RBI... and that was against the Astros. I gotta say, I love our local Hunter Pence (although I'm not sure he's 100% human), but Tulowitzki was very impressive in that series. Of course, neither of them really have a shot at RotY, so I'll stop thinking about that.
anyone who says that you have to be a Met fan to say Wright should be an MVP just doesn't have any idea what Wright did this year. While personally I think Holliday will and should win the MVP, I think that Wright will get the 2nd most votes. Rollins deserves consideration but statistically he isn't even comparable to Wright this year. Not to mention that Rollins plays in a hitters haven. Wright plays in a pitchers park.
Thanks for all the comments, positive or negative. Here are a few thoughts...
- Wright made 21 errors, but you have to understand that he WILL get to balls other third basemen will not get to. Chipper Jones is a shadow of himself playing defense, but statistically was better than Wright? Is he really better? No. Scott Rolen is a great defensive player and he made 22 errors in 112 games.
- Ultra proved that Holliday is a guy who benefits from playing in Colorado. Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks and Vinny Castilla did the same back in the day.
Dan... you're right that people shouldn't judge players solely based on numbers. However, I'm a Mets fan and I watch many games, and I can tell you that while he's nowhere near being bad, Wright doesn't deserve a "gold glove" mention in the same sentence as his name. He's average defensively.
As for Holliday, while Mega is right about the "Coors effect," which by the way applies to EVERYONE on that freaking team. Look up the home/away stats for each player and it's night and day... it's not just Holliday. However, again, the stats don't tell the WHOLE story.
Matt Holliday, whether home or away, is a solid ballplayer. He's not as good as some people think he is, but he's certainly not as bad as some write him off to be. But yeah, I do wonder if he's not Jason Bay circa 2004. Good player... but not a superstar.
Train - I believe Wright has gold glove potential. He's not that far away; we're talking 5-10 plays over 162 games that he didn't make before. Granted, we could say that about anyone but what separates Wright from a lot of guys are the highlight reel plays he makes.
As for Holliday, he's a bonafide .300 hitter. I think he can go .300-30-100 outside of Coors. Very good stats, but that would only put him in the top 10 for MVP and not top 3.
Fielder had a great year, but I put down his division so much that he played on a team that probably wins 70-some odd games in another NL division. His season reminds me of the season Jim Thome put up when he hit 50+ homers. Good stats, but MVP? Fielder will get votes and deservingly so.
The Dan
What may well negate the trio from the running is the fact they didnt make the playoffs but fell by the wayside abruptly. Albeit that the accolade is meant to be about what was achieved during the regular season.
tophatal
Last edited by tophatal on October 13th at 5:34 PM.
From Toronto, CANADA. On hiatus from sports talk show. Also the starting shortstop for the Lizzards. Honorary member of "The Clique" because I am a made guy. If I ever got to work for Fox Sports I'd put into my contract that I must put in no less than 60 hours of work per week.
