Saturday, September 10, 2005

Andruw Jones for MVP?

There has been a lot of clamoring about Andruw for MVP lately, and with due reason. Andy's season has been spectacular. He had the breakout season that everyone was projecting for this year (and many years in the past for that matter). He is producing at right about the level that was expected of him in the minors. He is playing above average defense (although I don't know if its still as top notch as a couple years ago) with an average that fits right in with his minor league numbers (although i do think he can hit for higher average) and exceptional power and RBI numbers. He has become a true force in the middle of the order and maybe the top power hitter in all of baseball. But is he the MVP. He's got a good case, but Pujols has had another spectacular year. He is almost a shoe in every year for .330/40/120 and he is going to pull that again this year. The only problem against Andruw really is his low BA at .274 he is significantly lower than the other three candidates (Pujols - .338, Lee .345, Cabrera - .333) who all incidentally rank 1-2-3 in the league. If Andruw Jones eventually leads the league in RBI and Homers with, say, a 53/140 line does that make him a sure fire MVP? Not really. Because he will lead two of the triple crown categories (which are important, no matter what some people say) but will be outdone by the other three in all other categories save maybe Slugging. And that is gonna be close because of Andruws odd lack of Doubles. (Although A-Rod doesn't hit many double either). What could win Andruw is his close and late numbers. His poor avg w/RISP has been documented @ .222 for the season. But his close and late numbers are .295 with 9 HR and 17 RBI. He also has something like 19-20 game winning RBI, which can be misleading since if he hits a solo homer in the first and that is the only run of the game that is considered a GW RBI. But he has been clutch, which is decidedly anti-Andruw from most other years. I know how valuable he has been to the Braves this year in the absence of Chipper and any other real threat in the line-up, but not being a Cardinals, Cubs, or Marlins fan i can't tell you how valuable the other guys have been to the other teams. I know the Cards have been depleted this year but they have a huge lead in their division. Cabrera has been amazing at 22 years old but his team has floundered. Lee, has a good shot still but the Cubs are out of it. I think Andruw will probably win the award in the end because of some huge moments he had, almost like the Heisman moments they always say a Heisman winner should have. But Pujols probably deserves it for a more consistent and overall body of work. I don't think this will be either one of their last chances though.

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