OT: This is why baseball is great

[irishdenny]

I Really wish Brandon Inge didn't get hurt... He Helped them out when they really needed a "Pick me uP"... it also cost him 6 million, TuFF Break!

[barrysloate]

I think the Rangers were in first place for nearly every day of the season except one...the last day! And now they run the risk of having one more bad game and being done for the season. Hats off to Oakland.

And congrats to Miguel Cabrera, for a truly special season.

[Nashvol]

Here in middle Tennessee there is much hope for two Cy Young award winners: R. A. Dickey from Nashville (Univ. of Tennessee) and David Price from Murfreesboro (Vanderbilt Univ.). What are the chances?

[Jcfowler6]

Its not so perfect when last years MVP used drugs to get it.

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Friday afternoon, the Cardinals and Braves, one game winner moves on, same thing that night. I plan to order pizza and I hope the phone doesn't ring!

Saturday I am torn. I plan to attend the first half of the Ouachita Baptist-SE Oklahoma football game at 1:00, walk across the street to see the first half of the Henderson State-Arkansas A&M game at 3:00 and then drive to Conway for the Central Arkansas-Nichols St. game and sit with my daughter in the rain at 6:00. Great football day but then I hate to miss any of the baseball. The 90 minute drive home that night should provide good old fashion radio baseball!

Bob you will note that all of this prevents me from watching the Razorbacks, which is probably a good thing!

[tbob]

Originally Posted by Hot Springs Bathers

Bob you will note that all of this prevents me from watching the Razorbacks, which is probably a good thing!

Arkansas 24 Auburn 7
Lol Mike, you missed a good game by our underachievers

[packs]

The Cardinals always seem to get great performances from unheralded guys. David Eckstein, David Freese, and now Pete Kozma.

[tbob]

Originally Posted by Nashvol

Here in middle Tennessee there is much hope for two Cy Young award winners: R. A. Dickey from Nashville (Univ. of Tennessee) and David Price from Murfreesboro (Vanderbilt Univ.). What are the chances?

Three local pitchers were in the limelight this year- Cliff Lee from Texarkana (University of Arkansas), AJ Burnett, Sherwood, Arkansas and Drew Smyly from Little Rock (University of Arkansas). Lee had a down year and little run support but should be back next year to elite status, Burnett is a candidate for comeback player of the year and for a while was single-handedly lifting the Pirates in to contention and Smyly, despite injury, was terrific for the Tigers and deserves support for AL rookie pitcher of the year.
Arkansas hasn't had the run of top flight players recently like it had in the past with HOFers Bill Dickey, Lou Brock, Brooks Robinson, Travis Jackson, etc but it has always produced great pitchers like Dizzy Dean etc.

[tbob]

We'll see how Trout's career goes in the future but in his first year the player he most reminded me of was a young Mickey Mantle with average, power, blinding speed and glove. Big shoes, but we'll see....

[Jlighter]

MVP doesn't mean giving a player credit because they changed positions, on that some token Trout wins because he's a ROOKIE. He's hasn't played a full season of Major League ball before.

May the record show that I believe Miggy deserves and wins the award, but the switching positions argument is as spurious as they come.

[sportscardpete]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

I think the Rangers were in first place for nearly every day of the season except one...the last day! And now they run the risk of having one more bad game and being done for the season. Hats off to Oakland.

And congrats to Miguel Cabrera, for a truly special season.

I'm going to throw up if Trout gets MVP. Not that he doesn't deserve it, but if Cabrera isn't MVP after winning the triple crown, then the voting system is screwed up.

[edhans]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

I'm going to throw up if Trout gets MVP. Not that he doesn't deserve it, but if Cabrera isn't MVP after winning the triple crown, then the voting system is screwed up.

Pete,
Don't forget that defense counts when determining a players value.

[sportscardpete]

Originally Posted by edhans

Pete,
Don't forget that defense counts when determining a players value.

ED -

That's true, but so should making the playoffs.

Pete

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

ED -

That's true, but so should making the playoffs.

Pete

Why? Cabrera made the playoffs but his team had a worse winning percentage than the Trouts. (Det - .543/LAA - .549). If both leagues just put in their to 6 teams Detroit wouldn't have made it.

Detroit the 7th place team in the A.L. Yet teams 3 and 4 have to play a one game playoff to see who gets into the play in the playoffs teams 5 and 6 don't get in at all. Anyways that is off subject.

Baseball is still great, but they will keep losing fans if they don't make it easier to be a fan.

[prewarsports]

100 years from now people will still be talking about Miguel Cabrera's season. How do you not reward that with the MVP award? I know defense counts, but it doesn't count THAT much. I watched Trout a lot this year play against the Mariners and he is a great player, but I agree that if you dont give it to Cabrera, something is wrong with the voting.

I do however completely disagree and always will with the notion that you have to be a playoff team to win MVP. This is a recent trend developed in the last 20 years or so as a result of ESPN and other Talk Shows overanalyzing Sports to no end. Look at the history of the MVP award since it was started. Yes sometimes the players pre 1990 made the playoffs, but a good portion of the time they didn't and that was always ok until recently and now people treat it like a hard rule.

MVP means "best player" despite how you want to interpret the "Value" aspect of it. For some reason they dont do this for Cy Young and often times reward a pitcher like Felix Hernandez for being dominant on a bad team, but flip the tables on hitters. There is no logic to this no matter how people try and stretch it.

Sometimes the best players in the game are on bad or mediocre teams and that is the beauty of baseball!

[bosoxfan]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

I'm going to throw up if Trout gets MVP. Not that he doesn't deserve it, but if Cabrera isn't MVP after winning the triple crown, then the voting system is screwed up.

In 1942 and 1947 Ted Williams won the triple crown in both years only to finish 2nd in the MVP voting. Heck, I believe he also lead both years in runs scored, BB, OPS, and WAR by substantial amounts.

[sportscardpete]

Originally Posted by bosoxfan

In 1942 and 1947 Ted Williams won the triple crown in both years only to finish 2nd in the MVP voting. Heck, I believe he also lead both years in runs scored, BB, OPS, and WAR by substantial amounts.

There was a triple crown winner 4 times in the ten years preceding Ted Williams' 1942 and 1947 seasons. I'm sure it means more now, considering how long it is has been.

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by bosoxfan

In 1942 and 1947 Ted Williams won the triple crown in both years only to finish 2nd in the MVP voting.

While Teddy Ballgame was a Sophomore in High School, the Iron Horse was busy winning the 1934 Triple Crown. However, he didn't fare to well in the MVP balloting, finishing fifth. FIFTH! Two Pitchers finished ahead of Gehrig, including one of his own teammates!

[howard38]

/

[mets41]

George Anderson had an interesting comment in Cooperstown some years ago (I've been saying this since 1959): "Baseball is a great game and if you don't like it, GET OUT!!!!!!!!!!!"

[tbob]

Congrats to the A's and O's for incredible years and fighting to the last out of the last game of their respective series.
Sympathies to the Nats' fans who had to watch the debacle against the Cards.
Oh those El Birdos! The players change but the team is always gritty, competes and never gives up.
Should be a couple of good championship series- Tigers and Yanks, Jints and Cards.
And oh by the way, another reason baseball is great is you have a guy who hit .230 in the minors this year and was only called up because a regular (Furcal) was hurt and he ends up starting in the playoffs and hits a 2 out 9th inning hit and drives in the winning runs. What a game!