I don’t understand how this point contradicts mine. Shohei Ohtani is an indisputably valuable player by any measure, despite playing on a shitty team. He has definitely added many actual wins to the Angels in 2021. They would be at least seven or eight wins under their current record without him, maybe more.
I don’t disagree with that. I disagree with this:
Jas09’s hypothetical is obviously absurd - no team is so hapless as to go winless. But if you cannot call an obvious superstar on such a team “valuable”, then the word has lost meaning.
If Vladdy and Ohtani finish the season equal in WAR (and we just assume for the moment that WAR is as accurate a measure of total statistical contribution as we can get, which it isn’t), I am of the mind that “team success” is an irrelevant tiebreaker. There are many who consider it not only a tiebreaker, but a prerequisite for consideration for an MVP vote.
Depends what you mean by valuable.
Going into 2021, who was more valuable; Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Nelson Cruz?
If you could acquire one of those two players, it’d have to be Vladdy, right? He obviously was more “Valuable” in the sense of being a more valuable player to have on your roster, given his potential, low price, etc. But if you meant 2020 performance, you clearly would have to say Cruz because he helped Minnesota win more games than Vladdy helped Toronto win games.
If you are looking at who should win the MVP Award and are saying “Valuable” has no connection at all with actually winning and losing baseball games, I’d say your definition of “Valuable” is the one that lacks meaning.
In reality, there are no winless teams, so this is irrelevant. The MVP is an individual award. We are very capable of determining individual value. I don’t see why having teammates that are better than someone else’s makes that individual more valuable.
padres in meltdown mode…wonder which ones going elsewhere in the offseason…
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/mlb-world-reacts-to-unfortunate-padres-scene/ar-AAOBAX2?ocid=winp1taskbar
It’s interesting that Yadier Molina and Ponce DeLeon also had a dugout argument and had to be separated during a Cardinals-Mets game just last week. Other than a brief mention at the time, no one made a big deal out of it, perhaps because the Cardinals were in the middle of a 3-game sweep that effectively knocked the Mets out of the wildcard race and put the Cardinals back into it.
I went to the game again yesterday. Once again, a lovely experience, though paying that much for a beer still pisses me off.
Toronto scored five runs in the first inning, so it looked like a massacre was in the works. They didn’t score again, and the Twins managed to make it respectable, getting to within 5-3 before the door was shut.
On to Tampa tonight, with Robbie Ray starting. If Ray keeps pitching well he deserves the Cy Young.
A couple weeks ago I read a column by a Chicago sportswriter who was bummed about the Cubs blowing up the team but simultaneously gloating about how the Cardinals were going to miss the playoffs too.
That appraisal seems to have been a bit premature.
Should be a great game. I’m looking forward to getting a glimpse of Shane Baz, one the top elite prospect arms in the game.
Baz looks awesome. He’s excelled in the minor this year. Throws very hard, first rate slider. He’s up against a scary lineup, but sometimes unfamiliarity with a rookie pitcher is tough for hitters to deal with.
Baz was one of the players the Rays got in exchange for Chris Archer. The other two were Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow, making that look like, increasingly, one of the biggest trade heists in recent memory.
Cards win 10th straight, but the Phillies stay within reach.
I’ll be straight: I’m loving the Cards’ run but the Dodgers and/or Giants are probably gonna make quick work of them. Obviously, with the kind of year that they’ve had, they don’t want to risk blowing it with one bad game but I think both the Giants and Dodgers have the kind of flexibility to win a critical game and a 7-game series. NL West has the two best teams in baseball that aren’t the Rays. Maybe the Brewers have a shot…maybe.
There’s a lot to be said for having three number 1 starters in the playoffs.
I mean, what’re the odds of one team winning a single game? The Cardinals are a weak team by playoff standards but they still have one chance in four, at worst. They actually have a winning record against SF/LA combined. Only 7-6, but still.
Going through the wild card game is a shame for a great team like LA or SF because it does so slash their overall chances of winning it all.
The Dodgers have two solid Cy young contenders and a third with and outside shot. According to 538 the dodgers have 5 pitchers that have performed at least as well as the brewers #3 pitcher. Though 4 of them are between worse than the #2.
NL Pitchers By WAR:
Zack Wheeler, Phillies, 6.9
Max Scherzer, Nationals/Dodgers, 6.5
Walker Buehler, Dodgers, 6.1
Brandon Woodruff, Brewers, 5.7
Wade Miley, Reds, 5.5
Corbin Burnes, Brewers, 5.5
If you’re wondering why Wheeler is ahead of Scherzer, I assume it’s because he’s pitched a lot more (he leads both leagues in innings.)
Buehler’s not been automatic his last few starts IIRC. But Scherzer’s been, well, Scherzer. Urias has been pretty nasty as well. The Dodgers have a lot of flexibility in terms of whom they can pitch and when. And it’s not like Kershaw’s been awful.
Kershaw’s been quite good. (He’s been just as good as Urias, but Urias has pitched a lot more.) When he might be your #4, that’s a superteam.
I totally wasn’t thinking here and included Bauer as a Dodgers’ pitcher. That should have been 4.
In the end, Bauer will be remembered more for his hitting than his pitching.
And his throwing – into the stands.