He has a funny-sounding last name, but Albert Pujols is a damn good baseball player. He won his second MVP today, and deservedly so. A buddy asked me if Pujols should have won the award. There is discussion from time to time of whether players on non-playoff teams should be considered. Of course, the answer is YES!
It seems that in leagues like the NBA, a player must be on a top two or three team in his conference to get serious consideration. In MLB, a player can win it even if his team finishes fourth in their division.
Pujols has MVP-like numbers (.357/.462/.653, 44 2B, 37 HR, 116 RBI), and along with his truly outstanding defense, it is easy to make the case that Pujols was more valuable to the Cardinals' 86 wins than Ryan Howard (the second-place finisher) was to the Phillies' 92 wins and World Series crown.
Let's just hope Pujols heals correctly from elbow surgery this off-season and is back in the St. Louis lineup on Opening Day.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Yanks overbid? Say it ain't so
Let's all welcome Doug Melvin to the modern world. The general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers stated last week that the Yankees were "overbidding" in their attempt to sign free agent starting pitcher CC Sabathia. Right, because it is so out of the ordinary for the Yankees to overbid on players.
Melvin obviously is invested in Sabathia's free agent negotiations since Melvin himself presented Sabathia with his first contract offer this off-season: a five year deal totaling $100 million, some major cheddar from a mid-market team in Wisconsin. But Melvin doesn't understand why the Yanks don't offer Sabathia just $110 million, instead of the reported $140 million or so they did offer. Who's the cheesehead now?
Firstly, why is Melvin surprised that the Yanks offered Sabathia so much more money? The franchise has spent gobs of money on free agents during the George Steinbrenner Era, dating back to the late 70s. It was widely reported that the Yanks would offer Sabathia a contract 30 to 40 percent higher than any other team. If the $140 million is true, then that would represent a 40 percent increase over the Brewers' offer, the only other official contract on the table.
Secondly, Sabathia has stated he has two glaring preferences: to stay in the National League (where he can hit, and, presumably, face lighter-hitting offenses), and to play in California. Considering the Yanks play in the American League and along the East Coast, there has to be something else they can offer which make up for their not meeting the lefty's two preferences. In their case, it's to bring an extra briefcase of money to the table. Money talks, the Yanks have lots of it and why should they be ashamed?
To suggest that they should offer Sabathia just $10 million more than the Brewers is an ignorant and almost amateurish way of looking at the situation. Nobody will confuse Melvin with the word "savvy." If he's frustrated that the Yanks can offer so much more money than his team, well, join the club. That's why the Red Sox owners labeled the Yanks the Evil Empire.
But the Yankees are doing what they have to do to stay in negotiations with a player whom they want. Now maybe Melvin is just trying to play mind games with the Bombers. It's difficult to fathom a MLB general manager truly feeling surprised that the Yanks, the richest team in American sports, would spend more money than other teams to get the player they want. That's how the world works, and a man who is glued in to the infrastructure of MLB should've seen this offer coming from a mile away.
Melvin obviously is invested in Sabathia's free agent negotiations since Melvin himself presented Sabathia with his first contract offer this off-season: a five year deal totaling $100 million, some major cheddar from a mid-market team in Wisconsin. But Melvin doesn't understand why the Yanks don't offer Sabathia just $110 million, instead of the reported $140 million or so they did offer. Who's the cheesehead now?
Firstly, why is Melvin surprised that the Yanks offered Sabathia so much more money? The franchise has spent gobs of money on free agents during the George Steinbrenner Era, dating back to the late 70s. It was widely reported that the Yanks would offer Sabathia a contract 30 to 40 percent higher than any other team. If the $140 million is true, then that would represent a 40 percent increase over the Brewers' offer, the only other official contract on the table.
Secondly, Sabathia has stated he has two glaring preferences: to stay in the National League (where he can hit, and, presumably, face lighter-hitting offenses), and to play in California. Considering the Yanks play in the American League and along the East Coast, there has to be something else they can offer which make up for their not meeting the lefty's two preferences. In their case, it's to bring an extra briefcase of money to the table. Money talks, the Yanks have lots of it and why should they be ashamed?
To suggest that they should offer Sabathia just $10 million more than the Brewers is an ignorant and almost amateurish way of looking at the situation. Nobody will confuse Melvin with the word "savvy." If he's frustrated that the Yanks can offer so much more money than his team, well, join the club. That's why the Red Sox owners labeled the Yanks the Evil Empire.
But the Yankees are doing what they have to do to stay in negotiations with a player whom they want. Now maybe Melvin is just trying to play mind games with the Bombers. It's difficult to fathom a MLB general manager truly feeling surprised that the Yanks, the richest team in American sports, would spend more money than other teams to get the player they want. That's how the world works, and a man who is glued in to the infrastructure of MLB should've seen this offer coming from a mile away.
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