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On the DH, the MVP, and Bad Ad-Libs
Oct. 1st, 2005 02:40 amThe last shall be first:
The Yankees were not supposed to lose tonight. Suckass wusses, losing to Boston; that was definitely not in the script!
And back to the top:
I hated the designated hitter when the rule was introduced. I thought then, and still think, that it diminishes the beauty of the game by removing two players from the requirement to play both ends of the game (in the field and hitting). It rips big holes in the strategy of the game (do you pinch-hit for the pitcher? Does this guy have to come out in the late innings of a close game for a defensive replacement?). But, in the years it's been in force, I have learned to live with it, at least. (Which is more than I will ever be able to say about in-season interleague play, which irremediably devalues the World Series with every unhealthy, unworthy interleague game. But that's another rant.) It provides two different sorts of baseball, and perhaps even enhances the World Series by pitting the offensive AL vs the balanced NL.
Which leads inevitably, this year, to this:
There's a huge debate raging over who the AL MVP should be. There are two frontrunners: Alex Rodriguez, 3B/NY Yankees, and David Ortiz, DH/Boston Red Sox.
My opinion is that a DH must be head and shoulders above everyone else to compensate for the fact that he contributes zero toward the team for most of nine innings. Ortiz is in approximately that position this year. Gods know, without him they're maybe an above average team, but nowhere near as good as they are with him. But he still only contributes four, or maybe five times per game, and only in one direction.
If the Yankees win, on the other hand, Rodriguez (whose hitting stats are comparable to Ortiz's, with the notable edge going to Ortiz in the category of "critical hits" -- the ones that put his team ahead in the late innings or won the game outright) has the field in his favor. He's a Gold Glove caliber fielder, and there's no doubt that he's saved numerous runs and games for his team. He's a complete player, and in many (most) years, he'd be the MVP without doubt. While there's no way to prove it, I believe that the number of games he's won, or permitted the Yankees to win, with his glove, is at leat equal to the difference in critical hits between the two.
As of this moment, their teams are tied. With two games to go in the season, they're neck and neck. It's almost a lock that whoever wins the division will lock up the MVP vote for their candidate.
Oh, for a figurative guillotine with a special invitation for Big Papi...
The Yankees were not supposed to lose tonight. Suckass wusses, losing to Boston; that was definitely not in the script!
And back to the top:
I hated the designated hitter when the rule was introduced. I thought then, and still think, that it diminishes the beauty of the game by removing two players from the requirement to play both ends of the game (in the field and hitting). It rips big holes in the strategy of the game (do you pinch-hit for the pitcher? Does this guy have to come out in the late innings of a close game for a defensive replacement?). But, in the years it's been in force, I have learned to live with it, at least. (Which is more than I will ever be able to say about in-season interleague play, which irremediably devalues the World Series with every unhealthy, unworthy interleague game. But that's another rant.) It provides two different sorts of baseball, and perhaps even enhances the World Series by pitting the offensive AL vs the balanced NL.
Which leads inevitably, this year, to this:
There's a huge debate raging over who the AL MVP should be. There are two frontrunners: Alex Rodriguez, 3B/NY Yankees, and David Ortiz, DH/Boston Red Sox.
My opinion is that a DH must be head and shoulders above everyone else to compensate for the fact that he contributes zero toward the team for most of nine innings. Ortiz is in approximately that position this year. Gods know, without him they're maybe an above average team, but nowhere near as good as they are with him. But he still only contributes four, or maybe five times per game, and only in one direction.
If the Yankees win, on the other hand, Rodriguez (whose hitting stats are comparable to Ortiz's, with the notable edge going to Ortiz in the category of "critical hits" -- the ones that put his team ahead in the late innings or won the game outright) has the field in his favor. He's a Gold Glove caliber fielder, and there's no doubt that he's saved numerous runs and games for his team. He's a complete player, and in many (most) years, he'd be the MVP without doubt. While there's no way to prove it, I believe that the number of games he's won, or permitted the Yankees to win, with his glove, is at leat equal to the difference in critical hits between the two.
As of this moment, their teams are tied. With two games to go in the season, they're neck and neck. It's almost a lock that whoever wins the division will lock up the MVP vote for their candidate.
Oh, for a figurative guillotine with a special invitation for Big Papi...
