Some Late November Baseball Thoughts, Among Other Things
Posted by The Sultan on November 18, 2008
Welcome back. We’re a day closer to Thanksgiving, which excites The Sultan. The die-hard house decorators are excited because we are one day closer to Christmas. This disappoints The Sultan. At least wait until your turkey digests after Thanksgiving. Before too long it seems that Christmas trees will be sold after the 4th of July.
For the nonchalant fans, you may not be aware that this is award season for “The Show” (to quote my man Kevin Costner). Gold Glove winners have been announced, and the AL and NL Cy Young Award winners were announced last week. Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians was the American League winner. Great choice. Not only should he be the Cy Young winner, but the comeback player of the year as well. He went from a struggling minor league pitcher to a 22 game winner in the Bigs. Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants won the NL Cy Young. The 2nd year hurler had a great year as well.
This brings us to the MVP’s of the league. The National League recipient was announced yesterday. The winner was Albert Puljous of the St. Louis Cardinals. This is the 2nd time Big Al has won the award. Puljous is a great 1st baseman and an asset to the world of baseball. But, his selection as the National League MVP makes The Sultan question the true definition of the award. MVP stands for “Most Valuable Player”, and should go to the player “most valuable” to his team. While Puljous hit for .357 this season, with 116 RBI’s and 37 long balls, he was not the MVP. He had a great year, but was not most valuable to his team. If the Baseball Writers of America continue to give the award based on pure statistics, they should rename it to be the MOP (Most Outstanding Player). If you really want to give the award to the most valuable player on their respective team, look at the other candidates.
Ryan Howard did not have as good a year statistically, but was a major asset to the Phillies. Their postseason run might not have been possible if Howard would not have been as productive as he was in September. The Subway man jacked 11 long ones in that month which propelled the Phillies to a postseason birth. Even though he slumped in the first two rounds of the playoffs, he came alive in the Fall Classic and was a huge part to their victory. He was valuable to the team.
Manny Ramirez truly defined the award of MVP this year. Although The Sultan is still upset with Man-Ram for the way he treated the BoSox this year, he sparked the Dodgers into a playoff power from a mediocre ball club. He was only with the team for 2 months, but without him the Dodgers would have never made the postseason, let alone the NLCS. He was the “Most Valuable” player for Los Angeles by far. If you go by the definition of the award, he should have received the hardware yesterday afternoon.
Today the American League MVP will be awarded. This is a wide open race that’s fit for great debates. There could be 7 people receiving first places votes ranging from the smallest player in baseball, to a former drug addict, to the best closer in the game. The Sultan believes that this award will come down to Francisco Rodriguez and Dustin Pedroia. K-Rod (Francisco Rodriguez) was the MVP of the Angels, hands down. By saving an unprecedented 62 saves in 69 opportunities, he was the glue in Anaheim. Without being that productive, the Angels would not have had the great season that they put together. He is deserving of the award, but it’s rare that a closer will gain the proper amount of votes.
The Sultan thinks that Dustin Pedroia will be your AL MVP for 2008. His career has always defied the odds, and he will have to defy more odds to win the award today. No 2nd baseman has won the MVP since Nellie Fox in 1959. Pedroia is the smallest man in baseball, measuring up at 5′ 8″. There is no doubt he was the backbone to the Red Sox lineup in 2008. Even though he lacked power (only 17 home runs), he led the league with 54 doubles and tied for the lead in hits with 213. Here’s the stat that makes him the MVP: Pedroia hit .353 in tie games and ,340 in games the Sox were ahead or behind by one run. He is Mr. Clutch. Look back at the Red Sox’s season and Pedroia always came through with the big hit at the right time. He had a .376 On Base Percentage and is arguably the best 2-strike hitter in baseball. You heard it here first: Dustin Pedroia will be the American League MVP.
In baskeball news, VMI (The Virginia Military Institue for those questioning) beat Kentucky in Rupp Arena this weekend. Last year the Wildcats lost to Gardner-Webb to start the year, this year it’s VMI. Uh oh. The loss to the Keydets overshadowed the debut of Kentucky’s new unis. Much like UCLA’s golden C last year (to mark the school’s 100 national championships), the Wildcats will have a black K on their jerseys. This is a tribute to former equipment manager Bill Keightley who died earlier this year. That’s not all for Kentucky this year. Their uni design is a shout-out to horse legend Secretariat. For those who remember, Secretariat’s blinkers and jockey silks were a blue and white checkerboard pattern. The Wildcat’s jerseys have this pattern in a subtle form. Don’t wreak havoc yet, it’s not very noticeable from a long distance. To top it off, the checkerboard pattern on the waistband features the program’s 7 national titles. The 8th square is blank for motivation, and Lord knows they need it.
More uni changes in the basketball world.
Alabama old and new. The Sultan’s grade: A+
Maryland old and new. Nice work accenting the Maryland state flag. The Sultan’s grade: B
Memphis got rid of the awful striping. Old and new. The Sultan’s grade: A
Oklahoma State. Old and new. The shorts are way too baggy. Grade: C+
Oregon. There is no point in showing the awful unis that Oregon debut over and over again. At least you can read the football uniforms. This year the unreadable type is featured on green and white unis too. The Sultan’s grade: F. To make it worse, the Ducks will field a baseball team next season for the first time in decades. It’s tough to mess up a baseball uni right? Wrong.
Kansas State has new alternates. Ouch.
Virginia old and new. Much cleaner. Grade: A
Virginia Tech. Don’t have a picture of the old version, but the new version is nice. Grade: A
Now some select Nike teams have their own sneakers. Everyday is Christmas.
Finally, why in the world would you start a game at midnight?? That’s what happened with Memphis and UMass last night, featuring Calipari’s new and old teams. It tipped off after the MNF game, and was the kickoff to ESPN’s College Basketball Tip-Off Marathon. The Sultan sure didn’t watch the game. The only people who watched were the Memphis faithful in attendance. Ridiculous.
Keep it in the shortgrass…
-The Sultan
