I'm Sorry, I Have to Call You Out on This One, Heyman
I don't have much time before heading out to Game 3 of the ALDS in Chicago today. But here's something that just pissed me off oh-too-much to ignore.
Jon Heyman made MVP / Cy Young picks recently.
Here are his choices for AL MVP.
1. Francisco Rodriguez, Angels. An alltime great season with a record 62 saves.
2. Carlos Quentin, White Sox. Broke his hand in a fit of anger, costing him the top spot here.
3. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox. The "jockey'' may actually win it with a scrappy attitude and solid stats (118 runs, 54 doubles).
4. Justin Morneau, Twins. Without him and his 129 RBIs, what does that lineup look like?
5. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox. The Red Sox campaign is for Pedroia, but this guy is just as pesky (.569 slugging, 115 RBIs).
6. Joe Nathan, Twins. Another great, underappreciated Twins star.
7. Joe Mauer, Twins. Great two-way catcher who won another batting title (.330) and is easily the best in his business.
8. Jermaine Dye, White Sox. Unnoticed star had a nice season.
9. Josh Hamilton, Rangers. As talented as anyone playing, including A-Rod, and 130 RBIs doesn't hurt his cause.
10. Evan Longoria, Rays. Even better, they already locked him up for six years.
Here are his choices for AL Cy Young.
1. Cliff Lee, Indians. Once-in-a-decade type season for this reclamation project (22-3, 2.54 ERA).
2. Roy Halladay, Blue Jays. The one pitcher in the league who can complete what he starts (nine complete games).
3. Francisco Rodriguez. Now holds the alltime saves record.
Let's throw out the fact that K-Rod is a completely and totally ridiculous choice for MVP. Really. We're just going to toss that part clear out the window. Possibly the craziest and stupidest thing anyone in the history of the universe has ever said, because there are at least 30 other relievers in baseball this season who could have broken the saves record playing for the Angels. (We're talking set-up men too, like Shields or Joba or Springer, or the entire Rays bullpen. Side note: Did anyone notice that this was Mariano Rivera's best season ever? That WHIP is sick!) I'm totally serious. Toss that entire bit out the motherfucking window. I will not make fun of you for saying this.
No, no. The problem I have with you, Jon Heyman, is this.
So K-Rod, whom you feel is the most valuable player in the entire American League, is only the 3rd best pitcher in the American League.
"Pitchers," for those who didn't know, are a subset of "players."
Why is the award handed out to supposedly the best player in the entire fucking American League going to a guy you feel is only the 3rd best pitcher????
Sure, Halladay and Lee are the two best "pitchers." They've racked up tons and tons of "Good Pitcher Points." But zero "Value Points". This is because Franklin Gutierrez is terrible and the Blue Jays gave Rod Barajas 102 at-bats in the #5 hole (and 9 batting cleanup!). These are the reasons that K-Rod is your MVP while being considered by Jon Heyman to be the 3rd best pitcher in the American League. (He isn't.)
There's only one way to describe this, and it's the made-up word that Larry B used > 10 times after passing out on my couch piss drunk after we went to game #163 on Tuesday.
That's "FWAP", Jon Heyman. One hundred percent grade-A FWAP!
22 comments:
Franklin Gutierrez was like a 2.0 or 2.5 WAR player this year. He's easily the best defensive right fielder in the league and would be playing center if not for Grady.
He saved about 20 runs with his glove.
I see that according to John Heyman, slugging percentage and RBIs qualify as "pesky".
I've seen this argument before. The idea behind it is that the Cy Young is for starters, because pitching well over several innings per game is a greater accomplishment than pitching well over one inning per game. A closer can be an MVP candidate though, because each time he fulfills his role he secures a win. It's a shaky argument, to be sure, but it almost sort of makes sense.
You didn't go into his NL picks, but I want to point out that Ryan Howard has a lower VORP than Derek Jeter, and until the last week of the season 5 OTHER PLAYERS ON HIS OWN TEAM.
"Justin Morneau, Twins. Without him and his 129 RBIs, what does that lineup look like?"
What would it look like? Well it would still apparently have the sixth and seventh most valuable players in the AL. Not too shabby.
bd - Actually, Gutierrez was at 3.9 WARP1 this year. +15 FRAR. Very, very good at defense. However, I actually knew that even before I made that comment, and here's why. That's totally out of line with what he's done in the past. Just ask Corey Hart how volatile fielding stats are from year to year. All I'm saying is that there's a reason that they fetched Matt LaPorta from the Brewers....
tonus - Excellent catch in re: pesky.
venezuelan beaver cheese - No, it doesn't make sense. I mean when you phrase it the way you did, yeah, it almost sort of makes sense. But it still doesn't quite make sense. Cliff Lee for MVP baby!
citizenx - Funny you mention that. I've actually had a lot of Phillies-related arguments recently, in which I proclaimed vehemently how not-that-good Ryan Howard was this year. Thanks for your great service, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Pat Burrell, and Cole Hamels. We'll reward you by letting you watch us give the MVP to Ryan Howard. And if anyone thinks that VORP is unfair to Howard because the offensive bar is so high there, consider this: The man leading the world in VORP is a first baseman.
(If anyone but Pujols wins the NL MVP, the award should be disbanded.)'
Oops! I forgot Jamie Moyer!
Yeah, I know how volatile fielding stats can be. But Gutierrez is legit. He was +9 runs last year in only 100 games. He's really good in the field.
Which metric you using bd? BP's FRAA had him only at +1 in 2007
Also, I made a typo above. Gutierrez is at +15 FRAA this season, not FRAR.
We're talking a 14-run jump.
Zone Rating seems to think the same thing. Frankie was at .955 this season, easily the best mark of anyone who logged > 600 innings. In 2007, he was a more pedestrian .908 (.021 behind Sammy Sosa!). I'll certainly concede that he's a good glove man, but I'm betting against another double-digit positive FRAA season next year, if only because only the true greats are able to string together seasons like that with a measure of consistency. Like I said, there's a reason the Indians traded for Matt LaPorta.
LaPorta projects as a 1B/DH. He plays defense with a brick on his left hand.
I'd say Garko being Garko has more to do with the trade for LaPorta, not to mention Hafner potentially being done as a useful player.
As a Reds fan living in Cleveland, I've seen Gut enough to know I want the Reds to trade for him and move him to centerfield. A smart team would try that. Sadly, the Reds do not qualify.
Normally, Garko is acceptable for a 1B. Not a star, but acceptable. The down year is concerning though. As for the whole DH idea, that depends on the Indians's willingness to accept Hafner's contract as a sunk cost (which is feasible).
But you're right though, LaPorta was always a 1B. The Brewers just wanted their wet dream of starting LaPorta, Braun, and the CF-capable Hart without doing so at the expense of Prince Fielder. LaPorta's defense is very bad, no question, but if you give the Indians a choice between starting that dismal glove / promising bat guy and the great glove / negative VORP guy, guess which one they'll pick.
bd:
Sure, he's good with a glove, but since he's such a zero at the plate!
I might make a few calls about FG if I were Jocketty, but I don't think I would trade much of real value.
I'm hoping Stubbs pans out.
Glad to know another Reds fan reads us!
http://www.pointsincase.com/blogs/xavier-holland/bizarre-and-inane-sports-ramblings
I wrote about this on my blog, but I'm not done ranting.
Seriously, there is really no defense for Ryan Howard as MVP.
Say you have to pick a player from a playoff team. Not really fair, but I'll grant you that.
Now, say it has to be a division winner. You're kind of strict, but, I'm feeling avuncular. Have at it.
Say you're a huge Phillie homer, and you can't imagine anybody else being valuable. Whatever. I'll indulge.
Now say, even more, that you hate A-rod (and god, who doesn't), and couldn't bear to pick a player from the left side of the infield.
RYAN HOWARD WOULD STILL NOT BE THE BEST PICK. HE'S NOT EVEN THE BEST PLAYER IN HIS DIVISION ON HIS TEAM ON HIS SIDE OF THE INFIELD IF I DON'T STOP YELLING I MIGHT BURST SOMETHING.
Ahem.
So yeah, if Chase Utley got it, it would raise my brow, but at least he's probably the most derserving playoff-bound candidate.
I'm an Indians fan, and I'd rather see Choo/Fransisco in right and LaPorta in left than Gutierrez anywhere. I like him; he's a real nice, unassuming character, and yes, he has a hell of a glove. Matt LaPorta (by all accounts) will hit 35-40 HRs a year for $400K. I like Frankie, but he's a 5th outfielder for Cleveland if you want my opinion.
BTW...as far as Garko goes, I think he's about done. Move Victor to 1B and let Shoppach catch full time. He's shown he can be pretty darn good playing a full year behind the dish.
I also love that 7/10 of his picks come from the Twins, White Sox and Red Sox.
And that's still not the most egregious thing about this article.
When did I say FWAP and what did I define it as at the time? I need to understand my past so as to not repeat my mistakes in the future.
Also, let me make the Billy Madison distinction that I did not "pass out" that night on your couch, I "fell asleep."
Also, I hope you meant I used it > 10 times BEFORE falling asleep, not after. Because if it was after... I have a whole lot of problems that I previously knew nothing about.
I hate to say it, Larry, but it was after. Once Upon a Tuesday Couch, I tried to bring you into some state of consciousness about an hour after you initially fell asleep (this took plenty of loud "LARRY"s and leg slapping) to remind you that you had to be someplace early the next morning. The only response that was elicited was the word "FWAP!" Each time you said it, you would hit the couch semi-violently with your arm. Questions to the effect of "what does 'FWAP!' mean" were responded to with more FWAPing. Eventually, I gave up and just told you to let me know if you were going to leave so I could lock the door (to this you replied with a friendly "thumbs up" and a smile). As one might imagine, you never decided to cordially define this word for me at any point in the process. And we all lived confusedly ever after. The End.
Alright, I'll say it.
Barry Lee + Master pnoles > KT + Junior.
Also,
(Dak * Chart - danbob)/PA-HBP = VORP + grittiness.
Also...there needs to be a FWAP label.
I have as much of an explanation for FWAP now as I did then, I guess. What the hell was I thinking? I made it to my early morning appointment on Wednesday just fine, FWIW. That'll happen when you fall asleep at 10:30 and only sleep 6 hours a night.
andy - I'm in your camp, and good point about moving Francisco or Choo to right. LaPorta playing left field instead eases the defensive burden, if only a little.
citizenx - I tried to prove your second theorem but got lost, mainly because I started with an equation that contained "Murbles" and didn't get "Murbles" to cancel out along the way. You must be a mathematical god.
larry - Great to hear you were on time and that we're as far on the FWAP! issue as we'll ever be. Next up: we dissect why I burst out of my room in a panic at 3:00 AM that night just because I heard Larry gargling in the bathroom.
Post a Comment