2011 MLB MVP Race

The MLB MVP voting time has arrived and the talks always fires people up.  Some people don’t like pitchers.  Some people don’t like voting for non-playoff team.  Some actually don’t like guys coming from stacked teams.  Some just want to look at numbers.  Some go even more in depth and looking at ball park dimensions and opponents.  There are good arguments for about 10 guys.

But.

Here’s the Tutor’s take.

1.  Pitchers have their CY Young award so I’d rather NOT vote for pitchers.

(Sorry Verlander, Weaver, and CC.)

2.  You need to have THREE of the following.

a) Over .300 average or .850 OPS

b) Both 90 Runs and 90 RBIs (sorry but that’s MVP #s)

c) One of following: 40 doubles, 10 triples, or 30 HRs (milestones)

So…who do we have in the

AL?

Jose Batista, Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Gonzalez, Jacoby Ellsbury, Curtis Granderson,  & Robinson Cano

NL?

Ryan Braun, Matt Kemp, Joey Votto, Albert Pujols, & Prince Fielder

3.   Any teams with multiple guys are to be eliminated.  The point is to find the ONE guy that if you took him away from the team, would the team really suffer?

(Sorry:  Ryan, Prince, Adrian, Jacoby, Curtis, and Robinson)

Batista vs. Cabrera

Kemp vs. Votto vs. Pujols

None of these players were on BAD teams.  It’s probably because of these guys.  If that was the case, I would probably drop them from the list.   Without these guys, their teams probably drop significantly in wins.  But which player’s disappearance drops the most. 

Cardinals went 7-7 when Pujols missed time.  They had Berkman and Holliday to carry a load.  So without Pujols, the Cardinals are just as good as Dodgers and Blue Jays, who hovered around the .500 mark.  So I’m going to eliminate Pujols, despite the fact that I think he’s the best player in the game.

Batista vs. Cabrera

This is fairly simple.  Cabrera had Verlander on his team, the AL CY Young.  He also had guys like Avila and Martinez who were very close to making the Tutor’s MVP cut. That’s not even mentioning All-Star SS, Jhonny Peralta.  Towards the end of the year, Cabby got Delmon Young (a MVP candidate last year) in front of him.  Can you even name the best Toronto player outside of Batista?

Winner:  Jose Batista

Kemp vs. Votto

This wasn’t just that simple.  The Dodgers have a CY Young themselves in Kershaw and also had the 5^th best pitching staff in the league.   Cincinnati was 12^th and you probably couldn’t name their best pitcher.   So you’re thinking, well, lock it up for Votto then, right?  Wrong.  Cincinnati had the #2 hitting in the league.  Dodgers had 10^th.  Without Votto, it’s possibly they stay in the top 10 with guys like Bruce and Phillips.  Without Matt Kemp and his Tripe Crown type numbers, the LA Dodgers would be dead last in hitting. 

Winner: Matt Kemp

NFL: Week 1 and 2 Analysis

So week 2 is concluded and there isn’t any letdown in surprises thus far this season.   Here’s my double take on the NFL thus far.

Buffalo  Bills – The Tutor’s favorite team have hopped on the Fitzpatrick train and has rode it to a 2-0 start.  The defense doesn’t look all that bad either.   Granted, Oakland and Kansas haven’t looked great but 2-0 is better than 0-2.  If they beat the Pats this week, then we can think about Playoffs.  Otherwise, I’m still thinking 5-7 wins, but at least that’s out of the Andrew Luck sweepstake.

Detroit Lions – Tutor’s other team has also begun 2-0.  This is less surprising to most folks, as many have the Lions sneaking in playoffs or getting 8 wins.  I personally thought they’d be 1-1 on the season.  However, I’m only surprised by HOW they did it….  Minnesota is next and Lions could easily be 3-0.  Green Bay-Lions-Bears are going fight to the finish.

The biggest WTF goes to the Baltimore Ravens.  How do you murder the Steelers and then lay down for the Titans?  Tutor lost a few Survivor games and a bet on that crap.  Not happy.

Even the Tutor couldn’t put up the insane Tom Brady numbers on Rookie level in Madden.  Tutor’s favorite player has MVP wrapped up unless he gets hurt.  Ochocinco’s presence, believe it or not, makes the other guys better.  Kudos to him and boo to Teddy Bruschi.

Tutor’s foot in mouth comes from Cam Newton.  I personally didn’t think he could do this well in year 1.  He held a record for a little bit until Brady dismantled it.

Another foot comes from Washington Redskin.  I personally thought they would be in the heat for Andrew Luck but a 2-0 start ruins it.  I still don’t think they are good but beating other bad teams definitely makes it harder for them to get the prized quarterback.

Jamaal Charles just ruined a lot of people’s lives….but not the Tutors.  I only own him in ONE of 12 leagues.   Vick and Romo are banged up.  Colston is out for another few weeks and Arian Foster should have shut his mouth.  Other than that, Fantasy football has run pretty smoothly.

Enjoy Week 3!  Go Bills.