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Firstly… I would like to apologize for our recent absence here at the Shockey Brigade. I can’t speak for my fellow brigaders ( brigadees?), but I am just now coming out of the catatonic state that befell me upon Shockey’s departure from my beloved Giants. Thankfully, a week 1 victory, and the emergence of the Metropolitans has revived me, and as I see my man David is back posting, I too am back (with a vengeance). Today’s topic is in regards to the National League MVP race. More specifically we will be discussing Carlos Delgado, and just how deserving (or undeserving as the case may be) he is of the award.

The race, as I see it, boils down to the following candidates, based on sheer numbers (in no particular order, not including Delgad0)

1. Matthew Holliday (.326/.414/.551 - 24 HR, 81 RBI, 25SB)
2. Hanley Ramirez (.295/.393/.525 - 29 HR, 64 XBH, 31 SB)
3. Chase Utley (.289/.378/.537 - 31 HR, 93 RBI)
4. Ryan “Moses” Braun (.293/.343/.576 - 34 HR, 96 RBI, 77 XBH)
5. Albert Pujols (.361/.467/.655 - 33 HR, 98 RBI)
6. Carsten Charles Sabathia (9-0, 1.42 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 94 k’s in 95 IP)
7. Lance Berkman (.331/.433/ .603 - 28 HR, 100 RBI , 77 XBH)
8. David Wright (.291/ .380/ .513 - 27 HR, 106 RBI)
9. Ryan Howard (.241/ .328/ .514 - 42 HR, 126 RBI)
10. Jose Barnabe “Jesus” Reyes (.300/ .359/ .478 - 65 XBH, 47 SB)

(apologies to Ryan Ludwick, Carlos Beltran, and Aramis Ramirez)

…Now, before we discuss Carlos’ candidacy, let’s discuss some of these other smokers, jokers, and mediocres.

First… the mediocres. Basically, these are guys that are in the discussion, but that’s where it ends. :

Ryan Howard: I felt I had to include him because he leads the known universe in the two sexiest categories for a hitter: Dingers, and (as Keith Hernandez would say) Rib-eye Steaks. Aside from that though, his numbers are just plain ugly. Basically, when the guy swings, he either hits it out of the park (42 HR), or misses the ball completely (189 k’s). And, for such a “dangerous” hitter, he rarely walks, and is abysmal against lefties (.686 OPS in 221 AB)… Such a one-dimensional player cannot win this award

Verdict: STRIKE OUT

David Wright and Chase Utley: These two players have strikingly similar statistics and have had eerily similar seasons. They both play for contending teams, and without a doubt have put up numbers to at least be mentioned in this discussion. Yet, both of them did the majority of their damage early in the season, and here, in the second week of September have tailed off slightly. Both great players. Both indispensable to their respective teams. But, both just slightly off the pace, compared to what else is out there.

Verdict: ELIMINATED

Now on to the Jokers. Named as such because they tease us. Also known as the “close but no cigar” division :

C.C. Sabathia: If this were a conversation about the Cy Young, maybe… maybe… he’d have a shot. But, it is not. It takes a lot to win this award as a pitcher, and at the very least, it takes an entire season in the league. He has been shut-down, lights-out, filth-nasty, crazy-silly, mad-ill-funkshiznictified, but he just cannot win this award.

Verdict: NO MVP, BUT ENJOY THE PAY DAY

Matt Holliday: What is there to say about Matty Holliday. The guy can play ball. He can carry fantasy teams, if not real teams for weeks on end. He is bald, beautiful and lovin’ it. Unfortunately for him, though, his team is under .500 with no miracle September winning streak in site. The “V” in “MVP” has to count for something, otherwise it would be called the Most Bestest Player award.

Verdict: STAY IN COLORADO

Hanley Ramirez: If he were competing for the MBP, he would have as good a shot as Holliday, probably better. He continues to improve each year, and this year he has put up ridiculous numbers (even though he has inexplicably been in the leadoff spot all year - another story for another day) . And even though the Marlins did compete for most of the year, they will finish in 3rd place in the NL East, and even farther out of the Wild Card.

Verdict: YOUR DAY WILL COME

Lance Berkman: To round out our trio of “if only he played for a better team” players, Lance Berkman lit the world on fire the 1st three months of the season and has sustained his excellent play to make his line look very impressive for the year. Now… should the Astros continue their run, and make, or even challenge for the playoffs, you have to give Berkman some consideration here. With Carlos Lee injured, and the rest of the lineup (if not team as a whole) uninspiring, you have to give the guy ops-ing over 1.000 a good look here.           

Verdict: Stay Tuned… but probably… ELIMINATED (DUN DUN DUUUUUN)

Jose Jose Jose Jose… Jose… Jose: As much as I love the guy, I can’t put him any higher than a Joker. I think he will garner a lot of votes, and I think he deserves a lot. But I can’t see him finishing any higher than 4th. Being a Mets fan, I may have him a little high, but I watch Jose every day. He makes the Mets go. End of story. Without him at his best, they’d do something crazy like blow a 7.5 game lead with 17 to play. A couple reasons I have to knock him down: He hasn’t walked nearly as much as he needs to… especially as a leadoff guy. His OBP needs to be higher than the .360 it’s hovered at most of the year. Secondly, it’s debatable whether or not he’s the MVP of his own team. Normally I would argue that unequivocally Jose is the MVP of the Mets, but as I will soon discuss, this year, I don’t find it to be so.

Verdict: DIVINE… BUT COULD BE MORE VALUABLE

…which brings us to… the smokers. These are guys that I believe have a legit shot of winning this award. Smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em:

Ryan Braun: Things he has going for him: He is the best player on a probable-playoff team. He is top 5 in the league in HR, XBH and slugging despite missing some time due to injury. He is top 10 in the league in OPS, hits, and RBI. Without him, the Brewers would not make the playoffs. What he has going against him: He does not walk. His .343 OBP is the lowest of any of the aforementioned candidates. His OPS is on par with Chase Utley and Hanley Ramirez, and lower than Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman. I think he is a very strong candidate, but I don’t think he quite makes it.

Verdict: BEST JEW IN TOWN

Alber Pujols: Silly. This guy, I’m convinced, is not human. I’m supposed to believe that, with no elbow, he is hitting .938 and leading the NL or top 5 in virtually every meaningful category, and he’s still human? Not buyin’ it. Regardless, I will rate him as if he were a human… He ranks 1st in Avg, OBP, and slugging. He ranks 2nd in walks, 5th in HR, and 10th in RBI. He has struck out only 48 times in 466 ABs. He’s on pace for over 100 runs scored and almost 200 hits. There really is nothing bad to say about Big Al. The only thing is that his team will in all likelihood fall short of the playoffs. Yet, you can hardly blame Pujols. In fact, with such a shaky pitching staff (particularly bullpen) , he is arguably the only reason they remain in contention.

Verdict: LEGIT

So where, in all of this, does Carlos Delgado fall? First, let’s discuss the season he has had. He is currently hitting .264, with a .349 OBP and slugging .515. He has 35 HR and 104 RBI. Good numbers, yes, but are they MVP worthy? Compared to some of the numbers these other guys have put up, he seems like a no-brainer to not even come close. Yet, his team is in first place, currently 3.5 games ahead of the Phillies. He is single-handedly winning games for the Mets when they need them most. He is, without question, the most important player on a first place team, that is playing it’s best ball in August and September. It is no coincidence that the Mets turned around their play when Delgado started hitting. It is a coincidence that that happened to take place around the same time Willie Randolph was fired. He has had 7 multi-HR games this season. He has 68 RBI in his last 66 games. In that span he has 24 HR. In that span his OPS is 1.104, and is OBP is .449. Granted, this is just an arbitrary date in a long season, but the fact remains that he has had sustained excellence over the last 2.5 months, and is a very large reason for the Mets being in position to win the NL East.
 
So, the question then becomes, can someone win the MVP by basically throwing out the first half of their season, and carrying a team on his back in the second half? If we judge Delgado on his season as a whole, I see no way he can win this award. Yet, clearly if we judge him on the stretch drive alone, his numbers are better than Pujols’ and he’s doing it for a first place team. Personally, I think he has to get strong consideration. He has legitimzed the lineup of a team with a very weak bullpen, and an inconsistent rotation. In doing so, he has made the Mets a threat in a National League that has no real dominating team. With all this being said, here would be my top 10 for the NL MVP if I ruled the world:            

• 10. Chase Utley
• 9. Aramis Ramirez (just because someone from the best team in the league has to be in there)
• 8. David Wright
• 7. Matt Holliday
• 6. Jose Reyes
• 5. Hanley Ramirez
• 4. Lance Berkman
• 3. Ryan Braun
• 2. Carlos Delgado
• 1. Albert Pujols

I think, in the end, Pujols has to win. His numbers are just way too good across the board, and he did it for an entire season. While you certainly can reward Delgado for his play at the end of this season, I don’t think you can penalize Pujols for it, when he has done it all year for a contending team. Carlos just has too much going against him. Not only was he asleep for the first two months of the season, but he has two other legitimate MVP candidates on his own team (and Beltran aint too shabby either). I just think the cards are stacked against him at this point. Now, if he scorches the ball for the next couple of weeks and hits, say, 5 more HR and 15 more RBI- finishes somewhere around .275, 40 HR, 120 RBI… I think he has a very good case, and might even argue that he deserves to win. Hell, crazier things have happened… Jimmy Rollins won it last year.

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Despite the opinion of some in the media that the Patriots would struggle to rebound from their Super Bowl letdown, before Sunday they were the odds on favorite to win the Vince Lombardi trophy, again. This standing at the top of the league was shattered half way into the fist quarter of yesterday’s game. The Patriots have yet to disclose Tom Brady’s injury other than to note that he will have season ending surgery on his left knee (Don’t expect a full explanation ever).

My initial reaction was to send a text to my brother saying “season’s over” but the more I think about it the more I like the Patriots chances to compete this year. That’s not to say that they will be as good as they would have with Tom Brady, but I think Matt Cassel has the potential to hold his own as an NFL quarterback based upon his time in the system, his obvious talent (Belichick never would have kept him around if he was completely useless), and the plethora of weapons surrounding him. As a Pats fan I’m devastated that we are going to miss a year of the greatest quarterback of all time’s prime, but I want to be on record as not having given up on this season.

Unless Cassel is completely lost on the field, even without Brady the Patriots are the best team in the AFC East. One reason for this is that they have genuine talent from top to bottom on their roster, another is that the other three teams in the division are not really that good, and finally their schedule is absurdly easy. Buffalo may take a step forward this year, but they do not have the depth to survive the inevitable injuries that come with a 16 game season. The Dolphins are rebuilding, and the Jets are grossly overrated, even St. Brett will not be able to overcome their mediocrity. While its an imperfect measure, if you take the top-10 players in The AFC East, sans Brady, six are still on the Patriots.

1. Randy Moss
2. Vince Wilfork
3. Richard Seymour
4. Adalius Thomsa
5. Kerry Rhodes
6. Logan Mankins
7. Marshaun Lynch
8. Jason Peters
9. Ty Warren
10. Brett Favre (funny irrelevant stat of the week: career QB rating for Brett Favre: 85.7/ career QB rating for Matt Cassel: 85.8)

Honorable Mention: Alan Faneca, Dan Koppen, Wes Welker, Lee Evans, Thomas Jones

In terms of the Super Bowl, I think the Brady injury catapults Dallas to favorites, with San Diego, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh close behind. Obviously the result of the Patriots’ season will be in large part decided by Matt Cassel’ level of competence, but the team is so talented as long as he can perform at a Chad Pennington/JP Losman level, they may be able to exploit some of the Colts or Chargers’ deficiencies in the playoffs.

The silver lining for this season is that it has the potential to be a supremely enjoyable team to cheer for. The problem with supporting an all time great team is that you expect the team to win every week, and by the end of each game all you are able to feel is relief (don’t worry I wont ask for your pity). My hope is that this team can start playing the no-respect / underdog card again while upsetting some teams and some expectations along the way.

My prediction: 10-6 AFC East Champs.

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