MVP

I hate the BBWAA. Hate them. It always amazes me how some extremely successful baseball writers can be so clueless.

I am not upset that Jeter lost. There were arguments against Jeter. I am upset that the BBWAA decided that Justin Morneau deserved the award. He very clearly did not.

Steve Lombardi at WasWatching.com did a very good summary of why Jeter wins out on the numbers, clearly. I cannot do any better, so I might as well just link it.

Baseball writers are stupid. Well, most of them are. Some are intelligent enough to determine their feet from their hands. A few. One or two...

Sometimes I think that bloggers should determine these awards.

The knocks against Jeter for the writers:

1. Lack of home runs. He hit 14.
2. He is a Yankee

Anything else? Nope. Home runs are sexy. They are pretty damn useful too. I love home runs. If Jeter was a 1st Baseman, I would expect him to hit them. But there are other ways to contribute other than home runs.

It is really easy for a 1st baseman or designated hitter to put up good numbers. Take a look at the big three: Frank Thomas, David Ortiz, and Travis Hafner. These are big guys. Huge guys. They are able to be so damn big because they do not have to play the field. Look at Jason Giambi. He is just as big, but suffers from constant injuries due to his responsibilities in the field. Thomas, Ortiz, and Hafner are able to load up the muscle and not worry about the wear and tear of everyday playing because they are active for about 5 minutes out of a game. Oritz and Thomas got more votes than Mauer, and Hafner got a bunch too.

Jeter's position automatically makes any offense that he derives from it more valueable. If Justin Morneau went down, the Twins could fairly easily find a Travis Lee or Chris Shelton or Kevin Millar or Mike Jacobs, or David Delluci or some other scrub to hit .270/.350/.460 out of the slot. If Jeter went down? The Yankees would replace his .343/.417/.483 line with a Nick Green or Miguel Cairo or Neifi Perez or someone else who the Yankees would be lucky to get a .250/.310/.360 line out of. The downfall is significantly worse. The whole idea of replacement level derives from this concept.

Derek Jeter provides the Yankees a better competitive edge than does Justin Morneau. I could see a vote for Jermaine Dye or Joe Mauer, or even Johan Santana, but Justin Morneau is just a poor choice. Morneau's contribution is entirely offense, where he put up an excellent .321/.375/.559 line. Simply from batting lines, Jason Giambi, David Ortiz, Travis Hafner, Frank Thomas, Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, and Paul Konerko were better.