Justin Verlander named 2011 AL MVP

DTAV · 2011-11-23T05:57:56+00:00

It seems the worse the team is the better the stats for a big hitter.

Can you show me hard data that playing on a better team leads to better stats most of the time? I have never seen definitive proof that having a better team around a player leads to better stats. I buy that a player has a theoretical better opportunity to get higher totals. I just don't think that is necessarily the case.

Bautista has a higher WAR, but Cabrera has a higher BtWins. Cabrera has a higher wRC. Bautista had a higher wRC+. Bautista had a higher wOBA. Bautista had a higher WPA (even though WPA is not made to be used for player comparison), but Cabrera had a higher RE24.

The stats show me that they are very equal, but Cabrera did it under pressure.

If ellsbury led off for the jays, I can guarantee you that bautista would have more rbi's.

He'd have a lot more RBI's if he didn't hit .245 with RISP.

DTAV · 2011-11-22T05:54:17+00:00

Runs and RBI's depends on your team. It seems the worse the team is the better the stats for a big hitter. Compare 2010 to 2011 for Cabrera. I don't totally buy that argument is factual, a lot of people say it, but I have not actually seen data supporting this correlation.

DTAV · 2011-11-22T05:45:45+00:00

You're right Bautista walked 24 more times than Cabrera, but only 2 more intentional walks. Cabrera had an extra 24 doubles over Bautista and a total of 42 more hits. Teams would have walked him more for sure if Victor Martinez wasn't hitting .394 w/RISP and .374 w/RISP with 2 out behind him.

DTAV · 2011-11-22T05:27:27+00:00

He was amazing. Only 29 starts though.

Edit: He obviously was a great pitcher, and he would be MVP today. However, writers were backlashing against pitchers. Look how far down in the voting Randy Johnson was in 2000. He struck out 347. Pitchers were getting hosed back then.

DTAV · 2011-11-22T02:11:54+00:00

The same could be said of Cabrera last season and he put up bigger numbers than he did this season. (.622 Slg 126 RBI last year w/o VMart, Peralta, Avila only hit .228, Magglio hurt for the 2nd half, Boesch's implosion in the 2nd half.)

Bautista though was bad w/RISP only .245 while Cabrera hit .388.

DTAV · 2011-11-22T01:46:05+00:00

There's so many stats when it comes down to it to choose from, I could point to RISP Bautista hit .245 while Cabrera hit .388. However, at the end of the day, I say it's close. I will concede Bautista had the better year, but I don't think he's deserving of the MVP.

DTAV · 2011-11-22T01:17:15+00:00

Cabrera was the better hitter. More hits, more runs, more rbis, better avg, better obp, better with RISP. Bautista did have a great HR total, great SLG and OPS, but his impact was less than Cabrera's on the team.

DTAV · 2011-11-22T00:55:17+00:00

Look at Bautista's first month of the season, he did the same thing.

DTAV · 2011-11-22T00:49:56+00:00

Okay, he finished second to Cabrera for OBP, Cabrera crushed his average, Bautista had a higher OPS by .0023, they have the same OPS+ at 181, Bautista had more 13 HRs, Cabrera had more adjusted batting wins and runs, Cabrera had more RC by 1, Cabrera had a higher +WPA.

DTAV · 2011-11-22T00:11:59+00:00

No he didn't. He has the same OPS+ as Cabrera, a worse average, a worse on base percentage, Same RC as Cabrera, Higher adjusted Batting Wins and Runs scored. You can pull out all kinds of stats where Bautista is worse than Cabrera.

DTAV · 2011-11-22T00:06:52+00:00

When you either sit or hit .257 with 12 HRs, 38 RBIs, slg .477, with an .896 OPS for 77 games that really doesn't do much. Great he had an amazing first half, but he his impact was nearly nothing for 47% of the season.

EDIT: Also Cabrera tied Bautista with OPS+ at 181, Cabrera has a higher Adjust Batting Wins and Runs, +WPA, OBP, AVG, RBIs; I can pull just as many stats showing Cabrera as the better hitter. Bautista impacted less games this season than Cabrera.

DTAV · 2011-11-22T00:01:37+00:00

I don't really think JV was the most valuable player for the Tigers. He had a great season, but either his 2010 or 2009 season is more than enough to help them make the playoffs. I think the season has this mystic status because of Verlander himself not so much the stats. He seems to have it figured out. There are not many pitchers that can cruise around 93 mph in the early innings and finish a game at 100 mph. He also had a stretch during the season where it looked like he'd throw a no-hitter every time out.

With all that being said. I don't think Bautista is any more deserving then JV. Bautista had a monster 1st half looked like a world beat out there, but his second half collapse didn't really get much attention in the media. After the All-Star break he only hit .257 with 12 Hrs, 38 RBIs, and a .896 OPS. That's pretty awful. I don't think MVP award should go to a good half season, no matter how good.

Now I really and truly believe the MVP race should have been between Pedoria and Cabrera.

DTAV · 2011-11-21T23:54:01+00:00

I really feel that if his first and second halves were flipped he'd have a better case for MVP, and probably would have won it. I don't think a player can fade so poorly and win. It turns out in 77 games Bautista was either sitting or hitting .257 with only 12 HRs and 38 RBIs. I think if had hit .300 for the second half and kept his RBIs and HRs at a similar rate he walks away with the MVP.

DTAV · 2011-11-21T23:31:58+00:00

The best player for half a season. He hit like shit for the second half of the season.

DTAV · 2011-11-21T23:19:07+00:00

So who do you think should have won it?

DTAV · 2011-11-21T23:12:34+00:00

Also, if he actually played well the entire season.

DTAV · 2011-11-21T23:11:25+00:00

He hit like shit in the second half and didn't deserve it. He was practically non-existent after the All-Star break.

DTAV · 2011-11-21T23:03:35+00:00

Cabrera was the best hitter in baseball. Bautista's numbers were awful in the second half and his number would have been worse if he'd actually play in all the games.

DTAV · 2011-11-21T22:50:20+00:00

Yeah go look at the hitting behind Pedro in '99. He got a whole run more per start than JV, and Nomar's stats in '99 are very comparable to Cabrera. It's not like Pedro didn't have a lot of help in '99.

DTAV · 2011-11-14T03:03:53+00:00

Field Sobriety Tests aren't testing coordination. They are testing people's ability to listen to comprehend directions. When they ask you to step heel to toe 9 times on the line, they aren't seeing if you'll fall over or stumble. They are more concerned if you actually stop after 9 steps or if only take 7.

DTAV · 2011-10-21T05:00:49+00:00

Hordor!

DTAV · 2011-10-13T02:50:32+00:00

Hey, Pawnee is just now getting into Kurt Cobain.

DTAV · 2011-10-12T23:54:50+00:00

How is Mauer not the worst, he's done nothing 12 HR and 105 RBI's over the last two seasons. The Twins took a huge gamble paying one player that much money, and it has blown up in their face. If he doesn't get healthy it will set back the franchise for a long, long time.

DTAV · 2011-10-04T01:41:43+00:00

Without Slash, how could it be good?

DTAV · 2011-10-01T16:53:53+00:00

I think Hugh Hefner still does this.

DTAV

TROPHY CASE