If the Red Sox get Mike Trout, it'd be HUGE for baseball.

starting to get the feeling that history is repeating itself.

where the national media only cares about the Red Sox and Yankees...and once they're eliminated from the playoffs...most of the country thinks the baseball season is over.

especially since the Cubs have flopped

The Lost said:

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Say Chowdah said:

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If the Red Sox get Mike Trout, it'd be HUGE for baseball.

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Yeah, I've really missed the national slobbering over yanks/sox.

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Agree totally!

Baseball needs that rivalry. The media is still talking about the frigging NBA during the All Star break!

That's because ESPN has so much more money invested in NFL and NBA than MLB, so it serves them to promote those sports more. Hell, Baseball Tonight has been all but dropped from the rotation.

astros4545 said:

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bluefire579 said:

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That's because ESPN has so much more money invested in NFL and NBA than MLB, so it serves them to promote those sports more. Hell, Baseball Tonight has been all but dropped from the rotation.

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Baseball tonight sucks

Mlb Network is the best single sport dedicated channel and not even close

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classic example of what I'm talking about...

ESPN has an article where they ask their 27 "experts" about the second half of the season...and who will win the AL MVP. The voting broke down as:

15 votes for Judge
4 for Betts
3 for Altuve
2 for Correa
2 for Trout
1 for Springer

not a surprise that Judge was #1. But Betts at #2? c'mon...just absurd.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/19954149/espn-experts-make-their-predictions-second-half-2017-mlb-season

"Absurd"? That's hyperbole.

For starters, Betts' WAR is right there with Altuve's and Correa's.

As are the the rest of the macro advanced stats.

Betts doesn't have the same offensive numbers but they're pretty good along with spectacular defense.

The MVP is voted on and influenced by biases. It is more likely Betts wins it over the 3 headed Astro monster who might just end up splitting the vote.

Regardless, I think it is fairly easy to say, Correa, Altuve, and Springer all have had better first halves than Betts so I do understand where you are coming from.

I think it's less easy to say when you consider defense.

Since when do people factor in defense for the MVP.

Bonds(old version), Pujos, and Howard were elite defensively right?

Altuve is a multi-time gold glover
Springer plays one hell of a CF & RF
Correa is solid at SS

There is not enough defensive difference to effect the MVP voting.

I care. I bet I'm not alone. And you should care, too. The numbers all say there is a pretty huge gap between Betts and the Astros this season.


Old version Bonds was a top 5 NL defender with multiple gold gloves.

But either way, correct me if I'm wrong here with some stats, I'm pretty sure Bonds and Pujols were the runaway impact NL players for each of their MVPs.

I'm a huge fan of the three Astros and love watching them; don't have a problem with anyone voting for them over Betts but they're just not in a comparable position to the type of clearly running away from the pack season's Pujols and Bonds were having.

Betts isn't exactly a slacker on offense. 29 doubles to lead the majors, 16 home runs, more walks than strikeouts, 15 stolen bases...

He doesn't have the batting average any of the three Astros have. That's true.

And he's not hitting Springer Dingers, either.

Old version as in he's old and hitting 70 home runs, but so bulky that he can barely do more than a trot.

Everyone "cares" about defense to a certain extent. Betts has a wRC+ of 116 and an OPS under .850. Those type of number should not even be considered for the MVP. Springer has a wRC+ at 163 and an OPS just under 1.000. He's far from a runaway winner, but he's runner away from Betts so far.

If any of the Astros were hitting 50 to 70 home runs with a .350 to .370 batting average, and OBP approaching .600, and the highest OPS seen since Babe Ruth...

I'd say I don't care a whole lot about mediocre defense, either.

Gold gloves are mediocre now?

No. I'm saying old Bonds was so far ahead of the pack in just about everything offensively that his mediocre defense was still good enough for an MVP.

Hell, one of those MVP seasons Bonds had an overall WAR something like 4.5 wins better than the second best position player.

I see.

Well, I think we can agree to disagree.

But, I have no doubt that A-Rod's reputation on defense helped consoldate his MVP in that era as a Ranger when the offensive gap wasn't so big.

Who's the mvp of the Astros?

Sure ESPN/Media have bias, but I don't think that is the case here. If the Astros had one (or even two) clear cut guy, then that guy would most certainly have more votes than Betts. The Astros are the best team in baseball, but they have several players that are having great seasons, which will only hurt their chances of being named MVP.

Either way, if Judge knocks 45 Homers and keeps it above .290, he will be the MVP, so not sure why were discussing the runner-up.

MVP ships passing in the night?

on June 28th:

Judge hitting .333
Altuve hitting .328

on July 24th:

Altuve hitting .365
Judge hitting .310

a stunning 60-point swing in the batting race in less than a month

Say Chowdah said:

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The Lost said:

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Say Chowdah said:

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If the Red Sox get Mike Trout, it'd be HUGE for baseball.

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Yeah, I've really missed the national slobbering over yanks/sox.

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Agree totally!

Baseball needs that rivalry. The media is still talking about the frigging NBA during the All Star break!

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Snoozefest. Boooooorrrrrriiiiinnnnggggg. Will not watch.

Maybe but don't act like BA is the only factor.

Judge has 32 HRs and 73 RBIs

That's pretty stout. It's gonna be close

And Altuve has 60 RBI as a 2nd baseman

More valuable IMO

Altuve still trails in OPS, HR, RBI, (what voters look at) and wRC+ (my favorite and IMO the best way to compare).

If they keep playing like they do, Altuve will make up a lot of ground. He won't catch him in HR & RBI though.

stop the presses...ESPN may be coming around:

http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/81453/real-or-not-jose-altuve-passes-aaron-judge-as-mvp-favorite

55.5??? Under for sure

with the exception of Altuve, it's been a rough second half for all of the AL MVP candidates (identified at the all-star break).

Judge has really struggled on the road. Only hitting .255 with 11 homers...as opposed to .344 with 23 homers at Yankee Stadium

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His numbers are going to fall off once major league pitching gets a scouting report on him. He'll still be ROtY but he won't be a legit MVP candidate.

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At what point are they going to "get a scouting report" on him? June has been his best month of the year.

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Suck itttttt
http://www.espn.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/96917/inside-the-struggle-how-mlb-has-caught-up-to-aaron-judge?sf104539347=1

Judge's second half struggles continue unabated. Since the all-star break:

21 of 116 at the plate (.181 BA) with a whopping 54 strike outs.

has 7 home runs, but only 14 RBI in 33 games played.

he may not finish in the top 5 of MVP voting...much less win it

He was so good in the first half I think he can afford to struggle some.

He still has a 167 wRC+ (tied with Jose for #1 in MLB, 6.0 WAR (tied with Jose for #1 in MLB), 37 HR (#1 in AL), & 1.022 OPS (#1 in AL).

And he's now struck out in 37 consecutive games, which is an MLB record.

Finishes with 52 homers. The month of August was brutal. Judge only had 3 homers and hit like .185

Finishes .281/.422/.627

MVP