By Dalton Del Don â Senior Writer
Major League Baseball gone crazy â Not sure what is more ridiculous, the MVP award winners or the insane contracts being handed out recently. Since the writers get it wrong more often than not, Iâm going with the cash giveaways. Letâs start with the awards:
Ryan Howard beats Albert Pujols for NL MVP â Howard did play in 16 more games, but how obsessed are people with home runs? Pujols beat him in average, OBP and slugging percentage, while striking out 131 fewer times. He plays a far superior defense, is more of an asset on the basepaths, hit in the weaker lineup and led MLB in game-winning RBIs by a sizeable margin. With RISP, Pujols had a 1.337 to .942 OPS advantage. Everyone says Howard carried the Philliesâ lineup, but thatâs exactly what Pujols did into the playoffs.
Justin Morneau wins AL MVP â I actually donât have as big of a problem with this one as most, mainly because I didnât love any alternatives. Sure, Morneau was only the third most valuable player on his own team, but no way did Derek Jeter unanimously deserve this; after all, the Yankees would have easily made the playoffs without him.
Juan Pierre signs a 5-year, $44 million contract â He has a .328 OBP and five home runs over the last two seasons. If you take the 37 times he was caught stealing into account, his OBP drops even further. This isnât fantasy baseball â his steals arenât all that valuable. No one in baseball produced more outs last year than Juan Pierre.
Gary Matthews Jr. signs a 5-year, $50 million contract â Someone did tell the Angels that heâs 32 years old and coming off by far his career-year, right? By the way, he did it while playing in Ameriquest Field. He does play good defense, but Aâs fans are rejoicing.
Carlos Lee signs a 6-year, $100 million contract â I guess sabermatricians underrate the ability to knock in runs at times, and this is something Lee has a knack for. Still, heâs never even posted a 900 OPS, and his body type doesnât exactly point to him aging gracefully. I get that there is a lot more money to throw around in MLB these days, but these signings just arenât very smart.
K-Mart Special â Never again should Kenyon be referred to as K-Mart. Kevin is the most-improved player in the NBA this year and a future All-Star. Although he sports the third ugliest shot in the game (barely behind Josh Childress and Desmond Mason), this kid is legit.
The Seattle Sonics donât play any defense. Rarely do people play matchups in fantasy basketball, but if a tough decision ever comes up, go with the guy facing Seattle.
If the season ended today, the 5-9 Knicks would be in the playoffs.
Almost everywhere I look, the Atlanta Falcons are the unanimous pick this week. While I agree in theory (theyâve dropped three straight, playing at home and desperate), I canât shake just how much better football New Orleans has played this year. When the Saints âupsetâ Atlanta on Monday night earlier this year, I was shocked and thought I had underestimated the re-opening of the Superdome; on Sunday, Iâm taking the 3 points.
Itâs ironic that Michael Richards is, in fact, crazier than Kramer.
Not sure whatâs wrong with the Bulls, but Ben Wallace is clearly far from his former self. I still think theyâll be fine. Luol Deng is the best player no one talks about.
Orlandoâs hot start should come to the surprise of no one; Detroit still looks like the Eastern Conference favorites to me, and the Heat are the worst defending champs ever.
Hope you got great odds on Utah when I gave you them before the season. 12-1?! This team is for real, too.
The Southwest may be the best division in the NBA, but there isnât a more exciting one than the Pacific.
Al Harrington might not be a bad guy to try to buy low right now; he isnât off to a great start, but just became center eligible in Yahoo leagues â go float some offers.
Call me crazy, but I thought âCasino Royaleâ was good. Admittedly, Iâm no Bond fan and had my doubts about Daniel Craig, but he came through, and it was some good action fun.
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