MVP Thoughts

A friend of mine, who reads this blog but usually does not comment was nice enough to give me credit for the Mets five game winning streak. The logic was, I said that somebody had to go on a tear, had to go Billy Martin on these guys. After I said that, they started playing better and rattled off five wins in a row. My buddy said it was my blog entry that served as the rant the Met players needed to hear. (Thanks for the credit. I’ll take it, even if it is undeserved).

Today I got an e-mail asking for an entry about how I see the MVP shaking out in the NL this year, from the same friend. Since this individual was so nice as to credit me with the winning streak, I will return the favor and enter and entry on this.

Okay, I do not see the NL MVP coming from the Mets. Moreover, I do not personally feel a Met is deserving of the award. Now, this is not to suggest that the Mets do not have any good players, they do. Still, no one has consistently been there for the Mets.

Starting with the pitchers, I do not see anyone who has been so dominant that he should even be considered. (I do feel if there is so dominant a pitcher, it is fair to vote him as the MVP). Up until the All-Star break, maybe I would have said Wagner should be considered, but he has lost his touch down the stretch, and that is when it is most important.

Jose Reyes is a great ballplayer and a lot of fun to watch. He clearly is the catalyst that gets this team going as their winning percentage is dramatically better when he gets a hit than when he does not. Still, he has been streaking, his power numbers are down from last year and if he is not getting the homeruns, he hits entirely too many balls in the air.

David Wright is the other young stud on this team and is the future of the Mets. Still, Wright has been very streaky this year. There are times he is on a tear and other times he just can’t seem to put the bat on the ball. Last year, he was a great two strike hitter. This year, he strikes out too much.

Delgado has had a terrible year and just as he is picking it up, he gets injured. Still the numbers are not there. Beltran is another one who does not have the number. He started out on a tear and that got very cold, and now, like so many other Mets, is a streaky hitter.

Perhaps the Met who deserve some consideration is Moises Alou, as he is just money this year. Still, there is no way he has played enough (due to injuries) to even be considered (nor should he).

I do not see a Met winning the award this year. I do not think one is deserving. Still, if they continue to win, if they get into post season and then go on to win the World Series, I do not need to see a Met win.

By the way, I see the NL MVP either coming from the Brewers since they were in first for a decent amount of the year when no one expected it (Prince Fielder the likely candidate) or from the Phillies, since they did an excellent job of turning it around (Chase Utley or—and it hurts me to say this—Jimmy Rollins).

So, those are my MVP thoughts.