Albert Pujols win NL MVP!!!

[BoxCar]

Yay! Discuss...

[F Keenan]

I would have been ok with it going to Pujols or Howard.

Way to go 'bert!

[dmiles2186]

I would have been ok with it going to Pujols or Howard

I disagree.

Just because the guy mashed the most homers and RBIs does not make him an MVP. The guy struck out almost 200 times and hit only .251. Not to mention, El Hombre dwarfed him in almost every category otherwise.

The only thing is that Howard's team made the playoffs. But on a team with Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, and Shane Victorino, it could be argued that Howard may not have even been his team's MVP.

Without Albert, the Cardinals would probably have been one of the worst teams in the NL this year.

[F Keenan]

I would have been ok with it going to Pujols or Howard

I disagree.

Just because the guy mashed the most homers and RBIs does not make him an MVP. The guy struck out almost 200 times and hit only .251. Not to mention, El Hombre dwarfed him in almost every category otherwise.

The only thing is that Howard's team made the playoffs. But on a team with Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, and Shane Victorino, it could be argued that Howard may not have even been his team's MVP.

Without Albert, the Cardinals would probably have been one of the worst teams in the NL this year.

I agree.

I'm just saying between the top two in votes, I would have been ok with either. I believe that Pujols was more deserving of the MVP. Howard was a key component of the Phillies title and a local guy, so I would have been fine with him too.

[dmiles2186]

I understand, but remember, the postseason does not factor into the MVP vote, therefore being a key component in a championship run doesn't come into play here.

But either way, Pujols kind of eats his words with this one. When he lost out to Howard in '06 (a year the Phillies just missed the playoffs and the Cardinals...well, you know ), he said that only guys who get their teams to the playoffs should win the MVP. This year, like Howard in '06, Pujols kept his team in the hunt but just couldn't put them over the top. But plain and simple, his number across the board were staggering compared to Howard.

I wouldn't have minded if Howard won only if A) his numbers across the board were better or B) he didn't have so many great players on his team, therefore making a trip to the postseason mostly his doing (kind of like Holliday in '07, even though he didn't win the award).

I think the reason guys like Howard get attention in years like this is because Pujols is the victim of what I call the "Shaq Theory." I don't follow the NBA, but Shaq was so good and so consistent for so long, that anytime a guy who match or best his numbers by just a bit, they'd win the MVP. Shaq only won ONE mvp his entire career, but he was one of the most dominant players for over a decade.

I think Pujols falls into that, just because of his insane consistency. When 116 RBIs is considered a "down" year and yet he still wins an MVP, you know he's doing something right.

[stlmark]

The right guy won the MVP. Screw Philly!

[Mellanby_equals_grit]

.251 MVP would have been hilarious.

[ohio BLUES]

Poo should have also won the last two years. Just sayin'

[not_a_wings_fan]

Man, MLB sure loves poo holes.

[abc789987]

did you see what Phil Sheridan said of the MVP voting...

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/phil_sheridan/20081118_Phil_Sheridan__MVP_voting_is_out_of_whack.html

although he might be right about the voting system, the rest was nonsense...

[stlmark]

did you see what Phil Sheridan said of the MVP voting...

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/phil_sheridan/20081118_Phil_Sheridan__MVP_voting_is_out_of_whack.html

although he might be right about the voting system, the rest was nonsense...

Yep, That dude is a total douche face. He doens't even have his facts correct. We finished 11.5 out of 1st. Not 15.5.

[stlmark]

ghey!

[cprice12]

did you see what Phil Sheridan said of the MVP voting...

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/phil_sheridan/20081118_Phil_Sheridan__MVP_voting_is_out_of_whack.html

although he might be right about the voting system, the rest was nonsense...

One of his biggest arguments against Pujols for MVP and in favor of Howard was that Ludwick, Ankiel and Glaus were quite helpful in keeping the Cardinals in the race late in the year and that Pujols didn't do it all by himself.
He threw in Ankiel? Really? Ankiel struggled in the 2nd half, missed 40 games due to injury and finished at .264 with 71 RBI. Meh. Ankiel didn't shoulder a bigger than normal load down the stretch.

And he says Howard was a one man show and single handedly got his team into the playoffs?

What about Chase Utley???
What about Pat Burrel?
They won the World Series...they had a pretty good team and Howard had a lot of support around him. Howard didn't do it all himself.

Sure, Howard had a monster September...but he batted .168 in April, .238 in May, .234 in June and .213 in August. Ugh...that's awful. Funny how that didn't get mentioned. Pujols hit over .300 in every month during the season. And he hit over .350 for three of those months, and .347 in another. And we all know he didn't just hit for average...he had 37 HR and 117 RBI.

Howard batted .251 and struck out almost 200 times.
Pujols batted .357 and only struck out 54 times.
Plus, Pujols is a MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better fielder than Howard. Sheridan failed to mention defense (not surprising)...which is a huge part of the game. Howard made 19 errors...Pujols only made 6.

Maybe if Howard would have been better throughout the season, he wouldn't have had to hit a ton in September to get his team into the playoffs?

Ryan Howard reminds me a lot of Adam Dunn...except Howard gets a few more home runs and RBI.
The only areas where Howard edges Pujols, is in HR and RBI. That's it.

Howard can hit a ton, no doubt. But Pujols is just a much better all around player than Howard and was every bit as valuable to the Cardinals as Howard was to the Phillies...and Pujols backs it up with better all around numbers.

Stupid homer sportswriters.

[tsblue]

"Ryan Howard reminds me a lot of Adam Dunn...except Howard gets a few more home runs and RBI.
The only areas where Howard edges Pujols, is in HR and RBI. That's it."

Uhh, a "few" more home runs and RBI? I am with you on AP deserving the MVP, but Dunn and Howard aren't in the same universe...or parallel universe, so there.

[cprice12]

"Ryan Howard reminds me a lot of Adam Dunn...except Howard gets a few more home runs and RBI.
The only areas where Howard edges Pujols, is in HR and RBI. That's it."

Uhh, a "few" more home runs and RBI? I am with you on AP deserving the MVP, but Dunn and Howard aren't in the same universe...or parallel universe, so there.

My point was, Dunn and Howard both hit a ton, but have a piss poor batting average and strike out a ridiculous amount of times.