Value, Value, Value

Six weeks remain in the Major League Baseball season. Six weeks for the best of the best to prove their worth. It's tradition that each league names a MostValuable Player at season's end. This year's pool of possible winners is so tightly packed that even Bret Favre admitted he wouldn't want to make this decision.

The argument comes down to your interpretation of the letters MVP. Most valuable is vastly different than most outstanding, which is how most people vote.

The Philadelphia Phillies have dominated the award the past two seasons with Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins each taking home the hardware. After two months of this season, it looked as though thePhils would three-peat as Chase Utley was on another planet. Nagging injuries have brought Utley's numbers back to reality. Coupled with Howard and outfielder Pat Burrell's success, Utley's value in the line-up is not the strongest.

I love Ryan Braun. In only his second year of big league service he is putting up Ruthian numbers. His 31 home runs are impressive but with only 86 RBI, the majority of his destruction occurs with no one on base. Speaking of no one on base,Braun walks less than Stephen Hawking, evidenced by his .340 OBP. Compare that to Burrell, while only batting .266, his OBP is .393.

Manny Ramirez has only been in the National League for two weeks, so he's out.

The Cubs have gathered the National League's best record by utilizing a balanced attack. Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano have fueled off each other's success though no one has stood out as the most valued in Pinella's line-up.

So who's the last man standing? Albert Pujols. He's batting .348 with an OBP of .459. He's walked twice as many times as he's struck out. He's launched 27 dingers and is slugging .617. The Cardinals line-up is anything but threatening, yet Pujols has made everyone around him better. That's how I define an MVP.

If the Cardinals fail to make the playoffs, we'll see how much the baseball writer's think of Pujols' value. I'd be willing to put my money on Albert being named MVP regardless of how St. Louis finishes in the standings.

Manny being Manny

"Where's Manny?"

The answer to this question depends on two things: who's asking it and what's going on?

The final week of July, Red Sox skipper Tito Francona would have answered this with, "I wish I knew."

In the top of the ninth of Monday's game against the Phillies, Joe Torre's answer was, "In the can."

The latest 'Manny being Manny' moment has added to the infamy of one of the greatest hitters the game of baseball has ever seen. Since being acquired by the Dodgers, Ramirez is hitting .476 (20-42) with 4 HR and 14 RBI in just 11 games.

Ask any member of the American League East the same question and they'll likely smile as they respond, "3,000 miles west."

Boston's 19 run output last night might not indicate how much Ramirez is missed in Beantown, but time will tell as the Red Sox attempt to defend their World Championship.

Absent minded at times, Ramirez is in a zone that most hitters never experience in a career. His offensive outburst has kept the boys in blue in the National League West race and forced the first place Diamondbacks to acquire outfielder Adam Dunn from the Reds. LA is caught up with Manny Fever as the surrounding line-up has benefited exponentially from his mere presence.
His notorious lack of hustle doesn't matter when the ball lands in the stands.

While the rise in contracts to nine figures has placed more responsibility and added a sense of professionalism to baseball, let's not forget that this is a game. In my 20 years of watching America's pastime, I can't say I've witnessed a player having more fun on the diamond than Manny.

Next week, the answer to the million dollar question will be, "At the barber."
Torre informed Manny of his affinity for a clean cut look. Manny immediately agreed and said he didn't want any preferential treatment.

While some may be annoyed by his antics, I will watch every second of the remainder of his prolific career. There may never be a player like Manny again. On the last Sunday of July, five years after Manny hangs up his spikes, the answer to the question will be one word, "Cooperstown".


They say a picture's worth a thousand words. This one left me speechless.

Learning from the Past

Sources close to the Red Sox are reporting the reigning World Champs are interested in signing former Cleveland Indian closer Joe Borowski.

I can only offer these words of advice to Sox GM Theo Epstein: ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?

Have you forgotten the terror that was Eric Gagne last year? Not only were you forced to give up a legitimate starting pitcher in Kasson Gabbard, but you got literally no return for it. Terry Francona placed his misguided faith with the erratic Gagne all the way through the ALCS. It took the Fenway Park mound filing a restraining order against Gagne, requiring him to stay 100 yards away from the rubber at all times for the BoSox to win the World Series.

So if you can't learn from the past, let me explain to you why signing Joe Borowski is literally the worst possible move you can make. His fastball is slower than Jamie Moyer's and has less movement than Bartolo Colon's. He's a fly-ball pitcher in a park where the left field fence is 314 feet away. In a year and a half in Cleveland, Borowski amassed an ERA over 5.50. His WHIP in 2008, was nearly 2.00. He allows more home runs than Nuke LaLoosh when Crash Davis tells the hitter the deuce is coming.

I know the market for relief pitching is thin, but the risk/reward here is not tilting in the Red Sox favor. I never smoked a cigarette in my life until I saw Borowski take the ball for his first save opportunity two April's ago. I now smoke a pack a day. Terry Francona lost 15 lbs dealing with the phenomena that is Manny Ramirez. Now that Manny is wearing Dodger blue, have mercy on Tito. A man's health is at stake here. Say NO to JoeBo.