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.