Ignorance prevails

Congratulations to Alex Rodriguez on winning the AL MVP. That's the only nice thing I have to say about that.

So some of you may be asking, why the old Gay-Rod Handbag picture again?! Why? Because I'm not happy that A-Rod won the MVP over David "Big Papi" Ortiz. I've had a few days to think about this, and I my thoughts were shifting left and right. I told myself that the MVP award really isn't that important. I mean, who cares? In a few years we won't even remember who won what award from the years past. We might remember oh so and so player was MVP X number of times, or as great as so and so player is, he never won an award, et cetera. What really matters is whether the Red Sox win or lose.

I became upset after the actual news came out. When I found out that Papi didn't win, I just naturally became unhappy. Its pretty strange since I told myself that it didn't really matter. Who could care? The season was over, the White Sox lived their dream, that's it. Who cares who's the best player especially if that player's team didn't win? I was mad because I actually witnessed the greatness of David Ortiz, and naturally I was keeping track of the spectacular, yet mediocre performance of A-Rod. Why mediocre? Because none of his hits or home-runs really mattered. They didn't break ties, win games, or in any way save the Yankees. Ortiz on the other hand single-handedly won around 13 games for the Red Sox. Without Ortiz, the Sox would probably have lost 13 more games and not made the playoffs. Last season, Ortiz was that important, and that's what being the Most Valuable Player is all about.

Yeah, okay. Numbers mean a lot in baseball, but I hate it when guys just look at the numbers and don't take other factors into consideration. In the real world, being clutch actually means something. Just think about it: who would you want to take your game-winning shot? Would you choose Robert Horry or Tayshaun Prince? Would you choose Reggie Miller or Steve Smith or Rip Hamilton or Ray Allen? Do you want Tom Brady or Peyton Manning in the 4th quarter? There is no dilemma here. Of course you choose the proven clutch player over the not proven clutch player. Okay, so not everyone watches the Sox and the Yanks, but I still don't see how they could have overlooked this simple fact: Ortiz is clutch, and with similar stats, it should have put him over A-Rod.

Then there's the whole Designated Hitter issue. I was listening to MLB radio, and this self-rightious journalist was being interviewed. He went on and on about how he would never vote for a DH because playing defense was not involved. Then the host asked him what about a player who played defense, but was injured and was forced to DH for the latter part of his career. Guess what? The dimwit journalist said yes. I'd like to remind people that Ortiz played first base in the NL, and he has played first base in some games for the Sox. He's a pretty good first baseman too. Most definitely a better defensive player than Jose Canseco, who won the MVP award in '88.

So I'm not unhappy that A-Rod won and Papi lost, but unhappy that people can be so stubborn sometimes and overlook the details.

Quick note: ESPN did a poll on their website, and 86% of the nation voted for Ortiz. So even people who don't pay attention to the Sox know that Papi is better.