Is the National League MVP race even a race? Any other year, I would say that Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez would win the award in a landslide with the type of season he is having. However, there is another player who is putting up Triple Crown numbers, along with good defense and his team is going to the playoffs.

Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals has been a perennial MVP candidate since breaking through to the big leagues in 2001. Every year he puts up huge offensive numbers while playing good defense at first base. The reigning MVP is in the top three in hitting and RBIs, while leading the majors in homeruns.

King Albert also walks a ton and doesn’t strike out much. He also has played in almost every one of the Cardinals games, choosing repetition over rest. Pujols has been an All-Star every year except in 2002, when he had his lowest batting average of .314.

Pujols has never struck out 100 times in a single season and has never hit less than 30 HR in a season. Pujols is looking for his 3rd NL MVP trophy after winning it in 2005 and 2008. It is expected for Pujols to be a unanimous selection for the MVP award, though there is discussion on who will come in second. As I mentioned, Hanley Ramirez is having a great year. He has kept the Marlins in the Wild Card race until the last week of the season.

After winning the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2006, Ramirez has not hit less than .300 in a season. He was an All-Star in 2008 and 2009, while also winning a Silver Slugger last year. This may be Ramirez’ best year yet. Ryan Howard is a typical second half player.

The last three years, Howard has gotten hot in August and September to carry the Philadelphia Phillies into the postseason. This year he his hitting .298 after the All-Star break with 21 HR and 70 RBIs, while also cutting down on the strikeouts. Howard’s biggest flaws since making it into the majors have been his defense at first base and his strikeouts.

This past offseason, Howard worked on his defense (and lost weight) and became more flexible. His strikeouts are well behind strikeout leader Mark Reynolds (Howard has 186 on 10/1), when they are normally fighting for the strikeout title. Howard has also only missed one game this season, when he was in the hospital with flu-like symptoms, ending the longest active streak in the majors at 343 consecutive games played.

Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants has been the lone bright spot in a dismal offensive lineup. “Kung Fu Panda” has garnered a lot of attention for his nickname and gained fan support for his hustle and smiling attitude. Despite moving from behind the plate to third base, his offensive numbers have not deteriorated. Coming from Double-A Connecticut in 2008, Sandoval has impressed in his first full season.

The switch hitter had carried the Giants into postseason contention after last season’s dismal showing, proving all sportswriters wrong. Andre Ethier of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been consistent all season long, despite missing Manny Ramirez in the middle of the lineup protecting him. Ethier has been clutch all year, with 6 walk-off hits (4 homers) which leads the majors.

Even Joe Torre, who has seen his fair share of dramatic moments, said “it’s just surreal” how Ethier has repeatedly lifted the Dodgers to victory in the final inning. This left-handed bat will need to be clutch again if the Dodgers want to make it to the World Series (or at least win the NL West).

Who should win: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
156G/ 158    .330 (2nd)    47 HR (1st)    134 RBI (3rd)
43 doubles (3rd)  16 SB    112 BB/ 63 K    .445 OBP
Who will win: Pujols
Sleepers: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
150 G/ 159    .341 (1st)    24 HR        105 RBI
41 doubles    26 SB        61 BB/101 K    .410 OBP
Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
157 G/ 158    .275        43 HR (4th)    138 RBI (1st)
37 doubles    73 BB/ 186 K        .357 OBP
Pablo Sandoval, SF Giants
149 G/ 158    .328 (3rd)    23 HR        87 RBI
44 doubles (2nd)    50 BB/ 81 K        .385 OBP
Andre Ethier, LA Dodgers
157 G/159    .271        31 HR        105 RBI
41 doubles    69 BB/ 115 K        .357 OBP

Tags:

Albert Pujol, Andre Ethier, Florida Marlins, Hanley Ramirez, King Albert, National League MVP, Pablo Sandoval, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants

Has the National League Wild Card Race become a race again? The Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins, and San Francisco Giants sure hope so. Heading into Saturday’s games, the Colorado Rockies still held a 3.5 game lead over the Braves, and 5 games over both the Marlins and Giants. The Giants still believe they are in the Wild Card race, as evidenced by holding off on getting second baseman Freddy Sanchez knee surgery.  The Braves believe they have a shot, as evidenced by not holding young starter Tommy Hanson back. Going into the final week of the regular season, the Rockies have allowed 3 other teams to hold out hope for the postseason.

The Rockies have struggled lately going 5-5 in their last ten, after being one of the hottest teams in baseball. The starting pitching, which was a strength during the hot streak, has cooled off. Jason Marquis, a potential CY Young hopeful at midseason, has only won once in his last 7 starts (1-4) and has seen his ERA rise to almost 4.00. Jorge De La Rosa has been inconsistent, one game pitching 8 shutout innings against the Giants and then the very next start only going into the 3^rd inning giving up 6 runs to the San Diego Padres. Aaron Cook has been out since August 22^nd with a right shoulder strain, though he returned Friday night to pitch 5 shutout innings against the Cardinals in a no-decision. Young starter Ubaldo Jimenez has been the surprise workhorse and has become the ace as of late. He’s won 7 out of his last 10, and has lowered his ERA to 3.47. The Rockies offense has also struggled, with a few key players battling injuries (Dexter Fowler, Carlos Gonzalez, Ian Stewart, and Troy Tulowitzki). If the Rockies are going to survive the last week of the season and enter the postseason, they are going to have to overcome the toughest schedule out of the remaining Wild Card contenders and become consistent across the board. Colorado has 2 more at home with St. Louis, 3 at home with Milwaukee, and the final 3 at the Dodgers. The walk-off win Friday night against the Cardinals didn’t hurt.

The Braves have won four in a row and 8 out of 10. They have the deepest pitching staff of the playoff contenders, with Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, rookie Tommy Hanson, newly healthy Tim Hudson, and Javier Vazquez, who is quietly having a CY Young type season. Their bullpen is always a question mark, but if Pete Moylan, Mike Gonzalez, and Rafael Soriano can shut down the 7-8-9 innings, the Rockies are in trouble. The offense has been the most inconsistent for the Braves. They don’t have a ton of power and Chipper Jones is having a down year, but if shortstop Yunel Escobar comes up with men on base, be sure that they will score (he leads the NL in average with RISP). The Braves offense is built on gritty players like Nate McLouth, Matt Diaz, Brian McCann, and Martin Prado, and hoping that veterans Adam LaRoche, Chipper Jones, and Garrett Jones can drive them in. Atlanta has 2 more at Washington, 3 at home vs. Florida, and 4 at home with Washington.

The Marlins are young and gritty. It seems that every year they are wreaking havoc on the NL and this year is no exception. They have a young pitching staff led by CY Young candidate Josh Johnson, and an offense led by shortstop Hanley Ramirez, an MVP hopeful and soon-to-be batting champ. The only question is: can the Marlins sustain the success for an entire season? When they are going bad, they can’t beat anyone, but when they are going good, they can beat anyone. Florida has 2 more at home vs the Mets, 3 at Atlanta, and the final 3 at Philadelphia. Starting on Monday, they play the Braves in Atlanta to determine who will give the Rockies a run for the Wild Card going into the final weekend. The pitching matchups for the 3 games are:

Monday 9/28: Anibal Sanchez @ Jair Jurrjens

2-2, 4.15 ERA (4 starts)          4ER, 10H in 13 IP

vs. the Braves in 2009             vs. the Marlins in 2009

Tuesday 9/29: Rick VandenHurk @ Tim Hudson

0-0, 3.27 ERA (2 starts)          1-0, 3.39 ERA (1 start)

vs. the Braves in 2009             vs. the Marlins in 2009

Wednesday 9/30: Rickey Nolasco @ Javier Vazquez

1-0, 4.67 ERA (3 starts)          0-2, 5.68 ERA (4 starts)

vs. the Braves n 2009              vs. the Marlins in 2009

The Giants were so close not too long ago, but can the pitching staff carry them to the playoffs? As Mitch Williams said last night on MLB Tonight, the pitching staff has to pitch like a closer with no net; no one will pick them up. That puts tons of pressure on the entire pitching staff to put up zeros every inning to win a game. The pressure may also be felt on the lone consistent offensive force in the lineup, Pablo “Kung Fu Panda” Sandoval. He has seen his average drop into the .320’s when it hovered in the .330’s for most of the season. But someone around him needs to start hitting. If Eugenio Velez and Andres Torres can get on base and Bengie Molina, Juan Uribe, and Aaron Rowand can drive them in, the Giants have a chance. The Giants have 2 more left against Chicago, 3 at home vs. Arizona, and 3 at San Diego. The Giants may have the easiest schedule left, but being 5 games out and if the offense cannot generate some support for Lincecum & Co., their postseason chances are slim to none.

I think the Colorado Rockies will hold onto the Wild Card and make the postseason, but this final week will be exciting.

Tags:

Aaron Cook, Atlanta Braves, Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies, Dexter Fowler, Florida Marlins, Ian Stewart, Jorge De La Rosa, National League Wild Card Race, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Troy Tulowitzki, Ubaldo Jimenez

The National League CY Young award race has come down to 3 pitchers: 2 from the St. Louis Cardinals and 1 from the San Francisco Giants.

Adam Wainwright has smoothly made the transition from World Series closer in 2006 to ace starting pitcher. Wainwright is tied for the lead in the majors with 18 wins and leads the NL in innings pitched.

In Wainwright’s last 10 starts, only once (against the Pirates) has he given up more than 2 runs (6-2 in that span).

He has been a workhorse for the Central division leading Cardinals and part of the 1-2 punch that has other playoff-bound teams quivering.

Chris Carpenter is the other ace of the Cardinals. Despite missing part of the 1^st half, Carpenter has 16 wins and an NL-leading 2.34 ERA. Carpenter bounced back from a horrible start against the Braves on 9/13 to shut out the Cubs for 8 innings on 9/19 (8IP, 8H, OR, 2BB, 4K). He is 7-1 in his last 10 starts, with 2 no-decisions.

Because Wainwright and Carpenter are both deserving of this award, they may pull votes from each other, opening the door for the Giants ace, Tim Lincecum. Lincecum, last year’s winner, has yet again put up gaudy numbers, which would be much better if the Giants offense was as good as the Cardinals or Phillies. Lincecum is a workhorse and leads the majors in strikeouts. He has recorded double-digits in strikeouts in 3 of his last 10 starts. Lincecum is 4-3 in his last 10 starts, with three no-decisions. He lost to the Phillies on 9/3, giving up just 2 runs on 4 hits and struck out 11 (he was out-dueled by Pedro Martinez). His last outing was one of his worst and shortest, but he had been dominant in his starts prior. These three pitchers have separated themselves from the rest of the pack.

Two sleepers for the CY Young are Matt Cain and Josh Johnson. Matt Cain forms the formidable 1-2 punch with Lincecum for the Giants. Cain has struggled as of late as his innings have increased well over what he has ever thrown and he’s amassed 4 complete games. Cain is 1-5 in his last 10 starts, with four no-decisions in which he only gave up a total of 9 runs. Josh Johnson is the hard-throwing who has emerged as the young ace for the Florida Marlins. Johnson, like Cain, has struggled lately as his innings have increased. Johnson is 5-3 in his last 10 starts, but has only gone more than 6 innings 3 times. However Johnson is still 15-5 with a 3.12 ERA.

Who should win: Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals

219 IP              18-8                 2.59 ERA         193 K/63 BB

1CG                 .243 AVG        16 HR allowed

Who will win: Wainwright or Tim Lincecum, SF Giants

211.1 IP           14-6                 2.47 ERA         247 K/63 BB(leads majors)

4 CG/ 2SHO    .208 AVG        10 HR allowed

OR

Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals

180.2 IP           16-4                 2.34 ERA (leads NL)   136 K/34 BB

3 CG/ 1 SHO   .227 AVG        7 HR allowed

It could go either way because all 3 have similar statistics, but Wainwright and Carpenter are leading the Cardinals to the playoffs, while Lincecum’s Giants are on the outside looking in. Lincecum won it last year on a losing team, but this year’s competition is a little better.

Sleepers: Matt Cain, SF Giants

204.2 IP           13-7                 2.99 ERA                     158 K/70 BB

4 CG                .235 AVG        22 HR allowed

Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins

199.1 IP           15-5                 3.12 ERA                     181 K/53 BB

2 CG                .235 AVG        13 HR allowed

*stats as of 9/23/09 from MLB.com

Tags:

Chris Carpenter, NL CY Young Award, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Tim Lincecum

For the 21st time in Major League baseball history two brothers squared off in a high profile West Coast intra-league pitching match up. With their parents in the crowd the National League’s Los Angeles Dodger substitute starter Jeff Weaver (4-1) squared away against his cross-town rival Los Angeles Angel pitcher Jared Weaver (7-3). The siblings’ anxious parents sat in the crowded stadium adorned in jerseys that were half Angel, half Dodger uniforms sewn together.

The brotherly pairing is baseball’s first since 2002. It can now be said that the older brother has the edge in these contests. The elder brother has now won 12 times as the league leading Dodgers improved the best record in baseball with a 6-4 triumph.

The game was significant for both teams. The Angels had been riding an eight game winning streak and have pulled themselves to within a half game of American League West Leader the Texas Rangers, who lost in 11 innings to the San Francisco Giants. Had the younger, 26 year old Jared, been able to defeat his older brother 32 year old Jeff, the Angels would have moved into sole possession of first place.

Journeyman Jeff, continued his resurgences and lifted the Dodgers to another impressive win. Sporting the game’s best record at 45-24, the Dodgers lead the National league West by 8 games.

The Dodger season is a credit to a total team effort; the game’s best all around defense, clutch hitting by the full lineup, solid starting pitching and tremendous relief pitching. Saturday night’s victory displayed all of the above ingredients as the visiting Dodgers improved their intra-league record to 6-5.

Gail Weaver, mother of the rival pitchers and close brothers, summed up her emotionally charged evening; “We were hoping somehow that they can both get a win, but we know that isn’t possible, so you just keep rooting for them both and whatever happens, happens. They both deserve this because they both work so very hard.”

On the strength of a Kendry Morales homerun and an errant pickoff attempt by Jeff, the Angels jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. As they have done all season, the Manny-less Dodgers answered with Russell Martin’s first homerun of the season, a clutch two run triple by Andre Ethier, an RBI single by Casey Blake and a sacrifice fly by Orlando Hudson aka O-Dog.

Manager Joe Torre praised his winning pitcher but had high praise for his bullpen stars, Ronald Bellisario (4 strikeouts) and Ramon Troncoso (four up – four down).

The Dodgers and Angels square away again on Sunday night in ESPN’s featured game. Enjoy the game and Happy Father’s Day!

Tags:

American League West Leader, Jared Weaver, Kendry Morales, Los Angeles Angel, Los Angeles Dodger, National League, Orlando Hudson, Ramon Troncoso, Ronald Bellisario, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers