I Am So Smart, I Am So Smart, S-M-R-T, I Mean S-M-A-R-T

Man, am I glad that Junior returned from Brazil. He was reading a mailbag with questions and answers by Jon Heyman, a baseball expert who frequently appears on the Michael Kay Show on ESPN radio (Oo we got Jon Heyman, oo we got Jon Heyman, oo we got Jon Heyman on the Michael Kay Sho-oo-o-oo-o-oo-ow). Anyway, Junior dives right in, and reacts to a question by "beautiful, charismatic, saintly Carolyn" from Boca, and an answer by Herr Heyman:

From Carolyn: "Regarding your NL MVP candidates, how about those two guys in Florida? Yes, the Marlins are not in playoff contention, but it's hard to ignore Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera, especially considering they're first and second, respectively, in the NL in VORP, and rank in the top three in Runs Created. It looks like you went through all the playoff-contending teams, and chose a "good" player from each. Let me ask you: If Cabrera were on a playoff-contender this season, would there be any doubt who the MVP was?"
-- Carolyn, Boca Raton, Fla.

Junior: Carolyn makes a lot of good points, and I imagine she lives in a gleaming white Spanish-style home in Boca Raton and rides horses bareback in the springtime. But back to the point: yes, Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera sit 1-2 in the NL VORP standings (BP subscription req'd), followed very closely by Misters Wright, Jones (Larry, not Andruw), Utley and Pujols. A San Francisco outfielder ranks seventh. So yes, Carolyn, Cabrera would be a very strong MVP candidate if his team were any good, as would Hanley. As for your accusation that Mr. Heyman only looked at playoff-ish teams --

John Heyman: "Actually, you're right. That's exactly what I did, and how I came up with Prince Fielder as my NL MVP leader. His "good'' year is actually more than good, and the Brewers are right in the thick of the playoff race."

Junior: Prince is having a terrific year, and he probably actually is the lead dog in the NL MVP race because it's an award voted on by guys exactly like Heyman. Is this just? Well, he's 10th in the league in VORP, a full 21 points behind both Cabrera and H. Ramirez. He has an excellent EqA (.322 -- lower than Cabrera's, Pujols', Bonds', Utley's, Jones', heck, even Hanley's), and he plays indifferent to bad defense at the easiest position on the diamond. To be honest, I don't think he's all that strong a candidate.

Schmutter: Anyone who read my last post may now come to offer their obeisance.

If you want to read this from the source, check out http://www.firejoemorgan.com/ and look at the posts from Wednesday, August 29th, 2007.