Am I the only one who thinks that?

[drew6013]

splinter and rmilter- There are no defensive metrics from the 2008 season that support your claim that utley can't field. He's above avg in zone ratings, out of zone ratings, +/- plays, and pmr. You might feel utley isn't good with the glove but I'll go with the stats.

Jerlins- Don't you think Dustins stats could be somewhat inflated by the run scoring enviroment he plays in?

Aray0113- You can have intangibles I'll take a higher OPS

[Jerlins]

Drew,

His play made the rest of his team better, and whatever effects the ballpark contributed which I believe was minimal, is negated by the fact he had to face the #1 and #2 pitching in the AL in his division 19 times each. So he's not your typical MVP stud who goes out and hits HR's all the time. He carried the team with his timely hits, steller defense, and attitude while Manny the Clown (see intangibles :wink: ) was disrupting the whole clubhouse.

Believe me, I'd like nothing better to see any player other than a Red Sox win the thing, but it is what is is. He was simply the logical choice once Quentin went down with an injury.

[Jerlins]

And where are the Red Sox fans to help me defend this choice? Are you guys gonna let a Yankee fan carry the mantle for this choice?

[drew6013]

"negated by the fact he had to face the #1 and #2 pitching in the AL in his division 19 times each"

Its just to bad this pitching had nothing to do with the Yankees :lol: . Thats a pretty good point and there is no refuting that Dustin had a great year. (and in case you wondering I don't know Dustin on a person level, I just screw up spelling his last name all the time).

[Ninersphan]

I think Pedroia is a great player, and deserved to be in the conversation, but I'm not even sure he's the MVP of his team. I'd have given it to Youklis who was asked to play 3b when Lowell went down, I'm sorry but I really think you have to evaluate MVP by saying, "If this guy wasn't on the team would they be as successful" and to me the one guy Boston couldn't have dome without this year was Youklis, not Pedroia...but it's [b:3f2e3b983b]close[/b:3f2e3b983b], [b:3f2e3b983b]damn[/b:3f2e3b983b] close.

[visick]

I'm not a Red Sox fan, but I'd just like to chime in.

There were a few guys who could have won the award IMHO. Pedroia, Youkilis, Morneau and Quentin.

If Quentin doesn't get hurt, he's your winner.

If Morneau is playing in a bigger market, he would have won it. (After Quentin goes down).

Flip a coin between Youk and Pedroia, there's your winner.

Youkilis deserves it because he had his best year/filled in for Lowell
Pedroia deserves it because of his best year/filled in @ the cleanup spot AND was a catalyst pretty much ALL year.

I have no problem with this pick.

As for Utley, being a Mets fan, I've seen my fair share of games with him. While he may not be the quickest guy out there, he does position himself very well. I wouldn't necessarily call him a 1, but I have no problem with Chase being a 2 this year.

FWIW- In ATG, I questioned Lou Boudreau's 1 status. He's a sloth on the basepaths, so it's kinda hard to imagine a slug as a 1, especially @ a critical defensive position as SS. From what I've read about him, he knew the hitters well, and was able to position himself well to give himself a good chance at alot of balls.

My 2 pennies,
visick

[keyzick]

In my eyes, came down to coin flip between Pedroia and Youkilis. I think I'd have given to Youk, based on his plugging in at 3b without skipping a beat, when Lowell went down....on top of his offensive numbers.

For anyone who watched the Sox somewhat consistently, Pedroia's peformance, both offensively and defensively, varied from very good to stellar...thus the coinflip between the two.

I think Morneau got less consideration because of the Twins finish in the standings, ALONG with the small market syndrome.

[LMBombers]

I am a Red Sox fan and was a little surprised that he won it. I have no problem with it, just a little surprised that a player like him won it. It would have to be in a season where a player like ARod, Ortiz, Guerrero, etc, etc didn't hit a million HRs. Since one of the playoff teams didn't have such a Bonds clone this year we could actually consider all-around ball players like Pedroia and Youk. It's kind of nice for a change.

When was the last time an MVP had only 83 RBI's? I bet thats been a very long time.

[RICHARDMILTER]

As a former, player, coach, and fanatic my opinion is; Chase Utley is well below average as a fielder at 2B. I have seen him play live, and I have seen him many times on T.V. He is still a great player, and I wish he were on my favorite team(Indians), he just is not a good fielder, I do not care what any so called expert, or statistic says! And believe me when I say. I like Utley, and the Phillies. They are my favorite N.L. team. As far as Pedroia for MVP, I am not happy it usually has to be a Red Sox or Yankee. But I like the fact that he is a complete player, and not just a HR hitter. Whether he deserved it or not this year; I am not qualified to say. I mostly just watched the Indians and played Strat this year.

[AeroDave10]

[quote:52fd8b9b60="LMBombers"]
When was the last time an MVP had only 83 RBI's? I bet thats been a very long time.[/quote:52fd8b9b60]

Not really, Bombers.


Ichiro Suzuki won in the AL in 2001 with 69 RBIs.

Barry Larkin won in the NL 1995 with 66 RBIs.