American League MVP

[Long John]

Understood. Thank you for clarifying the difference between the two.

I would tend to stray away from using B-R's ERA+ based WAR just because ERs are not a good measure of ability. While ERA+ does adjust for ballpark, it takes nothing into account about the defense behind the pitcher.

Verlander's candidacy is an interesting debate. There's no question he wins the Cy Young. I think if there weren't a Bautista or other players having excellent seasons, the argument for Verlander is there. There will always be a purist slant that says a guy who doesn't bat can't be a MVP.

The biggest problem is that 24-5 could just as easily be 19-9. His ERA could be much closer to 3 if his BABIP were anywhere near normal levels (.236 this year - has never been below .279 in a season previously). There's no question he's the AL's best pitcher this year. Making the MVP argument is a lot harder with Bautista, Granderson and others hitting the cover off the ball.

[Moonlight J]

The Yankees had nothing to play for and by that point in the game Pena was probably told by Girardi to just play it straight up.

Seriously, why is Proctor even in a MLB uniform right now? Are the Yankees just doing him a solid by giving him another major league paycheck? He and Sonnanstine may be the 2 worst pitchers to be wearing a uniform right now and yet both are on the roster of teams that may be in the playoffs.

[OaklandA's]

The biggest problem is that 24-5 could just as easily be 19-9. His ERA could be much closer to 3 if his BABIP were anywhere near normal levels (.236 this year - has never been below .279 in a season previously). There's no question he's the AL's best pitcher this year.

If you're evaluating past performance, then who cares if his low BABIP is unsustainable? It happened, and he should get credit for it. That's why I think ERA+ is much better than FIP for award consideration. Same thing with the sequencing of events. In FIP, the sequence of BB,BB,HR,K,K,K is exactly the same as the sequence HR,BB,BB,K,K,K. But the first case leads to 3 Runs while the second only 1. For projecting the future, it may make sense to treat them equally, but for evaluating the past season, giving up 1 Run is better than giving up 3 Runs.

[Moonlight J]

My biggest problem with Verlander is his numbers have come mostly vs sub .500 teams. Compare what he's done vs teams over .500 with what Shields has done. Shields has pitched more innings against those teams and has a better ERA.

When someone is a "slam dunk" case for an award, I become the guy looking for reasons why the guy shouldn't be a unanimous shoo-in.

[OaklandA's]

My biggest problem with Verlander is his numbers have come mostly vs sub .500 teams. Compare what he's done vs teams over .500 with what Shields has done. Shields has pitched more innings against those teams and has a better ERA.

Hmmm...yes, overall Shields has faced better opponents, but that's out of a pitcher's control. Verlander has shut down opposing batters at a better rate than Shields though, even given the differences in quality. Here's what I mean:

Shields: Average Opponent: .269/.334/.430 (764 OPS); Has held batters to: .218/.273/.351 (624 OPS)
Verlander: Average Opponent: .263/.326/.413 (739 OPS); Has held batters to: .193/.242/.313 (555 OPS)