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	10.5.05 AL Postseason Awards AL MVP As with the National League, this has become a two horse race in the media.  There shouldn't even be a question this year, but the media's love affair with Boston continues and they are making the AL MVP race their stand against the Yankees.  The two players, of course, are Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz.  Here are their numbers: A-Rod         .322/.423/.613    48hr    130rbi    21sb    151.4 runs created (1st in league) Big Papi       .300/.397/.604    47hr    148rbi     1sb     138.4 runs created (2nd in league) As you can see, A-Rod has the advantage in every statistic except rbi (which, I believe, is the least important statistic because it relies too much on actions of your teammates).  I must say, though, that whatever catcher Ortiz got his steal off of should not be allowed to play in the majors anymore.   Anyway, A-Rod holds statistical advantages in almost all categories, plus he plays the field (in gold glove caliber fashion), while Ortiz is a DH (and an occasional really crappy 1b - 78 innings over 10 games this year).  I am not inherently opposed to a DH winning an MVP award, but the DH would have to have an overwhelming edge in offensive statistics to do it.  In this case, Ortiz is inferior in the statistics and has not contributed in the field.   There shouldn't even be an issue here.  Boston proponents will argue that Ortiz always seems to be getting big hits in clutch situations, and it is true that Ortiz has a flair for the dramatic, but to make him MVP is ridiculous.  The numbers aren't there, the defensive contributions aren't there, and the votes shouldn't be there.  Alex Rodriguez is a better player and has played better this season than David Ortiz.  End of argument. Cy Young You almost have to search for someone to give this award to this year because there haven't been any truly exceptional pitching performances this year.   The league ERA leader (Kevin Millwood) finished with a 9-11 record, so he is out of the running.  The 2003 winner (Roy Halliday) started strong with a 12-4 record, but then broke his leg in July and missed the rest of the season.  The 2004 winner, Johann Santana, struggled at times, especially early in the year, but came on strong down the stretch, finishing as the only pitcher besides Millwood to have a sub-3.00 ERA.  Bartolo Colon was the only pitcher to win 20 games, so he has to be in the discussion.  In an effort to find viable candidates, talk has turned to Mariano Rivera, the Yankees closer.  His ERA was 1.38 and he had 43 saves in a row to finish the season after blowing his first two.  Here are the stats: Johann Santana           16-7    2.88era    238k    232.2ip Bartolo Colon             21-8    3.48era    157k    223.2ip Mariano Rivera             7-4     1.38era     80k      78.1ip    43 saves If Colon has good numbers in either the ERA or strikeout category, his league lead in wins would do it for me, but it just doesn't mean that much to me when he was not dominant in either other category.  Rivera had a great season for a closer, but to justify giving a closer the Cy Young, I think they need to do something really special.  The amount of innings he worked just can't compare to a starter's innings.  Therefore, almost by a default judgment, I'd have to give the nod to Santana.  He led the majors in strikeouts, came in second in the AL in ERA and won 16 games.  In a very underwhelming Cy Young fight, Santana wins by TKO. Rookie of the Year Just like the National League, there is a viable candidate that didn't quite get a full season's worth of at bats in this year.  Jonny Gomes, the Tampa Bay outfielder, looked great in his 344 at bats, but the question is whether that is enough time to prove yourself.  Here are the stats: Jonny Gomes         .282/.373/.535    21hr    54rbi    9sb    344ab Robinson Cano      .295/.318/.457    14hr    62rbi    1sb    519ab Tadahito Iguchi      .278/.342/.435    15hr    71rbi    15sb  508ab This is a pretty tight race.  Both Cano and Iguchi play 2b for playoff teams and they have very similar numbers.  Iguchi has more steals, a few more rbi, and a higher on base percentage, but Cano has a better batting average and slugging average.  Gomes, in his limited time, showed more power than either of the others and had several highlight reel catches in the outfield.  It's too close to call by the naked eye, so I'm going to go to the Runs Created statistic.  Iguchi leads the pack with 74.8RC, followed by Cano at 69.4 and then Gomes with 68.1.  It seems clear that if Gomes had gotten another 100 at bats he would have surpassed Cano and Iguchi, but as it stands, I'd give the award to Iguchi.
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