We'll get to law someday...

In the meantime, there's baseball.

Rather than come up with original content, I'm going to raise my arms in curiosity at Jayson Stark's occasional ability to perceive baseball Rather than be consistently ignorant of the game, he just finds one egregious error (AL MVP) and argues it as speciously as possible.

NL MVP: He declares that it's Pujols over Ryan Howard. I agree. Howard was a huge drag on the Phillies for two months, his numbers are really not good anywhere aside from home runs and RBIs and a real most valuable player is valuable all season, not just two months (if two months were sufficient, obviously Manny gets more consideration. Pujols is a superior defender at first also, which helps him. I disagree with the idea that Carlos Delgado could possibly warrant consideration, because like Howard, he's getting consideration based on half a season, which while I think is passable for a specific-position category (we'll get there) when the dominance is so far beyond any one else in the leagye, Manny doesn't have that kind of separation between himself and Albert. Lance Berkman also had one of the best seasons in the league, but did it mostly when his team was a disaster, which holds him down. Stark got it right, if not for the right reasons.

1. Pujols
2. Lance Berkman
3. Aramis Ramirez
4. Ryan Howard
5. Ryan Ludwick

AL MVP: Dustin Pedroia is so absolutely wrong it's not even funny, and Justin Morneau is little better. Name the whole list of categories where Dustin Pedroia is the best on his team. If you accurately identified "virtually nothing except receiving unwarranted praise," you are the winner. Pedroia's had a great year, but he doesn't show up any higher than second if you are a sentient creature who only votes for Red Sox players. Stark identifies extra-base hits as a category where he beat even Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera. Well, one, Cabrera had a very inauspicious debut for much of 2008, helping to lead the Tigers to fourth. Two, he has fewer extra base hits than the best Red Sox candidate, Kevin Youkilis. Youkilis also proceeded to hit for a similar average, but score a higher OBP (.017 points) and absolutely blow Pedroia away in slugging (.080 higher), leading to an OPS nearly 100 points higher than his teammate, who is admittedly not very tall. Alas, Jayson Stark failed to identify Danny Ray Herrera or Billy Wagner as his NL Cy Young winner, so he doesn't even have consistency to keep him warm at night. Pedroia is an excellent fielder, Youkilis is an excellent fielder who has been called upon to play at both first and third as well as a few innings in the outfield. But aside from good facial hair choices and a greater ability to steal bases (20/21 for Pedroia, an unforgiveable 3/8 for Youkilis), Pedroia has nothing. He scored more runs because he had Youkilis hitting behind him. Specious argument sunk.

I don't know that I have a clear answer. My vote would probably go to Youkilis, because Carlos Quentin ruined his chances with the selfish injury that may cost the White Sox their division, Morneau isn't even worth considering with an .883 OPS (neither is Grady Sizemore, for that matter, since he's not even the Indians' MVP) and Mauer is a closer call as a catcher OPSing .867, but it's a stretch.

1. Youkilis
2. Josh Hamilton
3. Carlos Quentin
4. Pedroia
5. Cliff Lee

NL Cy Young
Stark picks Tim Lincecum, who is the most defensible choice. But I don't agree. C.C. Sabathia was far and away the best pitcher in the National League this year, with an ERA a point less than Lincecum's, even though Sabathia's gotten treated brutally, having pitched on short rest repeatedly and racking up more pitcher abuse points than anyone would ever hang on a starter who had some chance of returning. The only basis for not giving it to Sabathia is that he hasn't started enough games, otherwise, he's too obvious for words. But of the 16 starts he's made, he's won 10 of those, thrown complete games in 6 and shutouts in 3, allowed 2 or fewer earned runs in 12 of them, and two of the starts where he allowed more than two were starts he made on three days rest. He's not allowed more than four runs (earned or otherwise) since the Brewers acquired him and single-handedly pushed them within a game of the playoffs, put up an ERA of 1.78 (nearly a point below Lincecum) WHIP of 1.04 (.14 lower than Lincecum's), and done it in a home stadium and division much less friendly to pitchers. Santana or Lincecum is basically a coin flip, they both pitch in pitchers' parks and were robbed of wins by lousy bullpens and run support.

1. Sabathia
2. Johan Santana
3. Tim Lincecum
4. Brad Lidge
5. Brandon Webb

AL Cy Young
There's only two candidates in the AL, and the morons who vote for Francisco Rodriguez are dazzled by numbers even more meaningless than a 20-win threshold. Lee hasn't pitched as many innings or struck out as many batters, he's won more games and been more consistently effective. Halladay's thrown 8 games where he's allowed 4 earned runs or more. Lee's only thrown nine where he's allowed more than 2 earned runs (three of which have also come in his last three starts, reflecting how positively unhittable Cliff Lee was in the vast majority of this season). It's a close call, but Lee just never let his team lose games. The Indians lost 7 of his 31 starts, but Lee only left the game trailing in 3 of them. The Blue Jays have lost 13 of Halladay's starts, he's left trailing in 11.

As for the other awards, I'm too tired to plow forward with them now. I posted.


1. Cliff Lee
2. Roy Halladay
3. Ervin Santana
4. Jon Lester
5. Zack Greinke