National League MVP

Prince is like Pujols in that winning a bad division isn't going to help him that much. The Brewers have staggered through the second half, and Prince has been a part of that, with 70 of his 102 RBI coming before the All-Star break. Even if they end up winning the Central, I don't think Prince will get it.

If I had to guess right now, the top five would go Wright, Rollins, Utley, Fielder, Reyes.

 

It's the MVP of the season, not the MVP of part of the season. Braun is outstanding. I like him. He'll be the ROY. He won't be the MVP. This discussion is about MVP.

Broadway Joe, the Phillies are done. Rollins and Utley, as great as they've played, leave the equation once the Phils are mathemetically eliminated. Fielder is probably the only player that still has a chance of topping Wright in the voting.

Off topic: Pat Burrell has had a hell of a season, too. So screw you, Dallas Green.

 

Cran, the Phillies aren't done in terms of the wildcard race. If they make it to the postseason, Utley and Rollins' chances are legit. Besides, Ryan Howard won it last year without the Phillies winning anything.

 

They still have an outside chance. Love both players but if forced to choose I'd take Utley.

 

I never said Braun was the MVP. But Fielder has not even been the best player on his own team since May. To me, that is a strong argument against him winning the MVP award.

Wright is the MVP if things continue as they are now. He's having a great year overall and he's crushing the ball now, as the Mets try to hold on to the division.

 

I'm as big of a Wright fan as anyone on the board, but he was fairly nonexistent for the first half of the season, while working out the kinks in his swing. I voted for Reyes, who I think will win a very close vote for the MVP.

 

Before the road trip the Mets just finished, I would have said Reyes too. But he hit about .150 on the trip and I think that dropped him behind Wright. I agree that Reyes carried them early in the season, but Wright is doing it now, when they're trying to cement the division, and that's what MVP voters are going to place more value on. Reyes has got to get hot again, soon, to catch him.

 

Fielder leads the NL in home runs and slugging and he's fourth in both RBIs and OPS. He has MVP-caliber stats. That Braun has played great doesn't diminish Prince's accomplishments. If anything Braun, who had a off-the-charts month of July, is pretty happy to have Fielder hitting behind him in the lineup. Prince, who is also the undisputed leader in the clubhouse, is without question the Brewers' MVP and he has a legitimate shot at league MVP.

 

Reyes looks worn out right now and his Avg. has dropped to .292.
At this moment, it would be Wright

 

Brewers are 22-29 since the break and Fielder's been just OK. Overall he's good enough to be in the conversation but not good enough to win.

 

None of which counters my argument that he has not even been the best player on his own team since mid-May.

 

You don't even have an argument. Your premise is faulty and your facts are wrong, too. Braun had an outstanding July. Every other month of the season he's been outproduced by Fielder. But that's all besides the point.

As I've mentioned several times now, whether anyone -- Braun or someone else -- does better than another for a day, a week, a month or two months, it doesn't matter. Only the whole season counts in MVP balloting. Fielder has been their best player over the course of the entire season.

A-Rod had a terrible month of May. I'm sure someone on the Yankees outperformed him. Does that mean that A-Rod isn't the AL MVP?