MVP's of Your TEAM

[Alan Ehlers]

I think this will be fun to do tell me your MVP for pitching and Hitting and why. I will do mine after tonights SIM

[Denny]

C'mon, we know Markus Hancock is your MVP

[John]

Great question Chris, and now that I've got a minute I'll post my answer to see if we can get the ball rolling here. I suppose I could try to be esoteric and pick out some of the players that have played key support roles for the Borealis in '08, but I'll roll with my big guns: RF Chris Weaver and SP John Roach.

Weaver has shown himself to be a complete all-around player. It's not so much that he does one thing overwhelming well (although his ability to hit for contact is especially impressive), it's just that he's more than the sum of his parts. He's a plus defender, a plus baserunner and he possesses plus makeup (something I value). He hits his share of home runs. Not the gaudy totals you might expect from a typical middle-of-the-order hitter, perhaps, but then he doesn't need to when he also draw walks and get on base like he does. If he's not jacking one out of the park, he'll probably get on base and give Kiyomizu a shot at doing so. Weaver really helps make the whole lineup better in a lot of ways.

Roach is going to end up giving the Borealis 200 superlative innings. To say he's exceeded the organization's expectations is the understatement of the year. Obviously there was the hope that he'd rebound some from his disappointing '07 season, but to this level? That was a fantasy that was never entertained. Roach has morphed from a guy who was being counted on to be a solid #3 to possibly starting game 1 for the Borealis in the PEBA Division Series.

The best part about these two guys is that they should be the team's MVPs. They're the highest paid players on the team. It's a reminder to me that sometimes it pays to open up your wallet. Obviously you have to pick and choose; no one, not even the Bears, can field a team littered with guys making 8-digit yearly salaries. But with judicious discretion you can pick out one or two players to spend on and reap an enormous reward.

[Duane]

Weaver has shown himself to be a complete all-around player. It's not so much that he does one thing overwhelming well (although his ability to hit for contract is especially impressive)

SO are you saying that Weaver is hitting so well because he is up for contract??? Or is it payback for a nice contract???

Or maybe I have been drinking and you really meant he is a great contact hitter??? Bill get me another bomber, I just gave myself a headache!!!

[John]

A little Freudian action on my part there! Fixed.

[Duane]

For Kentucky this is easy ... Barry Murdock and Jerry 'Sooner' Armstrong

Murdock has raised his offensive numbers in every catagory this season including a BA and OBP increase of 50 points ... and a VORP increase of 40 points
Armstrong matured in 2008 leading Kentucky in all pitching categories and increasing his VORP by 18 points for this dismal franchise. in 2007 he was 3 - 12 ... 2008 12 - 8

the biggest disappointment - Takaki ... lead team in hitting in 2007 with a 300 AVG and 396 OBA, now a paultry 223 - 288. Really hope he takes his early retirement hints and free us from paying his sorry arse for the next 2 years

[Tyler]

LF Jon Wood runs away with the batting award for the Coal Sox, despite battling nagging injuries all year that limited him to 436 AB. His final slash numbers are .314/.421/.475 with a 46.3 VORP. Not bad at all.

And on the pitching side, the Bakersfield Bears' ex-girlfriend Mathys Crete runs away with the honors. Converted to a starter in spring training, Crete leads the Coal Sox in ERA, SO, K/9 (10.3!!!) and OBA.

[Alan Ehlers]

Pitching it has to be Chet Collins he has won 13 games and has really improved. Douglass is a close second

Hitting it has to Edward Allen. He has been steady all year and has hit around 40 doubles. His average is not great but he is consistent. Im hoping some of the doubles turn to homeruns next year

[Nigel]

I think the picks are fairly easy for me.

Hitter-Orlando German .272/.341/.419 56bb/60k 29sb

Even though he is still only 22 Orlando has been the most complete offensive player for London. He seems to have come back from his torn rib cage muscle just fine and has really taken to the leadoff spot in the lineup. His BB/K ratio is great and it doesn't hurt that he plays an elite level centerfield in our spacious ballpark.


Pitcher-Anastasio Molina 9-11 3.33 ERA 1562/3 IP 150H 36bb/126k 1.19 Whip

Don't let the record fool you, Anastasio has been Londons' go to guy this season. All of his peripherals speak to how well he's done. 3.5 K/BB ratio, low whip, more innings pitched than hits. A very solid guy on a less than stellar pitching staff.

Is it possible that I could clone these guys?

[Denny]

On the hitting side for Palm Springs it's a close call: John Gustafson has been great as always, but my gut feel was that the MVP was our offseason acquisition from San Antonio, Michael Smith--and statistically that's borne out, as Smith slightly edges Gustafson in both OPS (.942 to .908) and VORP (63.7 to 63.6!). I think the team really suffered when he was hurt for three weeks in August.

(And for those curious, yes, Mr. Ollie Morris is third in the voting.)

On the pitching side there is less controversy: the only name worth watching is the confident Chilean, Felipe Lara. His only possible rival, Tattoo Gallegos, has underwhelmed a bit since coming to Palm Springs (though much of that is no doubt due to an unlucky .322 batting average on balls in play).

[Maulers]

For the Maulers, the only controversy is on the pitching side of things. Both Augusto Leon and Jesus Gonzalez have been excellent. I would probably go with Gonzalez because he's a starter, though Leon has been completely dominant at the back end of the bullpen.

The offense? The less said the better. There is really only one contender (and this is really damning with faint praise): Mark Gunter

[Reg]

how many can be MVP? Just one...who came up with that???? :)


Offensive - It's really hard to choose between Cline and Conard, though in the end Conard slighty edges Cline in the power category, although Cline edges Conard in batting average, not doubt if either player is not in the lineup the team will struggle. And to complicate matters more there is Gagne whose second half has MVP written all over it, .322 17 hrs, 48 RBI's since joining the Trendsetters.... so hmmm...three MVP's why not?

Pitching- Conan McCullough of course riiigghhttt...well yes and no..McCullough has dominated again but only managed to record victories in ten games so far, his one weakness is that he is a converted reliever and his arm gets tired more often... so enter into the debate Chandler Davis and Chris Nicholson...Davis was injured a bit early in the season, but he has been one of the more consistent starters with 59% of his starts being quality starts including 2 complete games, his era 2.80 and his 13 wins give him a strong case. On the other hand Nicholson now leads the Trendsetters in career wins with 30 (16 of them this season) and has a respectable 3.31 era all three could anchor a staff...

[Coqui]

Well, as much as I can have MVP's, here they are.

Pitching- Pedro Cruz 14-7, 3.87 on the first glance numbers. A WHIP of 1.37 and only 40 walks in 172 innings. I recently extended Cruz, which almost assures a flameout next year.

Batting- Orlando Valadez Leads my team in AVG (.286), HR (24) and RBI (80). An OPS of .817, VORP of 24.6 and 11 SB's just sweeten the deal. Jack Cobb also had a nice season on his way to a VORP of 31.2.

What is tremendously sad is that a mid-rotation (or maybe a #2) starter and a couple of above average players are my MVP's. Oh, to have the talent on Bakersfield or Crystal Lake for just one day.

[John]

Jack Cobb also had a nice on his way to a VORP of 31.2.

You know, for all the jokes at his expense, PEBA's "Mr. Irrelevant" (or is that "Mr. Irreverent"?) is actually shaping up to be a decent ballplayer. Not a star by any stretch, but definitely a useful player. He does a lot of little things to contribute to the lineup, and he's even making himself into a passable shortstop. Must be that solid work ethic of his (though the poor boy doesn't have two marbles to rub together upstairs).

It's been nice to see his national popularity rise. He may have been Bakersfield's favorite (adopted) son, but the boy from Mulberry, AR should be appreciated by all fans of PEBA.

[Cole]

CF Crocker and SP Paige

I wasn't with the team the whole season so I am just going on the last couple weeks.