Since the ASB, Bruce has that .900+ OPS that some of think he should/could be putting up.
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In the past 15 years, of 30 players that have won the award, only 3 players won on teams that won less than 90 games. Only one of those (A-Rod in 2003) was on a team that won fewer than 85 games.
So do I feel pretty confident that players on teams pacing for 77 and 79 wins respectively, one of whom tested positive for synthetic testosterone, will not win the award? Yes, I am fairly confident about that. There's a lot of empirical evidence that suggests it's highly unlikely.
Once in a blue moon, a tornado touches down in Washington state too. Doesn't mean residents should start building storm shelters.
Nothing here has changed. Voters still prefer, and always have, players on teams with winning records -- especially ones that haven't been shown to be on PEDs.
Maybe not with the W-L record, but the Cy Young hasn't really favored players on relevant teams like the MVP award. Yeah he didn't have a lot of wins, but voters seem to realize they don't really matter.
The perception of what an MVP means has not changed to voters though. I think Brutus displayed that pretty conclusively and is right in his confidence that it's not likely to change either.
Your point misses the broader point. With the exclusion of a few select relievers, there has never been a Cy Young award winner with a wins-loss record/percentage even in the neighborhood of King Felix. Ever. So it's not so much about the Cy Young winner coming from a lousy team, it's the fact that a winner was chosen without the wins/losses having anything to do with the pick. It was unprecedented and that stat was always a factor up until then it sure appeared.
Things can easily change. No one would've predicted Felix actually was going to win it until he did.
No I get the point, I'm just saying its not really important. I think many people thought Hernandez could win the award because there was a recent enlightenment on the unimportance of pitcher W/L. That's not going to happen with the MVP coming from contenders, because that's just the nature of the award. It's basically almost part of the criteria.
The difference btw Cy Young and MVP is that Cy Young has not been as strongly linked to team performance as MVP has been historically.
Like I said, Washington state has a tornado once in a while, but do you think it's a worthwhile investment to spend thousands on a storm shelter because of the one-in-a-million chance a tornado might touch down on your home? Sometimes things happen that don't happen often, but they're not suddenly a signal they'll happen more often.
I don't think Bruce has a chance of MVP (although Bruce has had a nice season overall)
McCuthson has faded a bit recently, but his numbers still are vastly superior to Bruces' numbers.
If I had to pick a Reds' MVP, and limit it to position players, I'd pick Ludwick.
Ludwick was the main force that carried the team on that monster win streak that locked up first place. Bruce helped keep the team afloat in April (when Ludwick was MIA), and has helped them stay in first place in August, but I give Ludwick the nod for leading the dominating streak that got us to 1st place.
Ludwick has an edge on season OPS too.
Again, not a bashing Bruce post in any way. Bruce has been great this year, especially in Aug/April..
Bruce is red-hot right now. Maybe it's happening! Seriously...I know it's mostly wishful thinking but if he stays hot and hit's .280, could he not win it by default?