It's About to Get All Nerdy In Here

Stat nerdy that is. That's what happens when you write a half-assed article arguing a guy who isn't even the best player at his POSITION should be league MVP. Please Joe Frisaro, make your terrible arguments:

Uggla vaults himself into NL MVP talk

Seems more like you, Joe Fisaro, are vaulting him into NL MVP talks.

WASHINGTON -- Don't look now, but here comes Dan Uggla soaring up the home run charts. The Marlins' second baseman has 26 homers, which are four behind National League leader Adam Dunn, who has 30. Uggla is fourth in the league in homers, and he also trails Albert Pujols and Joey Votto, who both have 28.

Because not leading the league in a major category is a reason to be MVP. Not that HR's are the only measure, I'm just saying it's a poor stat to point out.


Combine his homers with 71 RBIs, 77 runs scored and a .283 batting average, and Uggla is worthy of being in the NL MVP conversation.

None of those stats matter to me. They just don't. And none of them have the look of an MVP anyway.

The 30-year-old may not be a frontrunner, but he is making a case to be in the top five or six.
Manager Edwin Rodriguez says Uggla is the Marlins' MVP, giving him the edge over Josh Johnson based on him being an everyday player.

He does have the highest WAR of position players on the team, 4.0. So I agree with that.


"The numbers are there," Rodriguez said. "If you know a little about baseball, and you watch and notice the bat speed he can generate, you can understand why.
"He has such a powerful swing, not only to the pull side. But I have seen him to right-center field and center field. The bat speed really impresses me."

Sorry, but bat speed is not a reason to give someone the MVP. And the numbers? They're good, but he's still tied for 11th in the league in WAR. That's pretty far down there for an MVP candidate.

Since July 23, a span of 16 games, Uggla has 10 homers and 18 RBIs. He paces the NL in homers since the All-Star break, and he's one behind Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays for the most in the Majors.

Too bad the MVP has to do with the whole season.

Uggla is on pace for 39 homers, 112 runs and 104 RBIs.

Great numbers, all counting stats, but still.

Of his homers, half have come on two-strike counts.

So...the frick...what?

Uggla homered off Washington's Stephen Strasburg with two strikes on Tuesday.
"I got lucky," said Uggla, who connected on a 98-mph fastball. "He made a pretty good pitch, and I got away with a pretty good pitch."
Rookie Mike Stanton, who has incredible power, is learning by watching Uggla.
"It's ridiculous. It's fun for me to watch and a great thing for me to learn from," Stanton said. "Every day he's getting better and better. The numbers are skyrocketing, and it's fun to be on the same field as him."

Well, might as well hand him the league MVP since he's fun to play with.

Case Closed!