Upton, meanwhile, just posted a 136 OPS+ as a 22-year-old, which is ridiculous. In the history of baseball, 48 players have been that productive at that age. Only 11 of those seasons have come in the last 30 years:

• Jack Clark, 1978, 152 OPS+
• Eddie Murray, 1978, 140
• Rickey Henderson, 1981, 150
• Cal Ripken, 1983, 144
• Ken Griffey Jr., 1992, 149
• Vladimir Guerrero, 1998, 150
• Alex Rodriguez, 1998, 136
• Albert Pujols, 2002, 151
• David Wright, 2005, 139
• Miguel Cabrera, 2005, 151
• B.J. Upton, 2007, 136

Basically Upton had A-Rod’s age-22 season. Works for me…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Pujols asked Cardinals media relations director Brian Bartow to make a reporter and cameraman from St. Louis Fox affiliate KTVI leave the room where Pujols’ news conference was taking place on the final day of the Cardinals’ winter warmup.

Not that you can blame Pujols. Assuming he’s clean, someone has tarnished his reputation, which is a bad thing in any line of work, much less one that involves such high visibility among its employees.

Sigh. When will it all end? Let’s get real; it probably won’t…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

To put Braun’s numbers in historical perspective, he is on pace to produce the highest AVG, SLG, OPS, and OPS+ of any first-year player in the modern era. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound native of Southern California is in elite company with such greats as Joe DiMaggio, Johnny Mize, Albert Pujols, Frank Robinson, and Ted Williams.

Sure, but is he any good?

When we adjust for home ballpark and era, Braun’s OPS+ of 168 would rank as the best first season in the annals of modern baseball.

Well, I’d say that qualifies. Finally, I love this line (small sample and all): .468/.543/1.013 against LHP. I don’t care if it’s only 79 at-bats, that’s freakish. Which, come to think of it, is a good word describe Braun and what he’s done so far as a rookie…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Before I go any further, you should know my bias: I can’t stand Albert Pujols. He’s a brilliant player, and I’m willing to give him all the props in the world for that, but he often comes off as a pompous jerk who doesn’t mind showing up other players in his pursuit of greatness. Pujols actually reminds me a lot of Barry Bonds before Bonds gained notoriety for reasons other than being merely unpleasant.

So, that’s my bias. I respect the heck out of Pujols’ game but have no use for his attitude.

Did I purposely look to pick someone other than Pujols as MVP? Yeah, it’s possible. I also still like to bust out the contrarian card every now and then, although not as often as when I was younger.

More importantly, I think I’ve found a guy who legitimately could win the NL MVP this year. He plays third base for the Florida Marlins, and his name is Miguel Cabrera.

Cabrera hit .339/.430/.568 last year while playing half his games in a park that favors pitchers. He turns 24 the third week of the ‘07 season and has exhibited some very promising trends in recent years. Cabrera’s OPS+ and RC/27 have each improved every season he’s been in the big leagues, but one set of numbers in particular intrigues me:

 
Cabrera is tightening his strike zone in a big way. He’s seeing better pitches and doing more damage to them also. He was good to begin with, and he still hasn’t reached his peak years.

Folks, this is a scary talent. Of Cabrera’s 10 most similar players at Baseball-Reference.com, six are in the Hall of Fame, three (Andruw Jones, Ken Griffey Jr., Vladimir Guerrero) are still active, and Hal Trosky — well, he’s a story for another day.

Will Cabrera win the MVP in 2007? Considering that Pujols has finished no lower than fourth in the voting since he came into the league sixth years ago, he probably should be considered the favorite. But if you’re looking for a dark horse candidate, keep a close eye on Cabrera this year. He’s not quite in Pujols’ class yet, but the guy is a special player who still has room to grow.

Post from: Knuckle Curve