MVP Race - Week 16

Well, besides Chris Johnson, Phillip Rivers, and Tom Brady, no one had a superb game statistically or in the win column. As the season winds down, with 1 week left, I have the feeling that these standings will remain the same. I'd like to see Rivers pass Favre but I do not think he'll play that many series, same goes pretty much half of these guys. Anyway, here is the updated standings.

1 D. Brees 123.94

2 A. Rodgers 123.47

3 B. Favre 116.24

4 P. Rivers 115.64

5 C. Johnson 112.05

6 P. Manning 111.84

7 T. Romo 108.01

8 T. Brady 107.00

9 M. Jones-Drew 102.45

10 B. Roethlisberger 98.13

MVP Race - Week 15

In one of the bigger surprises, Saints lose, Brees stays at #1, Packers lose and Rodgers passes Favre for #2, and nearly overtakes Brees for the top spot. Manning makes a surge to #4 as the Colts stay undefeated. Chris Johnson, as expected lost steam. Jones-Drew even after a solid game, still continues his MVP plunge. Brady is fading. Big Ben, was the big rise this week with his clutch 500 yard 3 TD performance.

Now I don't oppose Brees being over Manning. He has the better stats on a team that was .500 last year.

My prediction, final results will be Brees, Rodgers, Manning, Rivers. NFL writers will vote it Manning, Brees, Rodgers, Chris Johnson, Rivers.

1 D. Brees 121.97

2 A. Rodgers 121.16

3 B. Favre 114.37

4 P. Manning 111.05

5 P. Rivers 110.73

6 C. Johnson 110.33

7 T. Romo 106.42

8 M. Jones-Drew 105.24

9 T. Brady 99.50

10 B. Roethlisberger 96.64

BASEBALL? Yes, The Roy Halladay Trade

So in 2009, the Phillies trade Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, Jason Knapp, and Lou Marson for Cliff Lee. This December, they trade more prospects (Michael Taylor, Kyle Drabek, and Travis D'Arnaud) and Cliff Lee, and receive Roy Halladay, Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies, and Juan Ramirez in return.

Basically, since this summer the Phillies have done this to their team.

Lost:

Carlos Carrasco (MLB.com 2008 rank #28, Baseball America #52 in Feb 09, Scouting Book 2009 #45)

RHP Carrasco was 11-10 with a 4.64 ERA while holding batters to .245 average. He posted nearly a strikeout per inning as well.

Jason Donald (Baseball America #69 in Feb 09, Scouting Book 2009 #78)

SS in Triple A, who batted .238 in 269 at bats. Also had 18 doubles, 2 home runs, and 18 RBI.

Jason Knapp

RHP went 2-7 with a 4.18 ERA while striking out 128 in 97 innings.

Lou Marson (MLB.com 2008 rank #43, Baseball America #66 in Feb 09, Scouting Book 2009 #59)

Catcher has batted .246 in 61 at bats. 21 strikeouts, however, coupled with 10 walks.

Kyle Drabek (Scouting Book 2009 #163)

RHP boasted a 12-3 record with a 3.19 ERA in 158 innings. 150Ks and 50BBs, and an even ground out to pop out ratio and opponents only hitting .239 against him.

Michael Taylor (Scouting Book 2009 #42)

OF batted .320 in 428 at bats at the age of 23. 28 doubles 20 home runs and 84 RBIs as well. .395/.549/.944 OBP/SLG/OPS split.

Travis D'Arnaud

Another Catcher, who batted .255 in 482 at bats 38 doubles 13 homers and 71 RBIs. .319/.419/.738 split.

and Received:

Roy Halladay

The center piece, everyone should realize this guy is one of the best in baseball and is a complete workhorse.

Phillippe Aumont

RHP 2-6 3.88 ERA in 44 games of relief. 59K/51 innings of work. 23 walks, however.

Tyson Gillies

CF in Class A, batting .341 with 9 homers 41 RBIs and 44 stolen bases! .916 OPS is very solid as well.

Juan Ramirez

RHP had a 8-10 record with a 5.12 ERA in Class A, opposing batters hit .271 on him as well.

As far as rankings go internally, when Carrasco, Marson, Donald, and Knapp were traded they were the #2, #3, #4, and #10 prospects in the Phillies minor league system. When Drabek, Taylor, and D'Arnaud were traded, they were #2, #3, and #4 in the the Phillies farm system this year.

Out of Aumont, Ramirez, and Gillies, Aumont was #3 and Ramirez as #5 in 2009 for the Mariners minor league system.

While, we don't know what will happen in the careers of these players, the Phillies shipped out 7 players, 3 very highly ranked ones (Carrasco, Taylor, and Drabek) for Roy Halladay, 1 solid prospect, and 2 marginal prospects.

I can understand the need to get Halladay, as Lee wasn't signing for cheap. But would it have been worth it to pay Lee $18 million a year for 5 years ($90 million total) and keep Drabek, Taylor, and D'Arnaud?

Halladay is basically getting $80 million himself, and you ship out more young players. (I know its a 3/$60 contract, but there is another $20 mil option in it)

If this was the case, why didn't they keep Carrasco, Donald, Knapp, and D'Arnaud, and trade Drabek, Taylor, and Marson for Halladay last year? Unless they lost faith in their players, which Billy Beane sure hasn't as he's trading his top prospect from the Holliday trade (Wallace) for Michael Taylor as I'm writing this, what happened?

They had to know they had to pay Lee. Just seems like quite an overhaul of talent for a slight upgrade. It's an ace for an ace.

Comments?

MVP Race - Week 14

Decided to get an early jump on my MVP standings. Top 10 again, Warner played himself out of the game tonight. Desean Jackson is trying to edge his way in (#15). Thomas Jones making a surge as well with the Jets (#11). As expected against the Rams, Chris Johnson knocked his way into the top 5. Maurice Jones-Drew continues to plummet.

Here it is:

1 D. Brees 124.97 <--putting some distance from the pack

2 B. Favre 116.63

3 A. Rodgers 114.91

4 C. Johnson 114.69

5 P. Rivers 109.44 <--most underrated in NFL

6 P. Manning 105.34 <--too many turnovers as of late

7 T. Romo 102.58

8 M. Jones-Drew 99.84

9 T. Brady 98.63

10 M. Schaub 88.43

MVP Race - Week 13

Sorry for the delay, busy week. Aaron Rodgers continues to impress.

Here is your top 10 MVP candidates based on our computer system:

1 D. Brees 119.11

2 B. Favre 116.75

3 A. Rodgers 114.82

4 P. Rivers 108.56

5 P. Manning 105.99

6 C. Johnson 105.08

7 M. Jones-Drew 100.15

8 T. Romo 99.81

9 T. Brady 97.75

10 K. Warner 91.29

*As you can see, all receivers have slipped from the top 10. It is also more dominated with quarterbacks. Reggie Wayne would have registered in at #11 had I posted more. Another thing of note is Vernon Davis's season. Wow, he'd be #15 based on production, and he was a nobody 7 weeks ago. Had Warner not missed a game and a half, I'd think he'd be up a bit higher.