Quote: Joe Mama said: I agree with most of Ani's point, though I wonder what he thinks of Travis Hafner, another DH who warranted consideration last year.
I think Hafner is the best hitter in the AL, and has been the last three years. Unfortunately, injuries(mostly of the freakish kind) seem to follow him. He's yet to play more than 140 games in a season. If he played the rest of this year, barring collapse, he probably would have been my pick for MVP.
Based on the way the writers usually vote, my guess is the MVP will be Jeter, Dye, or Santana. Ironically, Ortiz may end up with the best numbers(and I don't mean homeruns or RBI, which I think Ortiz attaches a bit too much value to in his complaint), thanks in no small part to the injuries that have plagued Hafner, Ramirez, and Thome. I find that ironic because it would mean that, in just one year, Ortiz had gone from the guy sportswriters undeservingly championed as the MVP, to the guy sportswriters unfairly cast aside due to his team's collapse.
Disqualifying Hafner, I would vote for Dye as the MVP right now. He and Ortiz are very close offensively, but Dye's defensive value puts him ahead. Jeter, Manny and Mauer would round out my top 5.
