One can easily make the argument that a shitty, non-clutchtastic ARod is STILL more valuable than Youkilis, Pedroia, et. al. on their best days. I don’t see why you think the concept of ARod the MVP is such an anathema.

Arod’s primary job is to drive in runs, which is done primarily by hitting with runners on base.

And even though we all witnessed him leave tons of potential RBI’s on the table, he still drove in 103 runs. That’s only 12 fewer than Youkilis, who had 27 additional plate appearances, not to mention better lineup protection.

Arod was terrible at his job last year, as anyone who watches the yanks knows.

And yet, it’s possible for someone to be terrible at their job and still the best person at their job. You’re judging ARod against what he can potentially be, rather than judging him against the other people who played baseball in 2008.

many players were far better than arod in this important stat.

And ARod was far better than them in other equally important stats. Stats that correlate more directly to wins and losses than “clutch” stats like BA with RISP.

therefore, arod can’t be the MVP, esp since his team suffered overall in this important category, failed to score sufficient runs, and didn’t make the playoffs as they were favored to do.

I assume you’re also not voting for Albert Pujols for the NL MVP.

Arod’s primary job is to drive in runs, which is done primarily by hitting with runners on base.

Arod was terrible at his job last year, as anyone who watches the yanks knows. For those who can’t believe something is true without seeing a statistic about it, they can pick their preferred “clutch” stat. The one cited above showed Arod was in the toilet last season as a clutch hitter (i.e., run producer).

many players were far better than arod in this important stat.

therefore, arod can’t be the MVP, esp since his team suffered overall in this important category, failed to score sufficient runs, and didn’t make the playoffs as they were favored to do.

i’m shocked that you would even put Arod’s name in the same sentence as MVP this season. pure arod apologism.

But its more objective than that obviously so hence he has no chance.

His production in the 8th-9th innings really doomed him. Not to mention finishing 3rd.

Youkilis had more doubles, fewer SO, fewer GIDP, and although he only played 36 games at 3rd, was better than Alex when he did. Also, the fact that he could slide over to 3rd when Lowell got hurt and play at a high level makes him very valuable.

Also, I can’t find the stat, but I believe (but I could be wrong) that Youkilis saw more pitches per plate appearance than did Alex.

Look, I’m a Yankee fan who can’t stand the Sux, but, from an OBJECTIVE stand point, Youkilis was more valuable to the Sux than Alex was to the Yanks.

But, Aramis Ramirez’s “Clutch” stat was +6.0, and the Cubs made the playoffs.

Clearly, Aramis Ramirez is the NL MVP and Albert Pujols sucks and the Cardinals were fools to resign him.

“Clutch” is the name we’ve given to the portion of Bill James’s Runs Created formula that includes the impact of a batter’s batting average with runners in scoring position and the number of home runs with runners on. The specific formula is Hits with RISP minus overall BA times at bats with RISP, plus HR with runners on minus (all HR/AB) times at bats with runners on. This stat is not a definitive description of “clutch hitting,” just one way of looking at it.

Your argument, thus, is that ARod can’t possibly be the MVP over Youkilis because ARod performed poorer on one single stat that A) is based on batting average, which is already quite flawed, and B) is only described as “one way of looking at clutch hitting” and “not definitive”.

Think about it this way: One reason ARod wasn’t “clutch” is because he didn’t have many hits this year with RISP. Youkilis, meanwhile, raked with RISP. Youkilis also hit in a lineup with Pedroia, Ortiz, and Manny/Bay. ARod was left pretty much exposed all year, except for the fleeting Jason Giambi hot streak here and there. Do you think that perhaps Youkilis saw consistently better pitches to hit, and pitchers instead pitched around ARod since nobody else in that lineup was going to hurt them?

It’s not the MCP, the Most Clutchified Player, it’s the MVP. Most Valuable Player. I know as well as you that ARod sucked with RISP this year, but the 2008 Yankees likely would have won what, 20 fewer games without ARod? Come on.

A flawed “clutch” stat is not a disqualifier for an MVP discussion.

You cannot be serious! Lay off the Koolaid!