FIRE JOE MORGAN

A lot of you got all up in it after I said Derek Jeter is a terrible choice for MVP. I was hoisted on my own petard, as e-mail after e-mail slammed me with VORPs and WARPs and even a few Win Percentage Added arguments, which is getting really hard-core nerdy, and God bless you all for it.

I stand by my assertion that to give Derek Jeter the MVP this year -- even for the first half -- is dumb. However.

On Mike 'n Mike in the Morning today, Eric Kuselias and Buster Olney played "Are the Fans Right?" with all-star predictions. Kuselias, who is, by ESPN Radio standards, a friggin' genius, said that Michael Young should be the starting SS for the AL. Why? More 2B than Jeter, more RBI than Jeter, and, in part because, and I quote: "He won the batting title last year."

He won the batting title.

Last year.

Derek Jeter 2006 OPS: .882
Michael Young 2006 OPS: .817

Derek Jeter 2006 SecA: .317
Michael Young 2006 SecA: .211

Derek Jeter 2006 RC27: 7.53
Michael Young 2006 RC27: 5.53

Now, Baseball Prospectus actually has Young above Jeter in WARP1, 4.3 to 3.6, largely because they list him at 12 FRAA and Jeter at -2 FRAA (take that, people who yelled at me). But come on. Jeter is the choice.

Now stop e-mailing me and telling me I am biased against Derek Jeter, that overrated, overpaid, iron-gloved, pretty-boy turd muncher.

The end.

Labels: derek jeter, mvp