So is Jeter MVP worthy?

Yes.

Well that was a fun update but maybe we'll delve further into my answer.

As Neil H as already stated, it has been reported that David Ortiz didn't actually say the following to ESPN:

"I'll tell you one thing, If I get 50 home runs and 10 more RBI [which would give him 137], that's going to be a round number that no one else in the American League will have.

"But they'll vote for a position player, use that as an excuse. They're talking about [Derek] Jeter a lot, right? He's done a great job, he's having a great season, but Jeter is not a 40-homer hitter or an RBI guy. It doesn't matter how much you've done for your ball club, the bottom line is, the guy who hits 40 home runs and knocks in 100, that's the guy you know helped your team win games.

"Don't get me wrong, he's a great player, having a great season, but he's got a lot of guys in that line-up, top to bottom, you've got a guy who can hurt you. Come hit in this line-up, see how good you can be."

I think he said it, I don't think there's any doubt he said it, whether or not he said it out of frustration is another matter entirely but despite the Boston Globe article Neil H linked to in his piece, I'm fully of the belief that he made those comments.

Now are they fair?

Possibly, I think Ortiz got hosed out of the MVP last year, I maybe the Yanks half of the blog but I thought Ortiz was a bigger part of the Sox than A-Rod was of the Yanks. He has exceptional numbers this year but as Neil H knows, I am a guy who thinks the award isn't the 'Best Player' award, it is an award for the Most Valuable Player, that Valuable part knocks Ortiz out of the debate this year, as his team isn't in the hunt for the postseason going down the stretch.

So who are Jeter's rivals for MVP? Well Neil H picked a couple of players and I'll add a couple of my own. The Big Hurt is getting hot at the right time and is leading the A's into October baseball and take Johan Santana away from the Twinkies and they are just playing out time at the moment, and not trying to haul in the Tigers.

If Jeter wins the batting title then maybe he gets it legit, but my personal feeling is the quality of his team mates harms his chances. Mariano Rivera is the Yankees MVP for me, always has been throughout my NYY watching fandom. I love Jeter and think he got hosed in 1999, he deserves to be in the mix this time around with Dye and Big Hurt for me (Big Hurt has single handedly taken my fantasy team to the brink of an all 3,079 Miles... final).

So is he MVP worthy?

No doubt.

Should he win it?

Still got two weeks left to play...

[Posted by Neil H on behalf of Neil M... silly Blogspot!]