Cal now odds-on favorite to win AL MVP.

[RiverDog]

Although the Mariners appear to be in control at this point, I think they're going to have to keep the pedal to the metal if they want to maintain their position as the 2-seed and get a bye. A sweep of the Rockies would be nice because the Mariners have to play the Dodgers after that, and that's not going to be easy.

The good thing is that Detroit has to play the Guardians and the Red Sox, so they have a harder road, with both Cleveland and Boston fighting to make the playoffs.

I agree. It's going to be interesting to see if that "pedal to the metal" strategy includes starting Woo as he's scheduled to this Thursday.

 

[bileever]

I agree. It's going to be interesting to see if that "pedal to the metal" strategy includes starting Woo as he's scheduled to this Thursday.

If it's at all questionable, I'd rather rest Woo on Thursday because the playoff outlook is a lot different without a healthy Woo.

 

[sutz]

The Mariners are "in control" in the sense that if they keep winning, nothing that the other teams in the race do will matter much. They are still not locked into a playoff spot yet, so they need to continue this winning streak as long as they can.

 

[Ruminator]

Yes, we all know that the Rockies practically play on the moon when they play at home. I was just encouraged that their pitchers are accustomed to watching home run balls fly high over their heads and far away behind them, Ms being one of the more prolific HR hitting teams and all -- it won't be overly strenuous or unfamiliar to them today tomorrow and Thursday.

 

[RiverDog]

If it's at all questionable, I'd rather rest Woo on Thursday because the playoff outlook is a lot different without a healthy Woo.

Agreed. And if he does start, you can be damn sure that they'll be watching his every wink and twitch.

They might want to let him start and put him on a pitch count, say 40-50 pitches. You don't want him sitting idle for 10-14 days, either. If we get that first round bye, he'll have plenty of rest.

 

[Ruminator]

Guess who I think will be managing the Ms in a couple of decades or so.

 

[Ruminator]

This is actually a strong, logical argument for Cal, not Judge, deserving the AL MVP:

 

[JustTheTip]

This is actually a strong, logical argument for Cal, not Judge, deserving the AL MVP:

Another is that the Mariners would not be where they are at without Cal, the Yankmes without Judge would have spent until they were where they are anyways (including probably Naylor and Suarez).

 

[Loganpatch]

Judge will likely win due to east coast bias. Cal DESERVES IT though.

 

[Ruminator]

Not a very MVP-ish throw by Judge:

 

[Ruminator]

Silly Aaron, he thought the ball was inside the wall at first!

 

[HawkinNY]

I can see Cal winning it. It doesn’t matter what his avg is. Or any other stats he wasn’t good at. Even next year when he bats around .200. He should get it then too.

 

[Double Tribble]

Yes, he should. He has earned it. He's still playing and making a huge difference for his team. Judge is not.

 

[Ruminator]

This is how badly Cal wants to get to the WS:

 

[sutz]

This is how badly Cal wants to get to the WS:

He's gonna need a month or two off after this is over. Giving his all.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

I'm pretty sure the voting is already done.

 

[AnimeAmore]

I don't think Cal has much of a chance, but he deserves it. I have felt for the last 20+ years that the single biggest advantage a team can have at one position is a catcher with above-average D for a catcher and above-average offense league-wide. Suddenly a spot in the batting order that's almost as much of an automatic out as pitchers becomes a plus. You now have a better chance of stringing hits together and keeping innings alive.

If I was building a team, Cal would be my first pick. To me that makes him MVP

 

[Ruminator]

Seems we're seeing a lot of this lately, both in professional sports and out. Nope, after these amazing accomplishments, Cal just doesn't deserve the Gold Glove now does he? Sheesh.......

 

[Bobblehead]

This is how badly Cal wants to get to the WS:

mY Question is, why isn't Cal a gold glove finalist?

 

[Ruminator]

It will be especially insulting if Cal is also only the runner-up to the MVP award.