Melvin Mora for MVP.

"Ramirez leads in homers, runs created and has a huge lead (1.038, Sheffield .961, Guerrero .937) in OPS."

Maybe so, but Melvin Mora has an OPS of 1.003 and is batting .345. Mora can't be a one-year wonder, since he was similarly wondrous last year. Maybe he's a two-year wonder.

Now, I suppose I should applaud Gammons for even mentioning someone besides the Anointed Big Three in the AL MVP race, but Mariano Rivera is hardly the first guy I'd think of.

I also find it odd that he chooses to compare Ichiro's credentials to ARod 2003, but doesn't bother with the obvious comparison: Miguel Tejada. Tejada has a bunch of errors, but he's still a shortstop who just happens to lead the whole league in RBIs. He was my pick a couple of months ago, and nothing has occurred since then to change my mind.


However, upon closer inspection, I'm not really sure what Gammons is saying, or what his opinion is (other than his belief in a higher entity). Does he think Mariano is the AL MVP, or not?:

"As for the Cy Young Award, Rob Neyer's Cy Young Predictor has great merit. Rivera and Eric Gagne are probably the most dominant pitchers in their respective leagues. But I have always thought of relievers as everyday players/MVP candidates, and I have a mental block that somehow the Cy Young Award winner is someone who records 650-750 outs. Is [sic] Curt Schilling's 740 outs more important than Rivera's 240 when the season is over? That's for a higher entity to decide."