Ken Rosenthal's Crazy Pujols Trade Proposals

Ugh.  So we're at that point in the offseason now.  Ken Rosenthal shares some speculative trade ideas involving Albert Pujols.  Buckle in kids, this is going to be a bumpy ride.

"WARNING: What you are about to read is pure speculation. It has not, to my knowledge, been discussed at any level. In fact, it is not even my idea.

Harold Reynolds mentioned the possibility Monday on MLB Network. My colleague, Jon Paul Morosi, informed me of it later that night. I then stole the idea from Morosi as if I were Lindsay Lohan in a jewelry store.

Albert Pujols for Mark Teixeira.

And, if that doesn’t work, Pujols for Ryan Howard.

Think it’s nuts? Think again." 

Yeah, you're certifiably nuts.  First of all, you made the mistake of actually taking anything Harold Reynolds says seriously.  Come on, Ken, you're smarter than that.  Reynolds?  These are the kinds of inane ideas you expect out of him.  Hence the reason he's been employed as a TV analyst for ESPN and MLB Network.

Secondly, neither one of the aforementioned trade proposals, nor the ones he later proposes involving Miguel Cabrera or Adrian Gonzalez, are plausible.  There are just way too many moving parts involved to make this happen.  Yeah, it's fun to speculate, and I'm sure he's just bored out of his mind, but still.  If we're going to speculate, shouldn't we speculate intelligently?

Ryan Howard was MVP Worthy?

In one of the great WTF moments of award season, it appears that some member of the BBWAA gave a second place vote to Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard.  Well, that's not all.  He also received one vote for third place, one fourth, two fifths, two sixths, and one seventh.  Simply baffling.  (Special thanks to Hardball Talk's Craig Calcaterra for reporting the story.)  

In 2010, Howard put up the most disappointing season of his career.  In 143 games, Howard put up a .367 wOBA (+22.8 wRAA), -12.6 UZR, and 2.0 WAR.  Just to show you how not valuable Howard was, he finished tied for 10th in WAR (with Derrek Lee) among eligible National League first baseman.  How did he rank in the National League as a whole?  55th out of 73.  55th!  Howard didn't deserve to even sniff the ballot let alone receive eight top ten votes.  It just goes to show that voters are still blinded by RBIs, which are a more a function of luck and opportunity than talent.

It's kind of amazing really.  The AL Cy Young award showed us how far the statistical revolution has come.  Finally, after decades of fighting the good fight, pitching wins are no longer considered the barometer of pitching performance.  At the same time, several MVP voters still seem to think RBI is an appropriate measure for offensive performance.  Perhaps it's time to put away the party hats and streamers for a little while longer.  We stat geeks may've won a battle, but the war is still far from being over.