[cardinalbird5]

NL: McCutchen should win it, but it is ridiculous how no one even considers Carp. They'll consider Molina or Craig (before his injury). Those are most fans who don't watch us regularly though. I guess he doesn't have enough pretty numbers to make people happy, but he been our MVP, no doubt. If he was batting in the middle of our lineup he'd have 100+ RBI's (the stat people like). Most of his value added is him moving over to 2b this year when we had no one worth a darn to play there. If you were to tell me last year that Matt Carpenter would finish top 5 in MVP voting the next year I would have said you were crazy. The guy is a baseball player and has been a pleasure to watch.

Oh and I disagree with OP why Carp should be considered. I think WAR is a good stat. Carpenter ranks 2nd there depending on what site you use. Carpenter's rate statistics have been amazing this year. There is literally nothing more you could of asked from him. He gave us a lead off man, legit 2b (best 2b since Hornsby for Stl), plays good defense, runs the bases well and hard, never argues or disrespects anyone, plays everyday, and he will play any position for us. I don't see McCutchen moving from 1st to 3rd to RF then to 2b during the offseason! Hey Cutch gets my vote, but Carp is right there!

AL: Trout is mine, but Cabrera will win it.

It depends how you define value, but value to me is run production (baserunning included) and runs saved (defense, range, arm strength) and how many wins you added to your team based on the position you play (this is why I like WAR). You can't really make players around you better like in the NFL (QB or OL), NBA (PG or C), NHL (C), etc. Baseball is a game of 1 on 1 matchups, but people seem to think players on better teams magically made their team better (outside of their individual production). Catchers is about the closest thing you can throw in there since they work with pitchers, but that is nothing compared to a NBA PG or an NFL QB.