YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES
Wednesday May 23, 2012
Michael Rand started RandBall with hopes that he could keep lies from conquering the minds of the weak. So far, he's only succeeded in using the word "redacted" a lot. He welcomes suggestions, news tips, links of pure genius, and pictures of pets in Halloween costumes here, though he already knows he will regret that last part.
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Monday (Two MVP town: Favre and Mauer?) edition: Wha' Happened?
Posted by: Michael Rand under Vikings Updated: November 23, 2009 - 9:01 AM
It will be a crying shame bordering on a crime later today if Joe Mauer is not named AL MVP. The contrarian arguments have been fun. Derek Jeter had a very nice year. Mark Teixeira stabilized the Yankees with great offense, defense and quiet leadership. Plenty of players had very solid years. Mauer, though, had an year for the ages in leading the Twins to the playoffs: a .365 batting average to win his third batting title in four years; another Gold Glove award at the most physically demanding position in baseball; career-highs in home runs and RBIs (28 and 96, shattering previous bests) despite missing the first month of the season; an OPS of 1.031. Seriously. He's going to win this thing, and it's not going to be close.
But while Mauer's MVP campaign gained steam months ago, a strong case is emerging for this to be a two-MVP town: Mauer and Brett Favre. Conventional wisdom has placed Peyton Manning and Drew Brees at the head of the MVP conversation, and with good reason: both QBs have led their teams to undefeated records so far and are putting up other-worldly numbers. But let's take a look at where Favre fits in with those two stars:
Manning: 69.8 percent completions, 3,171 yards, 21 TDs, 9 INTs, 102.7 rating
Brees: 68.1 percent completions, 2,746 yards, 22 TDs, 9 INTs, 105.8 rating
Favre: 69.7 percent completions, 2,482 yards, 21 TDs, 3 INTs, 112.1 rating
Completion percentages are about the same, with Brees lagging a bit; Favre cedes the edge in yards; TDs are almost identical; Manning and Brees have thrown three times as many INTs as Favre; Favre's passer rating is superior. Nobody can argue about the impact all three players have had on their teams, but Favre's impact is so stark because of the comparison to last year. Vikings QBs threw 22 TDs and 17 INTs with an 81.5 rating last year. Favre has elevated a team good enough to barely win its division into a bona fide Super Bowl contender. His play yesterday -- 22 for 25, 4 TDs -- was once again brilliant.
At the very least, the MVP is no longer a 1A and a 1B race, with everyone else lagging behind. It's a three-headed monster, and we have to think that if Favre continues this pace and finishes with around 4,000 yards, 30-plus TDs, 5-7 INTs and a rating between 105 and 115, at his age, it's going to be hard to pick against him.
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