EMPIRE VERSUS NATION
AL East, MVP champions likely to be decided this weekend




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
September 30, 2005

After nearly six months and 159 games of playing baseball the season has come down to a three-game, winner-take-all series between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Take all the previous meetings between the most heated and storied rivalry in sports and throw them out the window. The fortunes of these two teams have been reduced to the final three games of this long campaign. This last series, and possibly a one-game playoff at Yankee Stadium will decide the 2005 East Division champion.

However, that’s not the only outcome that will be decided this weekend. There is also the matter of the Most Valuable Player award and to whom the trophy should be awarded. That race has come down to two men. David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox and Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees are not only trying to win for their team, but they are also trying to win something for themselves.

No need to go into the history of the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry. Anybody who has followed these two clubs knows what’s at stake here. It’s for the honor of a state, the honor of a city, the honor of a team and the honor of its fans. Since 1920 the Yankees and their fans had been lording it over the Red Sox Nation. Since the trade of Babe Ruth from the Sox to the Yankees the City of Boston has had to endure countless heartbreak seasons. To be a Red Sox fan was akin to being a masochist. The Sox would always give their fans hope, and then at the last moment the team would rip their hearts out. Time and again the Sox would always come up just a little bit short. It was kind of like climbing Mount Everest only to die a foot short of the summit.

However, as everyone knows the Red Sox finally kicked the Babe and the Curse to the curb last year. The Sox became the first team in professional sports to come back from a three games to none deficit in a seven game series to win the ALCS. They did it on the home field of their most hated rivals. Oh how Boston celebrated that night. There were a lot of people calling in sick the next day.

Most of 2005 has belonged to the Red Sox. Somehow the Yankees kept chipping away and overcame Boston’s 5-1/2 game lead on August 10th to take a one-game lead going into this weekend’s final showdown. In order for the Red Sox to win the division outright they will have to sweep the Yankees. With all of the pitching woes they’ve gone through it is hard to imagine the Yankees couldn’t take at least one game to force a one-game playoff in the Bronx on Monday. But, then again, nobody imagined the Yankees dropping the final four games in last year’s ALCS either.

New York’s mission is simple. Don’t let Boston sweep. The Bombers have to win at least one of this weekend’s games to force a playoff in front of the home crowd. Take two games and the division championship is theirs. It is important for the Yankees not to depend on winning the final game of the series. Going into Boston and taking the first game would be huge for the Bombers and disastrous for the Sox. It will give the Yankees momentum and put the Red Sox backs against the wall. The last thing the New Yorkers want to do is repeat last year’s performance. The Yanks would like nothing better than to repay last year’s humiliation by beating the Sox at Fenway and sending them home for the winter.

If that isn’t enough excitement for you there is another battle on a smaller scale going on. That battle will be waged by Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Boston’s designated hitter David Ortiz. The winner will take home some individual hardware with the words “Most Valuable Player” etched on it.

Usually, when the argument of a designated hitter versus a full-time player arises in regards to an MVP trophy the full-time player gets the nod. This time the voting won’t be so easy. David Ortiz is no ordinary DH. He is a one-man wrecking ball. Ortiz, for the season, is batting .298 with 47 home runs and 146 RBI. He has a SLG% of .600 and an OBP of .392. Without Ortiz the Boston Red Sox would be nowhere. He has carried the team on his back for most of the year. Twenty of Ortiz’ 47 home runs have either helped his team tie the score or take a lead in the game. That is a phenomenal stat. David Ortiz has truly been the most valuable player on his team.

Alex Rodriguez has also had an extraordinary season in 2005. After feeling the slings and arrows of the New York press and Yankees’ fans for not delivering in key scoring situations last year Rodriguez has become an offensive juggernaut.
Last year’s shortcomings could be attributed, in part, to Rodriguez moving from shortstop to third base. Playing in the biggest pressure cooker in baseball, while learning a new position, is bound to throw anyone off their game.

This year Rodriguez came out of the gate slowly, but quickly turned on the afterburners. Rodriguez has gaudy numbers of his own. Currently A-Rod is batting .320 with 47 home runs and 129 RBI. He has a hefty .610 SLG% and an OBP of .421. Unlike Ortiz Alex Rodriguez plays the hot corner full-time. He is having a gold glove caliber year, along with being an offensive monster. But, is Alex Rodriguez the most valuable player on the Yankees. Many would argue he is not. Closer Mariano Rivera is having the finest overall season of his storied career. With 43 saves and an ERA of 1.40 Rivera is battling the Angels’ Bartolo Colon for the Cy Young Award. Where would the Yankees be without Rivera? It’s an iron clad guarantee they wouldn’t be battling Boston for the division crown.

These are all interesting arguments and the baseball writers who vote in the matter will have to weigh them out before they cast those ballots. One thing that can sway the voting is how each player influences the outcome of the upcoming series. Which player will put his team on his back for the last push of the season and carry it to the finish line? The player who does that will not only win the MVP for himself, but the division title for his ball club. Good luck and may the best team and player win.

PLAY BALL!



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