BBA MVP Winners:

The votes are in, and the BBA (Baseball Bloggers Alliance) AL and NL Most Valuable Players of the 2009 MLB season have been announced.

You can check out how Rays The Stakes voted (with explanations) here.

Tampa Bay got a little love for a change, having had 5 players receive at least one vote, with 2 players (Zobrist and Longoria) finishing inside the top 10 in total votes. In total, 29 American League players received MVP votes, but the AL MVP was a unanimous decision among BBA voters.

Here is the official Press Release from the BBA:

Mauer, Pujols Named MVP By Baseball Bloggers Alliance

Catcher Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins and first baseman Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals were overwhelmingly named Most Valuable Player of their respective leagues by the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, who completed their voting of major awards with this honor.
Mauer, who posted a 1.031 OPS and slugged 28 home runs while leading the Twins to the American League Central title, was a unanimous selection, gaining a first place nod on each of the seventeen blogs that cast an AL ballot. His 221 points dwarfed his nearest competition, both New York Yankees. First baseman Mark Teixeira received 115 points while shortstop Derek Jeter was third with 101.
Shelly from Seamheads wrote, "Mr. Mauer is a monster with the bat, smooth with the leather, and has proved over the last couple of years to be the rock his team leans on for guidance and leadership." Kevin at DMB Historic World Series Replay pondered, "Imagine the numbers he might put up if he wasn't a catcher!"

Due to more ballots being cast, Pujols was able to put up a higher vote total than Mauer, even though his selection wasn't unanimous. The first baseman, who put up a 1.101 OPS while smoking 47 home runs, was named first on twenty of the 21 National League ballots submitted for 269 total points. Pitcher Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants was the only other National League player to receive a first place selection.
Runners-up to Pujols in the National League race were Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez (164 points) and Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder (145 points).
Jim from Bernie's Crew asked the rhetorical question, "Do I really need to explain why Albert Pujols is your 2009 Most Valuable Player in the National League?" Jim from North Side Notch agreed, saying, "This guy is super-human."

The complete voting results are as follows (first-place votes in parenthesis):

American League
Joe Mauer, Minnesota (18) 221
Mark Teixeira, New York 115
Derek Jeter, New York 101
Miguel Cabrera, Detroit 96
Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay 74
Kendry Morales, Los Angeles of Anaheim 64
Kevin Youkilis, Boston 44
Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay 36
Zack Greinke, Kansas City 35
Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle 29
Aaron Hill, Toronto 25
Alex Rodriguez, New York 23
Jason Bay, Boston 22
Chone Figgins, Los Angeles of Anaheim 20
Adam Lind, Toronto 11
Franklin Gutierrez, Seattle 10
CC Sabathia, New York 10
Dustin Pedroia, Boston 9
Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay 7
Bobby Abreu, Los Angeles of Anaheim 6
Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston 5
Robinson Cano, New York 4
Jason Kubel, Minnesota 4
Justin Morneau, Minnesota 4
Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay 3
Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota 3
Marlon Byrd, Texas 2
Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland 2
Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay 1

National League
Albert Pujols, St. Louis (20) 269
Hanley Ramirez, Florida 164
Prince Fielder, Milwaukee 145
Chase Utley, Philadelphia 110
Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado 76
Ryan Howard, Philadelphia 71
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco (1) 67
Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego 66
Ryan Zimmerman, Washington 50
Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco 42
Matt Kemp, Los Angeles 34
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee 32
Derrek Lee, Chicago 29
Andre Ethier, Los Angeles 22
Javier Vazquez, Atlanta 11
Mark Reynolds, Arizona 9
Matt Holliday, St. Louis 5
Adam Wainwright, St. Louis 5
Joey Votto, Cincinnati 4
Dan Haren, Arizona 3
Jayson Werth, Philadelphia 2
Chris Carpenter, St. Louis 1
Miguel Tejada, Houston 1

Just a Hair-Brained Theory

Here's an odd, but conceivable theory that I've formulated over the last few days:

We've been told that Aki will be returning to the lineup sooner than expected, which is good news for everyone, except for Ben Zobrist who had assumed he'd be parked at 2B for the remainder of the season (don't get me wrong, I'm sure BenZo is happy for Aki as a person and friend, but I'm certain he can't help but feel disappointed that he'll lose the 2B position- its human nature), but this opens up some alternative possibilities:

Aki's coming back in as soon as a few weeks, and suddenly this week Aybar gets a few starts at 2B, allowing Zobrist to re-familiarize himself with the outfield, so what's the big deal, right?

What if there's more to that than meets the eye?
What if Zobrist is getting primed to take over LF in the next few weeks?

Is it too far-fetched to think that with the return of Aki at second coupled with the idea that it'd be a crime to not start Zobrist somewhere, that the Rays are getting prepared to move CC before the deadline?

Its entirely feasible considering that the Gabe Brigade has done a fine job of holding down the fort in RF, and that the Rays, having been assured that Aki can return soon, and knowing they can't afford CC's $10M salary next season anyways, could plug Zobrist into LF for the remainder of this season.

Then headed into next season the Rays trade Aki, thereby freeing up all the salary that Friedman has said they'll need to clear (between CC and Aki's contracts)- and you've got Jennings or Perez in LF with Zobrist as your new 2B for 2010.
Everyone wins.

So just to recap, here's the theory:

This year:
CC to be traded, Aki back to 2B, Zobrist to take over in LF

Next year:
Aki traded, Zobrist to 2B, Jennings/Perez in LF

Possible? What do you think?

Ode To Zobrist

The crowd they are gathered,

The team is all warm.

Outside of the Trop

there arises a storm.

As the rain beats,

leading the way to thunder.

The Rays take the field,

attempting the A's to put under.

The man on the mound

works quick and throws hard.

Leading his his team

like Captain Picard

The innings they come,

and the innings they go.

The Rays leading by 1,

and facing a worthy foe.

Into the 8th

that tricky old inning.

Oakland scores 1,

we're back to the beginning.

Tied headed for the 9th,

and here comes the closer.

But Percy, oh Percy

is such a push-over.

He blows like the wind,

outside of the Trop.

Giving Oakland the lead

now they're 2 runs on top.

Bottom of the 9th

most all hope is lost.

But the gang keeps fighting,

no matter the cost.

Aybar gets on,

but Aki gets out.

Only 2 outs left,

a loss, no doubt.

But what is this ,

from the dugout I see?

A tall slender player

who's name starts with Z!

So many times ,

he's come through in the clutch.

He can't possibly do it again,

enough is enough.

But now with the count

at 1 and 1 sitting

Zobrist has visions

of nothing but winning.

The pitcher delivers the ball,

hoping Zobrist to beat

But Ben is ready...

and sends it into the seats!

Hooray, hoorah,

he's done it again!

This utility player,

whom most just call Ben.

You can call him Clutch,

call him the Thrilla'

But me and my friends,

we call him ZORILLA.