A Large Regular

2012 NFL MVP

The other week I mused about if Tom Brady broke Dan Marino's single season passing record but Aaron Rogers led the Green Bay Packers to an undefeated season - which QB would win the MVP? There was a flaw in the question in that Aaron Rogers could both lead the Packers to an unblemished season AND break Marino's record. So Rogers seems to be the pick at this point.

The more I thought about it the more I started thinking of a baseball parallel that could come into play. You might think I would bring to mind Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio the year Mister Coffee had a 56-game hitting streak and the Splendid Splinter hit .406. That 1941 season would be a good analogy since that was also a very contested MVP but the analogy I had in mind was actually from 2002.

That year Pedro Martinez was near unhittable but he ended up losing the AL Cy Young to Barry Zito largely because Zito had more starts than Pedro and that made a big difference to the voters. In 2002 Pedro went 20-4 with a 2.26 ERA in 30 starts while Zito went 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA in 35 starts. Pedro was much more dominating than Zito having 239 K's to Barry's 182 even though Zito pitched 30 more innings yet Zito won the award. The difference was Pedro took some starts off down the stretch because the Red Sox were out of it and that didn't sit well with some voters.

So what does that 2002 baseball season have to do with this year's NFL MVP? Well if Green Bay sews up the best record in the NFC there may be a strong push to rest him up for the playoffs. If his team loses a game, rests him, and Brady breaks Marino's record then those quarters on the bench may be the difference for Rogers between winning the MVP and losing it to Tom Brady.

This is in no way equating Tom Brady to Barry Zito. That would be like equating Barry Zito to Sandy Koufax. The situation from 2002 did strike me as relevant though.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Great win by Iowa State last night! Too bad great the win was marred by the Cyclones playing Sweet Caroline to celebrate. I am so sick of that song... Don Orsillo recently re-signed with NESN with a contract that keeps him at the network until 2015. If Terry Francona takes a TV job that Orsillo turned down - you know Orsillo will never let Francona live it down (good natured ribbing between friends)... Congratulations to the Holy Cross Crusaders who destroyed Boston College last night 86-64... It can be argued that Barry Zito parlayed his only 20-win season into $146 million in career earnings. Could that make his 23-win 2002 season the most valuable 20-win season ever?... I agree with the irony that Shawn Ryan points out:

Joe Paterno's doctor notified JoePa immediately of his cancer diagnosis, so that any future damage might be avoided.

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Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

It would be interesting to combine the Samantha Brown and Survivorman travel shows for a few episodes. I just think that would be funny... Is a John Lackey for Barry Zito trade really crazy? The dollars match up. After this season Lackey is due $15.25 million for 2012, 2013, and 2014. Barry Zito is due $19 million in 2012, $20 million in 2013 and has a $7 million buyout for 2014 (assuming nobody will pick up the $18 million option). Zito is pitching much better than Lackey right now and has a full no-trade contract but who knows? I'm guessing Theo Epstein has at least made the telephone call to check... I'm a fan of the space shuttle and of Brian Malow, the Science Comedian, so linking to this is a no-brainer... People who complain about Jason Kendall and how much money he's made should take a deep breath and realize that he has made $15 million less than JD Drew in his career but been to 3-times as many All-Star games... Pet peeve - sites where the advertisement video is longer than the video I actually want to watch... Rumors swirl that President Obama may replace Joe Biden on the 2012 ticket. How funny would it be if Walter Mondale was chosen as replacement VP? There would be a certain Obama-as-Carter symmetry to that... Very cool - artsy animated GIFs show process of making beer.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

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Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

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