Weekly Cup Of Joe: Midway MVP Edition

I prefer to think of this as more of a tribute to Fire Joe Morgan than a blatant ripoff. But who are we really kidding here?

It's Tuesday which means there was a Joe Chat over at the Four Letter. Joe Morgan's chats are like McDonald's food. It seems like a good idea at the time but after you're done with it you feel gross and need a nap. I actually read today's chat while eating McDonald's and I'm pretty sure I broke the space-time continuum. Let's grab a McNugget of wisdom while I try to pull myself together...

Matt (Plano,TX)

Who is your MVP for the AL and NL?

Joe Morgan (11:31 AM)

Too early to tell. I thought it was Cano for a while in the AL, but Cabrera and Hamilton are in the conversation now as well. I always feel like the MVP should come from a winning team, one that's in the pennant race. You always have to start with Pujols in the NL. He's the best player in the game and it's his award to lose. For a long period, David Wright was the leader, but he has cooled off. Andre Ethier was one of the top candidates for a while, and you have to mention Adrian Gonzalez because the Padres are winning, and he's the reason they're in first place. But it's still too early to tell.

Yeah, he's wrong but let's see why. Oh and you should probably buckle up, it's going to get nerdy.

MTD's NL MVP Leaders

1. Joey Votto 4.1 WAR, .424 wOBA
Votto has 22 home runs to go with his .307/.415/.573 slash line. He's having such an amazing season I'm willing to overlook his 0-2 on 2 pitches performance at the All Star Game.

2. David Wright 4.1 WAR, .393 wOBA
It feels like Wright is flying under the radar. He only has 15 homers and 15 steals to go with his .312/.387/.531 slash line and a 5.8 UZR/150. Nothing wrong with that and, somehow, he has his team in the NL East pennant race. Oliver Perez thinks that's preposterous as he injures himself rolling around in a pile of cash.

3. Matt Holliday 4.2 WAR, .395 wOBA
Pujols has a better wOBA (.412) but trails in WAR (3.6) and after a couple of stunning seasons at first base, he's having a rather poor year in the field (-2.2 UZR/150).

MTD's AL MVP Leaders

1. Justin Morneau 5.0 WAR, .447 wOBA
I wanted to put Josh Hamilton or Miggy Carbera first put the advanced stats slapped me on the back of the head and shook its fist at me. Did anyone else outside of Minnesota notice the sick stats Morneau was putting up? Hopefully he recovers from that concussion I gave him during a pick-up hockey game soon so I can complain when he doesn't win the MVP at the end of the year.

2. Josh Hamilton 4.8 WAR, .439 wOBA
Probably too far back in RBI to catch Cabrera but if Hamilton stays healthy, he could lead the American League in batting average, home runs and unwanted tattoos. A healthy Josh Hamilton is scary, especially since I'm an Angels fan.

3. Miguel Cabrera 3.8 WAR, .443 wOBA
Cabrera is second in home runs (25-24), third in batting average (.353-.340) and first in RBI (82-76). Miggy could make a serious run at the Triple Crown this summer. He's also the most likely to have had McDonald's this week. And yes, I'm proud of the way I brought that full circle.