bellyitcher

First of all, apparently the MVP results were leaked on XM radio today. According to them, Albert wins a close vote. If this is the case, I'm gonna look like a super-genius posting this the night before. If not (and I think Jones will win), I'll be too busy researching voodoo on the internet for use on the voters to care that I fell for it. Second, Retire #51!! Yeah, other people have prettier numbers and prettier faces. But, come on, it's Willie. Third, I will die if Jimmy is traded. It's really not funny. Fourth, I watched the Cheap Seats Busch Stadium thing. It was pretty dull, but...THERE WAS VIDEO OF MIKE LAGA'S FOUL BALL. Alex is gonna flip.

Now, where were we again? Oh, yes. The outfield. In keeping with the irrational adoration theme, let's start with So.

ONFIELD

1. Defense
   i. Hustle (10) I'd say yes. 9 points.
   ii. Agility (14) He doesn't scale walls like teammate Edmonds or fellow countryman Ichiro, but still good. 11 points.
   iii. Catcher (5/0) N/A. 0 points.
   iv. Awareness (8) He's a good fielder, 2 errors to 5 assists. 7 points.
   v. Defensive Stance (8) Nice. 6 points.
   vi. Pitching Face/Post-strike out (5/0) N/A. 0 points.
2. Offense
   i. Hustle (10) He's pretty speedy. 8 points.
   ii. Batting Stance/Face (12) Nothing spectacular. 7 points.
   iii. Power & Average (12) You know, pretty good. 9 points.
   iv. Pitcher's bunting ability (5) N/A. 0 points.
   v. Selflessness (14) He took a lot less money to stay with the Cardinals last year. 13 points.
   
3. Dugout/Clubhouse
   i. Press Conferences/Interviews (8) He does the post game interviews when required. They aren't very informative, but they are hilarious. 7 points.
   ii. Quotes (8) Few and far between, and a tad dull. 4 points.
   iii. Chatty (8) The bows he does with the other players are the best. It seems like everyone loves him. 8 points.
   iv. Fights (6) So Taguchi could be a ninja. You never know. 5 points.

OFF FIELD

1. Personal Hygiene (16) Oh, let's say 13 points.
   
2. Commercials (local) (8) No. 0 points.
   
3. Commercials (national) (10) No. 0 points.
   
4. Commercials (MLB) (10) No. 0 points.
   
5. Dress (10) I can't remember really. I think pretty good. 8 points.
   
6. Rumors (6) Uuuh. Hm. No. 2 points.
   
7. Awards (6) Cardinals' Rookie of the Year. 3 points.

120 points for The Gooch. He had a good year and I'm very glad he stayed.