Who's your MVP?
McGwire and Sosa are good, but Alou gets my vote
Posted: Wednesday September 09, 1998 03:12 PM
Ozzie Smith, a 15-time All-Star, dipped into his e-mailbag to answer
these questions from CNNSI.com users.
To ask Ozzie a questions, click
here.
Q: Everyone seems to assume that McGwire or Sosa will win the MVP.
But shouldn't someone like Moises Alou or
Greg Vaughn
get more consideration because they are actually making their respective
teams championship caliber?
Phillip Gieselman
San Angelo, Texas
Ozzie says: I’ll tell you, Phillip. Alou gets my vote. To me, he’s
had the biggest impact on his team, at least until the Houston Astros got
pitcher Randy
Johnson. Alou was the man that made that team a pennant contender.
Q: Cardinal fans were shocked to hear on national TV that Cardinal
management won't re-sign Brian Jordan
because he's a "selfish player." We all know he's made some reckless
statements, but he seems to play his heart out. You've been his teammate.
What's the deal?
Michael Weissman
Urbana, Illinois
Ozzie says: The straight skinny is that the talk about Jordan being
selfish couldn’t be further from the truth. The mere fact that Brian has
gone out and had a great year should tell you that. Brian is one of the
most team-oriented players you’ll ever have the opportunity to play for or
against. I’d take a “selfish” player like that on my team any day.
Q: What do you think are the Braves' chances of going all the way
this year with the state of their bullpen? Sure they have great starting
pitching and terrific hitters and defense, but in a short series, isn't
their bullpen their Achilles heel?
Norman Sobelson
Tel Aviv, Israel
Ozzie says: They have shown some vulnerability, especially of late.
Kerry Ligtenberg hadn’t had a blown save since late May before blowing two
in a row late last month. Still, he has 25 saves and had done a great job
in that long stretch from May to late August. Don’t forget, too, the Braves
-- like a lot of other teams -- could end up putting a starter or two in
the bullpen. How those starters handle that will be a key on how well the
teams do.
Q: What's your take on Vladimir
Guerrero? I've seen him play a few times, and based on that I think
that his new deal could be the steal of the decade for the Expos. How do
you think Vlad will fare in he future?
Jim Dinning
Port Coquitlam, British Columbia
Ozzie says: If he continues on the pace he did this year, Vlad
should be a great player for years to come. He’s certainly made his mark,
and certainly proved he belongs in the majors. It’s good the Expos
recognized that. Montreal is a team that has let a lot of good players go
on to star with other teams.
Q: If you were a manager, would you rather have Omar Vizquel,
Rey Ordonez,
Derek Jeter,
Alex
Rodriguez or Nomar
Garciaparra playing shortstop for you late in a critical game.
J.P. Coughlin
Normal, Illinois
Ozzie says: Of course, it depends on the situation. Talking from an
offensive standpoint, you’d like to have a great offensive player like
A-Rod or Garciaparra. If I had to take a choice of one player to put at
shortstop for defensive purposes, though, a guy who has the best
sure-handedness, I’d probably go with Vizquel.
Q: I'm a native Californian, San Francisco Bay area, so the Giants
are my team. However, it's likely that they will have a chance at the
Braves if they were to make it to postseason. Tell me, Ozzie, which NL
team has the best matchup against the Braves?
Mark Studer
Phoenix, Arizona
Ozzie says: I think when get into the playoffs, all the teams match
up pretty well. That’s because, if you have a dominant starter, you can run
him out there twice in a short series. That’s what Houston has done with
Randy Johnson. The way he’s been going lately, that has to worry you. You
don’t want to face the Astros in a short series. The Padres, with Kevin Brown,
aren’t going to be easy, either.
Q: Knowing you were born in Mobile, did you idolize any of the other
greats from Alabama ( Aaron, Mays, Satchel Paige ) when growing up ? If
not, who did you pattern your game after or look up to?
Mark Cole
Decatur, Alabama
Ozzie says: I really didn’t pattern my game after anybody. I just
kind of did my own thing. When I was growing up, I had no idea I’d have the
chance to play professionally. I moved from Mobile when I was 6, so I
really didn’t know the area’s great baseball history until I was much
older. It is a baseball hotbed for some great players, though.
Q: Hi Ozzie! I hope you are fine. Here's my question: Who do you
think has the best shot to beat the Yankees in the American League, and in
the World Series if they get there?
Michael Antonsanti
Barcelona ,Spain
Ozzie says: Well, Michael, this is the equivalent of the Braves’
question above. You have to look at who has a dominant pitcher. Pedro
Martinez in Boston or Roger Clemens
in Toronto -- whichever of those teams wins the wild card -- will make life
miserable for the Yankees if they get that far.
Q: I have a couple of "what ifs” for you: What if Major League
Baseball raised the mound again like it was previous to 1969? Carl
Yastrzemski led the American League with a .301 average and Bob Gibson had
that great ERA for the Cardinals. Wouldn't it even the playing field so
pitchers’ ERAs wouldn't hover around 4.00-5.00? And what if the umpires
actually called the strike zone -- letters to the knees? In the games that
I watch, it sure seems that most all pitchers are squeezed with regard to
the strike zone.
Jimmy Sandlin
Aberdeen, Ohio
Ozzie says: And maybe they can take the juice out of the ball. That
would even things up. You can debate this all day, but you’re right: Things
may be getting out of hands with the offense. The strike zone seems to
float from umpire to umpire. One point, though: Pitchers don’t always get
squeezed. Just ask some of the teams that have played against the Atlanta Braves.
Ozzie Smith is the baseball analyst for CNN/SI, the 24-hour sports news
network from CNN and Sports Illustrated. He answers questions from
CNNSI.com users every other week. To ask Ozzie a question, click here.
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