The Senior Circuit doesn't have Mookie Betts Brandon Belt Jersey , Mike Trout, Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor or J.D. Martinez among its position players. That's helped three ace pitchers鈥擩acob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Aaron Nola鈥攎aintain a consistent presence atop the league's wins above replacement leaderboards at Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.The NL MVP voters should arguably gravitate toward one of those three pitchers. But while WAR is a helpful guideline in awards races, it hasn't and shouldn't determine who ultimately wins. That's too easy and, frankly, lazy.Indeed, the traditional measures of an MVP work fine. These aren't explicitly stated anywhere, but they generally require that an MVP be:1.A great player2. An important player on a contenderThrough the first five years of his major league career, Yelich was a great player on bad Miami Marlins teams. But with the Brewers in 2018, he's now checking both boxes with ease.Among NL position players, the 26-year-old ranks first in WAR at FanGraphs (6.7) and second in WAR at Baseball Reference (6.6). Brewers teammate Lorenzo Cain is the only position player ahead of him for the latter, mostly because of a huge gap(19 to 1) in defensive runs saved. Their defensive difference is less hugeinultimate zone rating(7.1 to 0.2) andStatcast's outs above average(16 to 3)metric.What can be taken at face value, meanwhile, are Yelich's offensive numbers.They include NL-best marks in batting average (.321), slugging percentage (.583), OPS (.973) and OPS+ (157). Factor in his 33 home runs, 21 stolen bases, 110 runs scored and 104 runs batted in, and there isn't a more well-rounded offensive player in the National League.This is curiously good stuff for a guy who had previously peaked with an .859 OPS and 21 homers back in 2016. But it's also befitting of a natural-born hitter with low-key explosive power. To wit, Yelich hit fly balls and line drives at the same average speed (95.4 mph) between 2015 and 2017 as Yoenis Cespedes.At long last, Yelich's power has been unleashed in 2018.Some of that is due to him swapping Marlins Park for Miller Park, resulting in a career-best.627 home slugging percentage. Otherwise http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , it has to do with him pushing his ground-ball rate closer to the MLB average.Rather than fold under pressure, Yelich is only getting hotter as October approaches. He has an MLB-best 1.168 OPS and 22 homers since the All-Star break, and a 1.242 OPS and eight homers since August 29.That's the day after the Brewers found themselves in dire need of a spark upon sinking to a season-worst six games behind the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central race. Yelich has provided it while mostly hitting in pressure spots (see his 1.13 average leverage index). In so doing, he's helped cut the Brewers' NL Central deficit to 0.5 games while also elevating them into the NL's top wild-card spot."He's doing special things," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. "This is what guys in [the MVP] conversation do."What might matter most is how all of this compares to fellow MVP candidate Javier Baez. He deserves credit for how he's carried the Cubs amid down years by Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, but he only has Yelich beat in homers (34) and RBI (110). With an .897 second-half OPS and an .850 OPS since August 29, he also hasn't dominated the stretch run like Yelich has.By way of a 1.046second-half OPS, Atlanta Braves wunderkind Ronald Acuna Jr. comes the closest to being Yelich's peer in stretch-run hitting. He nonetheless hasn't been quite as good. And like Baez, his overall numbers don't measure up to Yelich's.If the season were to end today, Yelich could offer everything that MVP voters typically look for. Because the seasonends in only a few days, it's safe to conclude he'll keep it that way.So, what the football dude said: Christian Yelich for NL MVP. Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant. Things are heating up for Harper and Machado"We are hearing more serious rumors about Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. We are getting the sense that offers are being typed up now and we might get decisions in the next 2 weeks. Those 2 deals alone could pump $600 million into the MLB player payroll bucket, which would vastly change the math underpinning the MSM complaints. And it should open up a rash of follow-on deals as the losers rush to grab the best of the tier 2 Free Agents while there is still time. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.Head colds are so annoying. Not bad enough to shut a body down completely, but bad enough to wish you were dead. Not even baseball helps. I know. Too well at the moment.But Halo fans are everywhere. And we are in January, where lots of places get clobbered by the weather, as lots of places are. Odds are that you will get your head cold soon enough. Until then, leave me in peace and have some Weather-Beater-HaloLinks:A Little Bit Of Angels NewsAs you know by now, the Angels signed all of their arb players, avoiding the hearing process. Jeff Fletcher, who has been trying to keep up with such things, believes that Eppler is currently sitting at a projected $178 million http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , with an AAV calculation for 2019 set at $161 million. And, because everybody wants to think that the luxury...uh...er...umm...”Competitive Balance” tax is some kind of real spending limit, $208 million is brought back up just to let you know that Arte has about $47 million in headroom...........Griffin Canning on Rookie Development Camp...........Shohei Ohtani being honored with what I think might be a Mickey Panda king doll on a pedestal?..........How about some Trout Porn? Ok!.....Roaring up the WAR ladder.....And devastatingly youthful.....And 4% of people armed with a Twitter account are unworthy of their oxygen allotment...........Everywhere In BaseballToday is Kyler Murray Day. Kyler has to decide today whether or not to declare for this year’s NFL draft, scheduled to begin April 25th . It’s good to be king, even for a day.....Oakland is in full court press mode, hoping to protect their draft commitment. Murray is sitting pretty. Since he already signed the Oakland offer, the A’s cannot claim that they lost their pick and get one back in June. And Murray has solid, realistic, career alternatives.....So, as a player should when they have all the leverage, he is believed to be asking for $15 million- a nearly $10 million jump - to stick with baseball.....(Over in football land, this is the equivalent of the 14th pick in the NFL draft.).....Now, this kind of deal requires special dispensation from the baseball legal pope because the A’s already have a contract with Murray, one significantly smaller. Teams are not allowed to go signing a new player into MLB at one low price, and then turn around and tear that contract up to be replaced with a higher one. That would be draft slot bonus pool shenanigans. MLB is allowing Oakland to bump up Murray’s offer because of Kyler’s career alternative? Because Murray, for instance, can play football as opposed to Japan League Baseball?.........The “official” story, routed via Jeff Passan (and here), makes no sense to me at all.....It’s all OK because Murray signed a minor dealfirst? Seems like an all-too simple loophole that everybody could be doing, all the time.........So what’s the right decision? Kyler Murray would be an idiot to play baseball.....Or....Kyler Murray would be an idiot to play football..........We are going to be reading more and more stories projecting labor problems with the next CBA in 2022. It’s an easy thing to predict since we have already seen enough grumbling over the past year. Fundamentally, a lot of the friction comes from Front Offices moving roster slots away from aged veterans to younger players entering their athletic peaks. The old saw of owners battling egos to land brand-name players on the downside of their career are gone. Players exploited the hell out of that for 40 years. Good for them. But now such decisions are being made by more rational, numerically aware, analysts. That happened all too fast and the framework for compensation is out of whack Mark Melancon Jersey , and out of date. And guys like Jake Arrieta have been caught out in the cold, and are kind of pissed about it..........It’s rainy this week. Curl up with a review of the oddities of the 2018 season..........FOX does not want back those RSN’s that they sold to Disney............Hot StoveAddison Russell, smack in the middle of serving a suspension and staining the reputation of the entire Cubs organization, gets a raise.....Not a very big one. But one..........Jacob deGrom and the Mets settle for a record $17 million deal. That record will not even last out the day...........Mookie Betts avoided arb with a $20 million record deal...........Which means nothing, because the new record will be recorded in a few weeks when the arbitration panel chooses between the numbers of the Rockies and Nolan Arenado. Areando wants $30 million, and the Rockies want to pay $24 million. Both of those, and all the numbers in between, beat Mookie’s deal and will set the new record............By signing Jed Lowrie, the Mets are either cornering the market on infielders, or they feel confident that Commissioner Manfred is not going to outlaw the shift, and they will be well-stocked with guys to load up in the right side of the field...........Hey, 10 year deals are great! 10 year deals are safe!! Look at this data. Every deal not done by a George Steinbrenner or an Arte Moreno has created plus value...........So, with 10-year deals being something that should come back into vogue, let’s hear it for the Phillies! Philadelphia flew out to Las Vegas (for business! really!) and spent 5 hours of their own with Bryce Harper. And, just as with what happened after Harper gave the Nationals 5 hours a few weeks ago, heads were turned. Everybody thinks that the Phillies are now the fave. So much the fave that maybe they are walking out of the Manny Machado circus so that they can focus on winning Harper............Their offer may come this week...........Tampa Bay is still chasing their own two-way roster advantage. If they cannot have Ohtani, they might always have Matt Davidson..........Upcoming FA classes are freaking LOADED. This run will expose the 2017-2018 class as the undeserving joke that it was...........The Duffle BagHere cometh the return of The Chicken!!!!...........MSM old guard Thomas Boswell, being obtuse. I hope that it is intentional, and not accidental..........We are in The Winter Leagues, when player hone their bat flip skills.............Yasiel Puig is Cincinnati’s fun zone now...........