MVChooch

I was surprised to see that Jayson Werth still cracks the lists of national writers' top 10 candidates for NL MVP. He might be having his best offensive season, but his fielding has slipped, he disappeared for a good chunk of the season, and he has seemed distracted and susceptible to bonehead plays.

When I mentioned the national love for J-Dub, Christine, who has been real down on him, harrumphed: "Chooch is the Phillies MVP."

She has said it before, and so has the local media, which had another story about Carlos Ruiz and how he is the Phillies MVP:

This is the time of year when folks with nothing better to do begin to talk about things like most valuable players.

In normal seasons, such debates do not involve the No. 8 hitter in a team's lineup. But this has not been a normal year for the injury-ravaged Phillies. And when you really break down the value that each of their hitters and pitchers have contributed to the team, it becomes hard to overlook the contributions of one Carlos Ruiz.
[...]
"The best compliment I can give is that if he has a game where he goes 3-for-3 with a home run and he's the star of the game offensively, but we don't throw well, he's not
happy," [Brad] Lidge said. "He's not happy at all. And if he goes 0-for-5 with five strikeouts but we throw a shutout, he's pumped after the game. And that, for a pitcher, is everything."

And, for the Phillies this season, that's been pretty valuable.

Chooch might get a vote or two for the big award, and I know that this is a lot of hometown cheering, but it still warms the heart, especially because Christine predicted he would be a popular and valuable member of the Phillies long before he became one.

Today's games: Both teams are off. Not a bad day for no SoxandPhils games because we were having new doors installed, and Daddy Daycare had to tend as well to the little one. Speaking of which, I should go see how he's making out with those pesky hinges.