The 2007 MLB Playoff picture is starting to come into focus with the Cleveland Indians and the Los Angeles Angels clinching their respective divisions in the AL and the Boston Red Sox securing a playoff spot as either division winner or the AL wildcard. The National League playoff picture is still a tight race in all three divisions with no team clinching a spot as of yet.

For the Cleveland Indians, this is their first AL Central division title since 2001, when ace hurler CC Sabathia was a rookie. This year Sabathia and Fausto Carmona have pitched their hearts out to get the team into the playoffs as the division champs. For the Los Angeles Angels, they clinched their third AL West title in four years Sunday, with pitcher John Lackey leading them to a 7-4 victory over Seattle. The race for the AL East is still open with the New York Yankees chasing the Boston Red Sox for the division. The winnerof that race will take the division and the loser will take the wildcard spot in the american League.

Over in the National League East, the slumping Mets have given up ground to the Philadelphia Phillies who have won 8 of their last 10 games and have overcome insurmountable odds to find themselves in the race at this point in the season. In the NL central, the Chicago Cubs are holding off the Milwaukee Brewers for the division title. The race in the NL West is even tighter between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres. The wildcard spot in the National League could include as many as eight teams depending on how the rest of the season goes.

Congratulations to the Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels and the Boston Red Sox and all of their great fans who have supported their teams into the playoffs. Best of luck luck to everybody still in the race !!

It’s getting to be that time of the year again. The smell of victory and the smell of defeat are already making their rounds and some fans are looking forward to their favorite team making the playoffs while other fans are looking at their favorite team to be the spoiler of other teams playoff dreams. Entering into September once again brings up the timely question of which player will win the covetted National League MVP award.

This year we have several excellent players who have turned the corner coming out of the All Star break and have been heading for greateness with solid play. While I won’t try to make a prediction about who’s going to actually win, I’m going to toss out who some of the most likely contenders for the crown are in 2007.

If you’d like to cast a vote, please visit our forum thread :
BaseballTalkPro 2007 NL MVP Poll

The Players

Jimmy Rollins (Philadelphia Phillies - Shortstop) : Due to the tremendous response from Phillies fans on this blog, I’ve added the incredible Jimmy Rollins into the MVP list. I was at the Phillies game 9/25/2007 and the fans just kept chanting “MVP every time Rollins was at bat and especially after he popped a first inning solo home run to become the second player in team history with 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in the same season. Rollins is batting .293 with 30 home runs, 91 RBI’s, 134 runs scored and 37 stilen bases. He also has 38 doubles and 18 triples making him the first player in Phillies franchise history to join the 30/30/30 club. This guy deserves the MVP.

Ryan Howard (Philadelphia Phillies - First Base) : Phillies slugger Ryan Howard is currently leading the NL for RBI’s with 113 runs batted in to his credit. He’s currently second in total home runs in the NL, only trailing Brewers maestro Prince Fielder. As if that weren’t enough, Ryan is posting an impressive .269 batting average in 2007. This slugger is a fearsome opponent for any pitcher he faces. Even though the Phillies have been chasing the Mets and Braves this year in the NL East, Howard has been a consistent performer in the Phillies roster. Ryan is my personal favorite in this list because he’s such a humble player off the field despite all of his accomplishments on the field.

David Wright (New York Mets - Third Base) : A definite fan’s favorite, David Wright actually surpassed The Yankees’ Derek Jeter this summer in overall jeresy sales for a New York player (and that’s quite an accomplishment). On the field, Wright has been more than impressive, batting .316 with 26 home runs and 91 RBI’s Wright has posted some of the best numbers of his career. Always a formidable threat to opponents, Wright has stolen 30 bases and scored 94 runs so far in 2007. David Wright is possible going to enter the 30/30 club this year (30 home runs and 30 stolen bases) if he can manage 4 more home run in September.

Chipper Jones (Atlanta Braves - Third Base) : What would an MVP race be without Atlanta Braves star Chipper Jones name not being tossed into the mix? Even though Chipper was sidelined earlier in the season, he’s come out after the All Star break like a “bat out of hell” and has been putting up impressive numbers going into September. Chipper is batting .329 with 23 home runs and 82 RBI’s. Jones is a mainstay on the Braves team and when he’s healthy, the Braves are in contention for the post season. Did I mention, Chipper Jones is also a great defensive player with a rocket arm? Plus he’s uber motivational to the young talent in the Braves lineup.

Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants - Left Field) : So Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s record this year despite all the controvery. It’s not as though Giants fans have had too much reason to cheer this season but they do love Bonds and it shows. Although Barry Bonds is no longer a daily starter he has still managed to compile a .277 batting average with 28 home runs and 66 RBI’s in 2007. Barry has been the model for consistency that many of the younger players today attempt to emulate. Barry Bonds probably won’t take the mVP award because this years pack is so talented and agressive but his name is worth dropping into the hat regardless.

Hanley Ramirez - (Florida Marlins - Shortstop) : Suprise, suprise!! Who would have guessed that the Florida Marlins would once again bring the best young talent into the league. Hanley Ramirez has been a true shocker this year. It’s not as if he didn’t have an exceptional year last year, but in 2007 he’s run up a .333 batting average, 24 home runs and 67 RBI’s for the fish. To top it all off, this speedster had bagged 46 stolen bases and 107 runs for the struggling Marlins, and there’s still a month of baseball left to play !! While the Marlins pitching staff has continued to drop games (particularly Dontrelle Willis), Hanley has given fans something to cheer about.

Prince Fielder (Milwaukee Brewers - First Base) : Despite the emergence of Brewers talented rookie Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder has been putting up stats in 2007 that would make any major leaguer proud. The ever popular slugger is leading the NL with 41 home runs while maintaining an impressive .285 batting average and driving in 41 home runs for the Brew Crew. Fielder has eclipsed his previous seasons’ impressive totals and has been banging on the door all season long in 2007. Although a true slugger and not necessarily known for his speed, Prince has scored a personal best 91 times this year to help put his team, the Brewers into contention for the NL Central.

Chase Utley (Philadelphia Phillies - Second Base) : Chase Utley had a great season in 2006 and he’s following it up by having another great season in 2007. Although his home run count is down, his average is up considerably and most importantly his strikeout count is down by a whopping percentage making Chase a much more dangerous batter when he steps up to the plate (especially if there’s runners in scoring position). He’s currently leading the NL with his .341 batting average and he’s posted 18 home runs with 90 RBI’s so far in 2007. Although he had a slow start this year, Utley has turned on the overdrive heading into September and has been putting up numbers like they were nothing.

Albert Pujols (St. Louis Cardinals - First Base) : Albert Pujols, the superstar from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, has been in typical form once again in 2007. Pujols has been hanging with the league leaders since the beginning of the season and has turned up the heat heading into September. Albert Pujols has proven time and again he’s one of the most talented sluggers in the major leagues and if he reamins healthy he could be seeing an induction into Cooperstown. This year he’s posting a .316 batting average, 30 home runs and 84 RBI’s. Despite the Cardinals battling the Cubs and Brewers for control of the NL Central, Pujols has remained focused and has been living up to the fans expectations.

Matt Holliday (Colorado Rockies - Left Field) : Matt Holliday entered the season with high expectations after his All Star finishes in the 2005 and 2006 seasons and in 2007, he’s surpassed those expectations by leaps and bounds. Matt is currently in the National league leaders for batting average and RBI’s. To date he’s posted a .334 batting average with 25 home runs and 110 RBI’s. He’s also scored 93 runs and has stolen 9 bases. Although his Colorado Rockies are 5 games back in 4th place in the NL West, the Rockies would be leading their division if they were in the NL Central. Post season doesn’t appear to be an option for the Rockies but that’s not stopping Matt Holliday from continuing to rip it up at the end of the season.

Miguel Cabrera - (Florida Marlins - Third Base) : Although the Marlins appeared to be contenders in the beginning of the season, they’s rapidly descended to the back of the NL East and their role has now become that of a spoiler for other teams with playoff aspirations. Enter Miguel Cabrera, the Marlins resident slugger who’s posted a .315 batting average with 31 home runs and 96 RBI’s. The Venezuela born Cabrera has been striking fear into opposing pitchers all year long and now as the playoffs approach he’ll surely take the opportunity to knock off a few points from opposing pitchers’ ERA’s.

Well, there you have it, just my humble opinion but these are the most likely candidates for National League MVP in 2007. Honorable mentions go out to Adam Dunn (Cincinatti Reds), Ken Griffey Jr. (Cincinatti Reds), Lance Berkman (Houston Astros), Dan Uggla (Florida Marlins), Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers), Chris B. Young (Arizona Diamondbacks), Freddy Sánchez (Pittsburgh Pirates), Carlos Beltrán (New York Mets) and Derrek Lee (Chicago Cubs).

If you’d like to cast a vote, please visit our forum thread :
BaseballTalkPro 2007 NL MVP Poll