There's Another New Bully in Town
September 16th 2010 07:00
Last time I checked in, Joey Votto was the toast of the town and had set himself on course to win the first Triple Crown in 43 years. Since that post, a Triple Crown candidate has separated himself from the pack in the National League, but it isn't Votto or Albert Pujols.
It's Carlos Gonzalez.
Since my Triple Crown reset on August 28th, Gonzalez has scorched the ball en route to taking over the lead in batting average (.341) and RBI (106). In 19 games since that time, he has gone for 6 home runs, 22 RBI, and an otherworldly .500 BA (32 hits in his last 64 AB). He has 12 multi-hit games in that span, and seven 3-hit games. He currently rests comfortably atop the batting average and RBI lists, but trails Pujols by 7 home runs. With two weeks to play, his Triple Crown hopes are dim at best, but are still brighter than Votto's.
Gonzalez has been an absolute sensation this year for the Rockies in his first full go-round as a starter. He spent part of last year being groomed for the starting centerfield job in 2010. Colorado fans and executives had very, very high hopes for this can't-miss prospect as the centerpiece of the 2008 trade that sent Matt Holliday to Oakland in return for Gonzalez, Huston Street, and Greg Smith. Less than two years later, Gonzalez has surpassed the power and contact numbers of Holliday, who now hits behind Pujols (a plush job to say the least) in St. Louis. He has become arguably the best player in the National League at the age of 24 in his first full season in the bigs. Astonishing is an understatement.
When talking about the NL's best, there are usually a few names that get thrown around before the conversation finally settles on Pujols without much disagreement. Given the torrid stretch that CarGo has put up at the most crucial point of the playoff push, I'm not so sure Pujols is the choice, at least for 2010.
While Pujols' Cardinals have faded away in the NL Central, Gonzalez's Rockies are blazing a trail to the top of the NL West. Since the magical August 28th date, Colorado is 14-6, propelling them to just 2.5 games out of the division lead and 2 games back in the Wild Card. This stretch includes a 10 game winning streak, a four-game sweep of Votto's division-leading Reds, and a three-game sweep of the Padres on the road. Again, Gonzalez has been right in the middle of this year's edition of Colorado's red-hot September.
And for that, he deserves more than Triple Crown contention. He deserves to be the National League Most Valuable Player.
| 73 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
Go to Craig Hill's home page by clicking here
