[Toronto Blue Jays News]

We've been discussing possible AL MVP candidates... how about Grady Sizemore as a dark horse?

Sizemore Leads Indians Over Blue Jays - Forbes.com
By Tom Withers

Grady Sizemore's star isn't merely rising, but hurtling across the sky at warp speed. Cleveland's leadoff hitter homered, doubled twice and scored three runs to help Paul Byrd bounce back from a brutal outing, lifting the Indians over the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 Monday night.

The perpetually hustling Sizemore, who in his second full season has emerged as one of baseball's rising stars, leads the league with 75 extra-base hits, two more than Boston's David Ortiz.

Sizemore also leads the league in runs (107) and doubles (46), is among the leaders in several other offensive categories. If the center fielder's uniform isn't dirty, then the game probably hasn't started.

"If he's not the best all-around player in the league, he's near the top," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He's just a great all-around player who works as hard as anyone we have. One thing people don't see is his mental toughness. And just the way he plays the game, and the effect it has on his teammates.

"I'll take him over anybody."

To recap - Sizemore leads the AL in extra-base hits, runs and doubles.

So why isn't the kid getting a little more attention as an MVP candidate?

[EmpireWF]

If this isn't a joke, Sizemore isn't getting much publicity because well, the Indians are among the last place teams in the Central. The Indians best known player is either Travis Hafner or CC Sabathia. Sizemore may have some nice numbers but as long as he doesn't have some power numbers or national notoriety, he won't be a candidate for the MVP for a long time.

[Lefty Noob]

I'm sure his .295 average, 22 home runs and 63 RBI aren't exactly helping his cause, but he does lead the league with 48 doubles (2 over Michael Young of Texas) and 112 runs (11 over Johnny Damon). His 162 hits are 7th in the AL, his 9 triples are second only to Carl Crawford, he has 18 stolen bases on the season, he's 17th with a .377 OPB and 13th in OPS with .913. Not sure he's an MVP candidate for real, but his numbers sure are a lot better than I had thought.

[ThePundit]

Lefty: You know I love 'ya but were you liquored up when you wrote that Sizemore might be an MVP candidate?

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by ThePundit

Lefty: You know I love 'ya but were you liquored up when you wrote that Sizemore might be an MVP candidate?

Nah, man... just drinking the same Kool Aid as Eric Wedge.

I mean, look what the dude says about Sizemore:

"If he's not the best all-around player in the league, he's near the top."

"I'll take him over anybody." - even A-Rod or Pujols, Eric?

[MJHMarc]

I take Pujols over Sizemore, without even thinking twice about it.

[Lefty Noob]

I think most of us would, Marc. That's kind of what's so funny about Wedge's comments.

[chsbletz]

I'm an Indians fan, and I very much like having Grady as the Tribe's leadoff man. But, he still has some holes in his game, despite being very productive.
Specifically, I refer to a fairly large number of 0fers. It seems he has either a multi-hit game or an 0fer. He is a terrific center fielder, but he has a very average throwing arm. I would say, without hesitation, that he is in the top five percent of MLB players, but it's a little early to consider him for an MVP award.

[MJHMarc]

I wouldn't consider him a possible MVP contender for this season, though.