Andruw Jones Should Win the NL MVP

With Chipper hurt and out for nearly half the year, so many injuries to the pitching staff, and all the little papooses up from the minors, the Braves shouldn't be five games ahead with just seven games left to play. Sometime either Tuesday or Wednesday (if all goes well), they'll clinch their 14th straight division title. And almost all of the credit, on the field at least, has to go to Andruw Jones.

For the first time in his career, he has had an offensive season to match his incredible defensive abilities. He leads the majors in homers with 51 and the National League in RBI. (Note I did not fall into the trap of saying "rbis"--runs batted ins doesn't quite scan!) I think it's more likely than not that Albert Pujols will win as he's such a media darling. But while he is a great player, he's surrounded by a much stronger supporting cast. You can't really say he's carried the Cardinals. He leads them, but they share the load. Without Andruw this year, we'd actually be looking up at the Phillies and Marlins--but not the Mets!