NEW YORK, N.Y. - When it comes to baseballs MVP debate, sometimes the names change from year to year more than the arguments do. For instance, take a look at the top contenders in the National League this season. Youve got Pittsburgh centre fielder Andrew McCutchen, the all-around star on a playoff team. Then theres Miami powerhouse Giancarlo Stanton, the premier slugger from a second-division club. And of course, Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, the dominant pitcher throwing his hat in the ring against everyday players. Its made for an intriguing race that feels awfully familiar. How to measure value in a player who fell short of the post-season? How much weight to give a starting pitcher who participates only once every five days? Its not the most valuable hitter award, its Most Valuable Player, which is everybody on the roster. But I think in order to win it as a pitcher, you have to have just an unbelievable year, Washington Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche said. Youre playing in a fifth as many games as the hitters. It should be a very rare thing. I dont think they should get in the habit of giving that out to pitchers. It should be an exception every once in a while, when you just have no choice and that guy is clearly the MVP. Kershaw has a strong case. Despite missing several starts with a back injury early this season, he went 21-3 in 27 outings for the NL West champions with 239 strikeouts and a 1.77 ERA a€” the lowest in the National League since 1995. He also became the first pitcher to lead the majors in ERA four straight seasons. The last pitcher to win the NL MVP award was Bob Gibson in 1968. Five years before that, it was another great Dodgers lefty, Sandy Koufax. Of course, Kershaw was brilliant last season, too, and finished seventh in the balloting. McCutchen easily beat out Arizona bopper Paul Goldschmidt after leading the Pirates to their first post-season appearance in 21 years. Many thought it might be a close election, but Goldschmidt failed to receive even one first-place vote despite pacing the NL in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and OPS for a .500 team. Over in the American League, the power hitting of Miguel Cabrera trumped Mike Trouts multi-skilled excellence the past two years as Cabrera won division titles with Detroit while Trout stayed home in October. And back in 2011, it was pitcher Justin Verlander of the AL Central champion Tigers topping Boston outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and Toronto slugger Jose Bautista, who both missed the playoffs. In the NL, Ryan Braun reached the post-season with Milwaukee that year while runner-up Matt Kemp of the Dodgers did not. The common theme here is that making the playoffs pays off in the MVP chase. To many voters from the Baseball Writers Association of America, thats what defines the word valuable in Most Valuable Player. Thats a very important part, and rightfully so, Toronto pitcher R.A. Dickey said. That doesnt bode well for Stanton, because the Marlins (77-85) finished fourth in the NL East. In fairness, though, they were still on the fringe of the wild-card race when he was hit in the face by a pitch Sept. 11, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season. Miami went 6-11 the rest of the way. It was an unfortunate break, but he still ended up leading the league in homers (37) and slugging percentage (.555) while finishing second in RBIs (105). McCutchen, meanwhile, had nearly identical stats in several major categories. His power numbers (25 homers, 83 RBIs) didnt match Stantons, but the four-time All-Star actually had a better season at the plate than last year, when he won his first MVP award. Despite spending 15 days on the disabled list in August with fractured rib cartilage, McCutchen led the NL in on-base percentage at .410 and OPS at .952, which was two points better than Stanton. Pittsburgh went 5-9 while he was sidelined, but took off in September on the way to a second straight wild-card berth as McCutchen posted an outstanding OPS of 1.048 during the final month. Throw in his speed on the bases a€” 18 steals in 21 attempts a€” and defence at a premium position, and McCutchen is the pick to repeat as MVP. But dont count out Kershaw when results are announced in November. ___ A look at the other big awards: AL MVP: Widely considered the best all-around player in baseball, Trout was runner-up to Cabrera the last two seasons. But this time, Trout and the Los Angeles Angels (98-64) boast the top record in the majors, making him a heavy favourite. Hes waited his turn, so to speak, and hes deserving, Dickey said. Hes been deserving the last couple of years, if it werent for the big guy over there in Detroit. Cabreras teammate on the playoff-bound Tigers, Victor Martinez, actually led the league in OPS at .974. Hes mainly a designated hitter, though. Trout had 36 homers and ranked first in RBIs (111) and runs (115). His strikeouts are way up and his stolen bases are way down a€” but no matter, Dickey said: He, to me, is just such a presence. NL Cy Young: Kershaw rolls to his third in four years. Tough luck for Johnny Cueto of the Reds and Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, who both went 20-9 in Cy Young-caliber seasons. AL Cy Young: Its a toss-up between Seattle ace Felix Hernandez, the 2010 winner, and Cleveland right-hander Corey Kluber, who virtually came out of nowhere this season. You have to take into consideration the ballparks they pitch in, the division they pitch in. I know I would look at a lot of those things, Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. What kind of defence was played behind them? If you look at all those things, I think theres a clear-cut winner. Hmmm, still looks awfully close from here, Buck. Nip and tuck. Call it in the air ... Kluber. NL Rookie of the Year: Sort of slim pickings this season after a bumper crop in 2013. Make it New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom over Cincinnati speedster Billy Hamilton. AL Rookie of the Year: Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox is the clear choice from a deep class. NL Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle of the Pirates could become the only back-to-back winner in either league besides Atlantas Bobby Cox (2004-05). AL Manager of the Year: Kudos to Ned Yost for guiding Kansas City out of a 29-year playoff drought, and Lloyd McClendon for leading the turnaround in Seattle. But the winner is Showalter, who managed the ace-less Orioles to a runaway AL East crown despite playing large chunks of the season without All-Stars Matt Wieters, Manny Machado and Chris Davis. Theres a nice symmetry here: Showalter won this award 10 years ago with Texas and 20 years ago with the New York Yankees. Cheap Jerseys. Despite almost exhausting all methods of saying no by this point, the B.C. native once again shot down the notion of facing his teammate. However, MacDonalds reluctance appeared to raise the ire of Tyron Woodley, who was preparing for a bout with Josh Koscheck. Cheap Jerseys China.com) - There is a reason that Bill Belichick is the best coach in professional football and everyone else is fighting for second place. http://www.cheapauthenticjerseyschina.us.com/.ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping. No exaggeration, the season has been great thus far. A more unpredictable Premier League is better viewing. Jerseys Cheap. Texas also optioned right-hander Ben Rowen to Round Rock and placed lefty Joe Saunders on waivers for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release. Feliz, an All-Star in 2010 and the AL Rookie of the Year, was the closer on two Rangers teams that went to the World Series.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Al Jefferson beat up the Detroit Pistons in a key game in the chase for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons are hardly the first team he has punished. Jefferson scored more than 30 points for the sixth time in nine games and led the Charlotte Bobcats to a 108-96 victory over Detroit on Tuesday night. He added 12 rebounds and seven assists, and sent Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe to the Pistons bench with foul trouble. "Hes a bad matchup for the entire league right now," interim Pistons coach John Loyer said. "We knew exactly what we was going to do -- they ran the same plays they always run -- but theres not much you can do to stop him." Jefferson had 24 points and 14 rebounds on Dec. 20 when the Bobcats rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat Detroit 116-106. "These games are what it is all about, especially with the Pistons chasing us," Jefferson said. "If you had told us before the season that we would be in this position, we would have been very satisfied. There are 28 games left, and were in the hunt." Kemba Walker scored 22 points, and Josh McRoberts added 14 points and 10 rebounds to help the Bobcats extend their lead over the Pistons to 1 1/2 games for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. "Our guys talked about it before the break, and said that everyone needed to do something to get ready for the rest of the season," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "Whatever they did, they were all ready to go tonight, and it was obviously a factor." The teams will conclude the home-and-home set at Charlotte on Wednesday night. Drummond, coming off his MVP performance in the Rising Stars game on Friday, had 16 points, 11 offensive rebounds and 11 defensive rebounds for Detroit. That wasnt enough to overcome a terrible shooting performance by his teammates. "We didnt have the energy and concentration that I would have expected," said Loyer, who is 1-2 after replacing Maurice Cheeks last week. "Thats very disappointing. You cant let a good NBA team, and I think Charlotte is a good team, post that kind of start. "We had two good practices after the break, but it didnt carry over into tonights game.dddddddddddd." Detroit got double-doubles from all three post players. Monroe finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Smith added 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Pistons shot just 39.8 per cent, with Smith making only 5 of 17 attempts. The Bobcats got off to a quick start, making their first seven shots. Only four missed free throws by Michael Kidd-Gilchrist kept Detroit from digging itself a bigger hole. Even when Charlotte missed a shot, the Bobcats got the offensive rebound and found McRoberts for an open 3-pointer. "It was very important to us to have a great start," Jefferson said. "We know how important these games are, and we were able to start off the game by setting the tone." The Bobcats free-throw shooting didnt get any better -- they missed 11 of their first 14 attempts -- but they maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second quarter. Charlotte was ahead 54-43 at halftime. Detroit could have gotten a point at the start of the second half, following a technical foul called on Walker as the teams left the court for the break. Jennings, though, missed the free throw. Detroit was outshot 58 per cent to 36 per cent in the first half, but Charlottes struggles from the line and eight offensive rebounds in the second quarter kept the Pistons in the game. The Bobcats quickly moved ahead 67-49 within the first 5 minutes of the third quarter, but Drummond was active enough on the offensive boards to pull Detroit within 79-67, heading to the fourth period. He went to the bench with his fifth foul with 9:47 to play, ending the Pistons run. Detroit also started missing its free throws, going 1 for 7 to start the second half. NOTES: The Bobcats are 2-0 this season against the Pistons with both wins coming at the Palace. ... Detroits Rodney Stuckey, a subject of trade rumours because of his expiring contract, went 1 for 9 from the floor in the first half and finished with two points in 17 minutes. ... Jefferson pulled off a rare feat when he was able to talk an official into changing a call. Tony Brown whistled Jefferson for a delay-of-game violation, but after a brief discussion, the call was overturned. Cheap Jerseys? nfl jerseys cheap authentic?wholesale jerseys?jerseys from china authentic Cheap Jerseys wholesale stitched jerseys ' ' '