AL MVP Race

The new rage appears to be the MVP race in the AL and apparently, to my surprise, Mark Teixeira is the frontrunner. Mauer is only a "compelling" candidate? Not to step on Kepner's toes, but Joe Mauer is the clear candidate at this point. The numbers are jaw-dropping, for a catcher no less. What I'd like to point out is that Teixeira is probably 5th in the race at best when viewing it objectively. Consider:

• Mauer is hitting .378/.446/.643....as a catcher. He's clearly the favorite.
• Miguel Cabrera, another 1st Baseman for a contender, is hitting .335/.400/.554.
• Teixeira is hitting .283/.381/.557. But wait. Tex's home/road splits: Home - .308/.397/.634; Road - .258/.366/.483. Gee, I think Yankee Stadium has had a nice effect on Teixeira's numbers.
• Kevin Youkilis and Justin Morneau are two more 1st Basemen outperforming Teixeira. And of the four 1st Basemen in contention, none stand out for defense according to Ultimate Zone Rating (although I'll admit Teixeira appears to be the best defensive player of the four).
• Lastly, two Rays, Ben Zobrist and Jason Bartlett are outperforming Mr. Teixeira...as middle infielders.

So, I'd probably place Teixeira 5th or 6th in this race. He's a fine player who is having a great season that is being buoyed by his home ballpark. He'll probably win the award because he's on the best team and there's something about playing in New York. He just won't necessarily deserve it.