17 Hours

Teams win games — not players.

The reason why I wrote the above is because a poster on ESPN.com concluded that because the Phillies won more games than the Cardinals, Howard should be the NL MVP (that argument is weaker than Chris Webber’s knees).

However, let’s play that card.

The Cards were projected to lose 95 to 100 games this season. Thanks to Pujols’ presence, they didn’t lose nearly as many and were a .500 club.

Howard has struck out 692 times since 2004. Pretty grotesque numbers. He’s usually hitting a homerun or striking out, while Pujols is banging the ball over the ballpark.

In 2006 the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series. Ryan Howard, a member of a Philadelphia Phillies team who didn’t make the playoffs that season, won the MVP.

Now in 2008, the Phillies won the World Series, the Cardinals missed the playoffs, and this is a little paradoxical, isn’t it?

At least there’s a good reason to be a Cardinals fan in 2008.