Ichiro MVP? Nah. He's having a good year, but not MVP-esque. Plus, I think him and Bret Boone would split the votes.
I say that it's Frank's award for the taking. It would be the 2nd time that he deserved the MVP after not making the AS team that year.
Don't forget who votes for the MVP award. It IS a popularity contest to some extent.
Hasn't a lot of Ichiro's "shine" grown dull? I mean sure, he's having a solid season, but the newness just isn't there anymore. And like I said in a diff post, he's got Boone as a teammate, so that will probably take some votes away from him. Although, I guess you could say the same about Frank and Magglio. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Either way, as long as the Sox win the Central, I'll be happy.
Hopefully that whole Ichiro mania has worn off, but it doesn't seem like it. Franks best chance, if he stays this hot, is for Boston to get the wild card, and Oakland to stay hot and finish ahead of the M's, leaving them out of the playoffs. Also if Boone and Ichiro split some votes that will help. And really with Maggs numbers, I don't think he is a top flight MVP canditate. I think there are a bunch of guys I would pick before Ordonez.