This column originally ran in The Standard-Times on Sept. 15, 2006.

By Nick Tavares

The annual "Who should be MVP?" debate is again in full swing, which in and of itself is a bit surprising.

With writers across the country weighing in on who should and shouldn't win, who's deserving, who's not and who's talking about who behind whose back, allow me to sort this whole mess out for everyone. You can all thank me later, of course.

At the beginning of August, it looked absurd that anyone but David Ortiz would be considered, but the Sox full-scale collapse (thanks to more injuries at one time than I can ever remember a team suffering) has opened the conversation to include several well-deserving candidates.

The main challenger to Ortiz's gaudy 48 home runs, 127 RBIs and 1.021 OPS (on-base plus slugging) has been Derek Jeter. Ortiz, depending on who you ask, openly questioned his legitimacy, but it's hard to deny the argument.

Jeter has been near or at the top of the league in hitting most of the year, at a .345 clip entering last night, and has been as timely as ever with the bat. Consider Jeter's key hits Friday and Sunday in the midst of the Yankees five-game August sweep. The sparks of what was undoubtedly the catalyst in sinking the Sox' season.

The Yankees are at their best when Jeter delivers. This season, Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield went down while their pitching struggled and Alex Rodriguez you know, let's not go there right now. The point is Jeter has carried the team on his back, maybe more so than ever.

There's also Jermaine Dye to consider. After last year's breakout season ended with a World Series MVP trophy, Dye has hit the cover off the ball in '06 — 41 homers and 114 RBIs so far, with a batting average (.323) and OPS (1.025) higher than Ortiz's.

While Jim Thome started off strong for the White Sox and tapered, Dye has stayed consistent, a punishing force in the middle of Chicago's lineup.

But let's not forget Minnesota. On June 1, the Twins were 24-29, 111/2 games back of Detroit and eight games behind wild card-leading Chicago. While Joe Mauer, Francisco Liriano and Justin Morneau were all having solid seasons, the Twins hadn't pulled together to make a playoff run.

Morneau, with 33 HR and 120 RBI, is having a career year. Mauer's .348 average sits just above Jeter's at the moment. But neither should win the MVP. Not that they couldn't any other year, but they haven't been their team's most valuable asset.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to Mr. Johan Santana.

Mr. Santana, you may or may not know, is a pitcher. Year after year, they're left out of this debate unfairly, mainly because "they only play every fifth day."

If there was ever a dumber argument against a player, I haven't heard it.

Santana started off a bit slowly this season, going only 9-5 with a 2.75 ERA at the All-Star break. Since then, he's 9-0 with a 2.42 ERA, and the opposition is batting just .197 against him. Since Liriano, the Twins' rookie phenom, and Brad Radke have both fallen out of Minnesota's rotation, Santana has stepped it up considerably.

How much? The Twins haven't lost a game he's started since July 9. With those nine decisions, Minnesota leads the wild-card race, and entered last night 11/2 games behind the Tigers in the AL Central. Take them out, and they're again 111/2 back of Detroit, 7 1/2 behind Chicago.

Enough is enough. There is nothing more valuable than pitching, and Johan Santana has been, far and away, the most valuable pitcher in the league this year.

Stop the madness, and start the rally cry. Invade message boards, start printing T-shirts and annoy any radio host who will have you. Fight the good fight, and make Johan Santana the first starting pitcher to win the MVP since Roger Clemens in 1986.

You have your mission. Now go.

Nick Tavares is a columnist for The Standard-Times. Contact him at ntavares@s-t.com

Date of Publication September 15, 2006 on Page C01