Pitcher Winz and Page Hitz Applesauce: Verlander wins MVP, Michael Young almost wins MVP (okay, not really), and Twitter explodes (again)

This is really kind of cool, so kudos to Greg Prince for dreaming it up. More information is available at FAFIF if you want to attend or submit a paper.

If the Mets don't end up with Reyes (runs outside, turns around and spits), the not uninteresting Hiroyuki Nakajima is going to be posted. He hit over .300 and bopped 20 home runs for the Seibu Lions last season and is probably not Kaz Matsui. He is also not Jack Wilson.

Over at fangraphs, Mike Newman takes a look at Rule 5 decisions, using the Mets as an example. Includes bonus Jefry Marte video! I have thoughts in the comments, but will add that any team taking Marte will basically have to punt a year of development time on top of everything else. More Rule 5 mania, as Toby Hyde takes a look at why Mark Cohoon was left off the 40-man. Spoiler Alert: He was terrible this year.

Look, if you want the Mets to sign Reyes, buy some freaking jerseys already. The Wilpons need cash now.

Ted Berg has finally met his match. I smell buddy comedy! And I think we all know who the antagonist is going to be...

You can cross Joe Nathan off your list of potential 2012 Mets closers, as the Rangers signed him to a two year deal plus a third year team option/buyout. That's a bit more than I would have gone. But it looks like the Rangers are serious about moving Neftali Feliz into the rotation to replace CJ Wilson. Which they probably should have done, oh, two years ago.

The Times' Bats blog takes a look at the Hall of Fame candidacy of Allie Reynolds. Eh, he wasn't even as good as Billy Pierce, and I think I've finally been convinced that Pierce shouldn't be in.

Baseball Nation joins the neverending argument of just how old Albert Pujols actually is.

The big baseball news yesterday was, of course, the announcement of the AL MVP. It's 1999 Pedro Martinez Justin Verlander. A pitcher win the MVP award? That's unpossible! I personally would have voted Ellsbury, but I have no real problem with a vote for Verlander. A vote for Michael Young on the other hand... (bonus points for "my eyes told me" which means, "I didn't really watch any other teams.") Now Grant is supposedly a pretty good beat writer, so I am not going to beat him up too bad. But it's kind of conveinent he gave it to the guy he has to get quotes from every day.

And then there is this guy. I will just point out that the FIRST MVP EVER WAS A PITCHER. Inghram could have said that he doesn't think pitchers impact the modern game enough to qualify as MVPs. Or he could have said that Verlander's numbers were a product of an unsustainable BABIP based on the Tigers defense. But no, he had to say the stupid thing.

MLB and the MLBPA will announce a new labor deal today. Changes include HgH testing and a mind-numbingly stupid luxury tax on draft spending which will hurt small market clubs, and lead them to make deals in the FA market like, oh, this one.

Bobby Valentine might be the frontrunner for the Red Sox managerial job, since the new GM doesn't really hate him all that much, he guesses. Meanwhile, Ryne Sandberg will take the helm of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs again.