Red Sox WPA through 7/31/06

With this game, David Ortiz takes over the American League WPA crown from Jonathan Papelbon, who had held it for the past few weeks. Yes, Ortiz and Papelbon lead not just the Red Sox, but the entire American League. The makes them the #1 and #2 candidates for MVP, since WPA is almost by definition a measurement of how "valuable" a player has been for his team. (You can see WPA figures for players on other teams at FanGraphs, by clicking the "Teams" section and then the "Season" tab. FanGraphs uses slightly different calculation logic than is used here on SoxWatch - they don't take errors into account, for example - but overall their figures are pretty close to those presented here). The current #3 player in the AL is Jermaine Dye, while the NL leaders are Albert Pujols, Chase Utley, and Brandon Webb.

Individual Player WPA Contributions
Monday, 7/31/06
Indians 6, Red Sox 8

Full-Season Player WPA Contributions
Through Monday, 7/31/06

Full-Season Category WPA Contributions
Through Monday, 7/31/06