AaronGleeman.com

The "long rant" section of my brain is apparently on vacation today because so far nothing has inspired me to write my usual 5 trillion words on Pedro or Bud Selig or whatever.

So, I figured today would be a good time to do a little, drumroll please....READER MAIL!

Before I start, I just want to thank everyone who has checked out the site since it's birth on August 1st (hey, that rhymed!).

I also want to thank those of you who sent me emails. I was amazed at how many I got in the 4 or 5 days since this site has been up and running.

I promise to read and respond to every single one I get, so please, keep those emails coming.

And an added bonus, I haven't received any death threats yet, which makes me feel real special.

Also, no "Your writing turns me on so much, I need to meet you" emails from lingerie models living in Minnesota (or anywhere, I can travel!), but I am sure they are just a little shy. In a week or so when they are completely addicted to the site, the model emails will come flying in.

Now, without further adeu, ladies and gentlemen....READER MAIL...

Our first email comes to us from Boston.

Matt, in reponse to yesterday's entry about Pedro Martinez says, "Great Pedro post."

Why thank you Matt, it is always nice when people are able to recognize genius. Oh, wait, he said some more stuff...

"Living in Boston, I have been lucky enough to see Pedro, and make no mistake, Pedro during 99-00 was bigger than Roger ever was. Bigger than Rice, Evans or Boggs. Bigger than Brady, bigger than Cam Neely or Raymond. Bigger than Fisk, Lynn or even El Tiante. The only person who has ever compared in the city of Boston through out my life time is Larry Legend.

You just knew that no matter what it took in the big game Pedro was coming through. Except the difference was with Pedro every game seemed like a big game.

If you have a chance to see The Pedro Game, again, as he is coming in from the bullpen, all 160 pounds of him (and I have stood next to him, he doesn't weigh an once

over 170 or didn't then) the camera pans the Cleveland dug out. The look those players had was unforgettable, almost like they were accepting defeat in the forth inning. Unreal."

Great email Matt.

I know, watching that playoff game on TV, when Pedro came out of the bullpen I just knew the scoring was over.

I can only imagine how Cleveland, the highest scoring team in baseball that season, felt.

Here they are, bashing the crap out of the ball for 3 innings, like they did all season long, and then, boom, it's over. If I knew it was over, sitting in my living room, the Indians had to know it was over.

Our next email comes to us from Oakland.

Zachary, in response to "Aaron's" wondering if murdering Bud Selig would be so wrong (Yes, that's right, not me, "Aaron"), says, "I'm part Italian and my Uncle 'Vito' tells me, "accidents sometimes happen to people and 'der is nuttin' we can do."

Hmmm....

Our next email comes to us from New Jersey.

"Uncle Vito" writes, "My nephew told me to send you an email. Apparently you have a "problem" that needs fixing?"

He then went on to quote me a price and gave me 47 ways (of which I could choose up to 3) that my "problem" could be solved.

Sorry Vito, I don't have that kind of money on me, after all, it's not as if I get paid for this!

Thanks for the email and please say hello to Mr. Soprano for me.

Our next email comes to us from New York.

Rick, in response to my two entries about player paces through two-thirds of the season (scroll down to August 2nd and 3rd), asks, "I know you said that ARod and Bonds are your MVP choices, but who are your top 5 in each league? What about your Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year?"

Here they are Rick (Remember, these are my picks for who deserves them if the season ended today, some things will change by the end of the year).

AL MVP:

1) ARod (Leads the league in RARP, HRs, RBI, SLG%. 2nd in Runs, 6th in OBP. All while playing the toughest (non-catcher) defensive position at gold glove level.)

2) Jason Giambi (2nd in the league in RARP. Leads in OBP, EqA. 3rd in SLG%, 4th in RBI.)

3) Torii Hunter (5th in the AL in SLG%, 7th in HRs and Avg. 9th in RARP, 10th in SB. Top 15 in RBI, Runs, Hits, Doubles and the best defensive centerfielder in baseball.)

4) Alfonso Soriano (3rd in the league in RARP and Runs. 2nd in doubles and hits, 5th in HRs. 1st in SB. And playing one of the toughest defensive positions.)

5) Ichiro! (6th in the league in RARP, 4th in OBP, 1st in hits, 2nd in Avg, 7th in runs. Great defense in right field, having an even better season than last year.)

NL MVP:

1) Barry Bonds (1st in the majors in OBP, SLG, RARP, EqA and EqR. The only reason there is even any doubt is because of injuries)

2) Brian Giles (2nd in RARP, EqA and EqR. 4th in OBP, 3rd in SLG. Good defense in LF. The most underrated player in baseball)

3) Jeff Kent (This tells you how horrible the rest of the Giants' offense is. 3rd in RARP. .329/.379/.552.)

4) Sammy Sosa (Yes, this is an "off year" for Sosa.4th in RARP, 5th in EqA, 5th in SLG. 1st in Runs.)

5) Tie, Vlad Guerrero/Adam Dunn/Jim Edmonds/Lance Berkman/Those two pitchers in Arizona.

AL ROY:

1) Eric Hinske (Only rookie in the top 20 RARP. Only good hitting rookie getting full-time ABs.)

2) Bobby Kielty (Quickly becoming my 2nd favorite player. Gardenhire needs to play him every day. .311/.436/.502. 8th in AL EqA.)

3) Rodrigo Lopez (11th in AL in SNWL. On pace for 18-6, 3.16 ERA, 208 IP, .226 OAVG.)

4) Dustan Mohr (Playing well and often, but he and Kielty should be switched as far playing time. .296/.343/.469.)

5) Tie, Jorge Julio/Carlos Pena/Nick Johnson/Tony Fiore/Kevin Mench.

NL ROY:

1) Damian Moss (9th in the NL in SNWL. On pace for 10-6, 177 IP, 3.03 ERA, .184 OAVG.)

2) Austin Kearns (Not hitting for as much power as I thought he would, but the OBP (.390) is great. .295/.390/.460.)

3) Kaz Ishii (Looked like winner for sure after April/May, but has cooled considerably. On pace for 17-10, 185 IP, 4.07 ERA.)

4) Brad Wilkerson (Quietly putting together a very good rookie season. .265/.366/.453 and on pace for 20 HRs and 80 BBs.)

5) Tie, Mark Prior/Jason Simontacchi/Josh Fogg/Alex Sanchez/Josh Beckett.

AL CY:

1) Derek Lowe (1st in SNWL. 1st in ERA. 1st in Opponent Avg. Tied with Pedro for 1st in Wins and WHIP.)

2) Pedro Martinez (2nd in SNWL, ERA, OAVG. 1st in Strikeouts, Ks/9, K/BB. Will jump ahead of Lowe by end of the year.)

3) Barry Zito (3rd in SNWL, Strikeouts, Ks/9. Tied for 1st in Wins. 4th in OAVG. 6th in ERA.)

4) Jamie Moyer (4th in SNWL. 1st in Innings Pitched. 5th in ERA. 3rd in Opponents average.)

5) JC Romero (2nd in ARP. 1st in Games Pitched. 7-1 with a 1.80 ERA. Only 45 Hits in 60 IP, with 57 Strikeouts.)

NL CY:

1) Randy Johnson (2nd in SNWL. 1st in Innings Pitched, Strikeouts, Ks/9. 2nd in Wins, ERA.)

2) Curt Schilling (1st in SNWL, Wins, K/BB. 2nd in Strikeouts, Ks/9, Innings Pitched. 5th in ERA.)

3) Tom Glavine (3rd in SNWL, Wins. 4th in ERA.)

4) Greg Maddux (1st in ERA. 4th in SNWL. 8th in Wins. Still getting it done, but not pitching as many innings.)

5) Eric Gagne (5th in ARP. 2nd in Saves. Cooling off lately, likely will not be in my top 5 at the end of the year.)

AL Manager of the Year (MOY?):

1) Ron Gardenhire (I'm a Twins fan, but he probably deserves it anyway.)

2) Mike Scioscia (This year's "Best managing job with a team no one thought would be this good.")

NL MOY:

1) Bobby Cox (Best record in baseball. Mazzone probably deserves about half of the award.)

2) Tie, Bob Brenly/Jim Tracy/Bob Boone.

Our final email comes to us from Minnesota.

"Aaron's Mom" writes, "Honey, I am so glad you found something to do this summer, we were all getting worried about you. I haven't read the site yet because baseball bores me and I don't know how to get onto the internet, but if it has your writing on it, it couldn't be that horrible. Well, I guess it could actually. Don't forget to walk the dog."