Would the Red Sox trade one bad contract for another?

And who gets the National League MVP Award that will be announced today?

To answer the first one, I'll submit a bold "maybe."

To the second: Albert Pujols.

First, let's look at the rumored deal proposal between the Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers.

Both the Red Sox and Tigers have two years left on contracts they wished they could get rid of:

Boston SS Julio Lugo, 33, $18-million still due, batted .268 last year; 16 errors in 81 games.

Detroit LHP Dontrelle Willis, 27 in January, $22-million still due; 0-2, 9.38 ERA last year; spent most of time in the minors.

Detroit LHP Nate Robertson, 31, $17-million still due; 7-11, 6.35 last year.

Lugo is expendable because rookie Jed Lowrie has surpassed him. Lowrie is the better fielder and a clutch hitter.

But Lugo does have a decent resume (the Red Sox did win a World Series with him as a starter) and teams need shortstops.

Boston's choice seems to be trade him to a team for a mid-level prospect or bullpen help (and likely eat a lot of the contract) or exchange him for another under-performing player with an equally-bad contract.

Enter the Tigers.

Robertson, the former Sea Dogs, starter, has a career 49-66 record and 4.90 ERA in the majors. There does not seem to be a place for him in Boston.

Willis has a 68-56 career record, and a 3.91 ERA. He has had some stellar seasons. If Boston thinks Willis has a chance to show his good stuff again, make the trade.

And now for the NL MVP.

The candidates:
Albert Pujols (.357, 37 HR, 116 RBI)
Ryan Howard (.251, 48, 146);
Hanley Ramirez (.301, 33, 67, plus 35 stolen bases)
Carlos Delgado (.271, 38, 115)

While Howard has the best power numbers, Pujols' slugging average is a whopping .653 (to Howard's 543). Pujols' on-base percentage is also significantly higher than Howard's (.462 to .339)

The Cardinals did not make the playoffs but they were a contender (finished 4 games behind the Brewers) because of Pujols.

We will talk about the AL MVP on Tuesday (Hint: I favor a former Sea Dogs infielder).

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