That?s the gentlemanly thing to do, Barry. And it?s so your style. Four in a row was getting a little monotonous. Time for you to give somebody else a chance -- and besides, there?s always next year. That mantel must be awfully crowded with 7 trophies. Think of all the extra dusting. As teams curl into the halfway bend of the season, there?s a nice 2-man MVP horserace happening between Albert Pujols of St. Louis, and Derrek Lee of Chicago. Too early to make the call, but it?s liable to be a stirring stretch run. Grab your butts. All Mr. Bonds can do is watch. And ache. Pujols has to be considered the slim favorite based on history. Last year, he finished third in the voting behind Bonds and Adrian Beltre (who is nowhere near the stables this year). He?s also toiling for the division leading Cardinals, which is always a positive factor in the judging. His numbers are impressive once again: 22 homers, 69 RBIs, a .337 average and a .596 slugging percentage. The 25-year old first baseman continues to generate splendid stats ? he?s the only player ever to have at least 30 home runs, bat over .300, and have at least 100 runs and 100 RBIs in each of his first four years. Does that tell you anything? Winning the NL Rookie of the year award in 2001 was only the first draft of his r?sum?. He finished second to Bonds in NL MVP voting in 2002 and 2003, and won the batting title in 2003 with a .359 average. What was his reward? Only a 7-year, 100 million dollar contract after 2003 that gave him the largest deal in Cardinal franchise history. Seems like he might be worth it, if anyone is. Plus, he and his wife appeared in the 2002 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Yeah baby -- what could be better than that? Here?s a guy that seems to have it all. Or maybe that?s just the fantasy some of us own. But there will be plenty of competition for Pujols from the rampaging Lee. And if the Cubs can somehow catch fire, well? who knows. Then again, these are the Cubbies we?re talking about. Forget it. Derrek is having a monster season so far. With 27 homers, 72 RBIs, a gaudy .378 average, and slugging a gigantic .733, his numbers are even better than Albert?s. Despite his recent injury, the Sacramento native is enjoying his best year in the bigs. Like Pujols, Lee has been extremely consistent the past few seasons, and even picked up a gold glove in 2003. Four years older than Albert, he is on a pace that could give him a rare shot at the Triple Crown. Shades of ?Yaz? in 1967. ?No regrets,? Lee said, referring to his passing on a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina and Dean Smith. Maybe that 22 million dollar contract he signed with the Cubs had something to do with his jolly mood. ?You might have the opportunity to go out on the market and make more,? Derrek chortled. ?Like I've said, it's about the money but it's not all about the money?. But show me the money anyway. Other MVP possibilities, for the sake of discussion: Carlos Lee (22, 76, .268, .528); Andruw Jones (27, 67, .272, .578); Miguel Cabrera (17, 62, .333, .571); Morgan Ensberg (24, 65, .290, .596); and Jeff Kent (15, 60, .304, .515). Who? Any one of them might force their way into the fray come post time. Whoever can get through that door first better just go, though. And tip Barry for holding it open. Otherwise, next year they could get shut out, with that man pointing and laughing, as he locks it tight from the inside.