Q. Do you think it’s fair for guys like Manny Ramirez and CC Sabathia to get major consideration for MVP and Cy Young awards even though they spent only half the season in their new leagues?
— Morgan Jones, New York

A. I don’t think either should — or will — win those awards, but I don’t have a problem with them getting some votes.

Both were key reasons why their teams got to the postseason. I can’t really remember two other mid-season acquisitions who made more positive impacts on their new teams in the 20-plus years I’ve been doing this.

But when you put the numbers and contributions of Ramirez and Sabathia up against other worthy MVP and Cy Young candidates, they fall short.

Let’s take Manny first. His Dodgers numbers: 53 games, 187 at-bats, 17 homers, 53 RBI, .396 average, .743 slugging percentage.

Now those are amazing, no doubt about it. But they don’t come close to equaling what Albert Pujols did for the Cardinals over the 162-game season. Or Ryan Howard for the Phillies, or on and on we can go. In fact, my MVP ballot also would have Lance Berkman, David Wright, Hanley Ramirez, Chase Utley and Ryan Braun ranked higher than Ramirez.

The same goes for Sabathia: 17 starts, 130.2 innings, 11-2, 1.65 ERA, 128 strikeouts. The Brewers wouldn’t have made the playoffs without him. But those numbers don’t compare with the full seasons put together by what likely will be the consensus Cy Young ballot of Tim Lincecum, Johan Santana and Brandon Webb – or even Ryan Dempster.

Q. Are the Tampa Bay Rays the new blueprint for small-market success? How are they different from how the Twins and A’s do business?
— Dane, Clearwater, Fla.

A. You have to be careful there, Dane. Some people were saying the same thing about the Rockies at this point last year. There are no guarantees, especially in the AL East, the toughest division in baseball.

The reason why you mention the Twins and A’s (and you could throw the Indians in there, too), is that those teams consistently have won with their smallish payrolls. It sure appears as if the Rays have everything in place to make a similar run, but we’ll see.

The one thing that connects all these teams (the Brewers, too), is an emphasis on scouting and player development that has led to quality players coming through the system.

That keeps costs down – at least until those star players become arbitration and free agent-eligible. And that’s where the challenge comes in – continuing the pipeline of talent to replace those you can’t keep.

The advantage the Rays have had is they were so bad for so long that they were picking at or near the top of the drafts. The A’s and Twins haven’t had that luxury at all.

But the A’s have a brilliant general manager who keeps trading off developed stars for more young talent to keep the cycle going. And the Twins just simply excel in teaching and emphasizing the fundamentals in their system, and at the big-league level.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how the Rays handle the inevitable need to dramatically increase the payroll to hang onto their nucleus of young stars.

They smartly have locked up Evan Longoria, James Shields, Scott Kazmir and David Price long-term. But they already are on the hook for just more than $10 million in raises to players under contract for next season, and Gabe Gross, Jason Bartlett, Dioner Navarro and Grant Balfour will be due big raises as they will reach arbitration eligibility.

Q. How is it determined that a pitcher earned a save? Do the rules explicitly spell that out?
— Terry, New Berlin, Wisc.

A. Here’s what Official Scoring Rule 10.20 says, Terry: Credit a pitcher with a save when he meets all three of the following:

• 1) He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his team.
• 2) He is not the winning pitcher.
• 3) He qualifies under one of the following conditions:
• A) He enters a game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches at least one inning.
• B) He enters a game, regardless of the count, with the potential tying run either on base, at bat, or on deck.
• C) He pitches effectively for at least three innings.

No more than one save may be credited in each game.      

So, yes, it’s spelled out pretty clearly. And a little history lesson: The save was instituted as an official statistic in 1969, and was the brainchild of longtime Chicago Tribune baseball writer Jerome Holtzman, who passed away earlier this year.

I think the next step that needs to be taken on an official basis (it already is among the sabermetrics set) is to differentiate between easy saves and difficult saves.

Getting a save for pitching one inning with a three-run lead just isn’t the same as facing the tying or go-ahead runs, or pitching two or more innings.

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