Every year at this time, we engage in the MVP debate -- not just who should win the award, but what (exactly) the award is for. Is the MVP the player who helps his team win? Is he the best overall player? Is he the player who puts up unbelievable numbers that you just can't ignore? And should a pitcher be eligible to win the MVP?

The problem is, the baseball writers need to do a better job of defining the criteria for winning the MVP. There's a lot of gray area. I believe the MVP award should go to the player who's most instrumental in putting his team in position for the postseason.

Having a Player of the Year award that carries the same prestige as the MVP and Cy Young would eliminate needless debate and clarify the criteria for the MVP.

Last season, for instance, the Giants just missed out on the playoffs, but they wouldn't have been close without Barry Bonds and his record 73 home runs. His being named MVP was a no-brainer. But in 1998, when Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris' record and could make a case for the award, Sammy Sosa won the MVP. Sosa had huge numbers that year, too -- and he carried the Cubs to the playoffs. Big Mac's Cardinals weren't even close.

Further, I think there should be three awards: the Player of the Year, the MVP and the Cy Young. Pitchers wouldn't be eligible for the MVP but could win the player of the year award, which would go to the pitcher or position player with the best overall year, regardless of how his team finished (so pitchers and position players alike potentially could win two of the three awards). Having a Player of the Year award that carries the same prestige as the MVP and Cy Young would eliminate needless debate and clarify the criteria for the MVP.

If there were a Player of the Year this season, it would be near-unanimous: Alex Rodriguez in the AL and Barry Bonds in the NL. But as it is, there's a raging debate in the AL: Can a player on a last-place team (A-Rod on the Rangers) be the MVP? True, he's had a brilliant season, but Texas could have finished last without him.

AL MVP: I don't see a clear-cut favorite at this point in the AL, but my top three if the season ended today are:
1. Miguel Tejada
2. Alfonso Soriano
3. Garret Anderson

NL MVP: The NL is clearer, in my view:
1. Barry Bonds
2. Albert Pujols
3. Shawn Green

And if the award existed, Bonds would get my nod for Player of the Year as well as the MVP this season. What does Bonds mean to the Giants? Simple: Instant baserunners and, basically, instant home runs if he's thrown a strike.

Post-Streak A's Eye Postseason
Bullpen Cause for Concern: The Oakland Athletics obviously did a lot right in their AL record-setting 20-game winning streak. But the A's have two areas of concern as they approach the postseason: their overall bullpen and their closer.

I've been impressed, though, with reliever Ricardo Rincon lately -- he's throwing better than he's thrown in recent years. But the bullpen sometimes has been suspect and has needed to be bailed out by a late-game A's rally. Seven times Oakland has won games in which a save was blown by the bullpen.

	Koch

Closer Billy Koch is usually Mr. Excitement ... which isn't necessarily good for a closer. Since he doesn't consistently get his breaking ball over, hitters know the fastball is coming. So they just need to time the two-seam fastball (which sinks) or the four-seam fastball (which appears to rise but doesn't, it just doesn't sink).

At times, the A's also lose focus defensively. They played brilliant defense in Monday's 2-1 win over the Anaheim Angels. But there have been times this season when lapses have hurt.

Yankees Looming?: The New York Yankees have knocked the A's out of the ALDS the past two years in closely played series. Last year, the improbable shovel relay from Derek Jeter kept the Yankees alive as they faced elimination in Game 3 -- and helped New York win the first of three straight to take the series.

This year, if the A's win the AL West, it looks fairly certain that they won't play the Yankees in the first round (or ALDS), because the wild card will likely come out of the West. The playoff format stipulates that two teams from the same division can't meet in the first round. So the ALDS would pit the A's against the Twins and the Yanks against the Angels (if the A's win the West).

But if the A's are the wild-card team, the Yankees would loom. And then the A's would have to deal with the psychological baggage from the past. I don't believe the A's stay awake at night these days worrying about the Yankees -- they have a pennant race to worry about first. But if Oakland faced the Yankees in the playoffs, the past would surely be a factor.

I see some similarities between the A's today and the Kansas City Royals of 1976-78, who also found beating the Yankees elusive (in three straight playoff series, when the ALCS was best-of-five and there was no ALDS). But when the Royals finally toppled New York in 1980, they went on to win the World Series.

Patience Could Pay Off For Frustrated Sosa
Sammy Sosa has caused some rumblings in Chicago lately, saying that the Cubs need to clean house to bring a winning team to Chicago next year. Mainly, I think Sosa is speaking out of frustration. He's been struggling offensively since he collided with second baseman Mark Bellhorn and injured his neck last month. Plus, the Cubs had great expectations heading into this season and have flopped.

	Sosa

But the Cubs are in a favorable division -- a team in the NL Central could make a few key changes and potentially contend, whereas that would be tougher in the West or East.

The Cubs have the foundation for a good rotation next year, with Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Carlos Zambrano and Juan Cruz. Those are terrific young arms. Wood and the others need to work at controlling their pitch counts so they can get into the seventh inning and beyond. They waste too many pitches, which is part of the maturing process for a young starter.

Sosa needs to remember players like Ken Griffey Jr. and A-Rod, who left for greener pastures only to see Seattle become a consistent playoff team. Baseball fortunes can change quickly today, especially with good starting pitching. I can understand Sosa's frustration -- he didn't want his Home Run Derby barrage to be the highlight of his season. That's great for fans at the All-Star break, but Sosa wants to win.

If I Were The Skipper ...
The Situation
You might have seen it on Baseball Tonight or SportsCenter: Boston's Manny Ramirez hit an "automatic-out" grounder in a recent game and, instead of running to first base, turned and walked back to the dugout. Manager Grady Little left him in the game, though he said the next day that was a mistake.

Campbell's Call
In that situation, you need to bench him immediately, to send the message to Ramirez and to your team that you won't tolerate it.

That's the first time Ramirez has turned around and walked back to the dugout after grounding out. But there have been stories written all season about the numerous times he trots slowly to first on a routine grounder. It drives the baseball purists nuts.

Little is man enough to admit he made a mistake in not taking Ramirez out of the game, and Ramirez apologized to his teammates. But whether Ramirez begins to run hard on ground balls remains to be seen. Fans making middle-class wages who pay top dollar for tickets won't tolerate such a lack of effort.

	Ramirez

After all, Ramirez has a $160 million contract. Fans are right to expect the players who make the most money work the hardest, but we know that isn't always the case. Scouting comes into play with this issue, too. When the Red Sox signed Ramirez, they knew he was a great slugger -- but they also were smart enough to know he brought some baggage with him as well. These aren't new issues for him.

By contrast, A-Rod is an example of a high-paid superstar -- in fact, the highest-paid -- who does work hard consistently. He comes to play every day, he's focused and he hustles. In spring training, sometimes he's in at 7 or 8 a.m. to work on double plays with his second baseman.

Mike Piazza is another positive example. When Piazza hits a groundball, he hustles up the line. In New York, fans might boo him when he's slumping -- which isn't often -- but at least they know Piazza is giving his all.

Editor's Note: Dave Campbell, who was an infielder for eight seasons in the major leagues (1967-74), is an analyst for Baseball Tonight and ESPN Radio.