So our guy Carlos Quentin finished fifth in American League MVP voting. On the surface, this seems about right once you factor in the month he missed after that psychotic/hilarious self-brutalization. And most rational, logical people would agree that Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis et al assembled some great seasons for themselves.

But there, just as with every year, the question rears its ugly head: what constitutes value? What’s a home run worth? How about a stolen base? Or a diving catch? Or a sacrifice bunt? What it your team doesn’t make it to the postseason? What if it does?

This is where the arguments for and against Quentin both become extremely complicated. The obvious, reflexive idea shared by most fans and voters goes that since Player Q was injured for 1/6 of the season, everything he did, contributed or meant is really only equivalent to 83% of its true accomplishment. In some ways this is fair, and the reason Carlos Quentin couldn’t get more votes for AL MVP is the same reason C.C. Sabathia didn’t garner more AL Cy Young consideration and Manny Ramirez was a distant fourth in the NL MVP race – they either showed up too late or left too early to make it all count.

However, the key word here is “valuable,” not “awesome” or “prolific” or “unique,” and to apply value to something suggests an element of irreplaceability. If the Red Sox lost Pedroia or Youkilis, did they still have a shot at the AL Wild Card? It’s not out of the question; the BoSox did just fine after losing a superior bat in Manny Ramirez. Could the Twins have still managed to fall just short of the playoffs without either of Justin Morneau or Joe Mauer? Of course they could.

So could the White Sox have possibly ended up in a position to even remotely contend without Carlos Quentin in the lineup? Absolutely not, and we all watched how they struggled with him out of commission. Quentin, through some strange confluence of events, became irreplaceable even though average-fielding corner-position power bats are a dime a dozen. Without him, the Chicago White Sox don’t get to raise the 2008 American League Central Division Champions banner, even while they technically did it without him anyway.

This, and this alone, makes Carlos Quentin the most valuable player in the 2008 American League – not the best, but the one with the most value. Pedroia, Youkilis, Mauer et al had superior numbers and the good sense to not smash their wrists, and no one here on 35th Street is cutting down their achievements, but Quentin was single-handedly worth the entire division.

Alas, until someone starts handing out separate awards for value and production, or until they turn the voting over to the machines, all we can do is scratch our heads in awe at one of the most existentially confusing individual performances in recent memory.