This man happens to be Josh Homme, frontman for Queens Of The Stone Age. And as much as I love baseball, if there ever were a man to distract me from it, he's a damn good one. His band is pretty good too. As I was saying...
Apparently, I'm one of the few who thought the NL MVP Award should have gone to Matt Kemp, when, in fact, Ryan Braun did. I find myself obviously conflicted - Matt Kemp is a Dodger, after all. Nonetheless, with the kind of year that Kemp had, the choice was obvious. At least to me. When baseball insiders voiced their reactions to Ryan Braun being the recipient of said award, their main argument perplexed me. The logic seemed simple enough, and yet, completely unfair: Braun played for the Brewers and was one of the main reasons that Milwaukee won their first division title since 1982 (my birth year, in fact!). Kemp, on the other hand, played for the third-place NL West Dodgers and thus his contributions were less valued.
Now, I'm not stupid enough to argue that Kemp's numbers were better or that Braun somehow didn't deserve to win the award. On many levels, he did. However, to base that argument largely on which team a player was on is at least somewhat absurd. If Matt Kemp had played in front of Prince Fielder, his contributions probably would have been more valued too. Any person's would have. Matt Kemp did not have that advantage, although when Andre Ethier was healthy that must have been nice. I admit, this argument is not dissimilar to, in particular, the kind of teams a pitcher faces when being considered in award contention. But I'm going to go ahead and make the same case for Matt Kemp that I did for Jacoby Ellsbury: both players had amazing seasons while playing for less-than-amazing teams. They both stood out in their respective leagues and divisions.
As far as voting went, Kemp was not the only NL West player in the MVP award race; Justin Upton was as well. I'm not sure you can exactly compare these two players, but Upton was the main reason that the Diamondbacks had one of the highest home run averages in the NL, and the top five in all of baseball. I take some comfort in knowing that Kemp is more than capable of winning the NL MVP award someday. Anyhow. As Ryan Braun himself pointed out, Kemp had one of the best seasons in Dodger history this year. There is also my own personal preference to consider. Was Kemp the more attractive of the two? No. For me, cuteness almost always counts. This particular situation, however, is an exception. Matt Kemp was the NL MVP, hands down. And that is that.
Okay, so I won't lie and say that I paid a lot of attention to the recent baseball CBA (collective bargaining agreement) discussions that took place. I can say, however, that one of the good things mentioned was the usage of instant replay. Not only do I agree on the usage of instant replay, but it's particular necessity on foul lines. The very fine (almost invisible) line between a foul ball and a home run is one of the most interesting, if not frustrating, components of the sport. For the sake of argument, it's a life-or-death situation for hitters. In terms of outcome, there's no gray area - it's either a home run or it isn't. And its consequences can be deeply felt by all involved. So bravo for that potential investigation.
My only "nay" from the CBA discussions was the idea of expanding the playoffs to include more teams. The addition of a wild card team from each league was a great thing, and the stats tell it all - many World Series winning teams have been wild card teams. On the flip side though, what will expanding the playoffs mean, exactly? Does that mean making it into the playoffs will somehow be less special? It's unfortunate, but I think that would be the case. After playing more than 120 games during the regular season, the few teams that make it beyond that should be select, at the very least.
While I've been on the subject of cuteness, it seems that one of my favorites pitchers, Huston Street, is gaining interest from quite a few teams this off-season, including the Red Sox and the Reds. I was lucky enough to see him in a game as the closer for the A's early in his career and I have to say, regardless of where he ends up, I just hope I'll be seeing plenty of him in 2012. And that perhaps his ERA is a bit lower next year, too.
One quick note on the Giants: it seems that they are interested in Jerry Hairston Jr., which I find a bit mystifying. That's not to say I'm against the Giants acquiring a utility player, but do they need a utility infielder in particular? They have Aubrey Huff (for only one more season, hopefully) and Brett Pill at first base, Buster Posey as catcher (theoretically) and Pablo Sandoval at third base. Perhaps their interest implies shaking confidence in Sandoval's ability to stay in shape next season? I can only hope not
While I've been on the subject of cuteness, it seems that one of my favorites pitchers, Huston Street, is gaining interest from quite a few teams this off-season, including the Red Sox and the Reds. I was lucky enough to see him in a game as the closer for the A's early in his career and I have to say, regardless of where he ends up, I just hope I'll be seeing plenty of him in 2012. And that perhaps his ERA is a bit lower next year, too.
One quick note on the Giants: it seems that they are interested in Jerry Hairston Jr., which I find a bit mystifying. That's not to say I'm against the Giants acquiring a utility player, but do they need a utility infielder in particular? They have Aubrey Huff (for only one more season, hopefully) and Brett Pill at first base, Buster Posey as catcher (theoretically) and Pablo Sandoval at third base. Perhaps their interest implies shaking confidence in Sandoval's ability to stay in shape next season? I can only hope not
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