More signings than you can shake a stick at, and a Ryan Braun "scandal"

Despite the winter meetings being over, that certainly hasn't slowed down the pace of player signings and trades. One of the biggest, in my opinion, is that of A's pitcher Trevor Cahill being traded to the Diamondbacks. Cahill's signing is one of the biggest trades, in my opinion, because of how it shakes up the NL West division for next season. First off, the Diamondbacks already have a solid pitching rotation, what with top guys like Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson. To add Trevor Cahill to that staff would be pretty major. Also, as previously mentioned, it takes away more cuteness from the A's pitching staff. And that can't be good.

Speaking of the A's pitching staff, it seems almost guaranteed that Gio Gonzalez will not be with the A's next season. Where he will land, exactly, isn't clear yet, but insiders point to the Blue Jays as the most likely team. If that means more money for him, then that's great. He was really impressive this season. Need I mention, though, eliminating more of the cuteness factor of the A's pitching staff. As of right now, I might not even have a reason to watch the A's in 2012! (Not that I watched them much in 2011)

Next up would be the Rays locking in Matt Moore to an 8-year deal, with 5 of those being guaranteed money. I think it's a smart move for both Moore and the Rays, and despite having missed the ALDS game that Moore pitched this season, he has the potential to be top notch. If the highlights of said game are any indication, I missed one hell of a performance. Between Moore and Jeremy Hellickson, the Rays have some future aces on their pitching staff for sure. Is it a risk signing a relatively inexperienced rookie to an 8-year deal? Sure, but Moore seems to be worth it. 

And to mention a trade/signing that is not pitcher-related, Aramis Ramirez signed a 3-year contract with the Brewers this week. I'm happy for him that he will be on a much more competitive team next season. To be honest, I hadn't kept up with the speculation on Ramirez and who he would sign with, but I imagine the Brewers (and their fans) are pretty happy about it. 

As much as I don't want to go in depth about it, I suppose that mentioning the Ryan Braun "scandal" (if you will) seems necessary. Despite the story having been out for a few days now, all information about it seems to be cryptic, at best. At first, it was a performance-enhancing drug that Braun only tested positive for during the playoffs. Then, it was implied that it was simply a prohibited substance that Braun may have used because it helped speed up his recovery from his recent injuries. Well, which is it? Braun's agency quickly assured his innocence in a statement not long after the report first came out. But of course they did! What else were they going to say? However, it seems that no player has successfully appealed a positive result for any of these tests and he likely faces a 50 game suspension next year. Until Ryan Braun himself speaks though, I will reserve most of my judgment. But why did he only test positive during the playoffs and not the regular season? I'm curious to find that out.

Ryan Braun...wait, what? And other thoughts

Since it was announced earlier this week, I found myself thinking a lot about the NL MVP award. This was, after all, the last trophy (as it were) given out and not an insignificant one either. However, after I did that, I found myself rather distracted by this man.

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