Comments on: NL MVP preview: it’s a two-man race

By: brewcrewfan54

brewcrewfan54 — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:17:13 +0000

You obviously don’t watch many Brewer games and base all your opinions on sabeetrics. That’s fine because you certainly aren’t the only one. Those things don’t always tell the story though. And most people who are getting paid to know about baseball are still in debate to how good those stats are at measuring fielding ability.

By: Alex K

Alex K — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 01:14:55 +0000

Awesome. Just know that my opinion isn’t biased. Braun is a bad defender. He’s still a great player, just not with a glove on his left hand.

By: drunkenhooliganism

drunkenhooliganism — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:42:33 +0000

you guys are right. One of the other hitters on the team belongs on a 40 man roster. The team had an OPS+ of 94 INCLUDING Kemp’s 170, without him it would be about 85.

By: brewcrewfan54

brewcrewfan54 — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:05:20 +0000

Well I dont give a shit about your opinion either so I guess we’re even.

By: thefalcon123

thefalcon123 — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:31:28 +0000

Hey Bozo,

I know a player in 2011 who was responsible for 22.8% of his teams runs! He is clearly the MVP…right? Sure, Ichiro Suzuki only had a .645 OPS this year…but 22.8% of his teams runs! MVP! MVP!

By: thekcubrats

thekcubrats — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:30:22 +0000

Craig! you left out:
- steals!
- park effects
- not just better teammates but Kemp scored more R with NOBODY behind him

And, without Kemp, Duds lose 122, without Braun Brews lose just enough more to maybe miss the ‘offs.

Just a ridic award (not as bad as a Jeter GG but…) since the thing that seems to matter most to the voters is the postseason (i.e., getting there) which of course is not supposed to be a consideration since postseason performance isn’t and can’t be part of the vote.

By: Alex K

Alex K — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:27:30 +0000

True, $100 is worth more marginally to a college student than Bill gates. But that $100 will buy the same amount of Ramen for both Bill and the college student.

By: Alex K

Alex K — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:09:37 +0000

Don’t start with him. He will say stupid things like what he said abouve and then say you think too much of yourself when you disagree. It’s a no win for you.

By: drmonkeyarmy

drmonkeyarmy — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:08:26 +0000

Something like that….my central point was that 100$’s has different value to different people.

By: Alex K

Alex K — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:06:37 +0000

That’s great. Just know no one gives a shit about your biased opinion, either.

By: Alex K

Alex K — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:01:42 +0000

Not me. But you were probably talking about marginal value. In actual value $100 is $100.

By: cintiphil

cintiphil — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:01:04 +0000

Bozo. i would caution that many times, it is the key hit that should count. I have not checked, but how many game winning hit/HR or walk Since the playoff numbers are not considered, how about Ryan Howard? he seems to hit a very hard .270, with all of his RBI’s and long balls. How did he rank in walk off hits? I would not have counted him out, even he won it before.

By: cintiphil

cintiphil — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:54:34 +0000

Yes, I forgot about the voting business before the playoffs. Other than that, I am not a cards fan here in Cinti. I was just trying to observe others who may be in line because in my opinion, the two mentioned are not as outstanding as they appear on paper. Braun did very little to help his team in the NCLS. When he hit, hardly anyone was on base. When the games were on line, he struck out or grounded out. I watched all of the NCLS and was impressed very little by him. I will agree that during the season, he had key hits throughout.

By: davidpom50

davidpom50 — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:53:16 +0000

I’m all for Kemp winning, but the stats you just threw out penalize Braun for being on a good team, which to me is just as nonsensical as penalizing Kemp for being on a bad team. It’s an individual award, what the other players on the team did should be meaningless.

By: Walk

Walk — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:52:51 +0000

I kinda feel like braun is gonna win it. I would like see kemp get it but hey like others before me said meh not worth arguing over much, either is ok. Unfortunately i think voters are lazy look at which team has better record then looks for elite players on said team then immediately think hey this guy is obviously the best, his team did better.

By: umrguy42

umrguy42 — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:51:12 +0000

Freese had a good playoffs, but again, postseason doesn’t factor into MVP. I’d expect votes for Albert, though, particularly for his second half.

By: bozosforall

bozosforall — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:44:57 +0000

Kemp was responsible for 18% of his team’s total runs (and nearly 21% of his team’s RBIs), while Braun was only responsible for 15% of his team’s total runs (and 16% of his team’s RBIs).

Kemp was more valuable. Not his fault most of the rest of his team (Ethier, Kershaw, Broxton excluded…and maybe someone else I’m forgetting at the moment) was not very good. Throw in the added distraction of the idiot McCourt saga and Kemp gets the nod.

By: Jeff M.

Jeff M. — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:43:06 +0000

What word is that? “Pie?” Or “Cake?”

By: bozosforall

bozosforall — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:36:54 +0000

So THAT’S why Verlander won the AL MVP? LOL

By: bozosforall

bozosforall — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:33:42 +0000

Both of those guys should have never been the MVP. Morneau got robbed in 2008.

By: brewcrewfan54

brewcrewfan54 — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:27:57 +0000

I don’t give a shit what any of those statistics say Braun is alot etter fielder than people give him credit for. I’m not sating he’s the best butthe guy makes the plays he should out there and then makes the occasional fantastic play. Add in a very strong and accurate throwing arm. Instead of the stats ya need to check the eye test sometimes and he passes that. I will admit he does make a terrible play on occasion to, just to be fair.

By: spotdog19

spotdog19 — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:25:55 +0000

Really Cintiphil? Where do I start?

1) Ryan Braun’s year got him to the NLCS…mathematically speaking that’s top 4 teams.

2) Freese didn’t even qualify for the Batting title because he didn’t have enough at bats therefore he’s not even eligible to win the award.

3) David Freese hit .397, 5hr, 21rbi in 18 games in the post season. Ryan Braun hit .405, 2hr, 12rbi in 11 games in the post Season. One can hardly say Braun “Fell Apart” with those stats – averaged out they are comparable.

4) Voting takes before the playoffs so any talk of post season stats is moot.

Way to be a homer cinti….

By: drmonkeyarmy

drmonkeyarmy — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:24:18 +0000

Voting is done before the playoffs. So, none of what you mentioned will factor in.

By: Jonny 5

Jonny 5 — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:23:34 +0000

Sarcasm meters are off today… Hmmm?

By: scatterbrian

scatterbrian — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:22:37 +0000

And get rid of the Kershaw bum

By: indyralph

indyralph — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:17:10 +0000

I’m not sure Doc had a better season than Verlander, but it’s at least debatable. Doc had similar strikeout rate (granted fewer innings), better walk rate, and much better HR rate. The difference between Verlander, Kershaw, Halladay comes down to how much credit you give the defense.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:06:11 +0000

Yeah, it really kind of boils down to that. It’s annoying that Braun will win.

By: foreverchipper10

foreverchipper10 — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:05:04 +0000

If I had a vote it would go to Kemp. I would not be surprised or upset in any way if Braun won it. Both players had stellar years and the numbers are almost identical. Both are also premier base stealers which was not noted above. This should be a tight race but as was mentioned earlier in these comments I too believe Braun will get it based on the overall teams performance throughout the year. While these debates are fun, albeit sometimes aggravating, I truly cannot be upset so long as the award goes to one of these two.

By: cintiphil

cintiphil — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:04:36 +0000

I agree that both Kemp and Braun had great years, however did it get their teams anywhere? Even I have to admit that there could be a redbird in the running, as without Freese, the Cards do not win the playoffs or the W-S. He has to get some consideration. On the other hand, did Braun come through in the NLCS to lead the team? He obviously fell apart when the club needed his bat.

By: Detroit Michael

Detroit Michael — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:53:38 +0000

Writers do at least consider a player’s position. They realize that Jimmy Rollins or Dustin Pedroia (citing some recent examples) doesn’t need to have the same batting performance as a first baseman to be the league’s most valuable player.