Thursday, July 10, 2008

Thursday 07/10 A.M. Quickie:
MLB Final Vote, Brand, Favre, R-Rod, More

The populist in me can't help but be obsessed with the MLB All-Star "Final Vote" situation, which leads today's Sporting News column.

I love that it is setting new records for votes. I love that it is discrete enough of a task that teams and fans can set up "campaign" operations. I love that there's a chance for fans to show how smart they are by picking the Rays' Evan Longoria -- and to prove doubters wrong by NOT making David Wright the automatic candidate in the NL, simply because he plays in New York. If Wright and Giambi are both shut out, the fans win.

Meanwhile, it's an open question whether Josh Hamilton is the best player in baseball right now, but his walk-off winner (off K-Rod, no less) certainly emphasizes the point.

Tomorrow, I am going to do my MLB midseason award winners, and I encourage you to submit your own choices for each league's MVP, Cy, Rookie and Manager in the comments. I'll lead tomorrow's column with it, I think. That, or Monday.

In NBA Free Agency, all of a sudden, the Sixers are the new hotness. That's what a career 20/10 post player relocated to the East will do for you. I don't blame Brand -- all money being equal, I'd bolt for the East too. Just look what it did for KG's career. He leaves the Clips (and Baron Davis) in the lurch; then again, Davis did the same thing to Golden State. The move puts the Sixers in the Top 5 in the East -- but what does that mean, exactly, when they are obviously still behind the Celtics next season... and perhaps behind the Pistons and Wizards, too.

I will repeat yesterday's sentiment: The Packers are totally screwing up the p.r. around this Favre story. Maybe they're in a no-win situation, but they certainly aren't helping themselves out with the way they're handling it.

There's a ton more in the column, including more on Brandon Jennings, more on Rich Rodriguez, more on MLB and more on the Jaguars' potential relocation. Check it out here. More later.

-- D.S.

3 comments:

Brett said...

You still have not answered by question of how you can vote Longoria in over Dye. Please tell me how you figure Longoria deserves an All Star spot over JD. And don't give me because he is on the first place Tampa Rays crap because JD is on the first place White Sox.

Politics Blogger said...

NL:
Cy--Volquez
ROY--Soto
MVP--Berkman
Manager--LaRussa

Fastness said...

How on Earth is it an open question about Josh Hamilton being 'the best player in baseball right now'?

He's 14th in VORP with a 34.9. A whopping 27.6 runs beyond a replacement player behind the leader Berkman.

His line is: .309/.366/.556. It's a fine line. An All-Star line. Yet his OPS is not even in the top ten; it is at 16. His OPS isn't even the best OPS on his team; Ian Kinsler with 15 more plate appearances is fifteen points higher at .937--and not to mention Kinsler being FOURTH in VORP at 49.5, sandwiched between such names as 'Pujols' and 'Ramirez' (Hanley, not Manny)--and Milton Bradley weighs in at a staggering 1.033 who also has him beat in VORP by 6.2 runs in 81 fewer plate appearances. Good for 7th.

I can only possibly assume you think he's worthy of the discussion because of either the useless stat of RBIs or your chronic, constantly expressed sentimentality. Either way you have no credibility left for a certain sport played with four bases and an elevated 'mound' of sorts that men stand on throwing balls at other men holding some sort of wooden bludgeoning device.