Kemp Slips Into Fourth Place in Final Vote Race

The latest (12:47p PT), from mlb.com:

[Pablo] Sandoval, the Giants' third baseman, had a slim lead in the NL race over center fielder Shane Victorino of the Phillies. D-backs third baseman Mark Reynolds and Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp each have garnered more than two million votes and were right behind them, followed by shortstop Cristian Guzman of the Nationals.

Sandoval and Victorino actually swapped leads during a dramatic Monday night of major campaigning on the field, with Victorino taking over after his four-hit performance in that 22-1 victory over the Reds -- and then falling behind after Sandoval's late grand slam.

Look, I'm not foolish enough to think that undecided voters are reacting real-time to the players' exploits. This is a popularity contest, pure and simple. San Francisco may be able to mobilize given its technological savviness, as well as the fact that they'd had nothing for which to cheer for years now; Victorino can ride the wave of being on the World Series winner last year, as well as being the only representative east of the Mississippi on a reasonable team.

But come on, we've got to get Kemp ahead of whiff-master Mark Reynolds (who leads the majors with 111 strikeouts now that the Rangers' Chris Davis has been demoted to AAA ball). Two million more votes for the Bison? SoSG fans can tip this scale! Get to it!

VOTE BISON!