Tuesday, December 13, 2011

And Since It's Now A Referendum, Lilly Votes Kemp, Too

Dodgers pitcher Ted Lilly also thinks Matt Kemp should be awarded the NL MVP title--however to be fair, Lilly thought that all along:

LOS ANGELES -- Even before headlines of Ryan Braun's alleged positive drug test, Dodgers veteran pitcher Ted Lilly charged the Baseball Writers' Association of America with a big, fat error when it didn't name his teammate, Matt Kemp, the National League MVP of 2011.

"They gave it to the wrong guy," Lilly said when the award was announced last month.

"I told you, they gave it to the wrong guy," he said again Sunday. "I would feel that way if Matt Kemp played for Milwaukee and Ryan Braun played for Los Angeles. Kemp was the Most Valuable Player."

Lilly isn't convinced the award shouldn't be revoked and transferred to runner-up Kemp, even though Ken Caminiti and Alex Rodriguez didn't lose their awards when steroid use was revealed.

"There's a first time for everything," said Lilly. "If we're really cleaning up the game, maybe that would be a move in the right direction." [...]

Lilly thinks voters missed the significance and degree of difficulty of Kemp's season compared to Braun's.

"Matt didn't have Prince Fielder in the lineup," he said. "That's a huge difference. Matt didn't play in a hitter's park, which Miller Park is and Dodger Stadium isn't. Matt plays center field, so there are more defensive demands.

"I'm not saying that Braun didn't have a great season, but if he got the award just because his team went to the postseason, that's no reason to penalize Matt, who had a better season and was more important to the Dodgers. Think of where we'd have been without him."

5 comments:

MR.F said...

Nice comments from Lilly.

Fred's Brim said...

Agreed, Mr F. I like Ted a little more now than I did

Dusty Baker said...

After Braun is back from his suspension, throw at him, Teddy! Give him one in the robs.

karina said...

^totally endorsed!

karina said...

how sad is the reigning MVP to miss 50 games without being injured?