#jim caple

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For those who have been following ESPN's ongoing Battle of the Ballparks, writer Jim Caple bashed Miller Park to the point where all the fans voted Miller Park to the championship just in spite of him. Here is an article that reenforces why Brewers fans are considered the greatest fans and baseball, and what Miller Park means to us. 

While I’m happy to see the Milwaukee Brewers' Ryan Braun join the ranks of Jewish baseball legends like Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg as an MVP winner, this year's National League award undoubtedly belonged to Los Angeles Dodger Matt Kemp.

In support of Braun, ESPN’s Jim Caple argued that “the award is for the league's Most Valuable Player, not its best or outstanding player." Caple might as well have written the following: “I’m going to use a literalist definition of the word valuable, which no one should really care about, to justify voting for the player that every statistic, traditional or sabermetric, identifies as the second-best National Leaguer in 2011."

Kemp was eight batting points away from winning the first Triple Crown since Carl Yazstremski in 1967 and one home-run away from becoming the fifth 40-40 player in MLB history. His FanGraphs WAR of 8.7 was nearly a full win higher than Braun’s 7.8. Baseball-Reference had the gap even wider—10.0 to 7.7.

Even when Caple focuses all his attention on the definition of a word, he applies the definition wrongly. No player in all of baseball had more value to his franchise and city than Kemp this year.

Quite simply, the Dodgers would have been putrid without him. Kemp’s 8.7 FanGraphs WAR indicates that they would have been an 88-89 loss team, but remember that the Dodgers were already on a 88-89-loss pace through August 1 with Kemp. Without his presence, there’s no way they would have turned it around like they did over the final two months. The Dodgers more likely would have been 8.7 wins worse than their 88-89 loss pace, putting them within striking distance of their first 100-loss season since 1905, back when they were known as the Brooklyn Superbas.  

Combine that with the Frank McCourt ownership debacle, and you easily have the most miserable season in 128 years of club history. Kemp and Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw meant everything to a moribund franchise and downtrodden fan base in 2011.

On the other hand, the Brewers without Braun would have still been a playoff contender, just like they will be next year without Prince Fielder. There’s no question Braun put the Brewers over the hump from fringe contender to one of the National League’s elite, but his individual contribution doesn’t match up with Kemp’s.

Kemp and Braun were near-equals offensively, combining potent hitting (.419 wOBA for Kemp, .411 wOBA for Braun) and speed (40 stolen bases in 161 games for Kemp, 33 stolen bases in 150 games for Braun). But not only was Kemp slightly better in both offensive categories, he played better defense in a more difficult position, centerfield, than Braun did in leftfield. Four-tool corner-outfielders are easier to find than five-tool centerfielders, which explains Kemp’s higher WAR. Again, the numbers would seem to demonstrate Kemp’s value, though Caple doesn’t see it that way.

The main argument against Kemp was that he could not win the award after playing in no meaningful games. While the Dodgers were essentially out of playoff contention by July, does anyone seriously believe Kemp’s performance would have suffered in Milwaukee? If anything, batting ahead of Fielder at the tenth best hitter’s park in baseball (according to ESPN’s 2011 Park Factor, which ranked Dodger Stadium the 22nd best hitter's park) would have boosted Kemp’s numbers even more.

Besides, should Kemp really be punished for having James Loney at first base instead of Fielder, Tony Gwynn, Jr. in the outfield instead of Corey Hart and Juan Uribe (a.ka. king of the towering infield fly) at second base instead of Rickie Weeks? Should he be punished for having McCourt as an owner instead of Mark Attanasio?

    As I write this I dream of becoming one of them, a sports legacy.  I do not want to be Michael Jordan.  My home is not necessarily found in Springfield.  I do not want to be Ted Williams.  Cooperstown is not where I am bound.  I do not want to be Kerri Strugg.  Wearing my colors true would be great, but there is something better than being an athlete in America.  I would rather be a sports writer, not only chronicling sports but detailing history unlike any other profession.

A sports journalist circulates a sophisticated literature unlike any Nicholas Sparks’ novel or any Tyler Perry’s script.  Our job is to showcase to the world the emotions (the truths) that transform a game into more than a game.

History-- Jackie Robinson crossing the color barrier in the MLB.

Sadness-- Steve Bartman becoming the culprit of the 2003 collapse of the Chicago Cubs.

Breakdown-- Mike Tyson dining on Evander Holyfield’s ear.

Rise-- The NFL Saints lifting the Lombardi Trophy after New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Loyalty-- Our colors shall not change after a losing season or a disappointing finish. Go Atlanta Braves!

Athletes are merely the subject matters that sports journalists introduce to the world.  They are simply characters that shape race relations, politics and numerous other social debates.  The journalists mold their stories into life lessons that transcend age, gender, race and religion. 

David Halberstam said it best as he wrote:

"Sometimes sports mirrors society, sometimes it allows us to understand the larger society a little better. But mostly, it is a world of entertainment of talented and driven young men and women who do certain things with both skill and passion."

When I read Halberstam’s Everything They Had in 2008, I realized that our finished product, if done correctly, can render a piece fitting of a Nobel Laureate. So as I write this, I can still only imagine what it would be like if one day we concluded fawning over one aspect of sports (athletes) and focused on sports writers.  

Fathom this thought, for just a moment… What if sports writers were on the back of trading cards?  What card would you possess?

I for one would have the Halberstam, Bonnie Bernstein, Rick Reilly, Gay Talese, Skip Bayless, Mitch Albom, Michael Wilbon, Jim Caple, Bill Simmons, Jackie MacMullan  and Heather Dinich (it’s an ACC thang!) cards.  There would be so many more cards that I would want in my collection, but owning them is simply one component of trading cards for sports writers. 

The most exciting part after you went into the store with your parents to purchase the freshly printed cards would be sitting outside on the steps with your friends to start the trading process.  Wall Street can’t make trades like this.  I am talking about the intangibles, what money can not buy (dreams of becoming your heroes).

Old white male versus the old white male.  Traditionalist versus the modernist.  Female versus female. Black versus white. 

I want to have the Albom card in my possession but I would trade it for the Bayless card, if I already had a Caple or Halberstam.  Why do I need so many writers that step away from sports so often? I want a true sports connoisseur.

Besides only an idiot would give up Bayless.  What would my argument be as to why you should want Albom?

He’s a versatile writer; he crosses over from fiction to non-fiction in a clever manner.  Through it all, he strings along words that slice the tear ducts as if listening to a beautiful yet sad song by Michigan’s Philharmonic.  I read tuesdays with Morrie.   I was crying as I read “But if Professor Morris Schwartz taught me anything at all, it was this: there is no such thing as “too late” in life.  He was changing until the day he said good-bye.”

Albom uses the strength of emotions when writing about life or death and connects it to sports.  Living in Detroit, sports can appear to be life or death.  Still yet, my main man, Bayless, could counter-argue any sporting topic.  Just watch ESPN’s “First Take.”  He’s good on any down.  Who says nothing good ever came from Vanderbilt?

Enough about the people who have dominated sports journalism for so many years. Let’s focus on the women for a moment.  Jackie MacMullan versus Jemele Hill. 

Hill is a bad mutha------, but MacMullan not only has more experience but she has the affordability of covering sports in the New England area.  Her location gives her better subject matters, but she pushes the stories further with brilliant pieces. 

A Sports Illustrated Article talking about the Boston Celtics in 1997 http://www.celticsblog.com/2007/3/1/642188/10-years-ago-jackie-macmul

I can not wait for these trading cards to be made, but until then I must continue dissecting the trading.  I can not stop before I get to my black on black trades. 

This is a tough one.  Stephen A. Smith? Scoop Jackson?  Michael Smith?  Which one do I fight tooth and nail for until I have them in my collection?

Scoop?  I read a lot of his work and his writing intrigues me.  He is a passionate guy and he is not afraid to defend the unconventional. For instance, read his blog on Maya Moore. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=jackson/101228

However, Scoop does not feel right in my must have collection, nor does Micheal.  Michael offers a cross over appeal.  He looks better on television and diversified his work with E:60 but I am not trying to find  the first black writer we have to select to make the jump into “white” reporting.  Do I really need a modern day writing Jackie Robinson when I can have the old-school, never back down from a fight columnist, Stephen A?

Unabashedly, Stephen A. picks a side and defends his thoughts in an intelligent manner without being a so-called Uncle Tom.  That’s not to say Scoop and Michael are Uncle Toms, but Stephen A. has this edge, this rawness, when it comes to sports that overshadows his fellow counterparts.  When he speaks, you listen. 

Once again, imagine this--- writers on the back of trading cards.  The packet reads:

We hold these truths to be self-evident that nothing is ever made up.  We believe in excitement, sadness and giving a story nothing but our best.  Death will only result in no longer writing or reporting on the Chicago Cubs.