Brad Hawpe Wins WS MVP

by B Cap on Oct 28, 2007 8:59 AM EDT Comment 5 comments

<Snark> Joe F**k: Hello and welcome back to "Hating Baseball" on Fox.

With his consistent play throughout this World Series Brad Hawpe has captured the notice of not just the Red Sox management and fans but the baseball world at large as well. Here to talk to Brad about his MVP winning stint is our own Timmy McStoopit. Tim? Over to you.

McStoopit: Thanks Joe. Brad, you've had a great Series here with 8 strike outs and no walks in 13 at-bats. Tell us about how you've performed?..how you've felt throughout this series?

Brad Hawpe: Well, I just try to go out there and grind out at-bats, you know? I try to do my small part to get us a win. There are always ways to improve, um, you know, like grounding out into double plays or getting yourself out with an awkward bunt, but so far I'm happy with my performance. I get a real boost from my team-mates.

MS: Tell us about that. Who has inspired you to reach this level of performance?

BH: Well, you know the big guy upstairs has granted me the talent, so for that I'm really grateful. But the success of others is something that really drives me. You know, I looked at how guys like Julio Lugo were swinging the bat before the all-star break and I said to myself --"that's the standard I need to meet."

MS: Well last night you had a couple of hits, including a triple with an RBI and single late in the game. What happened there?

BH: I think that was just lack of concentration, you know? Those were a couple of bad pitches and I just happened to get on the end of it. Fortunately, I had some guys step up and have some good at-bats, some K's and pop-flys, to end the innings and save my bacon. We rely on our team-mates out there - its a team mentality to get things done.

MS: How has the pitching in this Series affected you? I mean, take a guy like Matzusaka, when a catcher has to use his thumb to give signs, that means the pitcher has more than four pitches.

BH: Um, that's, ahh pretty obvious.

MS: Or five...more than five...

BH: Has more than four.

MS: Oh yeah, you're right.

BH: What the hell are you talking about?

MS: How about Helton? What was going through your mind when he hit that three-run home run?

BH: Well, you know, you just have to put that out of your mind and concentrate on your next at-bat, getting that next K. You can see that it’s sometimes difficult to do that, like, um, when my team really needed me I reached first in the ninth. But if you just go pitch by pitch and try not to let things get to you it usually turns out okay, as it did today.

MS: Well, anyway, who is the guy you lean on most, you think?

BH: Well, given the talent out there its hard to pinpoint one guy - it is a team effort, um, but you know, but when I can't get a K there's always Manny out in left field to get that pop-fly lately so he sticks out in my mind in this Series.

MS: Well thanks for talking to us Brad and congratulations! Okay, back over to you Joe.

JF: Thank you Tim. Okay, now we go over to Jeanne Zelasko who’s talking to Terry Francona, Jeanne?

Jeanne Zelasko: THANK YOU JOE!!! I’M HERE WITH THE BIG CHEESE, THE NUMBER ONE MAN, THE BILL BELICHICK OF THE BOSTON RED SOX, WHO’VE COME UP BIG THIS ACTOBER IN THE BIGGEST, GRANDEST STAGE EVER IN THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL! TERRY! YOU MUST ADMIT THAT NO ONE HAS COME UP BIGGER FOR YOU GUYS THAN BRAD HAWPE!!

Terry Francona: Is it really necessary to yell in my ears like that?!?

JZ: SORRY!!!

TF: Owwww. [Moves off camera with blood running from his ears.] Get [inaudible] away from me. Give the mic to somebody else!

JZ: OKAY! BACK TO YOU JOE!!!

JF: Thank you Jeanne. Well there you have it folks, Brad Hawpe, series MVP. See you next time! </snark>

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Re: Brad Hawp Wins WS MVP

I don't think it's in very good taste to mock Brad Hawpe. This blog is ostensibly about Red Sox baseball, and I see no reason to attack a player like this. Especially someone on a team we have no reason to dislike, i.e. the Yankees. (I did like the barbs at Fox though.)

Last I checked, there was no rivalry between the Rockies and Red Sox. Why rip into one of their players? Losing for them HAS been a team responsibility (especially the starting pitchers), but none of them are trying to go out and lose.

by 0157H7 on Oct 28, 2007 1:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Brad Hawp Wins WS MVP

0157H7,
Fair enough of a point, but the issue of how Brad's failure to show up has really helped the Sox struck me as very funny. I needed a foil to make fun of not only Fox, but those ridiculous answers of vacuous nothingness you get from nearly every player these days. Brad was it. It probably means that he'll hit 3 HRs with 8 RBIs tonight anyway. I hope lurking Rockies fans take it as it was intended, a humourous look at the series by inverting the position of a struggling player in the contest. Do you really think, hence the reference above, that opposing fans of whatever stripe weren't having fun at Lugo's expense earlier this year?

Hawp hit .291 this season with 29 HRs and 116 RBIs. He's a big boy and playing in the World Series...he and his fans can take a little ribbing.

You can take the boy outta Boston, but you can't take the Boston outta the boy.

by B Cap on Oct 28, 2007 1:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Brad Hawp Wins WS MVP

I'm going with Mike Lowell or Jacoby/Pedroia dynamic duo split MVP's.

Its like MLB to be corny and give Jacoby and DP dual MVP awards.

Just remember I said it...=)

P.S. I think the Rockies pitching is more to blame for the losses than Brad Hawpe. Especially when he has had to face Beckett, Schilling, Dice-K, Okie and Paps. Many of those guys he probably had less than a handful of at bats.

by SoxAcumen on Oct 28, 2007 1:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Brad Hawp Wins WS MVP

A couple of things...on the MVP issue for our side - Lowell been pretty consistent throughout and pretty much singlehandedly won the offensive battle in game 2 with the stolen base and RBI so he would get my vote so far, not to take anything away from Tacoby et al.

Kaz and Helton saw the same pitchers and rocked their worlds. How many times did Kaz get on base in game three? Helton hit a three run homer to the deepest part of the park.

But, yes, I get your point and agree that pitching has been the deciding factor in this series. I was just having a laugh at a comment RSNexile made on the game thread in response to my idea of a Brad Hawp fan club...this was obviously all a joke.

You can take the boy outta Boston, but you can't take the Boston outta the boy.

by B Cap on Oct 28, 2007 2:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs