kiowamohican – We will have to agree to disagree. I truly believe that 1B is much more difficult to play that the OF. You can’t get a bad hop on a fly ball unless it hits the roof or an unsuspecting bird. You don’t have to worry about Josh Hamilton or Ryan Howard removing your teeth or your manhood with ball that he has just been struck 90 feet away from you while you are perched safely in the OF (200-300 feet away). You also aren’t expected to bail out Yuni B., Rickie Weeks, or Casey McGehee every time they decide to spike a ball in front of you or throw a ball up the line directly in the path of an oncoming base runner (ask Pujols).
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The reason you see “old, fat, worn down guys” at 1B is because they aren’t as mobile as they used to be, or they weren’t blessed with the physical attributes necessary to excel in the OF. Most of them are at 1B because they can still hit the ball very well and managers don’t want to see MLB fans cringe every time Fielder tracks a fly ball into the gap.
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Players are placed defensively where their managers feel they will benefit the team the greatest. LF, DH, & 1B are where you will typically find your team’s worst fielder (in no particular order). Examples of recent poor fielding LFs: Manny Ramirez, Carlos Lee, Alfonso Soriano…etc. Most coaches will put their strongest arm in RF, fastest in CF, and a good hitting warm body in LF.
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First baseman in MLB are expected to be great hitters. If they are good fielders then that is an added bonus. I still think 1B is way more difficult to play and often times taken for granted how difficult it is to play.
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In a sense it is apples to oranges, but I'd rather play OF any day of the week over 1B.

kenny:
I would disagree..1st base is the easiest position to play of ANY in baseball. And why you often will see teams take old, fat, worn down guys and put them at 1st base. Braun does indeed make some flaws on routs to fly balls, but has made up for that with some spectacular catches, and don't forget he has an Excellent put out arm to run against. He's not a gold glover by any stretch, but ABOVE average, imo...My God, look who we use to have in Carlos Lee! Fielder does not dog out many plays any more, but still does not have near the intangibles that Braun shows on the bases.

SarahB1 - I know you like to follow me around like a puppy but be a grown up please and stay off the sports site if you want to play like a child. Save it for the political articles.

There isn't one. It's the whole team!

MVP goes to Doug Melvin for assembling a great pitching staff...an area that was atrocious last season. While Braun and Fielder had great seasons, they pretty much did what was expected of them. The pitching has been lights out for the most part. if it has to be a player, then let Braun and Fielder split the honor. It will be interesting to see what Braun can do next year without Fielder hitting behind him. They will be walking Braun every at bat to get at Casey.

Braun is an average fielder at best, but is adapting well to life in the outfield (he was a terrible defensive 3rd baseman). He makes some great plays, but often times takes poor routes on balls (this will continue to improve over time though). OF is infinitely easier to play than any infield position. Give me a fly ball over an in between hop any day of the week. Fielder is also a sub par defensive player (albeit much improved from a few years ago) which is why he will likely be a DH somewhere in the AL next season.
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I think Fielder jogged out a ground ball once a few years ago. Their bench coach at the time (Yount I believe) gave him an earful and it hasn’t happened since. Watch Fielder the next time he hits a chopper to second base…he gives the first baseman something to think about as he chugs down the line. You see players like Pujols and Ryan Howard routinely jog out ground balls. I am pretty sure that this is to avoid injury and have been instructed by their managers to do so, but this practice is no longer a part of Prince’s game. I hate seeing a player “dogging it” on the base paths. It tells me that they are above the game.

I got to go with Braun too. Awesome all around ball player! Definitely team and hopefully league.

Braun, and it's not even a question.
Fielder is a great player for sure (last night game was HUGE), but does not compare to Braun who is far more CLUTCH of a player! Add in that Braun is also a base stealer, and the guy does all the intangibles. Look at this guy always hustle a single into a double. Break up a double play.. Swap 3rd base when the pitcher is not paying attention...Just the countless little things he does that don't show up in the box score. You rarely see a super star play every play like they are trying to get a roster spot on the team. You can NOT say that about Fielder who will often jog plays out, and not do all the little "inside baseball" things. The real checkmate, however; is defense. Braun's defense is a huge asset, and he plays a much more difficult and important fielding position.. Fielder has improved at 1st, but is still just average. MVP of the Brewers AND THE NL (barring Kemp captures the triple crown, which now looks very unlikely), should be hands down Ryan Braun.

BRAUN.

Ryan Braun for sure. Same reason as kenny powers says.

Ryan Braun for sure. I also think Johnathon Lucroy would be a great pick. If you could pick a couple of players that have made a huge impact on the last half of the season and will have a big impact in the play-offs it would have to be Hairston and Kotsay.

McGehee just seems lost this year. Hopefully he was not just a flash in the pan for the Crew.
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It will be interesting to see what Braun does next year when Prince (likely) isn’t around. I expect his numbers will drop pretty significantly unless the Brewers land someone this off season to protect his bat.
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I usually find it hard to award the MVP to a player who will be sitting at home watching the playoffs this October, but look at the numbers Kemp has put up and look at the lineup that he has surrounding him this year. Aside from Braun the Brewers have 3 players with more than 75 runs scored this year. The Dodgers have zero (Ethier is the closest with 67…Loney next with 54 runs). I think this makes Kemp’s efforts this year that much more jaw dropping.

MVP should be Brauny all around. When he doesn't get it done at the plate he gets it done on defense. Who will win.. . I don't know, I still am coming down from Friday and will let you now when I can think a little more logically!

good post kenny and yes it was Casey. what a difference a year makes. Casey may not(should not) even start in the playoffs. to his credit when asked about it, he basically stated that hes not going to mope about it, the main thing is the team winning!!

Team MVP – Braun…he is the heart and soul of the Brewers. He has had the luxury of batting in front of Price all year though.
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League MVP – Kemp or (KemVp) if he wins the Triple Crown or enters the 40/40 Club (needs 2 HRs – only 4 other players in the history of the game have done this). If neither happens then I think the MVP goes to Braun. Braun’s numbers are also pretty gaudy and he may be the biggest reason that the Brewers won the division this year.
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2010 Brewers MVP – Casey McGehee? Maybe???