There are only four more days left in the month of May, and there are only two teams in Major League Baseball with a winning percentage of .600 or better. The combined payroll for both these teams is $65M, which is less than half that of the NY Mets (currently with a .469 winning percentage and 6.5 games back in their division) and less than one-third the payroll of the NY Yankees (currently with a .490 winning percentage and 6 games back in their division).

The two teams that sit atop their respective divisions and all of MLB in general are the Tampa Bay Rays and the Florida Marlins.

Go ahead. Rub your eyes and double check what you just read. Yes, on this day following Memorial Day weekend, the two best teams in baseball are those from the state that historically was known only for baseball in March not May.

Although it’s still too early to crown either of these teams – the Marlins’ lead in the NL East is only two and a half games while the Rays lead the defending World Series champion Red Sox by only one-half game in the AL East – it’s never too early to join in the excitement of summer baseball that matters in the state of Florida.

Having been born and raised in Miami and now residing in Tampa, this is doubly-exciting for me. Specifically for the Rays, a team that did not exist when I moved to the Bay area in 1996, it’s great to see them playing so well in the most expensive division in the majors ($.5 Billion in payroll this year) if not the most talented. Accounting for only $44 million of the half-billion dollar collective payroll, the Rays are getting it done with youth and great starting pitching. With every win comes additional confidence and belief the team can continue to play well and compete for the AL East title.

The Marlins, on the other hand, have been here before having won the World Series in 2003. However, the Marlins had to surge from 10 games below .500 prior to the All-Star game that year and get some luck along the way in order to qualify for the wild card and the playoffs. Their poor position in the standings in 2003 serves as a reminder that just because you’re on top in May or June does not mean that’s where you’ll finish at the end of September, and vice versa.

Nevertheless, the excitement for baseball in the state of Florida is tangible. With the recent championships won in this state slowly disappearing in the rear-view mirror (Bucs in 2002, Marlins in 2003, Lightning in 2004 and Heat in 2006), the idea of either the Rays or the Marlins playing in the Fall Classic brings a child-like smile to every baseball fan who calls Florida home. On this day following Memorial Day weekend, here’s hoping the standings look the same the day following Labor Day weekend as well.

What’s the first thing Kobe Bryant did upon formally being awarded the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award? Probably send a ‘thank you’ case of Scotch to Chris Wallace, the General Manager of the Memphis Grizzlies and the person who executed the trade that sent Pau Gasol to Los Angeles and made it possible for Kobe to win his first league MVP award. Let’s face it, if not for the Gasol acquisition, not only would Kobe not have won the award, the Lakers would have most likely finished 4th or 5th in the hyper-competitive Western Conference.

With all due and deserving respect to Kevin Garnett and the work he’s done in Boston, this year’s MVP award should clearly have gone to Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets. Not only has CP3 led the Hornets to heights they’ve not seen since leaving Charlotte, he’s done so without the help of an All-Star Center, as is the aforementioned Gasol. It’s true when you compare the averages of the other four starters for the Lakers and Hornets, there is not much of a statistical difference (13.3 PPG with 8.75 years of experience for the Lakers versus 14.2 PPG and 8 years of experience for the Hornets). However, the true measure of value is found when reviewing the complete body of work for each player over the course of the year.

Kobe’s individual numbers are better than those of Chris Paul (28 PPG/6 RPG/5 APG versus 21 PPG/4 RPG/12 APG, respectively), and Bryant was far better statistically than the next best Laker starter. From the aspect the MVP should go to the best player on the best team, one can argue Kobe is deserving of the award. However, when the focus is on the middle initial of the acronym, there’s no doubt Chris Paul creates more value for the Hornets than Kobe ever can for the Lakers.
 
Chris Paul came into the NBA in 2005, drafted only a couple of months before Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and forced the Hornets to play the majority of their games in Oklahoma City. The displaced New Orleans/Oklahoma City franchise managed to win 38 games that season, a 20 game improvement from the year before, and Chris Paul went on to win Rookie of the Year in the NBA. Since the 2005-2006 season, the Hornets’ season record is 18 games better in ’07-’08. By contrast, the Lakers are only 12 games better over the same time period.

Specific to this season, Chris’ 12 assists per game versus Kobe’s 4 is a reflection of how CP3 makes the players around him better. Kobe may have scored 7 more points per game than Chris, but Chris created 16 more points per game than Kobe. His average of +7PPG versus the average of the other Hornet starters further reflects Paul’s selflessness on the court and his overall contribution to the team effort (Kobe was 15PPG better than the average of his teammates). Furthermore, Chris Paul led the Hornets to a 68.2% winning percentage this past season. The Lakers finished with a winning percentage of 69.5%, but ended up winning 76% of their games after acquiring Pau Gasol on February 1.

Maybe it’s the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles. Maybe it’s because sports writers felt New Orleans’ regular season was a fluke – a concept that has been significantly disproved so far in the playoffs. Maybe it’s the sense Kobe deserves the MVP as a pseudo lifetime achievement award (dare we mention Colorado?). Either way, there is more value in the 6’0” frame of the little kid from Carolina than in the often-hyped leader of the Lakers. There is no doubt Kobe will go down as one of the greatest players in NBA history, but he has yet to achieve anything on a Shaq-less Laker team. Chris Paul has been achieving since his arrival to the NBA. Although he won’t get to hoist the MVP trophy this year, if CP3 continues to tear it up in the playoffs, he just may be hoisting a different kind of hardware come June.