AL Originally I wrote that I wasn't going to complain about the starters, but it's too difficult. Not only did Josh Hamilton not deserve to start, he shouldn't have been on the team at all. If they were going to take a Texas OF, it should have been Nelson Cruz. Cruz is a better hitter and a better fielder, as his batting average and UZR show.
In fact, both Texas guys were bad picks. Michael Young should have been replaced with Brandon Inge. No one who is as bad a fielder as Michael Young is deserves to be an all-star. His agent should get him traded to the AL so he can DH stat. But then I'm of the opinion that defense doesn't get valued as much as it should.
Jason Bay is ridiculous as well. A bad fielder hitting .259 is starting. I can't believe both him and Hamilton are starters, and Cruz is out completely.
Not going to complain about starting pitchers though, since I know that's dependent on who will be able to play in the game. 8 starting pitchers does seem a little much though. Among the relievers, there's no way Papelbon should be there though. I would have gone with Aardsma of the Mariners.
Inge or Kinsler need to be the final man.
NL Actually I have very little to complain about here. Either Matt Kemp or Pablo Sandoval should be the last guy. Kemp should have made the team instead of Hawpe (the same as above. Similar hitters, but a much better fielder), and Sandoval is just unfortunate to play in the same league with two great players at the same position in David Wright and Ryan Zimmerman. Again I might have gone with different relievers than were chosen (Rafael Soriano, for example), but it's not a big deal.
You wanted the best, you got... Out of Context Quote of the Week.
"Mangini might not have had balls, but he DID have soft, supple breasts." (SEADAWG)
Originally posted by Mr. BoffoIn fact, both Texas guys were bad picks. Michael Young should have been replaced with Brandon Inge. No one who is as bad a fielder as Michael Young is deserves to be an all-star. His agent should get him traded to the AL so he can DH stat. But then I'm of the opinion that defense doesn't get valued as much as it should.
...huh? You're aware both Young and Inge play in the AL, right? You didn't even mention an NL player before this paragraph.
Originally posted by Mr. Boffo Jason Bay is ridiculous as well. A bad fielder hitting .259 is starting.
I can't ever call having the guy leading the league in RBIs starting on the All-Star team "ridiculous". Corner outfielders don't get paid for their defense.
The Fox guys raised an interesting question on Saturday: will there be anyone on the AL team that can catch Tim Wakefield? Has Mauer or Martinez ever caught a knuckleballer? There aren't too many knuckleballers around these days. Wakefield, by the way, becomes the second-oldest player to make his All-Star debut--and the oldest, Satchel Paige, only waited so long because of baseball's color barrier.
As a Cards fan, nice to see Yadi get the start he deserves. And nice to see Mark Buehrle coming home.
There are always holes, but it's amazing to see just how much better the voters are at picking starters than it was just a decade or so ago. Maybe it's the internet or 24/7 sports TV or whatever but it's gotten progressively better over the 2000s.
Originally posted by PeterStorkAs a Cards fan, nice to see Yadi get the start he deserves. And nice to see Mark Buehrle coming home.
There are always holes, but it's amazing to see just how much better the voters are at picking starters than it was just a decade or so ago. Maybe it's the internet or 24/7 sports TV or whatever but it's gotten progressively better over the 2000s.
ESPN pointed out yesterday that none of the top 10 active career leaders in home runs (Griffey, A-Rod, Thome, Manny, Sheffield, Delgado, Chipper, Giambi, Vlad, Edmonds) were voted to the All-Star team. 10 years ago these are the type of guys that would be locks for getting votes. Not only are the voters choosing more deserving players but hopefully this means they aren't putting as much emphasis on just home runs.
Originally posted by QuezzyESPN pointed out yesterday that none of the top 10 active career leaders in home runs (Griffey, A-Rod, Thome, Manny, Sheffield, Delgado, Chipper, Giambi, Vlad, Edmonds) were voted to the All-Star team. 10 years ago these are the type of guys that would be locks for getting votes. Not only are the voters choosing more deserving players but hopefully this means they aren't putting as much emphasis on just home runs.
That said, the NL Home Run Derby participants (Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, Adrian Gonzalez, and Prince Fielder) should still put on a good show. Still waiting on the AL participants.
Originally posted by QuezzyESPN pointed out yesterday that none of the top 10 active career leaders in home runs (Griffey, A-Rod, Thome, Manny, Sheffield, Delgado, Chipper, Giambi, Vlad, Edmonds) were voted to the All-Star team. 10 years ago these are the type of guys that would be locks for getting votes. Not only are the voters choosing more deserving players but hopefully this means they aren't putting as much emphasis on just home runs.
That said, the NL Home Run Derby participants (Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, Adrian Gonzalez, and Prince Fielder) should still put on a good show. Still waiting on the AL participants.
The big question is if #5 will hit one out of Busch Stadium onto Clark. He's come kinda close so far this year.
Originally posted by PeterStorkAs a Cards fan, nice to see Yadi get the start he deserves. And nice to see Mark Buehrle coming home.
There are always holes, but it's amazing to see just how much better the voters are at picking starters than it was just a decade or so ago. Maybe it's the internet or 24/7 sports TV or whatever but it's gotten progressively better over the 2000s.
ESPN pointed out yesterday that none of the top 10 active career leaders in home runs (Griffey, A-Rod, Thome, Manny, Sheffield, Delgado, Chipper, Giambi, Vlad, Edmonds) were voted to the All-Star team. 10 years ago these are the type of guys that would be locks for getting votes. Not only are the voters choosing more deserving players but hopefully this means they aren't putting as much emphasis on just home runs.
Eh, I don't think it means people are over home runs. Look at the names on that list - it's mostly guys whose best years are behind them, which is why they're the active leaders. Edmonds? Chipper Jones? Gary Sheffield? It's easy to explain why some of these guys were not voted to be All Star starters.
Originally posted by TheBucsFan Eh, I don't think it means people aren't over home runs. Look at the names on that list - it's mostly guys whose best years are behind them, which is why they're the active leaders. Edmonds? Chipper Jones? Gary Sheffield? It's easy to explain why some of these guys were not voted to be All Star starters.
Good point. And of course A-Rod, Delgado, and Manny all missed big chunks of the first half.
AL: Adam Lind, Chone Figgins, Ian Kinsler, Carlos Pena, Brandon Inge
NL: Pablo Sandoval, Cristian Guzman, Mark Reynolds, Matt Kemp, Shane Victorino
My votes went to Lind and Sandoval, though Kinsler and Reynolds are good choices as well
Kirk, crackers are a family food. Happy families. Maybe single people eat crackers, we don't know. Frankly, we don't want to know. It's a market we can do without.
Ridiculous. Obviously, as a Dodger fan, I'm biased and I wanted Charlie Manuel to pick Matt Kemp. That said, he should have picked SOMEBODY from the Final Vote list instead of just choosing a guy who just happened to be standing in front of him.
Maybe Werth was next in line in the player vote, I don't know. The article doesn't bother to say WHY he was picked.
Oh, and of the league leaders in homers, only Mark Reynolds and Adam Dunn are ahead of Werth but aren't on the roster. So it's defensible, insofar as he has other good stats in the first half (RBI, slugging).
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Just off the top of my head, Kemp plays in Dodger Stadium, Braun in the launching pad that is Miller Park. And while Braun had Prince Fielder protecting him all year (and Pujols had Holliday and/or Berkman), Kemp had.. the rest of the Dodger lineup.