Monday, June 25, 2007

One Man's All-Star Ballot

First off, allow me to state that All-Star voting is ridiculous. The most popular teams get all their players in, good guys get screwed every year, and the mandatory representative from every team is problematic at best. Tying the result of this game to World Series home field is still the most asinine decision made by a sport in my lifetime. And the game itself has slipped noticeably in quality over the last decade.


Still, I love the MLB All-Star Game. I am always riveted by the rosters, the pregame announcements, and the managerial decisions within the game. It's one cool thing from my childhood that's still relatively pure. I try to vote every year, even if it means that I get thousand of junk marketing e-mails as a result of doing it online. Here are my selections:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1B I'm taking Big Papi, and if you don't like it you can lick the sweat off the large man's large balls. I know he's not a first baseman, but he does fine there when asked. Alls I know is that a lineup with Ortiz in it is infinitely better than one with Morneau or Teixeira. Sorry.

2B Brian Roberts is a surprisingly clear-cut choice. Although Ian Kinsler has 14 jacks he's hitting .243. Placido Polanco has a .333 average but no power, and although Robinson Cano has straightened out his season he's nowhere near Roberts (.324-4-22-24 steals).

3B Alex Rodriguez is one of three no-doubt no-brainers on the ballot (along with Chase Utley and Russ Martin). So of course I went with Mike Lowell. I'll never be able to punch a ballot with this guy on it.

SS Carlos Guillen is killing it, and gets the nod over Orlando Cabrera and Jeter.

C I'm perfectly willing to sacrifice defense for hitting stats at most positions, but these teams need decent leather up the middle. So although Victor Martinez is far and away the best hitter at the position and Jorge Posada is raking at a .341 clip, I'm taking Kenji Johjima. He's quietly putting together a nice all-around season and is a big reason the Mariners are not putrid this year.

OF Normally I am of the opinion that Ichiro, Vlad Guerrero and Manny Ramirez are the default candidates for the AL outfield, unless either one of them is hurt/slumping or someone else is clearly deserving. Magglio Ordonez is definitely in the latter category, and he bumps Manny from the ballot. Although he's turned it around in '07, I think we need to finally accept the fact that Manny has reached the downside of his prime and is no longer the .330-40-140 monster we had come to expect.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1B You have to reward the season that Prince Fielder and the Brewers are having. I'm sorry, Mr. Pujols. This doesn't mean you don't get into the Hall of Fame.

2B If you voted for anyone other than Chase Utley you have serious issues.

3B Miguel Cabrera keeps putting up huge stats and gets the nod over such badasses as David Wright and Aramis Ramirez. I love Wright and he can slot into more spots in a loaded lineup, but the NL needs Cabrera's power here.

SS Although Hanley Ramirez is awesome and the poor man's Jose Reyes, I opted for the actual Jose Reyes. Call me crazy. Jimmy Rollins will make the club too. Good group.

C Just like second base, there is no decision here. Russ Martin is the only acceptable choice.

OF Here is where the NL displays its inferiority the most. The junior varsity for the AL is better than the starting options of the Senior Circuit. Matt Holliday is having an MVP-caliber season and gets a spot. Soriano, while not yet playing up to his contract, deserves inclusion (and will be forced to play center, which is potential comedy gold). The third position, I'm sorry, goes to Barry Bonds. Barry gets my vote not because he's at home and not because he's about to pass Aaron (although both of those are good enough reasons for me) but because he's honestly the third-best outfield bat in his league. Just missing are Carlos Lee, Griffey and Eric Byrnes. And tell me how the NL can win this game subbing in those three, while the AL brings Manny, Sheffield and Sizemore off the bench. Good luck. Feel free to disparage my selections in the Comments.

8 comments:

blairjjohnson said...

Job well done, 7. I of course cringed at the AL lack of John "I will force girls to once again dig mullets even if they never really did" Buck up the middle, Mark "it's pronounced "teein'" Teahen in right, and TPJ at short.

I suppose I can accept Johjima and Ordonez, though. They are pretty good.

Who's this Carlos Guillen character though?

Unknown said...

Jeter, Guillen, Cabrera- all three are deserving at short. Tie goes to defense, and Cabrera's 4 errors edge him over Jeter and Guillen's 12 a piece. Otherwise, a well thought out line up. I'm surprised you didn't load it up with Red Sox- I'll never underestimate you again.

old no. 7 said...

I did give consideration to Buck, and even Teahen. Either would be deserving as Lone Royal, although Meche will almost certainly get it. You and Marion Barry need to drop the Tony Pena Jr. campaign, though.

Cabrera is fantastic. Every ounce of me wishes that Theo Epstein could go back in time to when he opted for Renteria over him. I think it's possible that he has only started to tap into his offensive potential, and could consistently hit .320-20-100 for the next five years (to go with that spray-painted Gold Glove).

No, I didn't load up on Red Sox, but if any of the following don't make it I'm going to be pissed:

Ortiz
Ramirez
Youkilis
Beckett
Papelbon

You can also make a strong case for Lowell, Matsuzaka, Okajima and even young Dustin Pedroia, although they'll probably get bumped by the Lone Royal/Ranger/D'Ray.

Unknown said...

Out of atate Homer.

blairjjohnson said...

Yes. He is. How you feelin' 'bout this grand ol' Angels/Royals series? You predicting a sweep?

Unknown said...

2 of 3 sounds about right. Lackey, Santana and Weaver all pitch very well at home so I'm confident the "series" winning streak will continue.

I just can't wait to beat up on Texas some more.

Unknown said...

Ortiz doesn't play first base, although I've always thought the BoSox should put him there. He was a better than average first baseman for the Twins in the day.

However, you can't make the damn allstar game at a position if you don't even play it. Too bad for Papi, but it's his coaches call. Why penalize folks that show up to play offense and defense every day.

He deserves to go, and will, but Morneau is the better first baseman ... because he actually plays the position.

I just don't think you can overlook that.

Papi will be there.

-- The Lone Reader

blairjjohnson said...

Excellent call on the series. You've, thus far, nailed the series score on the head.

Signed,
Roy F. Almania