Curveballs and Sliders 07.01.08: All-Star Selections
Posted by A.J. Stevens on 07.01.2008
Curveballs and Sliders is back with the selections of all 62 all-stars plus the unveiling of the final five man ballots for each league. Also the all-time rotation/lineup feature continues with the teams of the NL Central and a rant about 411mania fantasy baseball!!
LEADING OFF
Hello all and welcome to the long awaited return of Curveballs and Sliders, Version 3.0. Yes, it's been a bit of an extended vacation other than my appearance and subsequent robbery in the Fact or Fiction tournament. I was going to go on a rant about how I was cheated by Dan Owen and even more so by Ken Schmidt in my matchup, but then decided against it because it's not the classy thing to do. Who am I kidding, I could care less about taking the high road, never taken it before, so why start now. The real reason I am going to lay off it is because it's now a couple of weeks old and I don't feel like dredging up the old topics that were discussed. Let's just leave it at "I got robbed" and that will be that, you guys can all draw your own conclusions how and why, though if you read through that column it won't be too hard to miss. And judging from how many e-mails I received backing up this point of view, it's safe to say many of you already agree with me.
I don't want to be a conspiracy theorist, but perhaps there is some ill will towards me from many of the other 411 sports staffers. Why you ask? Well, just off the top of my head……perhaps……maybe just maybe…….it's because I AM KILLING ALL OF THEM IN FANTASY BASEBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just as I predicted at the beginning of the season. It's like taking candy from little babies. I guaranteed I would win the 411 fantasy baseball league and it's only a matter of time before that guarantee holds true. I have been waiting to write about this for weeks but unfortunately hadn't been able to get a column done. It's even more unfortunate because I have lost some ground in the last two weeks. Two weeks ago I had a 16.5 games lead over the number two team, now my lead is down to just 6.5, but I am still going to run away with this thing. This is supposed to be a "competitive" league with people who "know their stuff", yet I am toying with them all. I may not win the whole thing as I know that the playoffs are all about luck (though that may only hold true in my other leagues, in this league who needs luck when you are soo much more skilled than all the other GM's), but I will certainly win the regular season title. Plus, they will never admit it, but I know it must be driving a lot of them crazy that I am winning because of the fact that I was so adamant about it and the fact that I am so arrogant about it. But hey, there are winners and losers in fantasy baseball, and I just so happen to be a winner in a league with 9 losers. Ok, I am sure you have already had enough of me and I have only been back for 5 minutes, so let me save you from me now and move right ahead to the column.
THE TWO HOLE
It is now time to once again revisit one of my all-time favorite games, selecting the all-star game rosters. Like always, we are going to piece together the team position-by-position, using the same rules that Major League Baseball uses to comprise the actual rosters. We will begin by using the actual leading vote-getters in MLB's all-star balloting. Then we will select backups at each of the hitting positions. Then we will select the pitchers and fill out the roster by making sure that every team has their one required representative. Once we have selected 31 men to the team we will select a final five players to be represented on the final roster spot ballot, which will be put to a vote for all the wonderful 411 readers. Without further ado, let's start selecting all-stars………
NL All-Stars Current Leading Vote Getters
C - Geovany Soto (Cubs)
1B - Lance Berkman (Astros)
2B - Chase Utley (Phillies)
SS - Hanley Ramirez (Marlins)
3B - Chipper Jones (Braves) - injured
OF - Alfonso Soriano (Cubs)
OF - Ken Griffey Jr. (Reds)
OF - Kosuke Fukudome (Cubs)
I have to admit that the fans keep getting better and better at selecting all-star starters. The whole process used to be such a joke and I was always such a big proponent of doing away with it, but fans really seemed to have wizened up in recent years and have begun to take the process more seriously. You can't argue with any of the infield selections, nor the catcher, and I think it is especially great that fans have recognized Lance Berkman's phenomenal first half rather than just punching the hole for Albert Pujols as they do every other year. Now, the outfield choices are not great, but the balloting will never be perfect and I find it hard to argue with giving Ken Griffey Jr. a spot on the team. The greatest player of his generation should be playing in the final all-star game in the greatest stadium in the sports history. Cubs fans clearly came on strong in voting for Soriano and Fukudome, neither of whom necessarily deserve spots on the team, but neither of whom is a completely terrible choice either. So kudos so far to the NL fans, now let's pick the reserves.
Catcher - As I said above, I think Geovany Soto is a great choice, and again a great job by the fans in recognizing a rookie who is having a fine season despite not yet being a "big name". Now in fairness, Brian McCann probably deserves the starting nod over Soto, but I am thrilled for Soto since I have him on every one of my fantasy teams. Plus, there has to be a backup and McCann is the easy choice with his 14 HR, 45 RBI and .901 OPS. All-Stars - Geovany Soto (Cubs), Brian McCann (Braves) Others Considered - Russell Martin (Dodgers), Bengie Molina (Giants), Ryan Doumit (Pirates)
First Base - Lance Berkman is clearly the right choice as the starter as he has put up the best numbers in the game in the first three months. As always though, choosing the first base backups is a dicey proposition. First Base is and has always been on the deepest positions in baseball and this one of the hardest positions to fill come all-star time. It is usually impossible to find a place on the roster for all the deserving first baseman and this year is no different. Adrian Gonzalez, Mark Teixiera, Derrek Lee and Albert Pujols, despite missing a few weeks, all are having excellent first halves. Pujols and his .356 average would be the likely backup had he not spent time on the DL, but since he did I can't ignore that Adrian Gonzalez has 22 more RBI's. Gonzalez and his 21 HR, 67 RBI and 50 R is my choice for the team. All-Stars - Lance Berkman (Astros), Adrian Gonzalez (Padres) Others Considered - Albert Pujols (Cardinals), Derrek Lee (Cubs), Mark Teixeira (Braves)
Second Base - Second Base in the NL really couldn't be any easier this year. Chase Utley is going to win the fan balloting, and deservedly so as he is having another MVP caliber season. Then of course there happens to be another NL second baseman with almost the exact same numbers, that being Dan Uggla of the Marlins. Uggla has 57 R and 58 RBI and his 23 HR put him in a tie for the Major League lead with….who else? You guessed it….Chase Utley. The two of them are easy choices and no one else even garnered consideration at this stage, though I will list one guy below who has a chance to make the team as a reserve later on. All-Stars - Chase Utley (Phillies), Dan Uggla (Marlins) Others Considered - Brandon Phillips (Reds)
Shortstop - Hanley Ramirez is the clear choice to be the NL's starting shortstop, but the backup is not as clear, though at this point it only seems to be a two man race. Jimmy Rollins has battled injuries and despite a strong season from Christian Guzman, he is still not deserving of an all-star spot. That leaves this battle to Jose Reyes and Miguel Tejada. Tejada has had a strong comeback season in his first year in Houston, but Reyes is going to get the nod from me, and no, it's not because I am Mets fan. Reyes leads Tejada slightly in R and AVG and trails him by one HR. But Reyes destroys Tejada in SB, 28-6 and most importantly, has a huge edge in OPS, .843-.773. That ultimately is what gives Reyes the spot. All-Stars - Hanley Ramirez (Marlins), Jose Reyes (Mets) Others Considered - Miguel Tejada (Astros)
Third Base - We all know how great Chipper Jones has been this season as he continues his quest for .400, and he obviously should be the starter at third, but unfortunately it now looks like Chipper is going to miss the game due to injury. As bad of news as this is for Chipper, it's great news for us in putting together this roster. Other than Chipper, there were really only two viable options for third base in the NL, Aramis Ramirez and David Wright. With Chipper's injury, we just put both of them on the team, though Aramis gets the nod as the starter. In actuality, both Aramis and Wright probably would have made the team as reserves even if Chipper had not gone down, but this will make things easier later on by opening up another slot for someone else. All-Stars - Chipper Jones (Braves) - injured, Aramis Ramirez (Cubs), David Wright (Mets) Others Considered - None
Outfield - So far choosing the NL squad has been surprising easy and fairly painless, but here is where it gets tricky. As I discussed above, part of the reason for that is probably that the leading vote-getters in the outfield are much less deserving than those at the other positions, meaning that there are fewer spots available for those players that are deserving. If I was choosing the team entirely myself I would not have selected any of the three starters here, Ken Griffey Jr., Alfonso Soriano or Kosuke Fukudome. However, the rules state we go with the actual starters, and these guys are them. That leaves quite a large pool of deserving outfielders available from which we can only choose three backups. The first outfield reserve I am going to take is Ryan Braun and his 20 HR and 58 RBI. Next I am going to take the surprising Nate McLouth and his 59 R and 52 RBI. And lastly, I am going to take the even more surprising Ryan Ludwick and his 51 R, 56 RBI and .936 OPS. All-Stars - Alfonso Soriano (Cubs), Ken Griffey Jr. (Reds), Kosuke Fukudome (Cubs), Ryan Braun (Brewers), Nate McLouth (Pirates), Ryan Ludwick (Cardinals) Others Considered - Matt Holliday (Rockies), Carlos Lee (Astros), Corey Hart (Brewers), Carlos Beltran (Mets), Pat Burrell (Phillies), Xavier Nady (Pirates), Jason Bay (Pirates)
Ok, that takes care of 16 of our 20 position players and it accounts for players from 11 of the 16 NL teams, leaving only the Nationals, Dodgers, Giants, D-Backs and Rockies as teams we need to find representatives for. Next we will select the pitchers.
Starting Pitchers - Ok, right out of the shoot we know that Brandon Webb (12-4, 3.21) is a lock and that takes care of the D-Backs representative. Other locks include Edinson Volquez (10-3, 2.08), who is my selection to start the game for the NL, Ben Sheets (9-2, 2.83) and Tim Lincecum (9-1, 2.38) who takes care of the Giants need for a player. I am going to fill out the starting staff with Ryan Dempster (9-3, 3.26), Dan Haren (8-4, 2.85), Jair Jurrjens (8-3, 2.94) and Carlos Zambrano (8-3, 3.13) by a hair over Johan Santana, despite missing a few starts due to injury. All-Stars - Brandon Webb (D-Backs), Edinson Volquez (Reds), Ben Sheets (Brewers), Tim Lincecum (Giants), Ryan Dempster (Cubs), Dan Haren (D-Backs), Jair Jurrjens (Braves), Carlos Zambrano (Cubs) Others Considered - Johan Santan (Mets), Jake Peavy (Padres), Cole Hamels (Phillies), Tim Hudson (Braves), Aaron Cook (Rockies), Chad Billingsley (Dodgers), Adam Wainwright (Cardinals), Todd Wellemeyer (Cardinals), Kyle Lohse (Cardinals)
Relief Pitchers - I took 8 starting pitchers, leaving 4 spots for relievers. Brad Lidge and his 19 Saves with a 0.84 ERA is a lock, as is Billy Wagner and his 18 Saves with a 1.91 ERA, despite some awful blown saves a few weeks back. I am going to give a spot to Kerry Wood because he has had a long journey to success and after a rocky first couple of weeks as a closer, Wood has been as good as anyone in baseball in that role. The last pitcher spot is going to go to Jon Rauch because the Nationals still need a representative and I don't see any other options on the horizon. Not that Rauch and his 2.18 ERA isn't deserving anyway, because he definitely is. All-Stars - Brad Lidge (Phillies), Billy Wagner (Mets), Kerry Wood (Cubs), Jon Rauch (Nationals) Others Considered - Brandon Lyon (D-Backs), Kevin Gregg (Marlins), Matt Capps (Pirates), Brian Wilson (Giants), Francisco Cordero (Reds)
Now we are down to it, we have four position spots left and we still need representatives for both the Dodgers and Rockies. Neither team really has many strong options, especially the Rockies who were denied one of their best bets when I passed on Aaron Cook. Despite the fact that he missed a few weeks due to injury, I am going to have to select Matt Holliday and his .333 AVG and .958 OPS as the Rockies representative over Garrett Atkins. The Dodgers have even fewer choices and the best choice is clearly Russell Martin, who deserves to be on the team regardless. His .307 AVG, 41 R and 37 RBI would automatically place him as a starter or reserve at Catcher in most seasons, it just so happens that this year two NL Catchers are having even better seasons. That leaves two more spots left, one of which will go to the winner of the final-man vote. So with my final selection, again, despite the fact that he missed time due to injury, I have to take Albert Pujols. His counting stats are not as impressive as Mark Teixeira's or Aramis Ramirez's due to the missed games, but I just can't ignore his .356 AVG and 1.123 OPS in nearly 70 games.
Below is the final man ballot, cast your votes in the instant feedback section below or shoot me an e-mail, the results will be posted in next week's column. Don't forget to vote for both the NL and AL, the ballot for which will be unveiled in the next section.
Final Man Ballot - Derrek Lee (Cubs, .295, 55 R, 15 HR, 51 RBI, .863 OPS), Mark Teixiera (Braves, .276, 47 R, 16 HR, 62 RBI, .874 OPS), Carlos Lee (Astros, .279, 40 R, 18 HR, 62 RBI, .853 OPS), Carlos Beltran (Mets, .270, 58 R, 12 HR, 54 RBI, .852 OPS), Jason Bay (Pirates, .285, 56 R, 16 HR, 43 RBI, .922 OPS)
Here is the 31-man roster we just selected for the NL:
Catcher - Geovany Soto, Brian McCann, Russell Martin
First Base - Lance Berkman, Adrian Gonzalez, Albert Pujols
Second Bsae - Chase Utley, Dan Uggla
Shortstop - Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes
Third Base - Chipper Jones (injured), Aramis Ramirez, David Wright
Outfield - Ken Griffey Jr., Kosuke Fukudome, Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Braun, Nate McLouth, Ryan Ludwick, Matt Holliday
Starting Pitchers - Edinson Volquez (starter), Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Ben Sheets, Tim Lincecum, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Jair Jurrjens
Relief Pitchers - Brad Lidge, Billy Wagner, Kerry Wood, Jon Rauch
Here is the rundown of players by team:
Mets (3) - Jose Reyes, David Wright, Billy Wagner
Braves (2) - Brian McCann, Jair Jurrjens
Phillies (2) - Chase Utley, Brad Lidge
Marlins (2) - Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez
Nationals (1) - Jon Rauch
Cubs (7) - Geovany Soto, Aramis Ramirez, Kosuke Fukudome, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Kerry Wood
Cardinals (2) - Albert Pujols, Ryan Ludwick
Pirates (1) - Nate McLouth
Brewers (2) - Ryan Braun, Ben Sheets
Astros (1) - Lance Berkman
Reds (2) - Ken Griffey Jr., Edinson Volquez
D-Backs (2) - Brandon Webb, Dan Haren
Dodgers (1) - Russell Martin
Giants (1) - Tim Lincecum
Rockies (1) - Matt Holliday
Padres (1) - Adrian Gonzalez
WOW, a poor showing for the NL West, I am sure I will get some hate mail for that from west coast fans, "typical east coast bias", but please tell me who else from those teams definitely deserves a spot. The only real argument you can make is for Jake Peavy, who missed 6-7 starts. Alright, that will do it for the NL, get those votes in for the final roster spot. Let's move on to the AL.
BATTING THIRD
We have already been through the intro, the rules and my usual boredom with the NL above, so let's jump right into the rosters this time.
AL All-Stars Current Leading Vote Getters
C - Joe Mauer (Twins)
1B - Kevin Youkilis (Red Sox)
2B - Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox)
SS - Derek Jeter (Yankees)
3B - Alex Rodriguez (Yankees)
OF - Manny Ramirez (Red Sox)
OF - Ichiro Suzuki (Mariners)
OF - Josh Hamilton (Rangers)
DH - David Ortiz (Red Sox)
Alright, right off the bat it's clear that the fans have not as great of a job with the AL as they did with the NL, most notably because it's clear that fans in the New York and Boston have been stuffing the ballot boxes. With that being said though, it is a very strange season in the AL and there are not too many guys having great seasons. Though quite a few of these choices don't look so hot, a closer look will show you that there aren't that many great alternatives either. In fact, at some positions it's hard to even find two deserving all-stars. Shortstop happens to be one of those as Derek Jeter is having one of the worst first halves of his career. However, the guy still absolutely deserves to be starting this all-star game in Yankee Stadium. It wouldn't be the same without him. Ichiro is another perennial all-star having a sub-par season, but the dreadful Mariners still need a representative and he would have had to make the team at some point to fill that need anyway. David Ortiz is the only viable all-star DH in the AL and he has missed half the season and will not be participating in the game. Luckily, despite what I did above with the NL third basemen, you only need to have the starter and backup for each position, regardless of injury, meaning that I can replace Big Papi later with a player from another position. Lastly, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia hardly feel like all-star game starters, but again, closer inspection shows that there aren't many better players at their respective positions, though there is clearly one player at each position who deserves the nod more. Now onto the reserves……..
Catcher - AL Catcher is the direct opposite of the NL, where there were more deserving players than spots. In the AL Joe Mauer and his .321 average deserve the spot, but after him pickens are slim. A big contrast from the way it has been over the past few years with the AL being much strong in catchers thanks to Victor Martinez, Jorge Posada and Pudge Rodriguez, all of whom are out of contention for this year's game due to various reasons. Anyway, there are only two guys that could possibly land the backup catcher role for the AL, A.J. Pierzynski and Dioner Navarro. It's a close call thanks to A.J.'s large lead in runs, 36-22, but I will ultimately give it to Dioner for his lead in average .317-.297 and OPS .812-.760. All-Stars - Joe Mauer (Twins), Dioner Navarro (Rays) Others Considered - A.J. Pierzynski (White Sox)
First Base - Again, a very different situation here in the AL at first base than in the NL. The NL has five legitimate all-stars at first, and it is tough to come up with three in the AL. Kevin Youkilis is already the starter and despite a strong comeback season from Jason Giambi, Justin Morneau is clearly the choice as the backup here. His .306 AVG and 63 RBI should have been enough to land him the starting gig, but he makes the team as a reserve instead. All-Stars - Kevin Youkilis (Red Sox), Justin Morneau (Twins) Others Considered - Jason Giambi (Yankees)
Second Base - As I said above, Dustin Pedroia is not a great choice, but not a terrible one either. You could make the case he is the second best second baseman in the league, or you could make the case that he is as low as fourth, you just can't make the case he is the best. No, that title belongs to Ian Kinsler who is having a superb season. His 71 R, 50 RBI, .323 AVG and .911 OPS easily earn him the job as backup second baseman. That leaves Brian Roberts and Placido Polanco to argue with Pedroia over who is second best, though it means nothing as Pedroia is the one on the team. All-Stars - Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox), Ian Kinsler (Rangers) Others Considered - Brian Roberts (Orioles), Placido Polanco (Tigers)
Shortstop - Derek Jeter is not the best shortstop in the AL so far this season, but he has still earned the right to start the final all-star game at Yankee Stadium. Especially since there are really no other AL shortstops setting the world on fire right now. In fact only one other AL shortstop even begins to enter the all-star discussion and that's Michael Young. His .280 average and .741 OPS hardly make him a great choice to make the team as a reserve, but regardless, he makes it by default. All-Stars - Derek Jeter (Yankees), Michael Young (Rangers) Others Considered - None
Third Base - A-Rod missed a few weeks but still has the best numbers of any third baseman in the league and like Jeter, deserves to be starting this game anyway. Behind A-Rod things get a bit murky as a bunch of other AL third sackers have comparable, yet unremarkable numbers. The field of Evan Longoria, Joe Crede, Mike Lowell and Adrian Beltre all seem to be a bit interchangeable, so I am going to take the hotshot rookie Longoria just because it's by far the most interesting. All-Stars - Alex Rodriguez (Yankees), Evan Longoria (Rays) Others Considered - Mike Lowell (Red Sox), Joe Crede (White Sox), Adrian Beltre (Mariners)
Outfield - While the starting infield players were not great selections in the AL compared to the NL, the AL outfield selections are much better. Manny obviously deserves to make this team and as I said above, Ichiro would probably have to make it one way or another. More importantly, good job by the fans in recognizing the unbelievable first half that Josh Hamilton has put together. Obviously his story is a good one and the fans have taken notice of that, but it still would have been very easy for many of them to punch a hole next to Vlad Guerrero's name as they have done every other season over the past decade. Now, despite these all being good choices, there is still quite a logjam in the AL outfield, I guess that's where all the AL good seasons have gone in 2008. As we saw above, there were limited candidates at every infield position, but there are no shortage of strong candidates in the outfield. However, a select few have made this process easier than it should be by having truly outstanding seasons that set them apart. The first selection I am going to make is Carlos Quentin and his 54 R, 61 RBI and .940 OPS. Next I am going to take J.D. Drew who has had a tremendous bounceback season, in fact with 57 R, 48 RBI and a .986 OPS, Drew is on pace for the best season of his career. Last, and most surprising to myself, I am going to take Milton Bradley to join his Ranger outfieldmate Josh Hamilton on the squad. Bradley is having by far the best start of his career with 50 R, 49 RBI, a .323 AVG and an unreal 1.056 OPS. All-Stars - Manny Ramirez (Red Sox), Ichiro Suzuki (Mariners), Josh Hamilton (Rangers), Milton Bradley (Rangers), J.D. Drew (Red Sox), Carlos Quentin (White Sox) Others Considered - Nick Markakis (Orioles), Jermaine Dye (White Sox), Grady Sizemore (Indians), Magglio Ordonez (Tigers), Jose Guillen (Royals), Johnny Damon (Yankees), Bobby Abreu (Yankees), Carl Crawford (Rays), B.J. Upton (Rays), David Murphy (Rangers)
Designated Hitter - In the AL things get more complicated because of the addition of a starting spot for the DH. In the NL that spot can go to anyone, but in the AL it is part of the fan balloting and therefore must have a starter and backup. David Ortiz will be the leading vote getter, but he will not play due to injury. I will replace him later on with a position player, so right now I just need a backup. There are not many choices at all, especially not with the injury to Hideki Matsui which will keep him out of the game as well. My only real choice is Aubrey Huff and his 45 R and 45 RBI. Not terrible, but not great either, but he works well from the standpoint that I am going to need an Oriole at some point and there aren't many other alternatives. So Huff is the guy. All-Stars - David Ortiz (Red Sox) - injured, Aubrey Huff (Orioles) Others Considered - None
Seventeen of the twenty position players are accounted for, but thanks to the plethora of Red Sox and surprisingly, Rangers, we still need to find representatives for 6 of the 14 AL teams. To this point, the Blue Jays, Indians, Royals, Tigers, Angels and A's are all without players. Let's move on the pitchers and see how many of those holes we can fill.
Starting Pitchers - The starting pitching competition is wide open in the AL as many of the players have similar stats, so let's start first with the no-brainers, though there aren't many, at least not compared to the NL. Cliff Lee (11-1, 2.34) is a lock and is my choice to be the game's starter. Plus he takes care of the need for an Indian. The Angels need a representative and we are in luck, because they have two locks, Joe Saunders (11-4, 3.06) and Ervin Santana (9-3, 3.32), each of whom earns a spot on the roster. Roy Halladay (8-6, 3.12) has to get a spot as the Blue Jays rep because he earned it and well, there is really no one else. So four pitchers down and we have already knocked off three teams we needed players for, leaving only the Royals, Tigers and A's left. I don't see any Tigers or Royals starters, but the A's have a couple of viable options. Rich Harden is a candidate, but he missed a few starts and quite frankly, Justin Duchscherer is the better option anyway. In fact, Duchscherer (8-5, 1.91) absolutely deserves to make the team wether the A's needed someone or not. There are still a lot of good starters out there including a trio from the Red Sox, but I am going to round out the staff with John Danks (5-4, 2.62), who despite a mediocre record has pitched like an all-star. All-Stars - Cliff Lee (Indians), Ervin Santana (Angels), Joe Saunders (Angels), Justin Duchscherer (A's), Roy Halladay (Blue Jays), John Danks (White Sox) Others Considered - Daisuke Matsuzka (Red Sox), Josh Beckett (Red Sox), Jon Lester (Red Sox), Scott Kazmir (Rays), Mike Mussina (Yankees), Gavin Floyd (White Sox), Zach Greinke (Royals), Armando Galarraga (Tigers), Felix Hernandez (Mariners)
Relief Pitchers - I took only 6 starters for the AL because I am going to use my final vote ballot for pitchers in this league. That leaves my five slots for relievers and I needed them because the AL has five relievers that I just couldn't ignore. And even with five I still have to apologize to Bobby Jenks and his 1.95 ERA and George Sherrill and his 26 saves. AL relief pitcher is the deepest spot by far in terms of selecting this year's all-stars. The pitchers that made my team are Jonathan Papelbon (24 SV, 2.00), Francisco Rodriguez (32 SV, 2.04), Joe Nathan (22 SV, 1.34), Joakim Soria (21 SV, 1.29) who also fills the need for a Royals representative, and of course, the incomparable Mariano Rivera (22 SV, 0.74), perhaps on his way to his best season ever. All-Stars - Mariano Rivera (Yankees), Jonathan Papelbon (Red Sox), Francisco Rodriguez (Angels), Joakim Soria (Royals), Joe Nathan (Twins) Others Considered - Bobby Jenks (White Sox), George Sherrill (Orioles), Troy Percival (Rays), Joba Chamberlain (Yankees), B.J. Ryan (Blue Jays)
So we have just four spots left on the team, one of which will go to the winner of the final roster spot ballot. So that leaves just three spots for me to fill and a boatload of candidates. The good news is that we have only one team left to find a representative for and that's the Tigers. Who would thunk at the beginning of the season that the Tigers would be a team that would have a hard time placing an all-star, I probably picked at least six of them to make my pre-season all-star team. But we are here and the choices are much fewer than anyone ever would have imagined. My choice is Placido Polanco and his .320 average over the injured, under-performing Miguel Cabrera. My next pick is Jermaine Dye and his 49 R and 49 RBI that go with his .918 OPS. My final player, the replacement for the injured David Ortiz, is Grady Sizemore and his 51 R, 45 RBI and 19 SB.
Below is the final man ballot, cast your votes in the instant feedback section below or shoot me an e-mail, the results will be posted in next week's column. Don't forget to vote for both the AL and NL, the ballot for which is listed in the above section.
Final Man Ballot - Josh Beckett (Red Sox, 7-5, 3.65), Daisuke Matsuzaka (Red Sox, 9-1, 3.21), Scott Kazmir (Rays, 7-3, 2.28), Mike Mussina (Yankees, 10-5, 3.93), Gavin Floyd (White Sox, 8-4, 3.39)
Again, get those votes in. Here is the 31-man roster we just selected for the AL.
Catcher - Joe Mauer, Dioner Navarro
First Base - Kevin Youkilis, Justin Morneau
Second Bsae - Dustin Pedroia, Ian Kinsler, Placido Polanco
Shortstop - Derek Jeter, Michael Young
Third Base - Alex Rodriguez, Evan Longoria
Outfield - Manny Ramirez, Ichiro Suzuki, Josh Hamilton, J.D. Drew, Milton Bradley, Jermaine Dye, Carlos Quentin, Grady Sizemore
DH - David Ortiz - injured, Aubrey Huff
Starting Pitchers - Cliff Lee (starter), John Danks, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, Justin Duchscherer, Roy Halladay
Relief Pitchers - Mariano Rivera, Francisco Rodriguez, Jonathan Papelbon, Joe Nathan, Joakim Soria
Here is the rundown of players by team:
Yankees (3) - Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera
Red Sox (5) - Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Jonathan Papelbon
Blue Jays (1) - Roy Halladay
Rays (2) - Dioner Navarro, Evan Longoria
Orioles (1) - Aubrey Huff
White Sox (3) - Jermaine Dye, Carlos Quentin, John Danks
Twins (3) - Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan
Indians (2) - Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee
Tigers (1) - Placido Polanco
Royals (1) - Joakim Soria
A's (1) - Justin Duchscherer
Mariners (1) - Ichiro Suzuki
Rangers (4) - Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Milton Bradley, Josh Hamilton
Angels (3) - Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, Francisco Rodriguez
It's very strange that after a decade of being over-represented on the all-star team, the Yankees now seem under-represented with this being the final all-star game in Yankee Stadium. I tried to get more Yankees on the team, with Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu all receiving strong consideration, but I just couldn't see taking any of them over any of the guys that actually made it. The most surprising thing about the above list is the number of Rangers represented. I don't have any facts or figures to back this up, but I would assume that it is rare for an average team in a small market like the Rangers, to have the second most players on the all-star team. Anyway, that's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes I guess.
That will do it for the all-star selection process, get those votes in for the final man and next week we will unveil the winners as well as compare my choices to the actual choices which will be revealed Sunday night.
CLEANING UP
Now it's been a while since the last column so for those of you who don't remember, let me remind you that were were in the middle of unveiling the all-time greatest lineups and rotations for all 30 MLB teams. To this point we have run down the teams of the NL East, NL West, AL Central and AL West. This week we tackle baseball's biggest division, the NL Central. If you forgot the rules or want to check back at what we have done so far, you can see the previous columns. For those that remember I won't bore you anymore, let's move right onto the lists……….
"The All-Time Greatest"………… Chicago Cubs (1876-present)
lineup/rotation"
MGR - Frank Chance
C - Gabby Hartnett
1B - Cap Anson
2B - Ryne Sandberg
SS - Ernie Banks
3B - Ron Santo
RF- Sammy Sosa
CF - Hack Wilson
LF - Billy Williams
SP - Mordecai Brown
SP - Fergie Jenkins
SP - Charley Root
SP - Hippo Vaughn
SP - Ed Reulbach
CL - Lee Smith
"The All-Time Greatest"………… Cincinnati Reds (1882-present) lineup/rotation"
MGR - Sparky Anderson
C - Johnny Bench
1B - Tony Perez
2B - Joe Morgan
SS - Barry Larkin
3B - Pete Rose
RF- Frank Robinson
CF - Vada Pinson
LF - George Foster
SP - Eppa Rixey
SP - Paul Derringer
SP - Bucky Walters
SP - Jim Maloney
SP - Jose Rijo
CL - John Franco
"The All-Time Greatest"………… Houston Astros/Colt /45's (1962-present)
lineup/rotation"
MGR - Larry Dierker
C - Alan Ashby
1B - Jeff Bagwell
2B - Craig Biggio
SS - Adam Everett
3B - Ken Caminiti
RF- Lance Berkman
CF - Cesar Cedeno
LF - Jose Cruz
SP - Joe Niekro
SP - Roy Oswalt
SP - Mike Scott
SP - J.R. Richard
SP - Larry Dierker
CL - Billy Wagner
"The All-Time Greatest"………… Milwaukee Brewers (1970-present) Seattle Pilots (1969) lineup/rotation"
MGR - Buck Rodgers
C - B.J. Surhoff
1B - Cecil Cooper
2B - Jim Gantner
SS - Robin Yount
3B - Paul Molitor
RF- Ben Oglivie
CF - Jeromy Burnitz
LF - Geoff Jenkins
SP - Teddy Higuera
SP - Jim Slaton
SP - Mike Caldwell
SP - Chris Bosio
SP - Ben Sheets
CL - Dan Plesac
"The All-Time Greatest"………… Pittsburgh Pirates (1882-present) lineup/rotation"
MGR - Danny Murtaugh
C - Jason Kendall
1B - Willie Stargell
2B - Bill Mazeroski
SS - Honus Wagner
3B - Pie Traynor
RF- Roberto Clemente
CF - Paul Waner
LF - Ralph Kiner
SP - Sam Leever
SP - Babe Adams
SP - Wilbur Cooper
SP - Deacon Phillippe
SP - Bob Friend
CL - Roy Face
"The All-Time Greatest"…………St. Louis Cardinals (1882-present) lineup/rotation"
MGR - Tony LaRussa
C - Ted Simmons
1B - Albert Pujols
2B - Rogers Hornsby
SS - Ozzie Smith
3B - Ken Boyer
RF - Enos Slaughter
CF - Lou Brock
LF - Stan Musial
SP - Bob Gibson
SP - Jesse Haines
SP - Dizzy Dean
SP - Mort Cooper
SP - Bob Forsch
CL - Jason Isringhausen
That will do it for this week's edition, be sure to check back next week, same time and same place. Next week we will close out the greatest lineup/rotation feature with the AL East, as well as analyze the actual all-star selections in comparison to the selections I made above. Plus we will have our mid-season review where we look back at my pre-season predictions to see how I did, I am sure the answer to that is terrible and I can't wait to see just how big of a fool I made of myself……again. Until then……..
