I just cast my ballot forbaseball's all-stars (thanks Matt), and here are my choices, along with a brief description of why I picked that player...
American League
1B: Justin Morneau, Twins: This one was between Morneau and Boston's Kevin Youkilis, who are about equal. Morneau is hitting slightly better, though, and drove in more runs.
2B: Brian Roberts, Orioles: There's no shortage of good choices here - I could have picked Detroit's Placido Polanco, Texas' Ian Kinsler, or KC's Mark Grudzielanek here. I picked Roberts because a) he's got 21 stolen bases, b) he's a good fielder, and c) I'm an O's fan and a massive homer.
SS: Orlando Cabrera, White Sox: Preferably, we'd take the glut of second-basemen - either Grudzie or Kinsler - and move them here because there are no good options at short for the AL. No one's hitting well, and Cabrera's the best fielder, so there you go.
3B: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees: Really? You're going to vote for someone else here?
C: Joe Mauer, Twins: You'd have to be brain-dead to pick anyone else here, too.
OF: Milton Bradley and Josh Hamilton, Rangers; J.D. Drew, Red Sox: Lots of options, but Hamilton's a no-brainer and Bradley and Drew are hitting really well. I wrote in Baltimore's Nick Markakis here too - he should be the AL's fourth option.
DH: Hideki Matsui, Yankees: It's either Matsui or Oriole Aubrey Huff, and while Huff's a better power hitter, Matsui's average is way better.
National League
1B: Lance Berkman, Astros: No-brainer.
2B: Dan Uggla, Marlins: Either Philly's Chase Utley or Arizona's Orlando Hudson would go here. But Uggla gets the edge because he's a better hitter than Utley and a better fielder than Hudson.
SS: Ryan Theriot, Cubs: I could have gone with Washington's Cristian Guzman, but if I hadn't picked Theriot here despite his awful glove, I would have been leaving the NL's best team without an All-Star. Which is just weird. Guzman should be the tenth guy though. Florida's Hanley Ramirez can't field either.
3B: Chipper Jones, Braves: Really, if you vote for anyone else, you're either a massive homer or you're an idiot.
C: Bengie Molina, Giants: That's how bad the catching in the NL is - I had to vote for Bengie Molina.
OF: Matt Holliday, Rockies; Xavier Nady, Pirates; Ryan Braun, Brewers: After the no-brainer pick Holliday, I just kind of drew names out of a hat. Nady's a solid hitter, and Braun's a slugger with a potential Gold Glove. I wouldn't fault anyone for picking SF's Randy Winn here.
So there you go. Only difficulty with this lineup - no one from the AL's second and third best teams (TB, the Angels). Discuss.
Update: Mike tells me that Orlando Cabrera plays for the White Sox, not the Tigers. Noted and changed.
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5 comments:
As a Mets fan, the only two people that deserve to be on the team are Santana and Wright. But only as reserves. Maybe Reyes, but I think the all-star team should be reserved for those who actually put forth effort and don't skate by on talent.
My differences with you (since you asked, oh wait you didn't, but who cares?):
- Michael Young over Orlando Cabrera (who plays for the White Sox, btw), mostly just because, since like you said, no one's really hitting well.
- Aubrey Huff over Hideki Matsui, a double homer pick for me (current O, former Ray). Also, Matsui is a Yankee.
- Chase Utley over Dan Uggla gets the edge because his team's atop the NL East and there must be some reason why. More ribbies too.
- Brian McCann over Bengie Molina. Somewhat homerish, but at least I didn't have to cast a vote for Molina.
- Kosuke Fokudome instead of Xavier Nady, mostly for his awesome last name, as well as the Cubs vs. Pirates comparison.
Most of your choices are pretty hard to argue with though.
Wouldn't you know it? A name as awesome as "Fukudome" and I misspell it. D'oh!
I'd agree with Mike on the Michael Young, and Utley. I'd also have gone with Guzman, a bit of a homer pick, and would put McLouth in, instead of Nady. In the AL I think the OF should be Milton Bradley, Carlos Quentin, and Hamilton, with Sizemore a close 4th.
I don't really believe TB is 2nd best (Angels) or that Chicago is fourth. I also don't think it's particularly odd to not have players from those teams, since they've been winning a lot with pitching and are well-balanced teams, that win as a group, not on individual stardom.
I hope Josh Hamilton makes it from the Rangers. He was all the rage in the Raleigh area when he got drafted out of high school. Looks like he finally got his life straight and is having a banner year.
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