All-Stars Confusing as Always…

July 6, 2010

Happy Tuesday to everyone out there on MLBlogs.

Some of you may have been misled by the title of this post. You may be expecting a full-out rant on Bud Selig, the fan-vote, the ridiculousness of the All-Star Game, and of course, a certain Mr. Joey Votto. However, I’ve read enough of these rants in the past few days, and I’m sure you have as well. I know that another one is not needed. And while I’ve read some interesting suggestions for how the All-Star situation can be improved, most of the complaints revolve around the same issues. I agree with most of the complaints, and I support any measures people are taking to change them, but for now there is little we can do. That’s why I plan to focus more on those that are on the team, and why I’m excited for the All-Star break festivities; rather than everything that’s wrong with the ASG and all the outrageous snubs, and players that should have made it. (However, I do believe that Joey Votto exclusion from the game is a matter worth discussing, so you’ll have to bear with a little ranting when I get to that topic)

Since I can’t write about every All-Star, I’ll focus on some picks I find interesting, or those I find most deserving. Today I’ll discuss the AL team, tomorrow the NL. Here goes…

Trevor Cahill, SP, A’s

Cahill has emerged as an ace for the surprise Oakland A’s, a team that’s hanging tough in the AL West, a very competitive division. To me, the selection of Cahill was a surprise as well, partly because I don’t watch much A’s baseball and I had honestly never really 

heard of the guy. And while stats never tell the whole story, his are very solid, and he definitely does deserve this spot. However, being the only Oakland player on the ro

ster, I’ve gotta wonder whether his All-Star spot is just meant to comply with the rules (each team

 must be represented) or not. This is not to take away from the honor of being an All-Star, and he seems to be a player deserving, whether it’s for the sake of rules or not.

And here I was, thinking if anyone made it from the A’s it would be Dallas Braden (

although I don’t know if A-Rod and him would even be able to share a dugout together)!

Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Tigers and Justin Morneau, 1B, Twins

There is no doubt Miggy should be an All-Star, that’s for sure. The interesting thing about this is that he’s a guy batting .339 with 20 homers and 70 RBIs, and he’s not a starter. Many would wonder what kind of circumstances would ever cause a player having that kind of season to not be a starter in the ASG. Well, I think the only possible situation where this could happen is if the guy starting in front of you is having a season like Justin Morneau is. Morneau is simply tearing the cover off the ball, batting .344 with 18 homers and 56 RBIs. And while Miggy’s power numbers are slightly higher, I don’t at all disagree with Morneau getting the starting spot here. However, if it happens to come down to an MVP race between these two, and their stats stay similar to what they are now, my vote is with Cabrera, because he both does not have Joe Mauer on his team, and is producing significantly more r

uns than Morneau is. A stellar season for both of them so far.

Matt Thornton, RP, White Sox 

This one seems to be even more of a “complying with the rules” vote than the pick of Cahill. I truly can’t think of any other reason for Thornton to be on the All-Star team other than the rules. He’s a reliever who pitches about an inning in every appearance, and I don’t kno

w enough about the White Sox situation to know whether he’s a setup man or some kind of short middle reliever. He’s picked up 5 saves this year, picking up a few of these in the past week in normal closer Bobby Jenks’s absence from the team. Thornton doesn’t have an abnormally high strikeout rate, or anything else I notice that really makes him stand out, so this pick is kind of a head-scratcher for me. Out of any players on the White Sox that deserve an All-Star bid, I think Paul Konerko is most deserving (he may still make it in with the Final Vote), however there was a pitching spot to fill, and I guess Thornton was the guy for it. Still a little confused on this one…

Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees

Jeter is truly a baseball icon by my standards. Having now made back-to-back All-S

tar games in the latter part of his career, he is really a player to be admired. He continues to produce day in and day out, and is a real iron man among MLB players. I look up to him both on and off the field, as he constantly reminds me why he’s my “favorite” Yankee. He is now headed to Anaheim for his 11th career All-Star game, and shows no signs of stopping 

anytime soon. I wish Jeter the best of luck in the ASG and in the future.

Just not during the division race 🙂

Kevin Youkilis, 1B, Red Sox (Final Vote)

My man Youk is currently one of 5 players (Konerko, Delmon Young, Michael Young, and Nick Swisher) up to make the All-Star team by the Final Vote (voted by fans). According to the latest update, Youk is in the lead, and I am very happy for him, because he really deserves it. However, I’m currently boycotting the Final Vote based on the sugge

stion from my friends over at The Game Above All. That’s right, boycotting. And while I don’t tot

ally agree with all their complaints about the ASG, I do think that they make a good point when suggesting the boycott. Check out their blog to see why, it’s a great read. 

Therefore, I don’t have much to say about Youkilis, other than that he’s having a fantastic season, and has done an especially good job holding the team together in the wake of all the injuries we’ve suffered. I wish him the best in his quest to make the team! 

Tomorrow come my NL All-Star thoughts, but for now, thanks for reading!

P.S.

Congrats to David Ortiz on his selection to the Homerun Derby! Should be great to see Papi mashing ball after ball in Anaheim.

Also, for those
of you that are interested in the notable AL All-Star snubs, here’s a nice gallery with discussions of some of them.

Written by mlblogsthe3rs Posted in Dailies Tagged with All-Star game, All-Star teams, Anaheim, Bud Selig, Derek Jeter, Fenway Bleacher Creature, Homerun derby, injuries, Joe Mauer, Joey Votto, Justin Morneau, Kevin Youkilis, Matt Thornton, Miguel Cabrera, MLBlogs, Oakland, Red Sox, snubs, Trevor Cahill, Yankees