Hello, everyone out there on MLBlogs. I hope the middle of your week is going well.

Yesterday, I discussed the AL All-Star team, doing my best to not rant and complain about the game and the players that made it (or didn’t). Today, however, will call for a little ranting, mostly about the exclusion from the game of Joey Votto. You knew it was coming…

Joey Votto, 1B, Reds

So I guess I’ll jump right in on the topic of Votto. While Votto is expected to win the Final Vote for the NL (he’s been ahead throughout the voting period), his initial exclusion is a glaring mistake by the voters, whether they be fans, assorted coaches and managers, or Bud Selig. For Votto to not make the team, a few things had to happen.

First, the fans did not give him enough votes to make the starting 8 for the ASG. Votto is a quiet and reserved player, and did not receive much attention before this year, and even during this year. He has never been a superstar, and had a good season last year on a weak Reds team, therefore not granting him much time in the limelight. He is also not a flashy player, he hits homeruns, but also has a solid average, and is a good defensive player. He does everything well, but without much showiness. Therefore, it is understandable why the fans may have missed out on voting for Votto (additionally, Votto would have had to compete with Pujols for this spot, and although their stats are close, Pujols has infinitely more name value, and perhaps deserves the spot more anyways).

Second, a mixture of players, coaches, and managers, did not select him to be the backup 1st baseman. I am not sure whether the direct backup is Adrian Gonzalez or Ryan Howard, but the choice of either over Votto is a mistake. Gonzalez, being the only Padre on the team, as well as having had a quiet but successful season so far, deserves the spot. However, Howard has had a slightly better season than Gonzalez, with a higher average and OBP, as well as more RBIs and runs scored. That makes this a tough decision. If I were to choose 2 of the 3 (Votto, Gonzalez, and Howard) to make the team, I would probably choose Votto and Howard, although the margin between Gonzalez and Howard is very slim. However, based on the rules, at least one Padre must make the team.

Another big snub of the game is Matt Latos, a Padres pitcher who’s had a very good season thus far and in my opinion is about even with Tim Hudson and Yovani Gallardo, 2 pitchers that did make the team. If Latos had made the team as I believe he should have, the Padres would have 1 player in the game, and Howard and Votto could have their spots (while this is all biased towards Votto, it would work).

Finally, Charlie Manuel, and a mix of the other managers in the NL and Commis. Selig also passed on Votto. This means that they had already decided on either Howard or Gonzalez as the backup. They then had to decide between Votto and either of these players, a battle that Votto easily wins. However, if Howard had been decided the backup, the decision between Gonzalez and Votto would have again had to adress the rule that each team must be represented, a problem which could again have been solved by the inclusion of Matt Latos. This is all a chain reaction, caused by the mistake of not including Latos (although there are other ways to look at it as well).

Simply put, Votto (who’s batting .312 with an OBP of .412, 19 homers, 57 RBIs, and 53 runs,) deserves an All-Star spot. And he will likely get one. But it’s really a shame he wasn’t selected in the first place.

Omar Infante, utility man, Braves

The second-most talked about mistake of this All-Star team is Omar Infante. While people have made the point that utility players do not often get selected, and deserve recognition for their often unrecognized efforts, I still think this All-Star bid is over the top. I have played a utility position for my school team for the past two years, switching between mainly outfield and catcher. I know how it feels to do so much for your team under the radar, and it can get annoying. I do wish utility players could get more recognition in baseball, but the basic truth here is that Infante doesn’t really deserve this spot. He’s batting a solid .309, with 1 homer and 22 RBIs. These just aren’t All-Star numbers. I hate to say this about a player that’s worked hard all season, but Infante is taking up space from guys that deserve this more (Rickie Weeks, Dan Uggla, and more importantly Ryan Zimmerman).

Jason Heyward, OF, Atlanta

I am a big Heyward fan, and I do feel like he deserves the All-Star spot, especially with the way he’s performed right out of the gates of his career. However, I do think his starting spot is very questionable. To be honest, I would prefer any of the reserve outfielders on the team starting in front of Heyward. Marlon Byrd, Chris Young, Corey Hart, Michael Bourn to a slightly lesser extent, and especially Matt Holliday are worthy of starting in front of Heyward. But it’s nice to see a rookie in the starting lineup, and I don’t think Heyward should have any trouble beating Strasburg or anyone else for Rookie Of the Year come awards time.

Thanks all for bearing with the extended Votto rant at the beginning, and thanks for reading!

P.S.

I just created an email for this blog, in case anyone ever wants to contact me for any reason.  If you ever have questions, comments, a topic you want me to write about, or anything else, you can write me at fenwaybc@gmail.com

I am still trying to make this the email for my account, but for now do not email me at the current email it says on my profile. This new one is the place to reach me. Thanks.