MLB All-Star Game: Stars and Snubs

Cross-published on http://www.armchairgm.com/

Stars: These guys deserved the vote, but most of them flew under the radar this season despite playing great baseball.

Michael Young, SS, Texas Rangers: Batting .293 and playing spectacular defense, he also leads the Rangers in hits and extra base hits. He also seems to be the most clutch hitter on this struggling ball club. He only trails Sosa in the race for the team lead in steaks. Jeter was a good pick to start the mid-summer classic, regardless of the voting strength of Yankees’ nation, but Young is having a great season and is not being properly acknowledged by the general public.

Brian Roberts, 2B, Baltimore Orioles: The lone O-bird to make the All-Star Roster, Roberts is batting .327 and is 3rd in the league in stolen bases, and is better than the top two (Reyes and Pierre) in CS. He also leads the O’s in hits and runs scored, so he is one of the bright spots of a struggling franchise. Placido Polanco is having a better season and deserves the start, but it’s good to see Roberts on the roster.

Jorge Posada, C, New York Yankees: Why is Pudge starting the All-Star game? This just boggles my mind, especially because of the perennial pull from Yankee’s nation in voting. He leads all starting catchers in BA, he’s 2nd in RBIs, slugging, and HR, and is a better defensive catcher than Victor Martinez (who leads all offensive categories that he is second in, and he isn’t starting the All-Star game either). Perhaps Martinez deserves the nod because, at the time, the Indians are in first place in the AL Central, but Posada is a better catcher defensively and has comparable numbers in all offensive categories (except in RBI where Martinez clearly has the upper hand, but he doesn’t bat in a nearly 200 million dollar club house where he isn’t overshadowed in the lineup)

Snubs:

Sammy Sosa, OF, Texas Rangers: Certainly Sammy deserves all of the scrutiny that goes along with the Steroid Era in baseball, but remember, he has been hitting against pitchers who have been juiced as well. I don’t want to defend or advocate steroid use, but pitchers in this era are just as much, if not more at fault, than the big-name home run hitters like Big Mac, Bonds, Sosa, etc. We cannot crucify Sosa and Bonds without holding the same witch-hunt for pitchers like Roger Clemens, who is just as old, probably older (I’m not going to research birthdays), as these other guys. For some reason, people do not want to associate big-name pitchers with steroid use…I guess it’s because of nostalgic purposes…spare me. The pitchers in the game who are setting records in the Steroid Era, like Clemens and Trevor Hoffman, should be under just as much scrutiny as Bonds and Sosa…but they aren’t, for whatever reason, and that’s sad. Maybe it’s because Cy Young’s record of 511 wins is untouchable (wait, wasn’t Gehrig’s record untouchable?) or the fact that (for the most part) pitchers don't get the same press coverage…but I don’t want to advocate this B.S. notion that pitchers aren’t as much at fault as other ‘roid users, although some experts have pointed the finger more at the pitchers than the hitters. Regardless, remember that Young pitched in the dead-ball era, which had its own problems (see the 1919 Black Sox)…but, I digress…someone who has reached the 600 HR milestone, .255 BA, 63 RBI (tied for fourth), .476 slugging, 14 HR, should be in the mid-summer classic, at least as a reserve…think about all of the other players who used steroids and didn’t hit 600 HR.

Jeremy Guthrie, SP, Baltimore Orioles: Call me a homer, but Guthrie deserved an All-Star nod. No, I didn’t expect him to make the roster, but it’s a shame that he wasn’t awarded this opportunity. Just look at the numbers. 2.63 ERA, which, last I checked, was second-best in the AL. Yeah, his record is 4-2, but that does not show his dominance of this league. He is the king of the no-decision and has more movement on his two-seamer than Chris Brown has in “Stomp The Yard” (yeah, I like that movie). To have that low of an ERA and not having gaudy win numbers in 12 GS and 18 G shows that as a fact. His run-support has been awful, and he should be 13-1 going into the All-Star break. Leyland really dropped the ball here.

Dmitri Young, 1B, Washington Nationals: Don’t wanna leave the National League out here, although I’m not as fluent in the NL as I am with the AL, so I’m sure I missed someone here (if I did, please correct me). “Da Meat Hook” deserved the nod this year, as he is third in the NL in batting average. He’s also slugging .502, hitting an unprecedented 21 doubles and 37 RBI on a crappy team. His RBI numbers would be higher if he weren’t playing for the AAA knock-off that is the Washington Nationals.

Orlando Cabrera, SS, Los Angeles Angels: This one really stands out to me. He is hitting .337 (4th in the AL), has 9 stolen bases, 48 RBI, 5 HR, and 110 hits. He also has less errors than starter Derek Jeter, and he's on a first place team. Why isn't he on the roster?

I’m sure there are others (like Jimmy Rollins: .283 BA, 14 HR, 37 RBI, .513 slugging...I gotta be honest, I just don't like the Phillies)…these are just a few that jump off the page to me…your comments/thoughts are welcome…please comment or email me at athomas3@washcoll.edu

Oh, and Melvin Mora was safe...look at the tape.