I know there's another thread concerning all-stars, and I wouldn't want to supersede that one or anything, but this isn't exactly in the topic, so I'll go elsewhere.
Also, since this week is the halfway point, I'd rather do it now than in July, far beyond the halfway mark of the season.
Now, with the NL having to represent 16 teams, we're at a disadvantage, but here's how I'd pick the teams right now. Luckily I don't have to contend with the fan vote.
I start with the very best hitter at every position to get my starting lineup, and I will not force outfielders to stay at their normal positions:
C - Brian McCann, Atlanta: .306/.379/.562
1B - Albert Pujols, St. Louis: .347/.475/.631
2B - Dan Uggla, Florida: .294/.379/.643
3B - Chipper Jones, Atlanta: .393/.485/.631
SS - Hanley Ramirez, Florida: .295/.386/.521
LF - Pat Burrell, Philadelphia: .271/.411/.571
CF - Nate McLouth, Pittsburgh: .292/.375/.546
RF - Jason Bay, Pittsburgh: .283/.393/.524
DH - Lance Berkman, Houston: .354/.438/.683
There are 8 players. I've got 32 spots to work with, so I think 14 pitchers and 17 players , leaving one spot for flexibility, should work. That leaves me 10 bench spots. Let's devote 3 to the 3 best players who couldn't crack the starting lineup:
2B - Chase Utley, Philadelphia: .288/.377/.597
SS - Jose Reyes, New York: .297/.356/.490
1B - Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego: .294/.366/.558
Ok, 12 down and 5 to go. We'll come back.
Next, for my pitching staff. We begin with the 5 best starting pitchers in the league:
1. Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati: 95 IP --- 10.42 K/9 --- 1.71 ERA
2. Ben Sheets, Milwaukee: 104 1/3 IP --- 7.25 K/9 --- 2.59 ERA
3. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco: 102 2/3 IP --- 9.03 K/9 --- 2.54 ERA
4. Tim Hudson, Atlanta: 109 1/3 IP --- 5.27 K/9 --- 2.96 ERA
5. Cole Hamels, Philadelphia: 113 IP --- 7.57 K/0 --- 3.27 ERA
Next, the three best relievers in the league:
1. Brad Lidge, Philadelphia: 18 saves --- 0.81 ERA --- 40 K's in 31 IP
2. Carlos Marmol, Chicago: 3 saves --- 3.07 ERA --- 64 K's in 44 IP
3. Taylor Buchholz, Colorado: 1 save --- 1.43 ERA --- 27 K's in 37.7 IP
We've got 8 of our 14 pitchers, 12 of our 17 hitters, and 1 free spot. Time to start worrying about representing each team.
We still don't have any Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, or Washington Nationals. I'll go ahead and take the best player off each team:
Arizona Diamondbacks - Danny Haren, SP: 103 2/3 IP --- 7.7 K/9 --- 3.04 ERA
Los Angeles Dodgers - Russ Martin, C: .315/.412/.451
Washington Nationals - John Lannan, SP: 89 IP --- 5.3 K/9 --- 3.34 ERA
That gives me 7 starters, 10 total pitchers, and 13 of my 17 hitters. Let's round out the bench. I've got my backup C, backup 1B, and two backup middle infielders. Next up, I need a backup 3B: Aramis Ramirez, Chicago: .299/.404/.530
The final 3 hitters will all be outfielders:
Carlos Beltran, New York: .279/.378/.488
Matt Holliday, Colorado: .329/.410/.538
Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis: .297/.370/.606
Need 4 more pitchers. Let's go with two more starters and two relievers.
SP - Carlos Zambrano, Chicago: 106 1/3 IP --- 5.76 K/9 --- 3.13 ERA
SP - Ryan Dempster, Chicago: 102 2/3 IP --- 7.45 K/9 --- 2.63 ERA
RP - Salomon Torres, Milwaukee: 12 saves --- 2.27 ERA
RP - Damaso Marte, Pittsburgh: 1 save --- 3.22 ERA
For my last spot, my flexible spot, I come up with 5 candidates:
Aaron Cook, SP, Colorado - the best remaining starter
Honk-Chi Kuo, RP, Los Angeles - probably the most helpful long reliever in the league
Rafael Furcal, SS, Los Angeles - the best remaining hitter
Geovany Soto, C, Chicago - the league's best rookie position player
Jair Jurrjens, SP, Atlanta - the league's best remaining rookie pitcher (after Lannan)
Furcal has been amazing, but he hasn't been in the lineup enough to really belong here. Kuo's pretty good, but I'd rather reward a starter than another reliever. Soto's solid but I don't want a 3rd catcher. It comes down to Cook or Jurrjens. Cook's been better, but Jurrjens is an exciting rookie. I'll let the "which team deserves another all-star" rule come into effect to break the tie, giving the final nod to:
Jair Jurrjens, SP, Atlanta: 90 IP --- 3.20 ERA
So, if I were Clint Hurdle, that's my all-star team.
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