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The Weekend All-Star Buzz ... the leagues, the starters, and exactly where you fans made your mistakes in the voting (especially you ballot-stuffers in Boston and New York):
American League
Catcher: Joe Mauer, Minnesota.
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| Manny starting over OF Carlos Quentin? Shame on you, Boston fans. (Getty Images) |
My pick: Mauer. The fans got this one right.
First base: Kevin Youkilis, Boston.
The Greek God of Walks will inspire many hard-drive odes as he makes his first All-Star appearance. He is the quintessential player of the modern age: A guy who knows his way around working counts and seduces computers with the best of them and, best of all, he's exceeded most offensive projections. Youk is crucial to the success of the Red Sox and is having a terrific season. Except ... Minnesota's Justin Morneau has been slightly more productive. He's scored and knocked in more runs.
My pick: Morneau.
Second base: Dustin Pedroia, Boston.
You could see this one coming from a mile away. The lanterns in the Old North Church were shining and Paul Revere was making his midnight ride toward Yankee Stadium warning: The Red Sox are coming! The Red Sox are coming! There is nothing not to like about Pedroia, as gritty and fun a player as there is. But ... Texas' Ian Kinsler leads the AL in runs scored, hits, total bases and batting average. I know there's more iron in his glove than in a Big Bertha driver, but this is the All-Star Game! The one place where offense should rule, where the designated hitter deserves to be.
My pick: Kinsler.
Shortstop: Derek Jeter, Yankees.
Look, if Jeter doesn't start an All-Star Game in Yankee Stadium, you may as well remove the torch from the Statue of Liberty, or annex the Bronx to New Jersey. You can make an argument for Texas' Michael Young in a down year for AL shortstops. Jeter is hitting only .282 with four homers, and there's no bigger Young fan than me. But answer me this: Say you're walking over to Central Park on All-Star Saturday to see Bon Jovi (better you do this than me.) How would you feel if you didn't hear Livin' on a Prayer? I know you, and you'd be chapped.
My pick: Jeter.
Third base: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees.
Boys may come and boys may go and that's all right you see ... ah, it's A-Rod's material world, and we're just living in it. Wonder whether Madonna will be in attendance for the Final All-Star Game in Yankee Stadium? (Note to editors: If she is, I may need to miss an inning or two so while seeking her out and begging her to cancel her November San Diego tour date, to which my wife has tickets and I am in grave danger of having to attend.)
My pick: A-Rod.
Outfield: Josh Hamilton, Texas; Manny Ramirez, Boston; Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle.
Hamilton is a no-brainer, and the way he's going, the only surprise will be if he doesn't belt two homers and rob the NL of two or three extra-base hits. The guy right now is an MVP waiting to happen. But Manny and Ichiro? They're, like, so 2006. Ramirez spends his down time each season coming up with excuses to duck the Midsummer Classic each year (thus, you maniac All-Star voting Red Sox fans, giving you new meaning to the term "Absentee Ballot.") And Ichiro is only recently starting to heat up after mostly sitting idly by as the Mariners' ship sank. No, the thinking voter in 2008 would have listed an AL outfield of Hamilton, the Chicago White Sox's Carlos Quentin and Boston's J.D. Drew -- the Red Sox outfielder who actually ranks ahead of Manny in both on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
My picks: Hamilton, Quentin and Drew.
Designated hitter: David Ortiz, Boston.
The cute, All-Star election-year XM radio promotional campaign chaired by Ortiz and Jeter was going along swimmingly, and Ortiz's becoming an American citizen earlier this year was a nice bonus. But Ortiz's wrist isn't cooperating and he's not available to fulfill his assigned duty from the fans. So the obvious replacement while Ortiz attends and basks in the fans adulation (good for him, another step in proving what an all-around good and genuine guy he is) is Texas' Milton Bradley, who just so happens to lead the AL in both slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Bradley was expected to start slowly while coming back from the wrecked knee he suffered last September but, as usual, the guy is surpassing expectations.
My pick: Bradley. And according to my calculations, All-Star voters, you tabbed the right man in only four of your nine AL picks. Geez, I hope your NL acumen is sharper than that.
National League
Catcher: Geovany Soto, Cubs.
There's been a ton of history committed at Yankee Stadium over the decades, and as the curtain closes on The Stadium, there will be at least one more significant moment: No rookie has ever started behind the plate for the NL in an All-Star Game. Not Johnny Bench. Not Joe Torre. Not Mike Piazza. Not Tim McCarver. Not even Duffy Dyer. That will change this year, when Soto deservedly gets the nod. The Dodgers' Russell Martin, who started last year's game and is on this year's squad as a backup, again is deserving. But Soto's power and key hits for the NL's best team makes him the guy.
My pick: Soto.
First base: Lance Berkman, Houston.
The only guy doing more incredible things offensively this season is Atlanta' Chipper Jones. Berkman is in position to make a strong run at the Triple Crown, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since Boston's Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967. The Cubs' Derrek Lee threatened a couple of years ago, and if Berkman can take his quest into September, how cool would that be? Hopefully, Berkman is good to go come All-Star time after missing Sunday's game with an irritated eye. How strong is Berkman's season? If I had to watch the Astros every single day, both of my eyes would be irritated.
My pick: Berkman.
Second base: Chase Utley, Philadelphia.
Florida's Dan Uggla, chosen to the team as a reserve, is having a swell season. But nobody is better than Utley right now and, if things continue going as they are, he stands a very good chance of giving the Phillies their third different NL MVP in a three-year span. Ryan Howard won two years ago and Jimmy Rollins last year.
My pick: Utley.
Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez, Florida.
Last game in Yankee Stadium, and Ramirez will be remembered for the ages. Trivia question: Name the 2008 All-Star Game starting shortstop that wasn't rumored to be short-hopping Madonna. Ramirez elicits much clanking defensively (see Kinsler, Ian, in the "AL 2B" section) but he and his double-play partner Uggla are the primary reasons why the Marlins could wave buh-bye to Miguel Cabrera over the winter and still be contending in the NL East this year. Meantime, this partial score just in: Four NL positions so far, and the fans who voted are 4-for-4 in their astuteness.
My pick: Ramirez.
Third base: Chipper Jones, Atlanta.
Or, as Braves manager Bobby Cox calls him, "Chip." Guess here is "Chip" as in Chip Hilton, the all-around stud athlete in Clair Bee's eminently readable series of books in the 1950s and 1960s. They were kind of a Hardy Boys-style in look and feel only focusing on sports instead of mystery, and I'll bet you several thousand fans who passed through Yankee Stadium in the '50s and '60s were hooked on those books (during their down time from worshiping Ruth, Mantle, etc.) I know I was.
My pick: Jones.
Outfield: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee; Alfonso Soriano, Cubs; Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs.
Braun is a definite. The guy hasn't stopped hitting since he landed in the majors for good last June, and now that he's playing the outfield instead of third base, he can concentrate on hitting at the plate, and think about hitting in the field. Soriano? Nice tribute, but he's hurt. Fukudome? Terrific first impression with that opening day homer in Wrigley Field, great April ... but he's hit .245 since June 1, and his July on-base percentage is .182. How do you say "Kosuke, the Cubs need you to reverse the slide" in Japanese? May I suggest Colorado's Matt Holliday, back from the disabled list and hitting .342 with 13 homers and 49 RBI, and St. Louis' Ryan Ludwick (.292, 16, 56)? Philadelphia's Pat Burrell also merits consideration to start, as does Houston's Carlos Lee and Pittsburgh's Nate McLouth.
My picks: Braun, Holliday and Ludwick.
Designated hitter: Not in the NL, you won't vote for one.
Crazy. The game is in an AL park and the NL will use a DH, but because there is no DH in the NL the fans don't get to pick this position. So here's the deal: Albert Pujols is the guy, and because you fans who voted stormed back to go 6-for-9 on the NL portion of your test after going 4-for-9 while blinded by Yankees and Red Sox in the AL, I'll give you extra credit here, assuming you would have voted for Pujols. And get this: He's on the NL team as a reserve, but the players did not choose him. So you wind up being smarter than the players themselves in some areas. Not a bad day for you at all, eh?
My pick: Pujols.
Starting pitchers: You've gotta wait until the Monday before the game for AL manager Terry Francona and Colorado skipper Clint Hurdle to name their guys, but how can we list the All-Stars without pitchers?
My picks: An all-Ohio matchup in New York with Cleveland's Cliff Lee (11-2, 2.43 ERA) facing Cincinnati's Edinson Volquez (11-3, 2.36).
It's close, though. If I'm AL manager Terry Francona, I'm tempted -- really tempted -- to hand the ball to Toronto's Roy Halladay. Granted, his 2.88 ERA ranks sixth in the league and his 10 wins is tied for fourth, but he leads the majors in complete games and innings pitched, and I'm a sucker for a dominant pitcher who can finish what he starts. Turn him loose for two innings in the All-Star Game and here's guessing he'll be completely overpowering.
And, if I'm NL manager Clint Hurdle, it's an agonizing decision between Volquez and San Francisco's Tim Lincecum, who leads the majors in quality starts.