Sully's All-Star Ballot
Well, the truly insane all-star voting results highlighted below made me angry (it doesn't take much...), so I'm picking my own all-star team. We're far enough through the season now that players' overall performance is starting to show in their stats. Thus, this ballot doesn't include expected future performance, like Ross' did - this is just based on April and May. Also, I'm not even looking at the actual ballot to see who's eligible at which positions - I'm deciding based on who's played where so far this season.
Catcher:
AL: Joe Mauer, Twins - his .362/.421/.496 edges out Posada's .304/.417/.507; Varitek doesn't even belong in this conversation.
NL: Michael Barrett, Cubs - this is a really weak field, and he gets bonus points for punching A.J. Pierzynski in the face.
First Base:
AL: Jim Thome, White Sox - I didn't want to take a DH or a known steroid user, but beyond Thome, Hafner, and Giambi, the best option was Nick Swisher, who's taken more than 70% of his at bats as an outfielder. Thome's league-leading 20 home runs and resulting unreal slugging percentage (.661) clinches it.
NL: Albert Something-or-other, I think he plays for the Cardinals.
Second Base:
AL: Tadahito Iguchi, White Sox - probably would have been Cantu or Roberts if not for injuries, and I couldn't bring myself to pick Jose Lopez or Ty Wigginton.
NL: Chase Utley, Phillies - the second best option? Dan Uggla.
Shortstop:
AL: Miguel Tejada, Orioles - I wanted to put Jeter, but Tejada's defense gives him the nod.
NL: Bill Hall, Brewers - to think, he started the season as a back-up 2B/SS/3B.
Third Base:
AL: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees - it came down to him and Glaus, but Lowell was actually pretty close to both of them (higher OBP and better defense than Glaus, higher slugging than A-Rod, although that won't last).
NL: Miguel Cabrera, Marlins - there's some good competition here (Ensberg, Wright, Rolen), but he still stands out.
Outfield:
AL: Nick Swisher, Athletics; Vernon Wells, Blue Jays; Jermaine Dye, White Sox - I tried to get Manny in here, but Swisher's better defensively, and Dye has slugged almost 100 points higher. Wells is the token center fielder.
NL: Jason Bay, Pirates; Carlos Beltran, Mets; Matt Holliday, Rockies - it's hard to keep Soriano out of here, but the rest of these guys are just much better hitters and better fielders. And Beltran is the other token center fielder.
Starting Pitcher:
AL: Mike Mussina, Yankees - no-brainer.
NL: Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks - likewise.
That would make the teams look something like this:
AL:
2B Iguchi
SS Tejada
3B Rodriguez
1B Thome
CF Wells
LF Swisher
RF Dye
C Mauer
P Mussina
NL:
CF Beltran
2B Utley
3B Cabrera
1B Pujols
LF Bay
RF Holliday
SS Hall
C Barrett
P Webb
Both of those lineups are pretty righty-heavy, which is too bad, but whatever. And for all of the talk about the AL being far superior to the NL, I like the NL's lineup a little better (at least 1-6, I do). But I think the thing I like the most is that there are 2 Yankees, no Red Sox, a Rockie, a Marlin, a Pirate, a Brewer, a Twin, and three White Sox. They are the champs, after all - it'd be nice to focus on them a little bit.
Okay, now fire away...
1 comment:
Based purely on performance this season, I'd go with Brian Roberts at 2B, Lowell at 3B (since my impression is that A-Rod's defense hasn't been great so far), and Grady Sizemore and Alexis Rios in the outfield along with Wells (although there are a number of good candidates).
In the NL, I'd put Byrnes in the OF instead of Holliday, Eckstein at SS (he's probably a better fielder than Hanley Ramirez, Vizquel or Renteria at this point) and McCann behind the plate.
Of course, if and when I vote, I usually vote for who I consider to be the "best" players, not the guys who have played best so far this year (although this year's performance is important in determine who's "best" right now). So I might actually vote for guys with a slightly better track record recently, like Hafner over Thome or someday who I actually believe is good over Alexis Rios.
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