2010 MLB All Star Game

[mania]

Is it too late to start a campaign to get Ken Griffey Jr. elected as the AL DH? Right now he is about 400,000 votes behind Guerrero. I just think he deserves a better send off than a mid season retirement. He was the biggest superstar in the game when I was a kid.

It would make the ASG an even bigger joke. Griffey was a great player, but he hasn't been in a long time.

[Lights Out]

It'd be the same kind of situation as the Chinese voters turning out in droves to try to vote Yao into the NBA All-Star Game despite his injury - it would make you question the integrity of the voting.

[BBTV]

Is it too late to start a campaign to get Ken Griffey Jr. elected as the AL DH? Right now he is about 400,000 votes behind Guerrero. I just think he deserves a better send off than a mid season retirement. He was the biggest superstar in the game when I was a kid.

It would make the ASG an even bigger joke. Griffey was a great player, but he hasn't been in a long time.

Very reminiscent of 1989 when Mike Schmidt retired in May, but was elected to the All Star Game.

[BBTV]

IMO, either don't let the fans vote or don't make the All-Star Game count for anything. Frankly, the whole homefield advantage thing sucked the fun out of the All-Star Game. It's beyond stupid to see NL teams get screwed come October because players who don't play for them couldn't get it done in the All-Star Game again.

That being said, Ubaldo Jimenez deserves to be the NL starting pitcher right now, but it'll be Halladay, because he's a bigger name. Yet another reason why the All-Star Game shouldn't decide anything.

As was already stated, the fans don't vote for the starting pitcher (or any pitchers IIRC) so the bigger name doesn't matter. Also, you don't know who is going to start right before the All Star Game, so one of those two may not even be eligible.

[Lights Out]

I know that, but don't think the league isn't just as bad as fan voters with the whole "big names before big talent" thing.

[BBTV]

Well again, it is the All Star game. Star == Big Name.

[BaltimoreFan]

Is it too late to start a campaign to get Ken Griffey Jr. elected as the AL DH? Right now he is about 400,000 votes behind Guerrero. I just think he deserves a better send off than a mid season retirement. He was the biggest superstar in the game when I was a kid.

It would make the ASG an even bigger joke. Griffey was a great player, but he hasn't been in a long time.

The game should be an exhibition (and is still run like one). Griffey was the biggest superstar in the game. I'm sorry but I don't believe half a season of good baseball makes you a Star player. Jose Bautista and Ty Wigginton are having outstanding seasons so far, but nobody is going to remember them in 10-20 years. Put those guys in as reserve, but I want to see the legends starting (even if they aren't what they once were). Cal Ripken was probably the worst 3B in the majors in 2001. But the 2001 All Star game was one of the best moments in the games history (Cal's switch back to SS and Homerun). That's the stuff I want to see in the game, not a bunch of guys that had a great 2 months compete for home field advantage in a series they're probably not going to compete in.

I think the home field advantage aspect of the All Star game is one of the worst rules put into place. Nobody wants to see a tie, but I think what happened in the 2008 game was worse. What happens if Scott Kazmir hurts himself from pitching on short rest. That would have ruined the Rays chances that season, all because of a game that should be an exhibition.

[BBTV]

Is it too late to start a campaign to get Ken Griffey Jr. elected as the AL DH? Right now he is about 400,000 votes behind Guerrero. I just think he deserves a better send off than a mid season retirement. He was the biggest superstar in the game when I was a kid.

It would make the ASG an even bigger joke. Griffey was a great player, but he hasn't been in a long time.

The game should be an exhibition (and is still run like one). Griffey was the biggest superstar in the game. I'm sorry but I don't believe half a season of good baseball makes you a Star player. Jose Bautista and Ty Wigginton are having outstanding seasons so far, but nobody is going to remember them in 10-20 years. Put those guys in as reserve, but I want to see the legends starting (even if they aren't what they once were). Cal Ripken was probably the worst 3B in the majors in 2001. But the 2001 All Star game was one of the best moments in the games history (Cal's switch back to SS and Homerun). That's the stuff I want to see in the game, not a bunch of guys that had a great 2 months compete for home field advantage in a series they're probably not going to compete in.

I think the home field advantage aspect of the All Star game is one of the worst rules put into place. Nobody wants to see a tie, but I think what happened in the 2008 game was worse. What happens if Scott Kazmir hurts himself from pitching on short rest. That would have ruined the Rays chances that season, all because of a game that should be an exhibition.

Yup.

[Audiodrama]

When it comes to the only starting position on the field decided by actual baseball minds, I believe the starting pitchers (at this point, anyway) should be David Price and Ubaldo Jimenez. (Jimenez is really a lock, the way he's been throwing.)

[Lights Out]

Well again, it is the All Star game. Star == Big Name.

True, but one can make the argument that players like Jimenez have become rising stars in the league due to their performances so far this year.

[BBTV]

Well again, it is the All Star game. Star == Big Name.

True, but one can make the argument that players like Jimenez have become rising stars in the league due to their performances so far this year.

But "rising" star does not equal star. I don't disagree that he's the best pitcher right now, but he's hampered by having only one sorta good year besides this one, and playing in Denver.

[mania]

Is it too late to start a campaign to get Ken Griffey Jr. elected as the AL DH? Right now he is about 400,000 votes behind Guerrero. I just think he deserves a better send off than a mid season retirement. He was the biggest superstar in the game when I was a kid.

It would make the ASG an even bigger joke. Griffey was a great player, but he hasn't been in a long time.

The game should be an exhibition (and is still run like one). Griffey was the biggest superstar in the game. I'm sorry but I don't believe half a season of good baseball makes you a Star player. Jose Bautista and Ty Wigginton are having outstanding seasons so far, but nobody is going to remember them in 10-20 years. Put those guys in as reserve, but I want to see the legends starting (even if they aren't what they once were). Cal Ripken was probably the worst 3B in the majors in 2001. But the 2001 All Star game was one of the best moments in the games history (Cal's switch back to SS and Homerun). That's the stuff I want to see in the game, not a bunch of guys that had a great 2 months compete for home field advantage in a series they're probably not going to compete in.

Ripken never embarassed himself the way Griffey has. Do you really want to see Old Man Kenny look horribly overmatched, strike out twice, and get replaced? Is that the way it should end? At the same time, taking the spot from another future HOFer having an MVP caliber season?

[BaltimoreFan]

Is it too late to start a campaign to get Ken Griffey Jr. elected as the AL DH? Right now he is about 400,000 votes behind Guerrero. I just think he deserves a better send off than a mid season retirement. He was the biggest superstar in the game when I was a kid.

It would make the ASG an even bigger joke. Griffey was a great player, but he hasn't been in a long time.

The game should be an exhibition (and is still run like one). Griffey was the biggest superstar in the game. I'm sorry but I don't believe half a season of good baseball makes you a Star player. Jose Bautista and Ty Wigginton are having outstanding seasons so far, but nobody is going to remember them in 10-20 years. Put those guys in as reserve, but I want to see the legends starting (even if they aren't what they once were). Cal Ripken was probably the worst 3B in the majors in 2001. But the 2001 All Star game was one of the best moments in the games history (Cal's switch back to SS and Homerun). That's the stuff I want to see in the game, not a bunch of guys that had a great 2 months compete for home field advantage in a series they're probably not going to compete in.

Ripken never embarassed himself the way Griffey has. Do you really want to see Old Man Kenny look horribly overmatched, strike out twice, and get replaced? Is that the way it should end? At the same time, taking the spot from another future HOFer having an MVP caliber season?

Ripken was pretty awful that last year. He may not have been as bad as Griffey, but he was still pretty bad. And Yes I do want to see Griffey play one more time, even if he strikes out twice (but who knows the adrenaline from playing one last time and the response he'll get from the crowd may allow him to play semi-decent). Vladimir Guerrero is also a HOFer, but he will never be the icon or legend that Griffey is/was. Also, Griffey's spot doesn't have to mean Guerrero is left off the roster. He just won't be a starter. That may be better, because he'll have a better chance to make an impact in the game. I personally would rather see Griffey and the moment of his final ABs, then the otherwise boring game that will probably be played.

[epper]

AL

C - Mauer

1B - Morneau

2B - Cano

3B - Longoria

SS - Andrus

OF - Wells

OF - Rios (Puke)

OF - Ichiro

DH - Vlad

SP - Lee

NL

C - Olivo

1B - Pujols

2B - Utley

3B - Rolen

SS - Tulowitzki

OF - Braun

OF - Heyward

OF - Werth

SP - Jimenez

[mania]

For the AL (might do the NL later), here's how I'd build a prospective roster... I balanced sabr and traditional stats, and when things were close, I gave it to the established name over the guy tearing up for 2 months out of nowhere.

C: MAUER (Martinez)

1B: MORNEAU (Cabrera, Youkilis, Butler)

2B: CANO (Zobrist)

3B: LONGORIA (Bautista)

SS: JETER (Andrus)

OF: ORDONEZ, CRAWFORD, RIOS (Choo, Suzuki, Hamilton, Wells)

DH: GUERRERO

SP: Marcum, Weaver, Hernandez, Matusz, Price, Lester, Hughes, Liriano

CP: Bailey, Feliz, Soriano, Rivera, Soria

Angels: Jered Weaver

Athletics: Andrew Bailey

Blue Jays: Jose Bautista, Vernon Wells, Shawn Marcum

Indians: Shin-Soo Choo

Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki, Felix Hernandez

Orioles: Brian Matusz

Rangers: Vladamir Guerrero, Elvis Andrus, Josh Hamilton, Neftali Feliz

Rays: Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist, David Price, Rafael Soriano

Red Sox: Kevin Youkilis, Jon Lester

Royals: Billy Butler, Joakim Soria

Tigers: Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez

Twins: Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Francisco Liriano

White Sox: Alex Rios

Yankees: Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Phil Hughes, Mariano Rivera

and the NL...

C: MCCANN (Doumit)

1B: PUJOLS (Gonzalez, Votto, Dunn)

2B: UTLEY (Uggla, Johnson)

3B: ZIMMERMAN (Wright)

SS: RAMIREZ (Tulowitzki)

OF: HEYWARD, WERTH, HOLLIDAY (Braun, Byrd, Soriano, Willingham)

SP: Jiminez, Halladay, Lincecum, Wainwright, Oswalt, Kershaw, Carpenter, Pelfrey

CP: Capps, Broxton, Bell, Wilson, Marmol

Astros: Roy Oswalt

Braves: Brian McCann, Jason Heyward,

Brewers: Ryan Braun

Cardinals: Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter

Cubs: Alfonso Soriano, Marlon Byrd, Carlos Marmol

Diamondbacks: Kelly Johnson

Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw, Jonathan Broxton

Giants: Tim Lincecum, Brian Wilson

Marlins: Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez

Mets: David Wright, Mike Pelfrey

Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman, Josh Willingham, Adam Dunn, Matt Capps

Padres: Adrian Gonzalez, Heath Bell

Phillies: Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, Roy Halladay

Pirates: Ryan Doumit

Reds: Joey Votto

Rockies: Troy Tulowitzki, Ubaldo Jiminez

[See Red]

It's the All Star game, not the All Guys Having The Best Season Game. That doesn't have a convenient abbreviation like ASG. I totally see your point, and I agree that it's beyond absurd for a guy who's missed most of the season due to an injury to be considered a top performer, but technically, it's just about the fans voting for who they want to see, for any reason. I'm not the biggest Jimmy Rollins fan by any stretch, but he's a "star" player on a team in a huge market, therefore he's going to get some votes. The whole ballot stuffing and on-line voting stuff is crap though. Come to think of it, the whole game is outdated and is crap. But that's for another topic.

I could care less about the All-Star game, honestly. My post was more or less in jest, referring to another joke of an award, the 2007 SS Gold Glove, when Rollins beat Tulo out despite Tulo having been the best defensive shortstop that year by a very large margin. But for what it's worth, I could care less about any of the awards, I'll just always remember both that and Jeter winning Gold Gloves as a reason for that particular award being a joke.

[BBTV]

I can't speak for Tulo's defensive abilities, but I know that Rollins is (when not hurt) always going to be in a top 3 discussion of who's best in the NL, and 2007 was one of his best years, so I find it difficult to imagine that Tulo was that much better than him that it made the award a joke. Not saying that maybe he didn't have a better defensive year, but it's simply impossible to have been that much better. I'll concede that Matt Holliday should have been the MVP that year over Rollins, but again, it wasn't by a ton - I'm not sure that it could have been vehemently protested either way. While he's had his struggles, he's been doing it since 2001, and that (along with being in one of the big markets) is going to get you the benefit of the doubt more times than not. Is it fair? Maybe not, but at the same time, it's not disgustingly unfair. What is disgusting is getting worked up over silly awards. Sure it's cool to see guys that you support win little trophies, but is what does it really matter? You don't throw parades for MVPs (well maybe in some places they do.)

[DDR]

I'm not saying dude should start, but Alex Rios has been the one bright spot in a dismal White Sox season. He deserves to be the Sox' lone representative. Unless things get crazy and they decide to take an actual relief pitcher or two (read: not just closers). Then Matt Thornton should be there, too.

[mania]

I can't speak for Tulo's defensive abilities, but I know that Rollins is (when not hurt) always going to be in a top 3 discussion of who's best in the NL, and 2007 was one of his best years, so I find it difficult to imagine that Tulo was that much better than him that it made the award a joke. Not saying that maybe he didn't have a better defensive year, but it's simply impossible to have been that much better.

It was actually one of Rollins' worst years, defensively.

[See Red]

I can't speak for Tulo's defensive abilities, but I know that Rollins is (when not hurt) always going to be in a top 3 discussion of who's best in the NL, and 2007 was one of his best years, so I find it difficult to imagine that Tulo was that much better than him that it made the award a joke. Not saying that maybe he didn't have a better defensive year, but it's simply impossible to have been that much better.

It was actually one of Rollins' worst years, defensively.

I love sabermetrics, but I haven't quite grasped most of the defensive stats used yet, so i don't know what a lot of that means. I just remember hearing at the time that Tulo led the league in almost every defensive stat and one of the stats, I think total chances, maybe, the difference between him and the next best guy was greater than the difference between that second best guy and the 14th best guy. But like I said, as long as Jeter has, like, four gold gloves despite a damn near unanimous decision amongst non-homer fans that he's easily one of the worst defensive shortstops in the league and Palmiero can win the GG at first base despite being a DH, the award clearly is a joke. The original post was mostly in jest and in reference to whether or not a somewhat small market guy is going to get looked over in favor of a large market guy like what is almost always the case. I'm a Sox fan and I dislike when one of them undeservingly makes the team. If the game has to be played, I think it should be about the best guys up to that point, and fan voting should play a much smaller role, but I don't want you to mistake me for actually caring about basically any of these things.