2010 All Star Game rosters

[HollywoodLeo]

It's hard to fathom a team being ranked #1 overall in pitching not having at least one player worthy of being an All-Star, and you yourself named two.

[Providence A's]

Cahill won't even play as he's starting on the 11th...not that he would have started anyway. Bailey didn't get into the game last year. I'm surprised he wasn't picked instead of Cahill. Whatever, I don't really care anyway.

[Kingdom]

Jayson Stark's article on the rosters:

Several deserving players snubbed from All-Star Game - ESPN

1. Joey Votto: Have I mentioned yet this was a disgrace? Votto leads the league in OPS. He's second in on-base percentage and slugging. He's in the top five in all three Triple Crown categories. He's arguably the MVP in the whole league. How can he not be on this team?


2. Jered Weaver: Leads the league in strikeouts and strikeout ratio. Tied for the lead in quality starts. Fourth in WHIP. Seventh in ERA. The game is being played in his home park. How'd they leave him off? I don't get it.



3. Billy Wagner: By just about any metric you want to use, he's been the best closer in the National League. Leads all NL closers in WHIP and opponent OPS. He's been scored on in just four appearances all year. The league is hitting .165 against him. It's his last season. It's a debacle he isn't on this team.


4. Felix Hernandez: Third in the league in strikeouts. Tied for the lead in quality starts. Leads the league in innings pitched. Fifth in opponent OPS. Just shut out the Yankees in Yankee Stadium -- the seventh time in his past eight starts he's allowed two runs or fewer. And ohbytheway, he leads CC Sabathia in every major category except wins. Just sayin'.


5. Mat Latos: Shouldn't there be one Padres pitcher on this team somewhere? And the sensational Latos ought to be the one. He is, after all, the answer to this fabulous trivia question: Name the only starter in baseball who is holding all opposing hitters below the Mendoza Line (.193).




6. Brennan Boesch: How can a guy with a .342 average, .603 slugging percentage and .991 OPS not be on this roster? He'd be second in the league in hitting, fourth in slugging and fourth in OPS if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. Basically, he's having the year people expected Jason Heyward to have -- except he's not named Jason Heyward.


7. Colby Rasmus: When ESPN.com asked us to fill out our All-Star ballots, Rasmus was the first NL outfield name I wrote down. Seventh in the league in slugging. Eighth in homers. Just slipped out of the top 10 in average. Leads his team in steals. Getting better every day.


8. Kevin Youkilis: While everybody around him in his lineup has crumbled like ancient Rome, Youkilis has stepped up to be what he has always been -- an on-base, run-producing machine. Leads the league in runs. Third in OBP. Fourth in slugging and OPS. Plays the heck out of first base. There's no justifiable reason that David Ortiz -- elected by the players to a position this team doesn't need (backup DH) -- is the only healthy Red Sox position player on this roster, instead of this guy. Is there?




9. Josh Willingham: What's a National have to do to make this team, anyway? Third in the league in on-base percentage. Second only to Albert Pujols in walks. Tenth in most times reaching base. Has launched 15 homers. And he wasn't even the one National who made the 34th-man ballot. (The almost equally deserving Ryan Zimmerman did.)


10. Miguel Olivo: Once upon a time, the managers always used to take three catchers to this game. For some reason, neither manager did this year. And Olivo paid the price. Leads all NL catchers in average, slugging, OPS and homers. And he's thrown out 20 of 39 base stealers. But the fans elected Molina, and the players elected McCann. So that's that.


11. Jaime Garcia: For all the Strasburg hysteria, Jaime Garcia has been the best rookie pitcher in the National League. Has a lower ERA (2.10) than Ubaldo Jimenez. Has allowed two runs or fewer in 11 of his 16 starts. Deserves to be there.




12. Paul Konerko: Second in the league in homers and home run ratio. Fifth in RBIs. Eighth in slugging. More importantly, he's done it all year in the midst of an underachieving lineup in which most everybody else apparently set their alarm clock for June.

I can agree with those snubs. I can agree there were head scratching selections by some party. But no matter what you do with the ASG, it'll never be perfect. So, there. Joey Votto could win the MVP, and he might not have been an all-star. Wouldn't be the first time (Chipper Jones for example). I'm sure he's pissed. I'm sure fans are pissed. As you should be. But frankly, you have more important things to be happy about.







And as a Braves fan, I honestly thought people were joking about Omar Infante's selection. When did utility infielders become an ASG necessity? In the case, why didn't Ty Wigginton make the AL roster? Oh shit, he did, nevermind.

[HollywoodLeo]

I'm not pissed. I've conceded the joke that is All-Star game selection a long time ago.

I just like to comment on the hilarity that ensues every year.

[realmofotalk]

It is an absolute joke that Joey Votto is having to rely on the "last man in" clause to get on the team. If he is not on it I will not watch that joke of a game. He was arguably the MVP for the entire league and may get left off for one of the bigger overrated first basemen in baseball because of who the manager is. Adam Dunn deserved to be an all star more than Howard let alone Votto.

“He’s my guy,” Manuel said, asked why he chose Howard over Votto. “He’s my player. My guy.”

Shaking my head. We can't forget he had Ibanez, Victorino, and Werth all starting for last year's NL squad.

[redsfan28]

And that's why the MLB All-Star game is officially a joke. Here's another: Ken Griffey, Jr. got over 1 million votes for AL DH. I realize that most of them were sentimental votes, but c'mon.

Until the fans pick the starters, reserves, and pitchers, it will always be a joke.

[HollywoodLeo]

Until the fans pick the starters, reserves, and pitchers, it will always be a joke.

Are you kidding me?

That'll just make it an even bigger joke.

May as well be the annual Yankees/Red Sox vs the NL game.

That's probably a bit of an exaggeration, but fans for the most part vote for who has the most exposure, which isn't always the same as the players who are performing the best.

[HollywoodLeo]

if Aurthur Rhodes is an All Star Luke Gregerson certainly belongs

[Porter]

Arthur Rhodes has a .30 ERA and went 33 innings without allowing a run. Did Gregerson do that?

[Slyder]

Gregerson's best was 16.1 IP. With an ERA slightly over 2 compared to 1.09 for Arthur. You could make a case for Wagner not Gregerson over Rhodes.

[DirtyKash]

Clay Buchholz out of All-Star Game. Andy Pettitte in. Because of course who would want Jered Weaver?

[redsfan28]

Honestly, there needs to be an objective All-Star voting committee like there is for the HOF

[HollywoodLeo]

Arthur Rhodes has a .30 ERA and went 33 innings without allowing a run. Did Gregerson do that?

His ERA is 1.09. Where are you getting .30 at?

Any rate, my point wasn't meant as he should be in over Rhodes. (Although I can understand how it comes off as that)

My point was that if middle relievers can be all stars (and Rhodes being in sets the precedent) Gregerson is also having an all-star caliber year and is a 3rd one to Mofo's list of players with the stats.

He just had a bad 3 run outing that ballooned his ERA to the 2.23 it's at right now.

Even after that bad outing he has a 0.595 WHIP. (Rhodes is 0.909 for comparison's sake)

[Kingdom]

Cahill and Gallardo are out as well. Hopefully Weaver or Felix Hernandez replace Cahill.

[Kingdom]

His ERA is 1.09. Where are you getting .30 at?

Any rate, my point wasn't meant as he should be in over Rhodes. (Although I can understand how it comes off as that)

My point was that if middle relievers can be all stars (and Rhodes being in sets the precedent) Gregerson is also having an all-star caliber year and is a 3rd one to Mofo's list of players with the stats.

He just had a bad 3 run outing that ballooned his ERA to the 2.23 it's at right now.

Even after that bad outing he has a 0.595 WHIP. (Rhodes is 0.909 for comparison's sake)

The set up men or relievers are more impressive than the closers selected. Billy Wagner really needs to be on the team so we'd have four closers who could easily give up that typical late inning homer.