SAN FRANCISCO -- Mark Teixeira has pushed his way into the top five among American League first basemen in the latest All-Star fan voting update released Tuesday.


But Teixeira and Michael Young, a distant third among shortstops, don't expect to be elected by fans. So the Rangers' All-Star representatives will have to be selected by either the players or White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, and it may be tough to get more than one player on the team.
If Young, competing against Derek Jeter and Miguel Tejeda, isn't selected by the players for a third straight year, his chances of going to Pittsburgh could be hurt by the Kansas City Royals.

All teams must have one representative and the Royals' most deserving player could be second baseman Mark Grudzeilanek. If Guillen has to add him, that could keep him from taking a third shortstop.

"I think we have more than one guy who is deserving," Rangers manager Buck Showalter said. "I'm obviously biased, but I think we have a number of guys who are deserving."

There are 31 players on the team. The fans vote the starting eight and the players vote eight reserves, plus five starting pitchers and three reserves. That leaves seven to be chosen by Guillen, and his first priority has to be making sure every team is represented.

So that will include one player from the Royals and probably somebody from the Indians, most likely Travis Hafner.

The Rangers would like to see Gary Matthews Jr. on the team, but the American League outfield is a competitive position. The starters appear to be Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero and Ichiro Suzuki, leaving Matthews to compete with Vernon Wells, Jermaine Dye, Magglio Ordonez, Raul Ibanez and others for reserve spots.

Oakland and Tampa Bay also need to be represented. For Oakland, it could be either pitcher Barry Zito or outfielder Nick Swisher. With Tampa Bay, it could be either pitcher Scott Kazmir or outfielder Carl Crawford.

Both situations could impact Matthews' chances.

The Rangers would like at least two players to go to Pittsburgh. They may have to settle for one, but there is one other hope.

After the 31-player team is announced Sunday night, five players are picked for the Monster All-Star Final Vote. Fans have four days to vote and the top vote-getter also goes to the All-Star Game.
I know there aren't many of us here but we have to do what we can to make sure Mr. Young goes to the all-star game.