Posted on 07/04/2013 10:55:57 AM PDT by Charles Henrickson
Voting for All-Star starters ends tonight at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern).
Here are my All-Star teams. 34 players on a team, at least 13 pitchers, every team must have a representative.
NATIONAL
C: MOLINA, Posey
1B: VOTTO, Goldschmidt, Craig
2B: CARPENTER, Scutaro, Phillips
SS: SEGURA, Cabrera, Desmond
3B: WRIGHT, Alvarez
OF: GONZALEZ, Brown, Harper
OF: GOMEZ, McCutcheon
OF: BELTRAN, Cuddyer, Bruce
P (13; 9 S, 4 R): HARVEY, Kershaw, Wainwright, Zimmermann, Lee, Corbin, Locke, Wood, Fernandez; Melancon, Mujica, Kimbrel, Grilli
DL: Tulowitzski
Honorable mention: 1B Freeman, OF Puig
AMERICAN
C: MAUER, Santana
1B: DAVIS, Fielder
2B: CANO, Pedroia, Kipnis
SS: PERALTA, Lowrie
3B: CABRERA, Longoria, Donaldson
OF: TROUT, McLouth
OF: JONES, Ellsbury
OF: BAUTISTA, Cruz
DH: ORTIZ, Encarnacion
P (14; 10 S, 4 R): SCHERZER, Iwakuma, Hernandez, Darvish, Colon, Sale, Santana, Kuroda, Masterson, Norris; Crain, Robertson, Nathan, Rivera
DL: Buchholz
Honorable mention: 2B Kendrick, 3B Machado
Some tough choices (NL C, NL 2B), some weak positions (NL 3B reserve, AL OF), some strong positions (NL 1B, AL 2B, AL 3B). Oh, and as a "Carlos" myself, I like my All-Carlos NL outfield: CarGon, CarGo, and CarBel. Also, while Kershaw or Wainwright would be good choices also for NL SP, I give the edge to Harvey, because the Mets are hosting the game.
OK, fellow baseball fans, what are your choices?
Good to see you have Jose Fernandez on the roster. Read his story sometime. It took him 3 tries to escape Fidel. When he finally got to Tampa he immediately insisted on taking 3 English courses each semester in HS.
In an otherwise season of misery (though they are looking better), he is a joy to watch for Marlins fans. For a 20 year old, his command is amazing.
America’s Pastime ping.
How about we have a position, most over paid verses performance. My nomination: A-Roid.
Normally I don't pick rookies--too small of a sample size (thus Puig only gets an honorable mention from me). But I had to pick someone from the Marlins, and he's having the best year. (Stanton would typically be the obvious choice, but he's missed a lot of time this year, and his numbers are only so-so for his standards.)
I saw this Fernandez pitch against the Cardinals, and he's the real deal.
Some big names, big contracts, perennial All-Stars, not playing at All-Star levels this year: Pujols, Hamilton, Holliday, Verlander, Sabathia, Cain. . . .
Phillips will start at 2nd base for the national league.
I live in the Seattle area, so I am glad to see these two on your roster. I think if there was a category for AL Top Two Pitchers in a Rotation on one of the Worst Teams in Baseball --- they would win hands down.
And he would be a good choice. NL 2B is strong this year. Phillips obviously gets the most career points, and he's the best defensively. His average is down, but his RBIs are up.
Matt Carpenter is raking this year. And he's doing surprisingly well at 2B. Scutaro is no slouch either, of course, and he came up big for the Giants last fall.
I’m a Tiger fan, looks like you got my picks already.
Anybody see Torii Hunter last night? Everybody gets angry sometimes but Hunter is about the last guy you expect to see heading for the pitchers mound.
Yes, I did. And I agree with him, sorta. I almost never pick a rookie for an All-Star team. Three months--or in Puig's case, two months--does not an All-Star make.
But Puig is SO hot, off to an incredible start, that it makes it tempting to put him on the team.
BTW, do you know who's doing almost as well this year as Puig, in terms of BA and OPS, for almost the same amount of PAs? Puig's teammate, Hanley Ramirez. But nobody's talking about him.
Torii Hunter came close to making my team as a reserve outfielder. I went with Nate McLouth instead. Which should tell you how weak the AL outfield is this year.
I've got three BoSox on my team: DH Ortiz, 2B Pedroia (reserve), and OF Ellsbury (reserve). P Buchholz would be on my team, but he's injured.
Imagine what King Felix’s career win total would be so far if he had been on good teams.
of Parra of the D Backs
Close. He's one of my "just miss" guys. Very good player, both offensively and defensively. Would not be a disgrace if he makes the team as a reserve.
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