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To: BluesDuke; 2Trievers; hole_n_one; Slip18; big ern; AmishDude; Dales; socal_parrot
We are now in the last two hours of voting! You can vote until 11:59 (Eastern) tonight at mlb.com. You can vote as many as 25 times.

To help you vote, I checked the stats today and I'm listing the top four offensive players at each position. Here's the formula I used:

Total Bases + Net Stolen Bases + On-Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage = Total Offensive Points (TOP, a statistic I created today!)

* The asterisk marks my choice for starter.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Catcher:
* Piazza 1012
Miller 971
LoDuca 926
Santiago 910

First Base:
* Helton 1235
Klesko 1056
Sexson 1035
D. Lee 1013

Second Base:
Spivey 1119
* Vidro 1040
Kent 977
Castillo 892

Shortstop:
* J. Hernandez 984
Rollins 887
Renteria 874
Furcal 848

Third Base:
* Lowell 1105
Houston 1046
Zeile 983
Alfonzo 924

Outfield:
* Bonds 1557
* Sosa 1262
Giles 1208
Walker 1182
* Green 1167
Edmonds 1152
Dunn 1141
Berkman 1134
Guerrero 1124
Burrell 1102
Gonzalez 1082
Floyd 1072

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Catcher:
Pierzynski 973
* Posada 955
D. Wilson 833
Varitek 826

First Base:
Sweeney 1180
* Giambi 1165
Thome 1131
Konerko 1106

Second Base:
* Soriano 1139
Kennedy 885
M. Young 845
Durham 834

Shortstop:
* A. Rodriguez 1180
Garciaparra 1022
Vizquel 1021
Tejada 988

Third Base:
Hinske 1052
* Chavez 1046
Hillenbrand 1030
Ventura 1021

Outfield:
Ordonez 1082
* Hunter 1079
Anderson 1053
* Suzuki 1043
* B. Williams 1011
Salmon 1010
Damon 997
Winn 986
J. Jones 972
Fick 968
Beltran 967
Gibbons 918

A few observations:

A first-place ranking at a position should not be the only factor in deciding who should start. You should also consider what, if anything, the guy has ever done before. For example, Junior Spivey has never done anything before, but Jose Vidro has been very good for several years, so I give the nod to Vidro at NL 2b. Likewise, at AL 3b, Eric Hinske is a newbie, so I am picking Eric Chavez.

This chart only considers offense. If certain players are much better defensively than others, you might put them ahead of those other players, even if they're behind them a little offensively.

Consider "bunching." If players are within 50 points of each other, that's close. For example, look at AL 3b. All four are within 31 points, so the #4 guy is not that far behind the #1 guy offensively. Or for the third NL OF, do you pick Giles, Walker, or Green--or do you go further down the list to Edmonds, Guerrero, or Gonzalez? You could make a case for each.

41 posted on 06/27/2002 6:57:49 PM PDT by Charles Henrickson
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To: Charles Henrickson
That's a damn good stat you invented. What the hell, you and I ought to take our act on the road, since I think (underline that, gang, since I'm not for certain sure) I invented the stranded runs average/inherited runs average tabs for relief pitchers. But I only voted once (none of this 25 times option jazz, this ain't Florida!), at Dodger Stadium on Sunday. I pretty much picked the guys you tabulated as leaders, though I still maintain that just because a guy's never "done anything" before it should not deter from his All-Star worthiness, and Junior Spivey this season is the best second baseman in the National League (he's very well improved with the glove, too). Then again, there's almost no perfect way to pick the All-Star Game roster.

On the other hand, I'm thrilled that Baseball Weekly writer Paul White's idea about jamming the All-Star ballots for the Twins and Expos didn't really get much off the ground when all was said and done. His heart may have been in the right place but his brains must have gone to bed, if he really thought a) the idea would really work, and b) if it did, that Bug Selig wouldn't have seized upon it as an excuse to void the vote and yank it away from fans, using as precedent the ballot-box stuffing campaign of 1956 that put the entire Cincinnati Reds' starting lineup (including Frank Robinson, who really did deserve the honour) into the All-Star starting lineup and provoked then-Commissioner Elmer Fudd Frick to take the All-Star vote away from the fans.
44 posted on 06/28/2002 12:11:34 AM PDT by BluesDuke
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To: Charles Henrickson
I picked the whole roster. The AL was easier (starter listed first):

The NL was a little harder.

As far as Castillo, I cannot imagine not having him on the team after his streak. Spivey probably deserves that spot and, who knows, injuries might put on 3 second basemen, but I doubt it. I chose Rollins because his fielding stats are really good despite playing on turf. Remember that catcher substitutions are permitted in the All-Star game for injury.

Nice stat, but Bill James is still the king. :)

PS, I didn't take Colon's trade into account. I don't want to now!

45 posted on 06/28/2002 9:33:13 AM PDT by AmishDude
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