All-Stars announced

[mweb]

The fact that the Mets are underachieving hurt both him and David Wright IMO.

I guess, but that shouldn't come into play much at all, and it's not like the Astros are playing great ball.

[Pedro Cerrano]

I guess, but that shouldn't come into play much at all, and it's not like the Astros are playing great ball.

It shouldn't come into play, but it does anyway. And the Mets' struggles are much more publicized than the Astros. It's nto fair but a team many predicted to win the NL struggling to get to .500 is gonna have a bad stigma on the superstars that play on the team.

Is Wagner the only Met AS?

[mweb]

It shouldn't come into play, but it does anyway. And the Mets' struggles are much more publicized than the Astros. It's nto fair but a team many predicted to win the NL struggling to get to .500 is gonna have a bad stigma on the superstars that play on the team.

Is Wagner the only Met AS?

Yes he is. It's really not even close between Reyes and Tejada though. Miggy has a .756 OPS, Reyes has an .837 OPS, and Jose is the better fielder and baserunner as well.

[blueberryale77]

Is Wagner the only Met AS?

Wright is in the final vote and probably has a better chance than Roberts, being from a big market and a household name (and he's basically the only Mets' player the fans aren't mad at). If he doesn't win though, it'll be kind of ironic. Even though I'm only hanging onto the Mets' bandwagon by a tiny thread now, both my AL and NL teams will be represented only by a closer who is far from the most deserving player on the team.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Yes he is. It's really not even close between Reyes and Tejada though. Miggy has a .756 OPS, Reyes has an .837 OPS, and Jose is the better fielder and baserunner as well.

There's a lot worse snubs than that.

Varitek over any number of guys is a much bigger snub than Tejada over Reyes.

[mweb]

There's a lot worse snubs than that.

Varitek over any number of guys is a much bigger snub than Tejada over Reyes.

Well at least that has the explanation of the manager picking his own player, what's the explanation for this?

And just because there's a worse snub, doesn't mean this should be overlooked.

[beaner]

Am I the only one that is mad that Francona made Bradley the DH instead of Huff?

I guess Huff doesn't deserve it, but maybe Huff gets it if its a different manager. Or maybe I am just being a sour homer.

Are you serious? No disrespect to Huff, but check out Bradley's season if you get a chance.

[beaner]

I can't really argue with any of the guys who made it besides Varitek. Would have liked to have seen Roberts, but it's not like Pedroia is a stiff, he's a good player, and Kinsler was a no brainer to back him up. I would have liked to have seen Mussina make it over one of the 50 closers Francona took, but it is what it is.

[RayFink1e]

I havent looked at all the cather stats, but there has to be someone hitting better then Varitek.

I havent looked through the history books either, but this has got to be the lowest BA ever on an All Star that wasnt fan voted in.

[blueberryale77]

I havent looked at all the cather stats, but there has to be someone hitting better then Varitek.

I havent looked through the history books either, but this has got to be the lowest BA ever on an All Star that wasnt fan voted in.

How about Ramon Hernandez?

Yes, I'm actually serious. As far as I can tell the only area where Varitek's any better is looking like he's trying really hard to run to first base.

[itsernst]

This is why I hate the Yanks and RSN even more! Why Ortiz is in there is beyond me? Don't even want to get started on Jeter? I am so glad the league has recognized him as the most overrated player.

[Dracula]

Any multi cellular organism that uses a catcher's mitt would be a better replacement than Varitek. That's one of the worst All star selections I've ever seen!

Pierzynski for White Sox is the obvious choice here but so many other catchers would be better than JV. Varitek is actually playing below replacement level right now. A number of AAA catchers would come in right now and have similar/higher production than him.

As stated by many others...Jeter...no explanation needed there...happens every year.

Ortiz is injured, not even going to play and he gets voted in?? Pedroia over Kinsler? Giambi is even an option for the last vote in??

It can go on and on...

[ledzepp8]

Any multi cellular organism that uses a catcher's mitt would be a better replacement than Varitek. That's one of the worst All star selections I've ever seen!

Pierzynski for White Sox is the obvious choice here but so many other catchers would be better than JV. Varitek is actually playing below replacement level right now. A number of AAA catchers would come in right now and have similar/higher production than him.

As stated by many others...Jeter...no explanation needed there...happens every year.

Ortiz is injured, not even going to play and he gets voted in?? Pedroia over Kinsler? Giambi is even an option for the last vote in??

It can go on and on...

You stole that from Keith Law's Insider Article on ESPN.com. Shame...

[Pedro Cerrano]

You stole that from Keith Law's Insider Article on ESPN.com. Shame...

I caught that too...

[Migrant Redbird]

... I can't think of any snubs although a few Cards fans may be upset about Ankiel not getting in there. Ludwick and Albert are worthy players though.

While Ankiel is a terrific fan favorite, I believe that most Cards fans recognize that he didn't deserve to go to the all star game this year. Rick only hit .241/.315/.418/.732 in May, as many voters were making up their minds. Rick has come on like gangbusters the last couple weeks (.327/.390/.712/1.101), but it wasn't a strong enough surge to change voters' minds.

Rick has also been showing some of the effects of inexperience on defense lately, misjudging fly balls and taking the wrong lines on them, and over throwing a couple times trying to get runners at third.

Ludwick was among the top five hitters in baseball in early June, before he went into his own slump, but apparently he impressed a lot of voters. He still ranks 3rd among NL outfielders in OPS despite his slump, tied for 3rd in RBIs, tied for 6th in home runs -- all this despite being platooned much of the time by La Russa -- if we look at at bats, Ludwick is tied for 30th among NL outfielders. Several Cards fans have suggested that Ludwick would be great in the home run derby; when he makes contact, he gives the ball one heck of a ride.

Cards fans are more upset that Kyle Lohse (10-2, 3.62 ERA) and Yadier Molina (.307/.363/.394/757) were snubbed again.

Over the past 5 seasons, no one has been better than Yadier at throwing out base runners (101 caught stealing in 207 attempts) and picking runners off first (7 last year, Brian Giles in the NLDS in 2006). As a rookie in 2004, Yadi threw out 47 percent of base stealers; the next season it was 64 percent. After that, most base runners simply stopped trying to run on Yadi unless they caught the pitcher asleep. Only 105 total stolen bases allowed in 5 seasons! Yadi is also one of the best in the game at blocking balls in the dirt and working his pitchers.

I don't mind seeing Lohse snubbed. Kyle is tied for 7th in wins, tied for 32nd in innings pitched, 27th in ERA. If the bullpen hadn't blown a couple wins for him, he probably would have 12 or 13 wins and would have been a contender to be the all star game starter, but he's not that much better -- if any -- than the other worth choices.

... I'm not amused that so many Cubs got on there when really, only Soto, Ramirez, and maybe one pitcher really deserve to make the team. That's just my opinion though.

The system is biased towards teams with motivated fans, fans willing to to on line with multiple email addresses and vote 25 times with each.

I don't even vote anymore. The system is too screwed up. They should just let fans who attend ballgames select their own team representatives and allow players/coaches/managers to select the all star starters.