MLB All-Stars: Too stupid to count, but it does

Makes me wonder when the player votes were sent in. Lynn looked like a much better candidate two weeks ago than he does now.

 

Would have liked to see a spot for Edwin Encarnacion, he's having a great year at the plate (and hasn't been a liability at all at first) and his bat carried the Jays for the first month.

 

Agreed. I think he belongs ahead of Dunn, who has a small edge in home runs and RBI, but is well behind Encarnacion in slugging and OPS.

 

Hanrahan is on the team, if the roster I see on MLB.com is correct.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2012/roster_league.jsp

 

Whoops. My bad.

 

Honestly, oop, I missed it too for some reason.

But I sure agree, that would have been a travesty if he'd been off.

I think Hanrahan is one of those rare closers who can make major league hitters look silly. Chapman, of course, is another.

 

Casual thought: should a guy ranked as followed in the American League this year have made the All-Star team?

WAR postion players 5th
BA 4th
OBP 3rd
SLG 10th
OPS 6th
OPS+ 5th

And he's a good defensive centerfielder, not a DH or a first baseman.

And he obviously doesn't play for the Texas Rangers.

 

If there was such a guy, he would have a good case, but there is not. Austin Jackson may be fourth in batting average and third on OBP, but he is 8th in OPS, not 6th. The guy in sixth is Edwin Encarnacion, who was a worse snub than Jackson.

 

Take it from an Astros fan - homeboy's rough at second base, whether you watch with your eyes or just read metrics.

That said, I'm ok with the "one per team" selection. Because, let's face it, most fans are idiots (at one time, Nelson Cruz was in third for OF voting. A guy who was HURTING his team at the time was third). The problem is a lot of the guys who qualify as reps are in overpopulated positions (2012's second base for the NL) or are pitchers, which makes it an overpopulated choice.

Want to solve it? 25-man rosters. Players pick 15 All-Stars, respective managers choose five, and the league fills in the final spots with "one per team" picks. Whatever's left can go to fan vote.

 

If the Cubs have to have one rep it should be Castro. Two reps is about three more than they deserve though.

 

Don't disagree. Goldschmidt should have been the 2nd first baseman. Just pointing out what they could have done in order to work it out the Phillips' situation since the Cubs getting two picks doesn't make sense.

 

Actually, upon reflection, Anthony Rizzo should be the Cubs' all-star rep what with him being able to walk on water and all that...