All-Star voting 2009

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Every year, I publish my all-star ballot. My criteria is to look at stats, but sometimes disregard the stats if I am a big fan of a particular player. So, for 2009, here's my ASG ballot.

Position	American League	National League
First Base	Cabrera, M., DET	Pujols, A., STL
Second Base	Hill, A., TOR	Utley, C., PHI
Third Base	Rodriguez, A., NYY	Wright, D., NYM
Shortstop	Jeter, D., NYY	Ramirez, H., FLA
Catcher	Mauer, J., MIN	Rodriguez, I., HOU
Outfielder	Bay, J., BOS	Beltran, C., NYM
Outfielder	Crawford, C., TB	Braun, R., MIL
Outfielder	Hunter, T., LAA	Ibañez, R., PHI

It's definitely interesting to see how my ballot has evolved over time

Notes
• First Base: Pujols and Cabrera are both having good seasons. Last year, fueled by Cubbie Koolaid, I penciled in D-Lee, but the team isn't performing well enough for me to deny Albert this year.
• Second Base: Chase Utley retains his perma-vote on my ballot. He still reminds me of Ryne Sandberg, and with a World Series championship, and solid stats, he's my pick for NL ASG MVP. In the AL Mark Grudzielanek's ex-Cub factor is trumped by Aaron Hill's tremendous 2009 season to date.
• Third Base: Despite the steroids mess and the injury at the beginning of the season, I still like Alex Rodriguez, and he'll continue to get my vote for as long as he mans the hot-corner for the Yanks... and I don't have a better alternative. In the NL, Aramis Ramirez' injury bumps him off my ballot in favor of David Wright.
• Shortstop: Derek Jeter. I still can't believe that play from the World Series where he covered the plate and flipped to Posada for the out. That mental replay is worth a career of All-Star votes. In other news, Jimmy Rollins has the even years, Hanley Ramirez the odd.
• Outfield (AL): Interestingly, a clean sweep from last year. Gone are Vlad the impaler, Grady Sizemore, and Ichiro. For 2009, I bring back perennial fave Torii Hunter (who is also having a good year), Jason Bay (an NL'er at heart), and Carl Crawford (I love speed!). That said, I'm guessing this is the first time I've ever turned in an All-Star ballot without punching Ichiro's number. I already wish I could take it back.
• Outfield (NL): The surprise of this ballot is that Alfonso Soriano didn't make it. I normally vote for at least one Cub outfielder, but Reed Johnson's not on the ballot. Seriously, Fonzi, Milton, or Kosuke? None are having close to all-star caliber seasons.

So, off the ballot are Kozuke and Ken Griffey Jr. (I had voted for Jason Bay last year when he was with Pittsburgh.) With "The Kid" on an AL squad, Kozuke's the only one that technically got the bump. Replacing that three-some with Carlos Beltran, Ryan Braun, and Raul Ibanez is more a nod to this year's performance than past nostalgia... although do I need to remind my readers that Alfonso Soriano is taking home what rightfully should have been Carlos Beltran's paycheck?

Now, to discuss the greatest shock: No Cubs. It's not illegal, it's not even risque like online sports gambling sites, it's merely unprecedented. I DON'T TURN IN CUB-LESS ALL STAR BALLOTS... EVER! And yet I just did. That's how disappointed I've been with the team and the individual players this year. The only player I would vote for, if I could, would be Carlos Zambrano... and that vote would be based on a long player-fan bond, not necessarily his '09 performance.

Posted by Byron at 2:02 PM | Comments (0) | |

Subscribe to The Cubdom - get emails with the latest Cubs info and pictures

---

This team is killing me

Monday, June 29, 2009

This Cubs team is doing a whole lot of nothing this year. They've been cruising at or around .500 for about two months and my patience is running thin. Don't get me wrong, they could turn it around, play solid baseball, and cruise to the NL Central title, but there's little as frustrating as an under performing team with big expectations. I know the talent is there, but they're doing jack squat with it.

In related news, I had to buy my co-worker a king-size snickers bar after the Sox won the weekend series. Suck!

Posted by Byron at 3:51 PM | Comments (0) | |

Answering the Google: Sandberg and Stone

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

One of the things I like about my blog is watching my site log to see how people find The Cubdom. Often times, people are looking for information that is readily available on one of my pages, but occasionally Google or another search engine will direct a reader to my site, but the answer isn't there. In this regularly recurring feature, I will answer 'The Google'.

Q: What day did Ryne Sandberg hit a grand slam against the twins?

A: I don't believe Ryne Sandberg ever hit a grannie against the Twins. Interleague play started in 1997, the last year of Ryno's career. The Cubs played the Twins on September 1, 2, and 3 of 1997. Sandberg started all three games, played well, but did not hit any home-runs (or grand slams) during that series. He did smack a two-run double in the final game of the series. He also drove in one run during each of the first two games.

Q: Did the Cubs fire Steve Stone?

A: Technically no. Stoney "resigned" at the end of the 2004 season (see Steve Stone's resignation letter). However, Stone resigned because the Cubs brass chose to back players (including Kent Mercker and Moises Alou) who were unhappy with Stone's honest assessment of their play rather than their long-time honest broadcaster. It was a severe disappointment to most Cubs fans. Stone still remains a folk-hero as far as I'm concerned, and I've immortalized his summary of the 2004 season as the "site quote" of The Cubdom. "At the end of the day, boys, you don't tell me how rough the water is, you bring in the ship."

Posted by Byron at 9:52 PM | Comments (0) | |

The Charade ends - Sosa linked to steroids

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Despite an overwhelming suspicion by Cubs fans, the fans that knew him best, Sammy Sosa had never been linked to performance enhancing drugs (steroids), and so his defenders wound constantly point to this 'fact'. But today, the New York Times, citing an attorney who has seen the infamous list of the 104 players that tested positive for PEDs in 2003, ran an article indicating that Slammin' Sammy's name is on that list.

Of course I am disappointed that Sammy used PEDs, but I'm not surprised, nor am I disappointed that his name came out. (See caveat below.) Additionally, I am in favor of sunlight passing over the accomplishments of players in the steroid era so that fans have a clearer means of making up their own minds. That said, I still don't believe PED use should disqualify Sammy, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, or Barry Bonds from the Hall of Fame. Unless you can assure me that no player is inducted into the hall who ever cheated, then I think you need to recognize the on-field performances of the players. Yes, their plaques should indicate their steroid usage, but I'm not in favor of leaving 600+ HR hitters out of the Hall.

Caveat: I am upset that names from the supposedly secret 2003 tests continue to be leaked. If you tell a man that test results will be kept secret so that they take part in the test, there is a responsibility to keep those results secret.

Posted by Byron at 4:03 PM | Comments (2) | |

Huge Rooftop Discounts at Wrigley Done Right

Wrigley Done Right has plenty of tickets available for the Cubs/Sox games and Cubs/Indians games this week. They are partnering with the My Wrigleyville.com store to offer discounted Rooftop tickets. So, if you're thinking about going to the game, click on the link below, and make sure to use coupon code: CUBDOM.

Current Deals:

• Wed, 6/17 @ 1:20pm ... Cubs/Sox ... $75 (was $250)
• Thu, 6/18 @ 1:20pm ... Cubs/Sox ... $75 (was $250)
• Fri, 6/19 @ 1:20pm ... Cubs/Cleveland ... $75 (was $225)
• Sun 6/21 @ 1:20pm ... Cubs/Cleveland ... $75 (was $200)

Get Cheap Cubs Rooftop tickets

Posted by Byron at 10:37 AM | Comments (0) | |

An injury windfall

Sunday, June 14, 2009

There was an interesting tid-bit in Phil Rogers' latest article.

The Marlins allowed pitcher David Davidson to throw 54 pitches in one inning on May 22. They then released him and the Orioles tried to claim him, but he failed the entrance physical, meaning he had to be returned to the Marlins and placed on their 60 day disabled list. In what seems like an unbelievable stroke of good luck, Davidson must be compensated at the big-league minimum salary while he is on the 60 day DL. So how big is Davidson's windfall? $133,333. As Rogers pointed out, that's $2,564 per pitch in his fateful inning.

Posted by Byron at 1:06 PM | |

Oh, that crazy Milton Bradley!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

I played hooky from work yesterday and went to watch the Cubs game at Wrigley Done Right. (See my review of Wrigley Done Right.) My friend, a Twins fan and a teacher, had not been up to a rooftop yet, so we celebrated the end of his school year with a trip to the ballpark to watch the interleague match up against the Twinkies. Unfortunately, he walked away a happy patron, and I had to watch Milton Bradley.

Even though the Twins won 7-4, I would say the teams were pretty evenly matched, except that the Cubs and more specifically Milton Bradley, took a couple of mental breaks at inopportune times. Just yesterday, Milton Bradley:
• Hit a two-run double
• Subsequently tried to advance to third on a ground ball to the shortstop and was easily tagged out
• Lost a flyball in the sun that began a scoring sequence for the Twins
• Dove for a Texas-Leaguer that he missed allowing the ball to get behind him and allow more Twins runs
• Caught a flyball for the second out of the inning, then did some weird showboating pose before flipping the ball up into the bleachers as the Twins baserunners scurried around the bases to take advantage of Christmas in June.

We'll just say it was a weird game, a justified loss, and move along. That said, I've decreed that after 58 games (more than 1/3 of the season), it's open season for Milton Bradley criticism. He's had his trial period, he's had enough time to just be in a normal slump... but 1/3 of the season and he's batting .224... well, he's just not playing very well now, is he?

Posted by Byron at 11:38 AM | Comments (0) | |