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All-Star Voting, Part IV

Friday, May 27, 2005

I'm at home (away from school) and enjoying a long weekend. I saw the game today on a widescreen HDTV... amazing. The picture was unbelievable, and the game was very enjoyable. 10-3 Cubs with lots of power, and a little shoddy Colorado defense. Anyhow, I wrote this post Wednesday evening before leaving for the weekend, enjoy.

Update 12:37 A.M. Saturday: Oh Crap! Like I said, I'm at home where we don't believe in things like technology. (No cable TV... and really bad reception over the airwaves.) After posting my short note above, I went strolling through the CBA and found out that Prior's elbow has been fractured. When I was watching the game, we saw the play and I kept repeating "The season is over, the season is over." However, later I had the radio on for a few minutes and had heard about the negative X-Rays, so I didn't think he would miss more than a start or two... wrong. Possibly season ending? Oh goodness.

Well, since you're tired of reading about Mark Prior... here's something different. Read below and forget "the Franchise" if only for a few minutes.

It has been awhile since I've voted for the All-Star team, so I decided to look around the league and decide who should get my vote. My criteria could be characterized as something approaching a meritocracy, but I'm sure to give some extra love to my favorite players if they are close. Players in italics were added to my ballot.

Teams with players receiving two votes: Orioles and Red Sox.

Teams with players receiving one vote: Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Padres, Reds, Phillies, Marlins, Royals, Yankees, Mariners, White Sox, Rangers.

Notes and discussion:

• Players leaving my ballot were Vladimir Guerrero, Jeff Kent, Troy Glaus, Paul Lo Duca, and Jacque Jones
• I've been looking for a reason to excuse Jeff Kent from my ballot all season... and he's finally gone. Up until this time around, Kent was heads and tails above the other second sackers. But, he's faltered in May (.195/.238/.312) (AVG/OBP/SLG) and several second basemen have surged ahead. I went with Craig Counsell because I like him and because he's got the second highest OPS among NL second basemen. I almost voted for Mark Grudzielanek who is doing well... but he is a Cardinal and so he doesn't get any undue consideration.
• Clint Barmes has captured each of my NL shortstop picks this year... and he did again. He's slowed down a bit, but still has an OPS above .900, and that is more than 100 basis points above Cesar Izturis who definitely got some consideration. I wouldn't be surprised if Izturis makes it onto my next ballot.
• Derrek Lee is also in the same boat. After a red-hot start, he's come down to earth a bit and isn't as much of a no-brainer as he was in April... but again, his stats are still the best among NL first basemen. (Even if they weren't the best... he'd get my vote.)
• After much upheaval in earlier ballots, the NL outfield stays unchanged for the first time this year. Dunn, Abreu, and Cabrera all have OPS above 1.000 and were thus pretty clear picks. Abreu has stolen 13 bases, and his numbers are MVP good.
• Compared to the NL outfield, the AL outfield has been pretty consistent so far. Vlad, Ichiro, and a Minnesota Twin have been on nearly every one of my ballots... until this one. Vlad's stats took a downturn before he hurt himself. I didn't leave him off the ballot because of the injury, but I probably would have if he had deserved the vote. In his place, I voted for Scott Podsednick who is stealing bases like he's Rickey Henderson or Vince Coleman. The high OBP was a big consideration, as was the fact that he's the spark for the team with the best record in baseball.
• Trot Nixon is having a good season, and he took Jacque Jones' spot.
• I finally put Chipper Jones on the ballot. He's one of my favorite players, and you can't ignore the 1.000+ OPS. I just wish I could have voted for Aramis Ramirez.

You too can vote for the All-Star starting lineups. I just ask that you keep my man D-Lee in mind.

Posted by Byron at May 27, 2005 11:50 PM | | |

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Posted by: James at May 28, 2005 10:25 PM

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