And the Orioles All-Star is…..Matt Wieters!!!! I said in my All-Star article that Matt Wieters would get in if Russell Martin fell out of the voting. Russell Martin did fall out of the voting, but he was also selected. Victor Martinez was shockingly the one snubbed. Adam Jones can also be selected to be on the All-Star team by the fans on the MLB Final Vote. So go to MLB.com right now and vote for AJ!!!
AL Starters:
C- Alex Avila (DET)- Edged out Russell Martin. Rightfully so
1B- Adrian Gonzalez (BOS)
2B- Robinson Cano (NYY)
3B- Alex Rodriguez (NYY)
SS- Derek Jeter (NYY)
OF- Josh Hamilton (TEX)
OF- Curtis Granderson (NYY)
OF- Jose Bautista (TOR)
DH- David Ortiz (BOS)
AL Reserves:
C- Matt Wieters (BAL)
C- Russell Martin (NYY)
1B- Miguel Cabrera (DET)
2B- Howie Kendrick (LAA)
3B- Adrian Beltre (TEX)
SS- Asdrubal Cabrera (CLE)
OF- Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS)
OF- Michael Cuddyer (MIN)
OF- Matt Joyce (TB)
OF- Carlos Quentin (CWS)
UTIL- Michael Young (TEX)
AL Pitchers:
SP- Josh Beckett (BOS)
SP- Felix Hernandez (SEA)
SP- David Price (TB)
SP- James Shields (TB)
SP- Justin Verlander (DET)
SP- Jered Weaver (LAA)
SP- CJ Wilson (TEX)
SP- Gio Gonzalez (OAK)
RP- Aaron Crow (KC)
RP- Brandon League (SEA)
RP- Chris Perez (CLE)
RP- Mariano Rivera (NYY)
RP- Jose Valverde (DET)
NL Starters:
C- Brian McCann (ATL)
1B- Prince Fielder (MIL)- Beat out Pujols down the stretch.
2B- Rickie Weeks (MIL)
3B- Placido Polanco (PHI)
SS- Jose Reyes (NYM)- Surprisingly passed Tulo in the final days
OF- Lance Berkman (STL)
OF- Ryan Braun (MIL)
OF- Matt Kemp (LAD)- Passed Holliday. Should have gotten the most votes.
NL Reserves:
C- Yadier Molina (STL)
1B- Joey Votto (CIN)
1B- Gaby Sanchez (FLA)
2B- Brandon Phillips (CIN)
3B- Chipper Jones (ATL)
SS- Starlin Castro (LAD)
SS- Troy Tulowitzki (COL)
OF- Jay Bruce (CIN)
OF- Matt Holliday (STL)
OF- Hunter Pence (HOU)
OF- Justin Upton (ARI)
NL Pitchers:
SP- Roy Halladay (PHI)
SP- Matt Cain (SF)
SP- Cole Hamels (PHI)
SP- Jair Jurrjens (ATL)
SP- Clayton Kershaw (LAD)
SP- Cliff Lee (PHI)
SP- Tim Lincecum (SF)
SP- Ryan Vogelsong (SF)
RP- Tyler Clippard (WAS)
RP- Heath Bell (SD)
RP- Joel Hanrahan (PIT)
RP- Jonny Venters (ATL)
RP- Brian Wilson (SF)
Reaction:
The American League looks pretty good. Of course Jeter has no business being on the team this year. All of the reserves are the guys I chose except for Russell Martin and Carlos Quentin. I had Adam Jones over Quentin. Adam Lind was also bumped. The pitching is a little questionable with David Price and CJ Wilson on the team. Price has not had a great season and Ron Washington chose his own pitcher over a number of other deserving guys. He even chose his own guy over his other guy that was better. Of course I’m talking about Alexi Ogando who is much more deserving than Wilson. Aaron Crow is a surprise selection, but worthy of the spot. Kyle Farnsworth should have been an automatic, but somehow Brandon League made it over him. The NL didn’t do as well. Bochey went crazy for his own pitchers. The biggest screw job this year is Ryan Vogelsong over Tommy Hanson. Ian Kennedy also should be on the team over Matt Cain, but at least he is on the Final Vote. Chipper Jones at 3B? Really? I said 3B was bad, but not that bad. Both Sandoval and Aramis have better numbers in everything than Chipper does. I don’t care that he’s 57 years old and gets one more appearance. I’m glad two very good relievers in Clippard and Venters made the team, but not over Kimbrel. The NL rookie of the year deserves to be on the team. So now you can head to MLB.com and vote for the Final Vote to get 2 more guys in. The AL candidates are Alex Gordon, Adam Jones, Paul Konerko, Victor Martinez, and Ben Zobrist. Although Konerko was screwed for the second straight year, and V-Mart was snubbed for terrible Russell Martin, you should still vote for Adam Jones. In the NL its Andre Ethier, Todd Helton, Ian Kennedy, Michael Morse, and Shane Victorino. When you look at overall numbers Michael Morse is the best offensively and Ian Kennedy should have been on the NL team regardless. Can I do a write in vote for Tommy Hanson? Go Matt Wieters. 2011 All-Star Game MVP!
‘David Price is not pitching well?’ He has a 1.05 WHIP and 116 strikeouts in 118 innings. He also has over a 5:1 K:BB ratio. That’s pitching great. I’d take him over Pineda, as he has 16 more innings pitched, and 3 starts against NYY and BOS while Pineda only has 1.
Pick your favorite line here. A) 10-4 3.43 105 B) 7-5 2.65 99 C) 11-4 3.05 106 D) 8-5 2.85 98 E) 8-6 3.43 116. E is the worst of the group. That is David Price. A is Lester and he has more wins than Price with a similar line. B is Pineda who’s ERA is almost a full run below Price’s. C is Sabathia who has more wins than any of them with a better ERA than Price and only 10 less K’s. D is Haren who has similar numbers to Price but a better ERA. If K’s are the most important stat category then yes he deserves to be in. My belief is that ERA is the most important. In that case he is last of all of them.
Chipper Jones and Derek Jeter are TERRIBLE picks. Who would you pick between Sandoval and Aramis? Also as much as it pains me to say this, I would easily have picked Sabathia over Price. How did a Yankee get snubbed? As far as the ERA and Ks argument. When it comes down to building your team ERA is always going to be what you look for… It is ALWAYS the bottom line. Sure Ks are great when you are picking a fantasy team… so on a fantasy team you might want Price over Pineda, but in the real world Pineda deserves the all star nod over price. I picked Sabathia because he has more wins then both, is era is a lot lower than Price’s (in the same division, granted sabathia doesnt have to pitch to his own team) He has more strikeouts than Pineda so for me He is the best all round out of the 5.
@Eric – I’ve gotta go with Sandoval because he’s simply a better player. Aramis has picked it up as of late though. And of course I completely agree with everything else you’ve said. Sabathia is actually my second pick behind Pineda, and I like Pineda because of what he’s done at a low age with zero run support. With Sabathia’s run support he easily would have had the most wins of the bunch.
Considering the affect the lack of steroids is having on several statistical categories and the heavy ‘fan favorite’ that is incorporated in all of us , I totally and completely agree with The Fantasy God’s all star game roster,,,,,,,,,,it appears a great deal of thought has gone into it , thanks for you valued input Fantasy God…………..