Being Snubbed?

It’s a yearly occurrence. Someone is going to get snubbed from participating in the mid-summer classic, the MLB All-Star Game. There are far more selection errors in the National League than in the American League. We’ll begin there with our “corrections”.

One thing to please keep in mind. I will not overly object to the starters as we all know that it’s a popularity contest now. If I do, I’ll try to be as transparent as possible on that front.

First, let’s start at catcher. Catcher? That’s right. St. Louis backstop Yadier Molina won the fan vote, so we have no choice but to except that as much as I don’t agree with it. But here’s my question, why is the Braves Brian McCann the reserve? Why not Miguel Olivo of the Colorado Rockies? Here’s the only proof I need and with all of my qualms, it’s in the stats.

Player	AVG	HR	RBI
McCann	.265	10	34
Olivo	.307	11	39

The only drawback to Olivo is that he’s only appeared in 59 games. McCann has been in 70. That’s it. And Olivo doesn’t have a shot to go via the fan vote.

Now to the one that has everybody abuzz is first base. I’ll post the stats first and then let my tirade begin.

Player	AVG	HR	RBI
Howard	.293	15	59
Gonzalez	.291	16	51
Votto	.312	19	57

What am I missing here? It’s obvious that Albert Pujols is the starter and he deserves it, but for the Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto to be at the mercy of the fan vote is a severe injustice. Votto has a higher OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) than Pujols (.984 for Votto to .981 for Pujols).In fact, Votto’s OPS leads the NL. Some, including Peter Gammons and John Kruk, have touted Votto as a legitimate MVP candidate. And let’s not forget that last year Charlie Manuel selected three additional first basemen (Howard, Gonzalez and Prince Fielder) in addition to Pujols’ selection because they all deserved to go. Why not this year, Charlie?

Now we all know that pitching is always a hot topic as far as snubs go. I can present at least four NL pitchers more deserving to go than Tim Lincecum. Seriously, I can. See for yourself.

Player	W-L	ERA	K
Lincecum	8-4	3.28	121
Latos	9-4	2.62	91
Garcia	8-4	2.10	77
Kershaw	8-3	3.02	116
Pelfrey	10-2	2.93	66

The only stat where Lincecum is better than Latos (SD), Garcia (STL), Kershaw (LAD) and Pelfrey (NYM) is in strikeouts. I do believe back-to-back Cy Youngs has created quite a rep for Mr. Lincecum. Latos has more wins and a lower ERA. Garcia has the same record but an ERA well over a run better. Kershaw has one less loss and almost as many K’s. Pelfrey has double digit wins and a lower ERA. Any of these four far more deserving to go.

I would pick on Houston’s Michael Bourn and roll out a lot of guys that deserves the nod, but the Astros have to have a rep, right? Bourn does lead the NL in steals, so I can deal with that…somewhat. I would like to see Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez, Washington’s Josh Willingham and St. Louis’ Colby Rasmus all in the mix, too. Gonzalez at least has a shot from the fan vote.

One last thing on the NL side. Why Omar Infante?

The American League has a lot less selections to argue. I’m pretty much on base with all of them. Well, the ARod choice does irk me a bit considering Texas’ Michael Young is also having a sensational season. He is at the fans mercy and I got a feeling there will be a lot of votes going the way of Nick Swisher because he’s a Yankee. Not that I hate the Yankees (I respect them ,but I’ll never be a fan), but everyone knows what a fan base they possess.

I do have a couple of things to touch upon here. You may question the selection of Cleveland’s Fausto Carmona as a pitcher. Sure, he’s only 7-7 with a bit of a hefty ERA, but Shin-Soo Choo would have garnered the Tribe’s spot had it not been for injury. But there are a number of pitchers that can claim they have the numbers to be worthy of a selection and a spot may open soon. The Red Sox are currently pondering placing Clay Buchholz on the DL. Here are two guys that lay a claim to that opening, Andy Pettitte of the Yankees and Jered Weaver of the Angels.

Player	W-L	ERA	K
Weaver	8-3	2.82	124
Pettitte	10-2	2.82	78

Same ERA. Pettite has a better winning percentage (.833 to .727). Weaver leads to AL in strikeouts. Tough choice for Joe Girardi. If he chooses Pettitte, he’ll be called a homer and the fans in Anaheim will curse him for passing over Weaver. Pettitte is having his finest season in a while and I’m not sold on taking CC Sabathia over Pettitte. This could be Pettitte’s last shot while CC has a few more in front of him.

And Weaver’s a story in himself. A lot of people thought the Angels pitching staff would just melt without John Lackey. Weaver has proven to be the new lynch pin of the staff.

I know there's others, but I'll let you determine that.

Update #1: With Buchholz on the DL, Pettitte is his replacement. With Sabathia pitching this coming Sunday, Weaver is slotted to be an All-Star, but he, too will need to be replaced since he's slated to toe the slab on Sunday.