10-2. 2.93 ERA. Looks like All Star numbers to me. Well, I guess they didn't for Charlie Manuel. Those are just two of the many impressive stats from Mike Pelfrey this season. Today the All Star rosters were announced. For me, there were two noticeable snubs. Mikey P. of course, and Joey Votto of the Reds. Coming into today Votto had a .313 AVG, .414 OBP, and .988 OPS. Oh yeah, he also has 19 home runs. Charlie's excuse for keeping those numbers off the team: he wanted to go with "his guy" so he took Ryan Howard instead.
There are plenty of worthy members of the National League roster. But, there are also plenty that clearly don't deserve to be there. I truly believe Tim Lincecum and Chris Carpenter made the team based on reputation. And the team has 2 setup-men relief pitchers this year with Evan Meek of the Pirates and Arthur Rhodes of the Reds. Oh yeah, we can't forget about the fact that Omar Infante is an All Star.
We also can't forget about one of the biggest snubs that took away most players from an entire team. The San Diego Padres have the best record in the National League thanks in large part to their pitching staff. But, if you look at the ASG roster, there are no members of the San Diego Padres pitching staff present. Of course, you can vote for Heath Bell on the Final Vote ballot, but then you'd be taking away just-as-well-deserved votes from Joey Votto, who is also on the ballot.
The roster is a mess. Other than David Wright starting at third base, and Jose Reyes making the team, I'm pretty upset.
Let's Go National League! (I guess?)
2 comments:
Two things that need to happen to improve the All-Star selection process:
1) Get rid of the rule that requires an All-Star selection from every team. No offense to either player, but I don't want to see Evan Meek or Matt Capps pitching to a AL All-Star lineup in a game that "counts."
2) Stop letting one guy pick half of the roster. Fan & player voting should determine all of the roster spots... Charlie Manuel & Joe Girardi shouldn't be able to pick their own guys over more deserving candidates.
I absolutely agree with you.
At first I really liked the idea of having a player from every team on the roster. It was mostly because I would hate to be the kid watching the game and then not have a player from my team playing. But now that the game counts for something, that rule stinks. Choose one way or the other, they can't have both.
To change the voting process I would still let the manager have a say, but just let him vote, too. Combine the fan/player/manager voting. That way, everybody has the same voting power and a vote from the team manager for his own player would be the same as a fan trying to get a player from their team.
If the game is going to mean something the rules have to change. There isn't much that can be done about it, but the fact that the NL has 2 more teams to accommodate makes it harder to give everyone deserving the honor.
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