All-Star Game: Picks and Snubs Part II

Thanks a lot to those of you who took the time to read part I of the article. If you’re new to the blog, just scroll down to the bottom of the page and you can catch up in no time. As usual, I can be reached at noheartball@gmail.com or leave a comment below the article. I’ll follow the same format as last time, except possibly with more incredulity as there were some real doozies on the N.L side of things.

Definitely Should Have Been There:

Pat Burrell:

I’m not sure what more Pat the Bat could have done to get on the All-Star team this year. He is currently second among National League outfielders in OPS and first in home runs. He doesn’t just hit for power either, he is second among all N.L outfielders in On-Base Percentage at .409. The man does not make outs. I will grant you that he isn’t known for his defence, but Matt Holliday isn’t exactly a defensive stalwart himself and he made the team with nearly identical numbers. In fact, Burrell has 8 more HRs than Holliday. And that’s just pointing how well Burrell compares to the BEST offensive outfielders in the N.L. I haven’t even mentioned the inclusion of Kosuke Fukudome and his just-above-average .811 OPS. Burrell is OBLITERATING Fukudome in every meaningful statistical category. Congratulations Cubs fans, you really pulled a fast one here.

J.J Hardy / Jose Reyes:

I have absolutely no idea why Miguel Tejada is ahead of either of these guys. Miguel’s chugging along with a .764 OPS and 10 homers, respectable enough numbers for a shortstop, but Hardy and Reyes check in at .857 with 12 homers and .842 with 9 homers respectively. If I had to pick between Hardy and Reyes, it would be a tough choice but I think I’d go with Hardy because he’s shown more power this year and Reyes has been a butcher in the field to the tune of 12 errors already this year. If you wanted to tell me that Reyes was better because of his base stealing abilities I wouldn’t argue too much with you though. The gist is that somebody should be replacing Tejada here.

Jason Bay:

Bay has been having a monster season with 17 homers and a .922 OPS as of this writing. His exclusion from the team is particularly head-scratching when you consider that his teammate Nate McLouth is essentially going in his place. Bay is ahead of McLouth in every meaningful statistical category and most importantly holds a large lead in the OBP department. McLouth has been playing well but Bay has just simply been better, especially of late. He’s also ahead of Soriano and Braun, who were named as starters, in almost every single offensive category. What does a good old Canadian boy have to do to make it to the mid-summer classic?

Any Living Organism Instead of Brian Wilson:

Much like the Varitek selection, Brian Wilson’s All-Star game appearance is mind blowing. He has been the epitome of average with a 4.37 ERA, a 1.40 WHIP and his pedestrian 2.44K/BB ratio. Now. I realize that he has 24 saves and that somehow, in the minds of some, this makes up for everything cited above. You know what it means that Wilson has 24 saves with the kind of numbers that I just mentioned? That any average major league pitcher, thrust into Wilson’s role, could have 24 saves. Wilson is perfectly mediocre, he just happens to be mediocre during the ninth inning of Giants games instead of the 6^th or 7^th inning like most other relief pitchers.

An Argument Could Be Made:

Johan Santana:

Johan isn’t having his usual A+ season but his numbers, 2.96 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and a 3.41K/BB ratio are still near the very top of the league. As with John Danks from the other column, the only reason I can really see for Santana’s exclusion is his meagre win-loss record. At 7-7 he isn’t blowing the competition away, but that’s more a product of the Mets struggling offensively than Santana being sub-par. He’s still been one of the best pitchers in the National League for the first half of the season but I guess this once someone else will take his usual spot at the All-Star Game.

Cole Hamels:

Hamels might actually be having a better season than Santana with only his ERA, 3.22 to 2.96, trailing Johan’s. Hamels has a 1.02 WHIP and opponents are hitting just .209 against him. .209! That’s crazy good. Volquez, Lincecum, Haren and Zambrano are all having great season so far, but for my money, Hamels is outclassing Ryan Dempster by a bit and Aaron Cook by an even larger margin. Hamels could pitch on my all-star team any day.

Adam Dunn:

That’s right, I’m going there. I think Adam Dunn could be an All-Star. We all need to get over our fear of his terrible batting average. I am aware that he is hitting .228. I know that he has struck out 93 times already. 93 is a lot of times. I am going to propose that this is all irrelevant because he has an OBP of .386. That’s right .386. That puts him 23^rd in all of baseball and 10^th amongst outfielders. He simply does not make a lot of outs. He also hits for power; a lot of power. Adam Dunn has hit 22 homers already this season, which ties him for fourth in all of baseball. Adam Dunn, let me just say that if I was running the Jays, you would be more than welcome. Lord knows the Blue Jays could use a half decent bat or two.

And that does it for my All-Star Game write-up. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Once again, I would encourage everyone to leave a comment if you feel so inclined, or to send me an e-mail at noheartball@gmail.com. If you like what I’m doing so far, tell a friend!

That Adam Dunn section is actually a nice segue into my plan for Friday. As a Blue Jays fan, I feel obligated to share my feelings on their season so far, so Friday will be something of a mid-season report card. Let’s just say J.P Riccardi doesn’t score too high. Hope to see you then!

NB