2005 All-Star Game

[All-Night John]

Voting started ridiculous early, but it's to the point where you can vote for guys with certainty. What's your ballot look like? Remember, this year, it counts! Again.

Here's my AL ballot:

First Base
Mark Teixeira - There really aren't that many good 1Bs in the AL this year, but Mark is the best.

Second Base
Brian Roberts - Fuckin' no brainer. This guy has been a monster this year. I hope his injury isn't too serious.

Shortstop
Miguel Tejada - Far and away the best SS in the game.

Third Base
Hank Blalock - Yeah, Alex Rodriguez deserves it. But I hate the fag.

Catcher
Jason Varitek - He's just going off this year. Much deserved.

Designated Hitter
David Ortiz - No one's even close to him.

Outfielders
Johnny Damon - Another guy having a huge year.
Garret Anderson - Fucker's going off on the Sox.
Torri Hunter - No clear cut 3rd OF. He's having a solid year, so I'll give him the nod. (PS - Gary Sheffield was disqualified for steroid use.)

So that's how it should be. I'll post my NL picks later.

[Gene Starwind]

AL:

First Base:
Teix - Easy

Second Base:
Brian Roberts - Again, easy.

Short Stop:
Miguel Tejada - RBI machine.

Third Base:
Alex Rodriguez - Great player who should be at SS instead of the defensive wound named Derek Jeter.

Catcher:
Tek - Easy

DH:
Fatty Ortiz - Killing

Outfield:
Garret Anderson - Playing great right now but still can't take a walk if his life depended on it.
Garry Sheffield - Too easy
Kevin Mench - .934 OPS, 10 homers, .295 BA. Need I say more?

NL:

First Base:
Derek Lee - Triple.Crown.Leader.

Second Base:
Jeff Kent - He's playing pretty well, even if he isn't very good on defense. The only other player that can compare is Chase Utley and I'd rather have Kent in even if he's an asshole in the locker room.

Short Stop:
Clint Barmes - They all suck, have to pick one.

Third Base:
Troy Glaus - He's great.

Catcher:
Ramon Hernandez - If he didn't play in PetCo he'd have 12 home runs.

Outfield:
Bobby Abreu - 5 tool player. No doubt an allstar.
Miguel Cabrera - A poor man's Pujols.
Carlos Lee - Playing great, a lot of production.

[Pig]

All I have to say is Albert Pujols. I don't give a shit about Derek Lee. His season's a fluke for all I care about. Pujols should have at least two MVP's by now, possibly three, and he has none. Give him automatic All-Star starter for the rest of his career.

[All-Night John]

Kevin Mench - .934 OPS, 10 homers, .295 BA. Need I say more?
Yes. I can't see much of an argument for him over Damon. Maybe over Anderson.

All I have to say is Albert Pujols. I don't give a shit about Derek Lee.
That's because you're a homer. Derrek Lee is by far the best player in baseball right now.

Here's my NL ballot:

First Base
Derrek Lee - Duh.

Second Base
Craig Counsell - I'm basing this entirely on VORP.

Shortstop
Clint Barmes - Who?

Third Base
David Wright - Much better OBP and BA than Glaus, plus he's got the edge in VORP.

Catcher
Ramon Hernandez - Very unimpressive class of catchers in the NL, but he's the best of 'em.

Outfielders
Bobby Abreu
Carlos Lee - All 3 guys are just obvious choices.
Miguel Cabrera

[MageMasher]

What about the pitching?

[All-Night John]

What about the pitching?
That's up to the coaches.

[Pig]

Yes. I can't see much of an argument for him over Damon. Maybe over Anderson.


That's because you're a homer. Derrek Lee is by far the best player in baseball right now.

Not by far. Lee has never done this before and it won't continue. Pujols' production will be consistant though.

Grudzialanek over Counsell by the way.

[All-Night John]

Not by far.
How do you figure? His VORP is 48.3. The closest player is Roberts, 9 points behind him. He's a full Win Share ahead of Pujols, 16 to 15, despite the Cubs having 6 less wins than St. Louis, and 2 ahead of Roberts, who's team has 4 more wins. He's got 65 Runs Created, compared to 52 and 56 for Pujols and Roberts, respectively, and he's EQA is 60 points better than Pujols.

Lee has never done this before and it won't continue.
What evidence do you have that it won't? He's always had the potential to be great, and he's been improving consistenly for the past 5 years. His production may drop a bit, but not to the point where Pujols is better before All-Star voting ends. His BA and OBP would have to drop 50 points, his OPS 160, and his SLG 120 for him to be on par with Pujols.

Grudzialanek over Counsell by the way.
Not by VORP. And their Win Shares aren't even close. Counsell is far more important to his team.

[Gene Starwind]

Lee has never done this before and it won't continue. Pujols' production will be consistant though.
This may be true, but Lee is the triple crown leader and having an amazing start, there's no arguing he'll be in the allstar game. Pujols will be one of the backups.

The most accurate way to judge a hitters production is OPS. For a leadoff you'd want to look at OBP and runs scored though.

[All-Night John]

I'd imagine Pujols will start at DH.

Edit: Assuming the fans don't vote him in. They generally go for the names.