My American League All-Stars

Well I started to post this and I got about three-fourths of the way through before the computer froze, and I had to retart that along with this post. Anyways, here are my AL All Star picks and analysis after much deliberation. My NL picks are here if you're interested. Just a note before I do post this, the voters got the AL voting right; i agree with all but a few vote-leaders. (bold indicates significant stats)

American League:

Catcher:
Current Vote Leader:

• Jason Varitek, Red Sox *.308-13-33 *.378 OBP, 58 K's in 238 AB

My Pick:

• Jason Varitek, Red Sox *.308-13-33 *.378 OBP, 58 K's in 238 AB

Analysis: Mainly an issue of there not being another catcher even close to Varitek caliber-wise. He hits for a decent average, and gets on base, but he strikes out a lot and has a few holes in his swing. The one main knock against 'Tek is his inability to throw out basestealers. Out of 38 possibly basestealers, he's gunned down just 9. Thats a 23% clip, which is below average. His backup catcher will likely be A.J. Pierzynksi (.253-11-31).

First Base:
Current Vote Leader:

• Mark Teixeira, Rangers *.290-22-64 *56 K's in 321 AB, .358 OBP

My Pick:

• Mark Teixeira, Rangers *.290-22-64 *56 K's in 321 AB, .358 OBP

Analysis: A few weeks ago I was ready to rant about Tino Martinez (.226-13-34) leading in voting, but recently Tino was overtaken by Teixeira so now that won't be necessary. This is another case of there not being anyone else to compete with the kind of numbers that Teixeira has. He's a guy who hits for decent average, above average power, drives in runs, but he also swings through a good number of pitches.

Second Base:
Current Vote Leader:

• Brian Roberts, Orioles *.359-13-44 *.433 OBP, .602 SLG, 18 SB

My Pick:

• Brian Roberts, Orioles *.359-13-44 *.433 OBP, .602 SLG, 18 SB

Analysis: I'll admit, I almost fell for the name game and voted for Alfonso Soriano of the Rangers, but after comparing the him to Roberts, I changed my decision. Soriano will likely overtake Roberts in the voting in the end. Roberts tops Soriano in batting average, OBP, SLG, and stolen bases. Personally I see those stats as more significant than homers and RBI's. If you were wondering, Soriano's stats are .282-20-51, .312 OBP, .553 SLG, 8 SB. Soriano hits home runs and thats what he's paid for, but he doesn't do much else except strike out. This season he's whiffed a total of 66 times in 309 AB.

Third Base:
Current Vote Leader:

• Alex Rodriguez, Yankees *.324-20-66 *.419 OBP, .581 SLG

My Pick:

• Alex Rodriguez, Yankees *.324-20-66 *.419 OBP, .581 SLG

Analysis: As much as I hate voting for a Yankee, I can't deny the fact that A-Rod is having the best year of any Major League third baseman. He seems to have settled into New York nicely this year after facing loads of pressure last season. A third baseman who deserves some recognition right now though is Jorge Cantu of the Devil Rays (.302-13-48, .513 SLG). He will likely represent the Rays in the All-Star Game.

Shortstop:
Current Vote Leader:

• Miguel Tejada, Orioles *.321-19-60, 80 games *.367 OBP, .594 SLG, 10 Errors

My Pick:

• Miguel Tejada, Orioles *.321-19-60, 80 Games *.367 OBP, .594 SLG, 10 Errors

Analysis: Again, I'm agreeing with the voters here. Tejada has been putting up numbers like these year in and year out. He stays relatively healthy, playing in all but 1 game so far this season. He's always been a player who does just about everything, except play errorless defense. His error totals from the last few years have been none too impressive, with a career high 26 errors in '98 for the A's (he had 24 last season).

Designated Hitter:
Current Leader:

• David Ortiz, Red Sox *.304-19-66 *.382 OBP, .578 SLG

My Pick:

• David Ortiz, Red Sox *.304-19-66 *.382 OBP, .578 SLG

Analysis: His presence was made known to the general public last year in the World Series with his post-season theatrics. He's on pace for about the same numbers he had last year, which aren't too shabby. He gets on base, and drives in runs. What more can you ask of a three hole hitter?

Outfield:
Current Leaders:

• Manny Ramirez, Red Sox *.273-19-68 *.357 OBP, .542 OBP, 62 K's in 275 AB
• Vladimir Guerrero, Angels *.350-14-46 *.407 OBP, .607 SLG, 25 K's in 23 AB
• Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners *.298-6-27 *97 hits, 18 SB, .345 OBP, 7 Assists

My Picks:

• Vladimir Guerrero, Angels *.350-14-46 *.407 OBP, .607 SLG, 25 K's in 23 AB
• Manny Ramirez, Red Sox *.273-19-68 *.357 OBP, .542 OBP, 62 K's in 275 AB
• Kevin Mench, Rangers *.298-15-42 *.364 OBP, .571 SLG, 34 K's in 252 AB

Analysis:
Starting with the Current Vote Leaders, we'll take a look at Ichiro Suzuki. After setting the single-season record for his last season, he hasn't been doing much of anything this season. his .345 OBP is relatively low for a hitter of his caliber, especially compared to his .414 OBP last season. He's also not hitting for a high enough average for someone who's career low in BA is .312.
Vladimir Guerrero. What to say about Bad Vlad. Well for starters, his .350 BA ranks him 2nd in the AL, and his .607 SLG ranks him 1st. The one thing that has always amazed me about him though, his ability to put the ball in play and not strike out. On the same token he also almost never walks. In my opinion the reason for his lack of strikeouts and walks is due to his swinging at the first or second pitch. He never gets to a 2 strike or 3 ball count before he puts the ball in play.
Manny Ramirez is having yet another typical Manny-like season. With the exception of the steep drop in BA, he's been solid offensively, and from what I've seen of him, not too shabby on defense either. Even with all the high-powered numbers he puts up, he still strikes out too much (something that seems to be a continuing trend with today's power hitters).
And now for the pick that may have you a tad bewildered to my reasoning: Kevin Mench. I was looking at stat sheets for a good long while before I found someone deserving of the the 3rd outfield spot. His BA is hovering around .300, and his 15 home runs put him on pace for a career high. One stands out to me the most though, is the his exceptionally high OBP. He's going at a .364 clip so far, which ranks him right up there with the league leaders. He is also a quality hitter who doesn't strike out too often, a trait that seems to be awfully scarce right now.


Well there you have it. My NL and AL All-Star picks. Final tallies for voting come out tomorrow on ESPN at 4 pm PST for those of you who are interested. Once I find out the starters, I'll post them and give my opinion to whether or not I think the fans made the right choices. The Giants square off against the Padres tonight at 7 pm PST. They are 19-19 against NL West opponents this season. I'll part with a scouting report on tonight's starting pitchers off of MLB.com:

Scouting Report:Fassero has a 5.62 ERA as a starter. He's had two excellent games -- on May 10 against Pittsburgh, he threw five shutout frames, while against Oakland he allowed only two runs over six innings. Fassero has allowed eight runs in his last 10 frames.[Woody] Williams was his own worst critic after an excellent outing against the Mariners came undone with one pitch -- a hanging slider that catcher Rene Rivera launched for a tying three-run homer that deprived him of a win. He's 1-3 since returning from a strained oblique on June 5, but he has pitched effectively with a 3.58 ERA, walking three while striking out 14 in 32 2/3 innings.