How can they leave these guys out?
We've reached the midway point of the 2006 MLB season, and that can only mean one thing...it's time for the All-Star Break.
Always a source of exciting debate, this year's All-Star rosters are composed of several players from a short list of teams, with the highest concentration coming from last year's World Series champion Chicago White Sox.
Since the men from the Windy City won it all, Manager Ozzie Guillen will manage the American League squad and also got to choose the reserves. And although he has the right to pick whoever he wants, the surly skipper selected a whopping six ChiSox, leaving some very deserving would-be starts off the roster.
Yes, there is a fan vote for the final roster spot - by the way White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski is one of the five - but that means deserving players who should be participating in the All-Star action at PNC Park on July 11 still will not get to go.
For starters, whose bright idea was it to send Gary Matthews, Jr. in place of injured star Alex Rios as opposed to the highly superior Carl Crawford?
Sure Matthews is a solid defender and is in the midst of a career year, batting .330 with 40 extra-base hits and 43 RBI in 72 games, but this is a guy who has played for six different teams in eight seasons and has never been a consistent starter...ever!
Okay, so Crawford struggled out of the gate this season, big deal. Since May 22, the Devil Rays' speed demon has reeled off a .373 clip (56-for-150) with 17 steals, 11 HR, 26 RBI, and 28 runs scored - good for a season line of .322, 12 HR, 43 RBI, 53 R, and 29 SB.
Can you honestly look me in the eye with a straight face and say that Gary Matthews, Jr. deserves to be an All-Star above Carl Crawford? I highly doubt it.
How about this other big snub? This one really has me baffled.
Twins rookie Francisco Liriano leads the world with a 1.99 ERA - not to mention an un-godly 0.97 WHIP, nine wins, and 94 strikeouts in 81.1 IP - and yet somehow, he's not on the A.L. roster. Why? For one, Major League Baseball still likes to use the antiquated rule that every team must be represented.
As the numbers will show, that is the only reason why Royals starter Mark Redman made the team. How else could someone with a 5.59 ERA and a lowsy 1.51 WHIP be an All-Star?
If each team must send one representative, at least pick the most deserving one, like David DeJesus (.331 BA in 40 games).
Hopefully, the fans will get it right and vote Liriano in with the final A.L. roster spot, because if this guy isn't an All-Star then no one else should be. He's that good; just ask anyone who's ever faced him. He has an electric fastball, a mind-bending slider, and a change-up that some have said seems to go in reverse 18 inches away from the plate.
If you don't know who he is by now, I fear for your chances of winning your fantasy league. Someone offered me Manny Ramirez in a package deal for Liriano and I rejected it immediately.
Mark my words, he'll be picked in the first round of every single fantasy draft next season.
Always a source of exciting debate, this year's All-Star rosters are composed of several players from a short list of teams, with the highest concentration coming from last year's World Series champion Chicago White Sox.
Since the men from the Windy City won it all, Manager Ozzie Guillen will manage the American League squad and also got to choose the reserves. And although he has the right to pick whoever he wants, the surly skipper selected a whopping six ChiSox, leaving some very deserving would-be starts off the roster.
Yes, there is a fan vote for the final roster spot - by the way White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski is one of the five - but that means deserving players who should be participating in the All-Star action at PNC Park on July 11 still will not get to go.
For starters, whose bright idea was it to send Gary Matthews, Jr. in place of injured star Alex Rios as opposed to the highly superior Carl Crawford?
Sure Matthews is a solid defender and is in the midst of a career year, batting .330 with 40 extra-base hits and 43 RBI in 72 games, but this is a guy who has played for six different teams in eight seasons and has never been a consistent starter...ever!
Okay, so Crawford struggled out of the gate this season, big deal. Since May 22, the Devil Rays' speed demon has reeled off a .373 clip (56-for-150) with 17 steals, 11 HR, 26 RBI, and 28 runs scored - good for a season line of .322, 12 HR, 43 RBI, 53 R, and 29 SB.
Can you honestly look me in the eye with a straight face and say that Gary Matthews, Jr. deserves to be an All-Star above Carl Crawford? I highly doubt it.
How about this other big snub? This one really has me baffled.
Twins rookie Francisco Liriano leads the world with a 1.99 ERA - not to mention an un-godly 0.97 WHIP, nine wins, and 94 strikeouts in 81.1 IP - and yet somehow, he's not on the A.L. roster. Why? For one, Major League Baseball still likes to use the antiquated rule that every team must be represented.
As the numbers will show, that is the only reason why Royals starter Mark Redman made the team. How else could someone with a 5.59 ERA and a lowsy 1.51 WHIP be an All-Star?
If each team must send one representative, at least pick the most deserving one, like David DeJesus (.331 BA in 40 games).
Hopefully, the fans will get it right and vote Liriano in with the final A.L. roster spot, because if this guy isn't an All-Star then no one else should be. He's that good; just ask anyone who's ever faced him. He has an electric fastball, a mind-bending slider, and a change-up that some have said seems to go in reverse 18 inches away from the plate.
If you don't know who he is by now, I fear for your chances of winning your fantasy league. Someone offered me Manny Ramirez in a package deal for Liriano and I rejected it immediately.
Mark my words, he'll be picked in the first round of every single fantasy draft next season.
posted by The Knuckler @ 7/05/2006 06:05:00 PM
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