All-Star Voting Casts Shadow Over Game

Here's a look at how the ballot is shaping up in both leagues.

American League

Catcher: Joe Mauer — who should be the selection given Victor Martinez's struggles — leads Jason Varitek by a short head. Varitek is batting .228 in 219 ABs. Brandon Inge has hit 1 less HR and 2 less RBIs in only 144 ABs. Mike Napoli has more HRs and RBIs in only 131 ABs. Either would be a better all star than Varitek, despite his reputation with pitchers. Rod Barajas would be a solid pick (6 HRs, .298 AVG, .861 OPS) but he's only had 151 AB's as he platoons with Greg Zaun in Toronto.

First Base: The Greek — or Jewish to be precise — God of Walks Kevin Youkilis leads the vote, no surprise given that Red Sox and Yankee fans seem to have given up work, family, and social life to stuff the online ballot boxes in a tribute to Robert Mugabe.

Youkilis has had a good season and he's a fine defensive player, but offensively he's a notch behind Jason Giambi. The mustachioed-one got off to a horrendous start (as late as May 18 ,he was batting .191) but he's gone on a hot streak to such an extent that he's been carrying the Yankee offense. He's actually better at first than he gets credit for and seems to have worked on his defense knowing there is competition for the DH spot.

With more HRs, less Ks, and more BBs than Youk, plus a better OPS (.942 vs. .930), Giambi gets the nod with an honorable mention to Justin Morneau.

Second Base: This is where things get annoying. Dustin Pedroia leads the ballot and he's a reasonable player. There's the Eckstein thing going on with him — he's the same height, he's Caucasian, scrappy, a "gamer," he hustles — all those intangible (or made-up) things writers love about the little guy north of the border who won a WS MVP on the strength of a bloop single.

Ian Kinsler in Texas leads Pedroia in every single category except times wearing a Red Sox uniform. In OPS, he leads by over 100 points, yet he's second in the voting. This one vote, if it stands by the cut-off point, should be enough to end the process of allowing fans to vote. Give it to the players if fans are too stupid to vote for guys not on their favorite team.

Third Base: A-Rod leads Mike Lowell and Joe Crede — fair enough. Hank Blalock is fifth in the voting, which accounts for Mrs. Blalocks' pasty complexion, Howard Hughes-like reclusiveness, and swollen index finger.

Shortstop: Derek Jeter? Again? Will there ever be a time The Great Leader of the Intangible Nation isn't in an all-star game? It's a thin position, but Michael Young leads Jeter in every offensive category except OBP. Don't folks own computers in Texas?

Outfield: The first two OF names on any ballot should be Carlos Quentin of the White Sox and Josh Hamilton of Texas. Ludicrously, Quentin's name doesn't appear in the top 15 of the voting (as of Sunday), despite his 18 HRs and 60 RBIs. The youngster has carried the White Sox offense with help from Jermaine Dye and deserves recognition.

Hamilton is possibly the most talented player on any MLB roster. Texas is a strong offensive club, but that shouldn't detract from the claims of both Hamilton and Milton Bradley.

The third name (currently) on the ballot is Ichiro Suzuki, which a bordering on insane. I can only assume he's on there for his 33 steals. By that criterion, Michael Bourn and Juan Pierre should be in the NL outfield.

Ichiro is on-pace for career lows in most categories. He's hitting 40 points below his career average, is on–base 30 points below, slugging 60 points below, and his OPS is 100 points below. Added to that he looks as if he's not even trying anymore, often jogging to first on routine plays.

Ichiro personifies the fading star that gets in the ASG on the strength of his past and name recognition. He's the Pacific Northwest's Derek Jeter.

The other outfielder could be any one of a bunch, excluding Ichiro. Take your pick from Milton Bradley (who's usually a DH), Jermaine Dye, Grady Sizemore, Manny Ramirez (just), Jose Guillen, and my own choice, the rejuvenated J.D. Drew, who has come alive since David Ortiz hit the DL.

Designated Hitter: I refuse to recognize anybody who can't field as an all-star.

National League

Catcher: Cubs fans have swamped the ballot boxes in true Yankee-Red Sox fashion and catcher Geovany Soto is one beneficiary, despite Atlanta's Brian McCann having better numbers. It's not a felony, a la Ichiro, that Soto leads McCann, but it's at least a minor misdemeanor.

First Base: Lance Berkman leads Derrek Lee by 500,000 votes. Berkman's the clear choice. Albert Pujols and San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez are having better years than Lee. Gonzalez, in particular, gets little hype, but is the Padres' only offensive threat.

Second Base: Chase Utley and Dan Uggla slug it out — literally. Uggla has had less ABs, but has the same HRs. Utley has a better OBP, but they are virtually inseparable in OPS. Utley is the better known and wins the ballot by miles. Laughably, Mark DeRosa and Kaz Matsui lead Uggla on the ballot.

Third Base: Chipper Jones may have less RBIs than Aramis Ramirez, but he carries his team with an astonishing .485 OBP and .630 SLG. The clear choice.

Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez is just ahead of Miguel Tejada. It shouldn't be that close — Ramirez is a MVP contender.

Outfield: Out of pure sentiment, Ken Griffey, Jr. is third on the ballot. Out of loyalty to the Cubs, the fans have Kosuke Fukudome and Alfonso Soriano leading. None of the three deserves a place in the starting lineup, though Soriano has had a season disrupted with injury and his numbers are still good.

Fukudome isn't a top-15 outfielder. Griffey isn't in the top 25.

So who should be on the field come July 15th? Well, the first name should be someone who started the season as a virtual unknown, outside of Missouri. Without Ryan Ludwick, Albert Pujols would hardly see a pitch to hit and the Redbirds wouldn't be in contention for the NL Central. His 16 HRs, 56 RBIs, and .940 OPS merit a starting berth.

Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and Corey Hart are three of the most feared young bats in the NL. Braun has holes in his game (he strikes out too much, doesn't walk, and has a paltry OBP of .326), but the kid can rake and is less of a defensive liability in the outfield instead of at third base. But 20 home runs and 58 batted in before July deserve recognition.

The third spot should go to Carlos Lee with his 18 HRs and 62 RBIs, though he's had almost 100 more ABs than Soriano, who could well have matched Lee's numbers with a healthy half-season.

The much-maligned (in Philadelphia) Pat Burrell is worthy of consideration, with a tremendous .409 OBP and strong offensive numbers, though in a hitter-friendly home park.

Meanwhile, there have been some strange happenings on the mound so far in 2008.

The AL ERA leader is Oakland's Justin Duchsherer, a converted reliever who is only 8-5 despite a 1.91 ERA and an incredible 0.92 WHIP. Opponents are hitting a miserly .197 against him and in the 5 games he's lost, he's given up 2,1,3,2 and 1 run. Duchscherer had only started 5 games previous to this year, but he's been an amazing find and proves the long held believe of some scouts that there is a strong pool of relievers that are perfectly capable of making solid starting pitchers. Expect to see similar experiments by starting pitching needy teams in the next few seasons.

Joe Saunders (LAA) and Cliff Lee (CLE) lead the AL in wins with 11. Both were afterthoughts for spots in the rotation in spring training. Saunders is a lefty that likes to pick around the edges in Tom Glavine style. Lee, another lefty, throws harder and walks fewer. Both are better than the 10 win guys Mike Mussina and Vincente Padilla, who have pitched fairly well but benefit from good run support.

Who wins the AL Cy Young? While Duchscherer, Lee, and John Danks in Chicago have had great first-halves, in the end, the voters like proven names and/or wins. In all likelihood, Josh Beckett (7-5, 3.74 ERA), Roy Halladay (8-6, 3.12), and possibly Ervin Santana (9-3, 3.32) will end September fighting for the AL award.

In the NL, the successes of Cliff Lee and Justin Duchscherer have been replicated by Edinson Vólquez and Ryan Dempster.

Vólquez, like Lee, was a rotation afterthought who has ripped through NL hitting (.202 BAA) and collected 10 wins and 110 Ks. Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey were the touted young pitchers in the Reds organization, but it is Vólquez who has led from the front. He walks too many and pitches in a hitters paradise, so he may struggle to keep up the torrid start. But I like his ratios (only 78 fly ball-outs so far against 110 Ks and 104 groundouts), which indicate that he may keep the longballs down during the hot summer.

Dempster closed last year but, with fragile Kerry Wood taking over in the 9th, he got his wish to start. He had six years starting in both Florida and Cincinnati without success. No one could have predicted he'd be at 9-3 with a 3.26 ERA by the end of June. He's often got himself into difficulties with walks, but has pitched his way out of it with a strong nerve he never displayed as a young starter.

Johan Santana (7-7) was the popular (and obvious) pick to cruise to a Cy Young against weaker NL hitting. So far, even in a favorable park, he's been HR prone (14, so far) and has a mediocre BAA of .246. He'll likely catch fire in the second half and figure in the race.

Brandon Webb (12-4) is still a groundout machine (3.45 GO/AO ratio) who strikes out over 7.5 hitters per 9. He's never far away from the top of the NL ERA chart when the season ends and he'll almost certainly top 20 wins.

My own tip to burst out from the pack and take the award is Dan Haren, the No. 2 starter in Arizona.

Haren (8-4) hardly ever walks anybody (17 BB so far this season), has held opponents to a mere .216 BAA, and, even though he has a fly ball biased ratio (1.15 career), he has reduced the impact of HRs by keeping men off base (1.55 BB/9, 7.16 H/9 — both career lows). With a team behind him likely to make the playoffs and all his numbers improving year-on-year, Haren is primed for his best year yet.