MLB All-Star Teams

[Kirobaito]

American League

Starters
C Ivan Rodriguez, DET
1B Jason Giambi, NYY
2B Alfonso Soriano, TEX
3B Alex Rodriguez, NYY
SS Derek Jeter, NYY
OF Manny Ramirez, BOS
OF Vladimir Guerrero, ANA
OF Ichiro Suzuki, SEA

Starting Pitchers
SP Tim Hudson, OAK
SP Ted Lilly, TOR
SP Esteban Loaiza, CWS
SP Mark Mulder, OAK
SP Kenny Rogers, TEX
SP C.C. Sabathia, CLE
SP Curt Schilling, BOS

Relief Pitchers
RP Francisco Cordero, TEX
RP Tom Gordon, NYY
RP Joe Nathan, MIN
RP Mariano Rivera, NYY
RP Francisco Rodriguez, ANA

Reserves
C Victor Martinez, CLE
1B Ken Harvey, KC
1B David Ortiz, BOS
2B Ron Belliard, CLE
3B Hank Blalock, TEX
SS Carlos Guillen, DET
SS Miguel Tejada, BAL
SS Michael Young, TEX
OF Carl Crawford, TB
OF Matt Lawton, CLE
OF Gary Sheffield, NYY

Quite personally, I believe that that is the least-deserving starting infield I have ever seen in an all-star game. Giambi, hitting .239 and starting at first base. Total bullcrap. Ortiz should be there. You should have to pass a test to vote for the All-Star game. Uh? What is A-Rod hitting? .279! What is Hank Blalock hitting? Uh, .313! Shortstop is just as ridiculous. Either Guillen, Tejada, or Young would be deserving of that spot. Not Jeter, though, oh no. It's ridiculous. Second base, Soriano didn't have much competition, but he's got pretty low numbers for the leading vote-getter in the All-Star game. So he's a Ranger, so I won't complain. But Blalock should be starting at third. No question. Had a pinch-hit grand slam today. He's by far the better player this season. Bah. You can't get much better than that outfield, though.

National League

Starters
C Mike Piazza, NYM
1B Albert Pujols, STL
2B Jeff Kent, HOU
3B Scott Rolen, STL
SS Edgar Renteria, STL
OF Barry Bonds, SF
OF Ken Griffey, CIN
OF Sammy Sosa, CHC

Starting Pitchers
SP Roger Clemens, HOU
SP Tom Glavine, NYM
SP Livan Hernandez, MON
SP Randy Johnson, ARI
SP Carl Pavano, FLA
SP Jason Schmidt, SF
SP Ben Sheets, MIL
SP Carlos Zambrano, CHC

Relief Pitchers
RP Armando Benitez, FLA
RP Eric Gagne, LA
RP Danny Graves, CIN
RP Danny Kolb, MIL

Reserves
C Johnny Estrada, ATL
1B Sean Casey, CIN
1B Todd Helton, COL
1B Jim Thome, PHI
2B Mark Loretta, SD
3B Mike Lowell, FLA
SS Barry Larkin, CIN
SS Jack Wilson, PIT
OF Moises Alou, CHC
OF Carlos Beltran, HOU
OF Lance Berkman, HOU
OF Miguel Cabrera, FLA

I don't especially know the National League, so y'all can make most of your judgments. I don't see many problems with these lineup, besides that I would have started Jack Wilson instead of Edgar Renteria.

I'm happy to see 5 Rangers there. I think that's the most of every team. You can't really point their success on one person, and they have had 5 all-star worthy players this year in Young, Soriano, Blalock, Rogers, and Cordero.

[Del Murder]

I agree about the AL. It's a shame that people like Ortiz and Konerko take a back seat to the big name teams. Here are my starters:

American League

Starters
C Ivan Rodriguez, DET
1B Paul Konerko, CWS
2B Juan Uribe, CWS
3B Hank Blalock, TEX
SS Michael Young, TEX
OF Manny Ramirez, BOS
OF Vladimir Guerrero, ANA
OF Ichiro Suzuki, SEA

Starting Pitcher
SP Mark Mulder, OAK

Relief Pitchers
SP Curt Schilling, BOS
SP Kenny Rogers, TEX
SP Tim Hudson, OAK
SP C.C. Sabathia, CLE
RP Francisco Cordero, TEX
RP Mariano Rivera, NYY
RP Francisco Rodriguez, ANA


National League

Starters
C Mike Piazza, NYM
1B Jim Thome, PHI
2B Jeff Kent, HOU
3B Scott Rolen, STL
SS Jack Wilson, PIT
OF Barry Bonds, SF
OF Bobby Abreu, PHI
OF Lance Berkman, HOU

Starting Pitcher
SP Roger Clemens, HOU

Relief Pitchers
SP Jason Schmidt, SF
SP Carlos Zambrano, CHC
SP Tom Glavine, NYM
SP Ben Sheets, MIL
RP Armando Benitez, FLA
RP Eric Gagne, LA
RP Danny Graves, CIN
RP Danny Kolb, MIL

[eestlinc]

why isn't Randy Johnson getting any talk for NL starting pitcher? Frank Thomas and Paul Konerko got shafted because people vote the name in Giambi. Abreu and Drew should be in the NL outfield as well.

[Kirobaito]

Oh, right, my first-half all-stars. @_@

AL

C Ivan Rodriguez
1B David Ortiz
2B Alfonso Soriano
3B Hank Blalock
SS Michael Young
OF Manny Ramirez
OF Melvin Mora
OF Vlad Guerrero

SP: Mark Mulder
Long Relief: Kenny Rogers
Setup: Francisco Rodriguez
Closer: Mariano Rivera

NL

C Mike Piazza
1B Albert Pujols
2B Jeff Kent
3B Scott Rolen
SS Jack Wilson
OF Craig Wilson
OF Ken Griffey Jr.
OF Lance Berkman

SP: Roger Clemens
Long Relief: Tom Glavine
Setup: Danny Kolb
Closer: Eric Gagne

My pitching staffs (staves?) would be the same as the ones selected, so I just went ahead and assigned stuff and the like. :D

Go Hank, Mike, Fonz, Kenny, and Co-Co!

[The Captain]

I agree with much of the assessment, though I have to defend my player, Jeter. If you consider how far he he came from the beginning of the season, and the plays he makes in the field, I really don't see how anyone could not want him on their team. Sure, his stats aren't at the level of some other players, but stats aren't everything. Maybe it is the All-Star game, but let's be honest here, Jeter plays the game harder than just about any player right now. Young is a great player sure, and he'll probably end up playing the end of the game, which will be his reward for having a great season thus far.

Mora and Sean Casey aren't going to play as both are now on the DL, so that opens up two more spots on the teams, perhaps for Konerko and Lyle Overbay.

Take care all.

[m4tt]

I give up on the allstar game. Fan voting is a waste of time. Mark Loretta leads the league in most offensive catigories, and he was 7th in voting. Good thing the players know he is having an awesome year.

[eestlinc]

at the same time, the fans vote for who they want to see in the game. even if you take someone like sammy sosa who has been injured and not played very much, fans want to see him play and they consider him an all-star. having a great season is one reason to make it onto the all-star team, but it isn't the only reason.

[Kirobaito]

I <3 this game.