Allstar 2007 Rant

[staindsox]

I know this isn't directly a game used topic, but wanted to bring this up.

I just looked at the Allstar voting for the AL...what a complete joke. Lugo is 4th and Cabrera is 5th?...he should be in AAA right now. Magglio Ordonez isn't in the top 3 OF. Posada behind Pudge? Why is Giambi even on this list with those numbers?

This game continues to kill me. The real allstar game ususally doesn't arrive until the 5th inning when the manager's picks get into the game. I understand baseball's desire to include fans, but it just doesn't work. First of all, everything is biased by population. New York has 10x as many people voting as Kansas City and most people vote by team. Even if KC did have an allstar, they wouldn't be voted on to start. Online voting makes it even worse. I like what the minor leagues do: fan voting counts for 1/3 of the final vote. GMs and managers have a say in it too.

So, who SHOULD be the 2007 allstars? It's not who you like the most, but who SHOULD be an allstar. Who has had the best first half of 2007?

Here's mine:

C- Posada (Martinez)
1B - Ortiz (Morneau)
2B - Polanco
SS - Cabrera (Jeter)
3B - A-Rod
OF - Ordonez
OF - Ichiro
OF - Vlad Guerrero (Hunter)

I put close calls/alternates/2nd stringers in ( ).

OK guys, let's see you 2007 Allstars. Do AL NL or both.

[whatupyos]

The All Star Game is for the fans, as I've come to learn. It's not always who has the best numbers but who are fan favorites.

Aaron

[STLFan2003]

these developments aren't anything new

[jon_8_us]

I know this isn't directly a game used topic, but wanted to bring this up.

I just looked at the Allstar voting for the AL...what a complete joke. Lugo is 4th and Cabrera is 5th?...he should be in AAA right now. Magglio Ordonez isn't in the top 3 OF. Posada behind Pudge? Why is Giambi even on this list with those numbers?

This game continues to kill me. The real allstar game ususally doesn't arrive until the 5th inning when the manager's picks get into the game. I understand baseball's desire to include fans, but it just doesn't work. First of all, everything is biased by population. New York has 10x as many people voting as Kansas City and most people vote by team. Even if KC did have an allstar, they wouldn't be voted on to start. Online voting makes it even worse. I like what the minor leagues do: fan voting counts for 1/3 of the final vote. GMs and managers have a say in it too.

So, who SHOULD be the 2007 allstars? It's not who you like the most, but who SHOULD be an allstar. Who has had the best first half of 2007?

Here's mine:

C- Posada (Martinez)
1B - Ortiz (Morneau)
2B - Polanco
SS - Cabrera (Jeter)
3B - A-Rod
OF - Ordonez
OF - Ichiro
OF - Vlad Guerrero (Hunter)

I put close calls/alternates/2nd stringers in ( ).

OK guys, let's see you 2007 Allstars. Do AL NL or both.

No MANNY!!!!???

[ironmanfan]

Its just an exhibition game where the selection process is never going to be perfect. It's fine the way it is as far as I'm concerned.

[cjclong]

I disagree that its purely the players who have had the best first half. I take past performance into account. I've spent too many years of watching baseball and seeing some average player start off hot and hit .360 and then by the time the season is over they are at .250 But it is for the fans, at least in part. Technically Cal Ripken wouldn't have been the starter his last year, based on numbers, but the fans wanted him and aren't they the ones who pay for the game?

[whatupyos]

I agree that its the fans choice and since I most likely will end up going I wouldn't want to see most of the guys who are leading in votes. I vote for my favorites and my favorites only. The guys I voted for are Craig Biggio, Chipper Jones, Eric Byrnes, Jason Giambi, David Eckstein, I wrote in Travis Buck, Jason Kendall, Dan Uggla, guys like that. They might not be the leaders in categories, but its my vote and I vote for the guys who I enjoy watching play and who are role models. Just regular old old guys. If the All Star game is a game based on what your numbers are, then they should take it out of the fans hands and let the players vote, but as I said earlier, I've learned that it is for the fans and the fans choose how they choose.

Aaron

[staindsox]

FYI, it hasn't always been the fan's choice. The sports writers selected allstar teams first.

Here's an example, Lenny Dykstra was selected to start, but was only hitting .220. The allstar game was started to put the best players on the field from each league and have them go toe to toe.

At this specific moment, Magglio Ordonez is one of the three best outfielders in the American League...he should get to start. As a catcher, Posada is playing the best now. That was what an allstar was supposed to be.

It used to mean something when one league beat the other and people used to actually care. It was competitive, but is a sloppy homerun derby.

I suspect those of you who are fine with the way it is are those who get your players in every year (most likely Yankee fans). There is a reason ratings are so low for the game and why Selig in his used car salesman mode has tried the new angle of having the game count for World Series home field rights. If the game would be run like it orginally was, or a least in a similar fashion, people might actually pay attention to the game.

[geoff]

Great Manny Ramirez photo there.The look on his face is priceless.

[2000mvpfan]

..good points,Staind!I'm a Yankees fan myself,and even I found it appalling that until recently,Rob Cano (who hasn't done a thing with the bat until this month and has been sloppy with the glove all season) was the leading 2B vote getter.I understand the fan participation angle,but there has to be some kind of checks & balance system so that a guy like Posada,who's having a career year,get in.

Joe