We already touched on the AL All-Star team. Now, it’s time to look at the NL. Again, here’s the list of the Outside Corner’s staff picks for the game. Let’s first take a look at the position players who didn’t make the team that had votes by our staff.
Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks. Yadier Molina was selected instead. The same Yadier Molina who’s worth 1.4 WAR and has a .738 OPS. Montero has been worth 2.3 WAR this year, has an .801 OPS, and the game is being played in his home park. I have no idea how he wasn’t selected. It’s an absolute travesty. I can’t believe that the Molina garbage let him get selected to ANOTHER undeserved All-Star Game. At least he’s not starting this year, right Brian McCann?
Freddy Sanchez, Giants. He’s got a .729 OPS, and shouldn’t be an All-Star. I think this was just an oversight by the staff member who voted for Sanchez.
Chase Headley, Padres, Pablo Sandoval, Giants, and Ryan Roberts, Diamondbacks. The National League third basemen ended up being Placido Polanco of the Phillies and his .689 OPS. Because whenever you have a chance to vote a guy like that in, you’ve gotta do it! Well done, fans. This is the Jeter choice of the NL. The lone backup 3B for the NL was Chipper Jones of the Braves, which was more of a lifetime achievement selection than anything else. Headley should have gotten in, as he’s the only third baseman in the NL with an OPS above .800. Ryan Roberts started off real quick for Arizona but has fallen back to earth with a thud lately, but his versatility in the field could prove to be useful…if the utility man rule from last year was followed this year. As for Sandoval, he’s been injured for a good portion of the year, but when he was healthy, he was playing some damn good ball.
Andrew McCutchen, Pirates. This is the biggest “WHAT THE HELL?!?!?” moment I can remember in recent years of All-Star voting. McCutchen was voted to start the game by our staff. Not only that, he leads ALL National League outfielders in WAR, has an OPS pushing .900, and he’s playing fantastic defense at home. To add insult to injury, he wasn’t even in the final five voting! What the hell is going on here? It’s a crying shame that one of the most electric players in baseball, on a team that is making waves this year, is going to be sitting on his ass next week instead of living it up in Arizona. Shame on you, Bruce Bochy and the NL players.
Now that I’ve got all that venting out of my system, let’s take a look at the NL reserves that I haven’t mentioned. Gaby Sanchez is the lone Marlin on the team, and he’s having…an OK year for a first baseman. There’s really no other candidate on the team though, due to ineffectiveness from all-world shortstop Hanley Ramirez, and the injury to Josh Johnson. Joey Votto also made the team, and he was a shoo-in as the reigning NL MVP and second best 1B in the league behind the insane Prince Fielder. Brandon Phillips is the backup selection. A worthy choice, due to his solid bat and great defense, but what about some love for rookie Danny Espinosa of the Nats? He’s got the second best OPS among NL 2Bs behind only starter Rickie Weeks. Starlin Castro of the Cubs was their lone representative, and the third shortstop for the NL behind Jose Reyes and Troy Tulowitzki, who are both having great years. The Cubs are a really bad team, and Castro is the only player having a real solid year. I don’t mind the choice. Things get a little weird in the outfield, though. Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday of the Cardinals are both having great offensive years, but there are players having better ones. Jay Bruce of the Reds is not one of them, but he got in despite struggling mightily after April this year. Hunter Pence of the Astros is their sole representative on the team, but teammate Michael Bourn is having a better year once you factor defense and baserunning into the equation. Justin Upton was a no brainer as the lone Diamondback on the team. Finally, Carlos Beltran. He’s having a damn good year for the Mets. I can’t complain too much about this selection.
I have most of my issues with the National League outfield. The snub of McCutchen is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve come across in quite sometime, and it stuns me that he didn’t make the team OR the final ballot. What the hell is going on there? Shane Victorino was snubbed too, ranking third among NL outfielders in WAR. But unlike McCutchen, Victorino *is* on the final five ballot. Michael Bourn was a pretty bad snub, as he’s turning into quite a complete player, even hitting for a little bit of power this year. But nope, gotta go with the big name from the Astros in Hunter Pence instead. Chris Young of the Diamondbacks is also having a great year, but was punished for his lack of walks compared to players who walk a decent bit, and great defense, which always gets overlooked.
The pitching in the National League is even more of a bizarre fiasco. Three Phillies were chosen, and four Giants were chosen. Only two Braves were chosen, and they’re the team that leads baseball in ERA. You can’t argue with any of the three Phillies starters that were chosen, but I’ve got an issue with a couple of Giants. For some reason, fifth starter Ryan Vogelsong was selected. You know, the guy with less than 100 innings chosen and is there strictly because his manager is the one who picked the team. It’s an absolutely ridiculous selection, especially when you consider that Daniel Hudson of the Diamondbacks is sitting at home, despite comparable peripherals, but 30 more innings pitched. Jordan Zimmermann of the Nationals is having a sneaky good year too, and he’ll be at home…mostly because the Nationals had a middle reliever chosen, and because Zimmermann has an awful win/loss record. Because that’s *so* indicative of his performance as a pitcher, right? Anibal Sanchez of the Marlins has been awesome, and he’s staying at home, mostly due to the fact that his team sucks and he’s only got six wins. The worst part at all? None of those pitchers I mentioned are on the final five ballot. The only pitcher on the ballot is Ian Kennedy, who’s having a great year, but it pales in comparison to some of the other choices. The Vogelsong selection was complete lunacy, and I can’t believe it happened. It would be like Charlie Manuel picking Vance Worley to be on his team. Small sample sizes, ho!
Of the NL’s five relievers, two were middle relievers. Jonny Venters of the Braves is a worthy choice, and had an ERA under 1.00 before a couple of meltdowns this week. Tyler Clippard of the Nationals was an interesting choice, because he’s got good overall peripherals, but gets sunk by a god awful homer rate. Of the three chosen closers, none was the best in the NL: Craig Kimbrel of the Braves. He’ll stay home for an unknown reason. Instead, the NL bullpen will be filled out with Brian Wilson of Bochy’s Giants, who has a walk rate over five batters per nine innings and is best known for played out, unfunny commercials about his stupid beard, Heath Bell of the Padres, a dominant stud who seems to be having a little bit of an off year, and Joel Hanrahan of the Pirates, who Jon Heyman has a man crush on. All three of those closers are tied for the NL lead with 24 saves. Kimbrel also has 24 saves, and a better strikeout rate, FIP, and xFIP than all of them. And yet, he’s not an All-Star. Go figure, right?
The final five for the NL are the previously mentioned Victorino and Kennedy, as well as Michael Morse of the Nationals, Todd Helton of the Rockies, and Andre Ethier of the Dodgers. I’d expect Victorino to win the voting, due to his stellar performance on the season, as well as the rabid Philadelphia fanbase.
The NL did a crappy job with their team overall. Only one bad starter (Polanco), but a lot of quizzical moves on the bench, most notably, the lack of the best outfielder in the league. The pitching staff will suffer with Vogelsong’s selection, as Bochy as said that he’s only going to use him in extra innings. So, you pick a guy with the express purpose of him being a long reliever? That makes no sense to me whatsoever. The bullpen also suffers, with the lack of the best reliever in baseball. If Venters *and* Kimbrel didn’t make the team, there would be a serious problem with the process. I don’t understand though, how only half of the most dominant bullpen tandem in the game can get selected to play. Ridiculous.
