OK, you've been risking carpal tunnel syndrome by voting for your 2013 MLB All-Stars frequently online or destroying paper ballots at the ballpark by using a key in those punch holes.
So how did that effort work out? Will your guys get the starting nod on July 16 at Citi Field? Here are the starting lineups for the American and National League, as voted by the fans.
American League
C: Joe Mauer
1B: Chris Davis
2B: Robinson Cano
SS: J.J. Hardy
3B: Miguel Cabrera
OF: Adam Jones
OF: Mike Trout
OF: Jose Bautista
DH: David Ortiz
National League
C: Yadier Molina
1B: Joey Votto
2B: Brandon Phillips
SS: Troy Tulowitzki
3B: David Wright
OF: Carlos Beltran
OF: Carlos Gonzalez
OF: Bryce Harper
Kudos to the fans for a good job with their voting. Is there any really objectionable pick here? With the information that's immediately accessible these days, fans are as informed as ever. Have a question about who's putting up the best numbers at third base? The answers are a click away on your computer or smartphone.
How about Orioles fans rocking the vote? Three O's were voted to the AL starting lineup, with Davis receiving the most votes in this year's balloting. Nick Markakis was pretty close to getting that third outfield spot too.
Was Hardy the best choice at shortstop? He leads all AL shortstops in home runs and RBI, and it's not a great year at that position in the league. Besides, how mad would you have been if Derek Jeter was voted in as the starter?
On the NL side, you could take issue with Phillips winning the nod at second base. But he leads all MLB second basemen in RBI and ranks second in the NL in homers at the position. The other two candidates that were arguably more deserving — Matt Carpenter and Marco Scutaro — were named as reserves anyway, as you'll see below.
How did the players, AL manager Jim Leyland and NL skipper Bruce Bochy do in picking the All-Star reserves? Here are the rest of the AL and NL rosters.
American League
C: Jason Castro, Salvador Perez
1B: Prince Fielder
2B: Dustin Pedroia, Jason Kipnis
SS: Jhonny Peralta, Asdrubal Cabrera
3B: Manny Machado
OF: Torii Hunter, Nelson Cruz, Alex Gordon
UTL: Ben Zobrist
DH: Edwin Encarnacion
National League
C: Buster Posey
1B: Allen Craig, Paul Goldschmidt
2B: Matt Carpenter, Marco Scutaro
SS: Everth Cabrera, Jean Segura
3B: Pedro Alvarez
OF: Andrew McCutchen, Michael Cuddyer, Domonic Brown, Carlos Gomez
The biggest surprise on the AL roster is that Manny Machado is the only reserve third baseman. No Adrian Beltre? How about Evan Longoria or Josh Donaldson? But we'll focus more on the All-Star snubs in a separate post.
Asdrubal Cabrera seems like a questionable pick for shortstop, but as mentioned above, it's a weak year at that position. Maybe the thinking was that an extra shortstop was needed for defensive purposes. But with Ben Zobrist on the team as a utility player, why not use him at short and add another of the deserving third basemen?
For the NL, Allen Craig raises an eyebrow at first base. He's not an undeserving selection, but his numbers (especially his five home runs) don't stand out among his peers. Adrian Gonzalez and Freddie Freeman would probably have been better picks, but one of them still has a chance to be on the roster as NL Final Vote candidates. Adam LaRoche got off to such a slow start that it surely hurt him in early voting.
What about Yasiel Puig? He's the sensation sweeping the nation! Well, he's not out of consideration yet, as we'll talk about later.
Let's get to the pitchers, shall we?
American League
SP: Max Scherzer, Felix Hernandez, Clay Buchholz, Yu Darvish, Hisashi Iwakuma, Bartolo Colon*, Justin Verlander, Justin Masterson, Chris Sale
RP: Mariano Rivera, Jesse Crain, Joe Nathan, Glen Perkins*, Brett Cecil
National League
SP: Clayton Kershaw, Patrick Corbin, Matt Harvey, Adam Wainwright, Jordan Zimmermann, Travis Wood, Jose Fernandez, Jeff Locke, Cliff Lee, Madison Bumgarner
RP: Jason Grilli, Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman
We already have two injury replacements on the AL pitching staff, as Clay Buchholz and Jesse Crain are on the disabled list. Bartolo Colon and Glen Perkins will replace them. That worked out pretty well for Leyland, as those injuries allowed him to pick the lone All-Star representatives for the A's and Twins. (Oops, I forgot about Mauer. Thanks, Jesse Lund.)
Brett Cecil's selection (along with the AL Final Vote candidates, as you'll see) demonstrates that it hasn't been a strong year for closers in the AL. Some relievers have some good saves totals, but are struggling in other aspects of their game. Others are pitching for bad teams, unfortunately for them.
On the NL pitching staff, Jose Fernandez is one name that jumps out. He'll be a nice story as a surprise addition to the Marlins' starting rotation out of spring training. The 20-year-old looked like he'd be learning the art of pitching this year in the minors. Of course, Fernandez's bid is also an indictment of the Marlins. Who else was deserving of a nod on that depleted roster?
Was Madison Bumgarner an example of Giants manager Bruce Bochy picking one of his guys? Maybe, since he's the only San Francisco starting pitcher having a good season. Bumgarner isn't undeserving, though you could make a case for Mat Latos, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Mike Minor or Shelby Miller in his place.
That brings us to the Final Vote candidates, five for each league. Some of this year's All-Star snubs still have a chance to be voted in.
American League: Joaquin Benoit, Steve Delabar, David Robertson, Tanner Scheppers, Koji Uehara
National League: Ian Desmond, Freddie Freeman, Adrian Gonzalez, Hunter Pence, Yasiel Puig
The AL picks are a head-scratching bunch. Five middle relievers? (OK, Benoit and Uehara are closing games right now, but didn't begin the season in that role.) Isn't every pitcher besides the starter a middle reliever in an All-Star game? Beltre and Longoria have a major beef here.
If Benoit wins the AL Final Vote, the Tigers will have seven All-Stars. All of those players are deserving candidates, but maybe Detroit is benefiting from two consecutive postseason runs. Fans and players are familiar with this team.
The NL quintet is a far better group of potential All-Stars, but this is all about Puig, isn't it? Fans and commentators have been touting Puig during the past couple of weeks, caught up in the thrills he's provided over the past month.
You could make a strong argument that Puig shouldn't be in the game, based on how few games he's played compared to his peers. He's played 30 games, but look at what he's done in those 30 games, batting .420 with a 1.155 OPS and eight homers! The fans want to see Puig at Citi Field, and it's not difficult to imagine that MLB and FOX want some fresh star power there as well.
So what do you think about this year's MLB All-Star selections? Did the fans get it right? How did the players and managers do with their picks? Will you vote for Puig? And really — five relievers in the AL Final Vote?
