Who Should Be Starting Tuesday

We all know who the starters actually are at this point. Now it's time for me to make it clear who should be starting at each position for the AL and NL.

American League:

Catcher: Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians. .326 BA, 15 HR, 66 RBIs
Ivan Rodriguez will be the actual starter, despite the fact that Martinez is having a far superior year in pretty much every statisitical category.

First Base: Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins. .288, 20, 66.
David Ortiz was voted in as the starter. Papi is a great player having a good year, but he only has 14 home runs. Morneau should start, although this is hardly a major snub. This is why the All Star game should have a DH every year. But I guess that would make too much sense, wouldn't it Bud?

Second Base: Brian Roberts, Baltimore Orioles. 323, 5, 26, 26 SB.
Placido Polanco, the man who should be playing 3rd base for the Phillies, is having a very good season, but Roberts has been better. His OBP is higher and he has scored only 6 fewer runs playing on a much shittier team.

Shortstop: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees. .341, 5, 43.
Can't argue with Jeter, whom the fans also voted to start. But Orlando Cabrera not making the team is just plain wrong. Michael Young? Please.

Third Base: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees. .348, 28, 80.
Um, the fans got this one right too. A-Rod was the obvious choice.

Outfield: Magglio Ordonez, Detroit Tigers. .370, 13, 69.
That .370 is NOT a typo. 'Nuff said. Fans voted him in.

Outfield: Vlad Guerrero, LA Angels. .329, 14, 75.
Another typically superb year from Vlad. Fans got him.

Outfield: Torii Hunter, Minnesota Twins. .301, 18, 66.
It's hard to argue against the fans' choice, Ichiro, who is hitting .365, but Hunter's power numbers and superb defense make me feel he deserves the spot. He's also a true centerfielder.

Starting Pitcher: Dan Haren, Oakland A's. 10-2, 2.20 ERA, .98 WHIP
If those aren't the numbers of a man who deserves to start for an All Star team, maybe I just don't understand baseball. That being said, it appears Josh Beckett (12-2, 3.44, 1.14) will start. Beckett is having a very good year, but the Red Sox score runs in droves, and Haren, who pitches for a team that is next to last in runs scored, would have at least 12 wins for the Sox at this point.

National League:

Catcher: Russell Martin, LA Dodgers. .300, 9, 55, 16 SB.
Fans got this right. 16 steals from a catcher before the break? He's like a Jason Kendall that can actually hit.

First Base: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers. .278, 27, 66.
Also the right choice. Pujols has been good as usual, but Fielder would be the NL MVP if the season ended today.

Second Base: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies. .324, 15, 66. (He also has 33 doubles, just for good measure.)
DUH. Utley is far and away the best second baseman in baseball, not just the NL. Fans got him right too.

Third Base: Miguel Cabrera, Florida Marlins. .321, 17, 58.
The vans voted in David Wright, which comes as no surprise considering there are just a few more Mets fans out there than Marlins fans. But Cabrera has better numbers across the board, with the exception of steals, which aren't that important. The bottom line is, Cabrera is a better player, this year and every year.

Shortstop: Jose Reyes, New York Mets. .310, 4, 34, 43 steals.
Ok, so this Met does deserve to start. Reyes stands out among NL shortstops, despite the wealth of talent the position. Rollins deserves to be on the team though.

Outfield: Barry Bonds, San Franciso Giants. .303, 17, 42, .514 OBP.
That OBP is obscene, even for Bonds. Pitchers still fear him because the man can still hit, by his own merits or otherwise. He deserves to start, and the fans recognized that.

Outfield: Aaron Rowand, Philadelphia Phillies. .309, 11, 43.
Call it blatant homerism if you want, but his average and OBP are both 40 points higher than the fan selected starter Carlos Beltran's. And Beltran only has 4 more home runs, all 4 of which he hit against the Phils last weekend. That fuck. You could argue that Matt Holliday deserves to start over both of them, but he doesn't play centerfield, so I'm sticking with Rowand.

Outfield: Ken Griffey Jr., Cincinnati Reds. .293, 22, 57.
Griffey, one of the feel-good stories of this season, deservedly got voted in by the fans.

Pitcher: Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres. 9-3, 2.19 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 125 Ks, 119 IP.
This was the hardest decision I had to make, because probable starter Brad Penny is very deserving (10-1, 2.39 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 82Ks, 116.2 IP). The difference for me was strikeouts, of which Peavy has 43 more in only 2.1 more innings pitched. He also has slightly better peripherals, although Penny has indeed been great.

Well, there you have it. The fans got a lot of guys right, but made a few mistakes as well. It happens. Enjoy the break, when absolutely nothing will happen in sports for like 4 days.