All Star Shenanigans

Dave Paisley

Last week I checked in on the AL All-Star race. I was going to check out the National League races this week, and I will, but man are they dull compared to the action in the Junior circuit. It probably just reflects the state of play in the leagues this year, though, with the AL having wide disparity and the NL fans having a hard time distinguishing one mediocre team from another.

But let's take a look at the NL voting so far. Here's 1B, with vote totals from last week and this week.

Player	Team	Votes 6/11	Votes 6/18
Todd Helton	Rockies	219,080	316,668
Mark McGwire	Cardinals	184,511	291,445
Jeff Bagwell	Astros	180,294	269,584
J.T. Snow	Giants	61,869	109,868
Sean Casey	Reds	70,698	105,413

How you feel about the 1B voting probably depends on your view of what the All-Star game is all about. McGwire is the bigger name, but Helton has played all year. Of course, he plays in Coors, but overall, I can't quibble with picking either guy. On a good day with a following wind, Jeff Bagwell may pass one of these guys, but he's unlikely to pass both, and in fact he lost ground in the past week. Helton's lead over Mac stayed about the same, so I expect him to get the nod eventually.

Over at 2B, the picture looks like this:

Player	Team	Votes 6/11	Votes 6/18
Jeff Kent	Giants	201,280	323,638
Craig Biggio	Astros	145,206	224,982
Edgardo Alfonzo	Mets	100,274	151,707
Jay Bell	Diamondbacks	83,871	124,263
Todd Walker	Rockies	80,607	121,683

No argument from me about Jeff Kent. Biggio, Alfonzo - both good guys, but not as deserving as the reigning MVP. At short, we have...

Player	Team	Votes 6/11	Votes 6/18
Rich Aurilia	Giants	179,208	305,902
Barry Larkin	Reds	165,769	247,865
Rey Ordonez	Mets	134,249	206,545
Rafael Furcal	Braves	102,350	152,893
Edgar Renteria	Cardinals	81,899	115,139

...Rich Aurilia? I guess this shows up the dearth of talent at short in the NL. Barry Larkin is aging, and there really isn't any equivalent to A-Rod in the league. Or Jeter, or Nomar, or even Tejada. Well, I guess someone has to play, but Rey Ordonez is just a joke in third place. Although it would be fun to see him voted on in a surge of NY ballot box stuffing. Not bloody likely, though.

At third we have the following:

Player	Team	Votes 6/11	Votes 6/18
Chipper Jones	Braves	259,621	394,150
Robin Ventura	Mets	120,166	186,129
Phil Nevin	Padres	75,816	126,359
Scott Rolen	Phillies	83,226	122,624
Matt Williams	Diamondbacks	82,206	121,002

Well, duh! Chipper Jones. Ventura, Nevin, Rolen? Good enough for my team, but not better than the ole Chipster. Not close in voting, either. At catcher, we have another well, duh...

Player	Team	Votes 6/11	Votes 6/18
Mike Piazza	Mets	444,216	679,287
Charles Johnson	Marlins	117,900	178,189
Jason Kendall	Pirates	85,505	129,825
Javier Lopez	Braves	77,686	120,434
Mike Matheny	Cardinals	57,743	76,139

Yes, the man whose name is an anagram of "I Make Pizza" dominates in the NL much as Pudge dominates in the AL. Finally, we have the outfield:

Player	Team	Votes 6/11	Votes 6/18
Barry Bonds	Giants	393,508	634,548
Sammy Sosa	Cubs	328,562	510,993
Luis Gonzalez	Diamondbacks	208,502	302,466
Ken Griffey Jr.	Reds	194,967	301,126
Larry Walker	Rockies	190,605	272,557
Jim Edmonds	Cardinals	146,334	202,760
Vladimir Guerrero	Expos	128,140	188,560
Andrew Jones	Braves	108,237	162,072
J.D. Drew	Cardinals	107,303	161,528
Tony Gwynn	Padres	80,510	132,017
Moises Alou	Astros	79,301	121,386
Gary Sheffield	Dodgers	81,018	115,300
Jeromy Burnitz	Brewers	65,031	87,736
Benny Agbayani	Mets	49,487	75,848
Bobby Abreu	Phillies	47,756	65,465

Bonds, Sosa, Gonzalez - not bad. With Griffey back from the DL, I believe he will inevitably pass Gonzalez to make a Bonds, Sosa, Griffey outfield. Not at all shabby. And in a poetic way, it would be nice to have a real LF, RF and CF starting the game.

Over in the AL, Bret Boone took a huge 150,000 vote lead over Roberto Alomar after a week that saw him double Alomar's votes, to the tune of 300,000 to 150,000. There were no other surprises, other than Troy Glaus almost catching Cal Ripken. A cynic might be forgiven for thinking that Ripken's retirement announcement was designed to ensure that one last start in the All-Star game.

So, if the voting closed today, here would be the head to head matchups (assuming Griffey bumps Luis Gonzalez, but Luis gets to DH instead.

Pos	AL	NL	Edge
C	Rodriguez	Piazza	Even
1B	Olerud	Helton	AL
2B	Boone	Kent	NL
3B	Ripken	Jones	NL
SS	Rodriguez	Aurilia	AL
LF	Gonzalez	Bonds	NL
CF	Ichiro	Griffey	Even
RF	Ramirez	Sosa	AL
DH	Martinez	Gonzalez	AL

So it should be a pretty close game, presuming the pitching all shows up...

about the author

It's beginning to look like the Dave Paisley for starting AL shortstop campaign is falling a few hundred thousand votes short this year. Please send tips on how he can do better next year to drdjp@strikethree.com.