The fans have done it again. Give the great baseball unwashed an opportunity to stuff the All-Star ballot box with their favorite hometown representatives and what do they do? They carefully consider who's having the best year and cast their votes accordingly.
In fact, the fans generally do a better job than the managers of picking the most deserving players. Managers construct safe rosters stuffed fat with moundsman, lest they soil the game again by running out of pitchers. Of course, fans and managers alike show more fidelity to the game than the moronic "every team" rule. It forced Rays manager Joe Maddon to choose Andrew Bailey of the A's for his pitching staff. Bailey has thrown a grand total of 47 innings of Major League ball in his entire life and could be back in the minors by the time the A's play game 162 this year.
Beyond that, it's really hard to find much fault. The fans laid one egg in each league -- with Josh Hamilton in the AL and with Yadier Molina over Brian McCann in the NL. Aside from that, kudos to the masses.
The two squads suffer from rosters of 13 pitchers each. Thirteen! It cost Matt Kemp his outfield spot in the NL and either Ian Kinsler at second in the AL.
I'm casting my 33rd man vote for Kemp over Mark Reynolds of Arizona and Pablo Sandoval of the Giants. He's posted big numbers in a pitchers park, unlike Reynolds, and has demonstrated during his career that he can keep this up all season, unlike Sandoval.
In the AL, Kinsler has tailed off a bit lately, but I've selected him over Toronto DH Adam Lind and Tigers cornerman Brandon Inge. Kinsler has a track record of success, which Lind and Inge don't have, and his .833 OPS (largely on the basis of 19 homers) is more impressive for a second baseman than Lind's .937 OPS, particularly considering Lind doesn't play the field.
That there are myriad players having impressive seasons for whom there is no room on the rosters helps maintain the value of the All-Star designation. On the other hand, several of the selected newbies -- particularly relievers -- will regress to ordinary over the second half. It's the small downside of an All-Star game that serves the sport so well as a moment of pause and reflection on what another great year we're having.
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