Mets All Stars

[Guest cooby]

Charming plea recently submitted on our old, ezboard site. The poor guy must not have noticed the lack of activity, but what the heck, I'll post it here...


New York Mets fans, the Chicago White Sox would like you to help vote for Scott Podsednik. Why should you help us? If you do, one less Yankee will be on the roster for the All-Star game. Everyone hates the Yankees, together we can beat them. Thank You very much for your support. Go White Sox and Go Mets

[Willets Point]

Podsednik has taken the lead according to mlb.com. I put in a few more votes for him just in case.

[Guest cooby]

This reminds me of when poor Annie asked us to sign her "SIGN WITH THE ASTROS, CARLOS" petition last year...

[Guest sharpie]

Just voted a bunch of times for Podesdnik. Abandon hope, ye Torii Hunter voters, Scotty is who we must back.

[Guest Rotblatt]

I'm down with that. Bu-bye, Derek!

[metirish]

I'm throwing my lot behind Posednik, MLB reporting he has passed Jete's...

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

[url=http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050706&content_id=1118447&vkey=allstar2005&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb]Podsednik and Oswalt are in![/url]

And Captain Intangibles doesn't make the cut!

[metirish]

Karl Ravich on Baseball Tonight must be crying about the face of baseball not making the All-Star team, you know, things just won't be the same without DJ.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Victory is ours!

[Frayed Knot]

If an All-Star game falls in the forest and Derek Jeter isn't there to save it, will it still register a TV rating?

[Guest SwitchHitter]

cooby wrote: This reminds me of when poor Annie asked us to sign her "SIGN WITH THE ASTROS, CARLOS" petition last year...

Hey, that worked out pretty well. He didn't go to the Yankees.

[Guest cooby]

Yeah, and we got him, so you can still root for him :)

[seawolf17]

[Guest sharpie]

Now we have to root for Podesdnik to do something great (steal 3 bases, make a great catch) to prove the wisdom of selecting him in and keeping Jeter out.

[Guest cooby]

I can picture him puzzling over this sudden surge of votes...

[Guest Rotblatt]

Piazza via Newsday: "This year, there's been debate whether I deserve to go. But if you look at all the numbers, to me, it's kind of like you have to knock out the champ."

He's got a point there. Paired with his "dying mule' comments, he's winning my support all over again . . .

[seawolf17]

From the Sports Guy:

]The Doctor J Award for "Guy who should always be in the All-Star Game no matter what kind of season he's having." Look, you know I hate the Yankees. It's well-documented. But you can't have an All-Star Game without Jeter. You just can't. The NBA mentality should come into play here -- make sure your most visible stars are there on All-Star Weekend no matter how well they're playing. I always love when people get all holier-than-thou about picking an All-Star team, like anyone's going to remember in five years that Jose Guillen got shafted. Who cares? The following guys should make the team every year unless they're trapped under something: Tejada, Guerrero, Manny, Jeter, A-Rod, Big Papi, Rivera, Clemens, Pedro, Ichiro, Schilling, Big Unit and Pujols. Those are the 13 biggest stars in baseball. You can't have the All-Star Game without any of them. Every December, we could even form a committee to determine if anyone from the Top 13 should lose their spot because they went Piazza on us, leaving us no choice but to take them off the list. And maybe next December, we could add a couple of guys who made The Leap -- like Mark Teixeira, Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Of course, we have a better chance of dividing the Gaza Strip than coming up with a fool-proof All-Star selection method. Every time it seems like they're headed in the right direction, something happens like "Shea Hillenbrand over Derek Jeter" and it completely undermines the whole process. So why not protect the stars who absolutely have to be in the game? Do you really think the NBA would ever knock KG out of the 2006 All-Star Game, or the NFL would ever stand in Peyton Manning's way when he was gunning for yet another Pro Bowl MVP? Come on.

[Guest Edgy DC]

"Every December, we could even form a committee to determine if anyone from the Top 13 should lose their spot because they went Piazza on us, leaving us no choice but to take them off the list."

I think we do. It's called an election. And even Piazza didn't really "go Piazza."

[Guest Bret Sabermetric]

Edgy DC wrote: "Every December, we could even form a committee to determine if anyone from the Top 13 should lose their spot because they went Piazza on us, leaving us no choice but to take them off the list." I think we do. It's called an election. And even Piazza didn't really "go Piazza."

I'd love to hear your definition of what depths Piazza would have to sink to to have "gone Piazza." I'm pretty sure I'd find it--what was your word?-- "unlikely."

[metsmarathon]

well, seeing as he's still a hall of famer, first ballot, and is still the best-hitting catcher in the NL, and therefore seems to meet most people's all-star criteria (seeing as most people dont give enough credit to defense, except, you know, mets fans in relation to mike piazza and rey ordonez), he's still the best candidate for all-star status in the NL.

he's no longer a Star player, and he's no longer a feared hitter. but he's still a good-hitting catcher, and when you're the best hitting good-hitting catcher in a league, you tend to find your way onto an all star roster.

now, of course, if you wanted to be fair, and select who actually is the best catcher in the league, then you'd have to give brian schneider the nod, as he's basically on a par with piazza offensively based on year-to-date production, and is reportedly one of the better defensive catchers in the league.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Jeter's only being talked about so much because he's been so overexposed the past bizillion years. He barely cracks the top 5 SS in the AL this year: Tejada (.965 OPS), Young (.885, and nice H/A splits for those of you TX detractors), Peralta (.875) & Guillen (.852) all have better numbers than Jeter (.846 OPS), although Peralta & Guillen have missed a couple games . . . Even figuring you want more than 259 PAs to qualify, Jeter's a distant third to Tejeda & Young.

The bigger story in the AL is Hafner, who has the best 1B OPS of any 1B with more than 200 AB, and it's not even close.

[metirish]

Some guy named Elliott Kalb from FOXSports.com says these are the worst All-Stars ever.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/3741458?GT1=6667

Here are ten players that definitely weren't stars, but still played in the Mid-Summer Classic.


1. 2005, Brian Fuentes, Colorado


This choice kills me. Fuentes has won one game this year, and saved ten others for Colorado. Is this what Arch Ward had in mind when he proposed the idea of an All-Star game? Bring back Earl Weaver who, as American League manager in 1972, named all starters to the All-Star team. Give any manager in baseball a choice between Mark Mulder and Brian Fuentes. I'd rather see Tom Glavine or Greg Maddux. With your life on the line, you would rather depend on Maddux, right?


2. 1968, Duane Josephson, Chicago White Sox
The late Duane Josephson was a bad catcher on a bad team. Did the American League need a catcher? Well, they had two other backstops on the squad � Detroit's Bill Freehan and the Indians' Joe Azcue. Did the White Sox have another rep? Yes, they had pitcher Tommy John on the squad. Josephson, in the only season he would exceed 306 at-bats, batted .247 with six home runs in 1968. His 18 walks gave him an on-base average of .284.


3. 1974, Dave Chalk, California Angels
Chalk was a 23-year old infielder, who batted .252 with a .316 slugging average in his All-Star season. He played on a 68-win last place team, which had ace Nolan Ryan already representing the AL. Was the American League that desperate for infielders? Bert Campaneris played the entire game at shortstop while Chalk had an at-bat and got into the game at third base after Brooks Robinson had been pinch-hit for. Look, George Brett, in his first full season, was hitting only around .200 in 200 at-bats by the All Star game. But the Rangers' Toby Harrah was in the middle of a 21-home run season.


4. 1944, Thurman Tucker, Chicago White Sox
I know what you're thinking. With a name like that, he has to be good. Tucker had a lifetime average of .255. This leadoff man stole 13 bases (he was caught 12 times) in his All-Star season. He led off for the American League and played the entire game. He went hitless in four at-bats. Of course, this was during World War II. Joe DiMaggio lost the year to military service. Dom DiMaggio lost the year. Ted Williams lost the year.


5. 1984, Alfredo Griffin, Toronto Blue Jays
Cal Ripken Jr. started the game for the American League at shortstop. The Tigers' Alan Trammell was named to the team, but was injured. Alfredo Griffin actually got into the game at shortstop. Alfredo batted a robust .241 that season. He walked four times in 140 games and had 14 extra-base hits. His on-base average was .248. His slugging average was .298. He was an All-Star shortstop while the Brewers' Robin Yount (50 extra-base hits, .441 slugging average) stayed home. Yount only made three All-Star game appearances in his 20 year career. How could people recognize Griffin and ignore Yount?

6. 2003, Mike Williams, Pittsburgh Pirates
Here's one more example of a reliever who compiles saves (even bad teams win games, and someone has to pitch the last inning) and is considered an All Star. It's a dumb rule to have to have a representative from every team. Tell me which Pittsburgh fan is going to not watch the game because there isn't a Pirate involved. As it was, seven NL pitchers appeared in the game. Williams was not one of them.


7. 1976, Steve Swisher, Chicago Cubs
This catcher had some amazing numbers. He was a lifetime .216 batter, playing in only 509 games. His career season came in 1976 when he batted .236 with five homers and 42 RBI. For this, he earned a trip to the All-Star game. The Cubs had no other representatives that season. Not that Swisher appeared in the game. Johnny Bench started, and Bob Boone was the backup. But Swisher's roster spot could have been filled by more productive hitters like Ted Simmons or Manny Sanguillen.


8. 1987, Jay Howell, Oakland A's
This is a case where Howell genuinely had some seasons worthy of All-Star status. He deservedly made two other All-Star games. But in 1987 he was suffering through a season where he finished with a 5.89 ERA and lost his closer's job to first-year reliever Dennis Eckersley. Howell was the losing pitcher of the 1987 All-Star game, a 2-0 extra-inning contest in which Howell was the only pitcher on either side to give up a run.


9. 1996, Roger Pavlik, Texas Rangers
Here's a case where a 10-1 record is deceiving; that's what Pavlik had when he was selected for the 1996 game. He was 36-38 the rest of his major league career. He went 5-7 the remainder of the 1996 season and didn't last three innings in his lone postseason start. Even the 10-1 start was muddied by his very high earned run average.


10. 1946, Ray Lamanno, Cincinnati Reds
You've heard of Ray Romano. This is Ray Lamanno. If those two ever boxed, it would be billed Romano versus Lamanno Mano a Mano. There are tons of bad-hitting catchers who've made the All-Star team (Biff Pocoroba, Sandy Alomar, Jr., Bruce Edwards, etc) but I liked the name Lamanno. If you're interested, he grounded out as a pinch-hitter. He showed promise, hitting 12 home runs as a 22-year old in 1942. He then lost three years to World War II. He made the All-Star team in 1946, despite an average of just .243 and played only two more seasons.

[Elster88]

]Give any manager in baseball a choice between Mark Mulder and Brian Fuentes. I'd rather see Tom Glavine or Greg Maddux. With your life on the line, you would rather depend on Maddux, right?

I agree 100 percent. The only way a closer should make an all-star team is if he's having in the midst of a 60+ saves converted streak. That way he can give up the winning run in the ninth.

[metsmarathon]

the problem with brian fuentes is... who else on the rockies is worth a darn?

their catchers are nothing to speak of
helton is no better than the 4th best 1B in the league
their 2B's are pitiable
their 3B is no better than the 7th best in the league
clint barmes had to go carrying deer meat, otherwise he'd actually be a good candidate at SS
and in the outfield, only preston wilson is in the top 10 offensively for the respective position.

jeff francis is their only starter with a winning record, at 8-5, but he's got a 4.74 ERA. oddly, he has a 3.18 HOME ERA, and 6.34 on the road. how the hell does he manage that!?

and in the pen, you've got brian fuentes, who has 6 holds, 11 saves, and only 2 blown saves and a 2.48 ERA, and jay witasick with 10 holds and 1 blown save and an ERA of 2.60

of all teh relievers with at least as many save opportunities as fuentes, only 5 have better ERA's, and he does it in Coors.

so that's about as weak a justification for him as i can come up with.

and there ya have it.
either brian fuentes, jeff francis, or todd helton is your colorado representative this year.

boy do they suck.

[metirish]

Scott Rolen pulls out to rest his shoulder, replaced by Ensberg.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Who's going to pull out and give Cliffy a spot?

[seawolf17]

Come on, Carlos. Do the right thing.

[Guest sharpie]

Closers are often the selection for bad teams. Mike Williams or Brian Fuentes have decent numbers, give them a spot seems to be the reasoning when often they are far from tbe best closers. Remember, a few years back on a bad Mets team Armando was the only pick. Actually, I think it safe to say that if your closer is your only All-Star, your team is really bad.