All Star Selections

The 2011 All-Star rosters have been announced, and for the most part they are very good. I was pleasantly surprised with the fan's voting and agree with most of the decisions. The AL line-up is almost spot on, with the exception of Derek Jeter. I know the fans love him and Yankee fans dominate the voting, but a line of .260/.324/.324 should not be starting an all-star game. A better selection would have been Jhonny Peralta or Asdrubal Cabrera, who is on the roster but will not start. Josh Hamilton has missed some time this year, but he has put up great numbers when healthy and definitely belongs in the game. There may have been players more deserving than Michael Cuddyer--for example Alex Gordon or Brennan Boesch--but I don't see any heinous crimes committed here. My last change would be Victor Martinez over Michael Young in the DH slot, but I can live with Young there. My biggest complaint among pitchers, although I hate to say it, is that CC Sabathia isn't on there; I would replace C.J. Wilson with him. CC has a lower ERA, lower FIP, lower xFIP, and a higher WAR. Yeah, I'm a nerd. He also has more strikeouts and less walks in 12 more innings pitched. Quite frankly, CC has been the better pitcher this season so far.

As for the National League, the only change I would make to the starting line-up would be putting Chase Headley in at third base over Placido Polanco. Headley's .308/.399/.409 is better across the board than Polanco's .280/.335/.394, and his .362 wOBA easily trumps Polanco's .311. As for the backups, offensively, Miguel Montero is having a better year than Yadier Molina, but it is hard to argue with Molina's defense, so no real complaints there. Chase Headley should definitely be in at least as a backup; I would put him in over Chipper. In the outfield, Andrew McCutchen definitely got snubbed, and I would rather see him at the game than Jay Bruce's .335 OBP. Now onto the pitchers. I get that Bruce Bochy wants to take his own guys, but I really don't think I would say Ryan Vogelsong is having an all-star year. Anibal Sanchez and Tommy Hanson were both better choices.

Overall, the All-Star line-ups were put together pretty well. As always, there are some snubs and some undeserving players, but I'm pretty happy with the rosters for the most part, and I am very excited to watch the 82nd Midsummer Classic.