At the time this column was scribed, the American and National League All-Star teams had not yet been announced. The difference between my opinion and what will really happen is the lack of Yankees on the list. It’s inevitable, especially since this year’s game will be played in the Bronx, that about 12 Yankees and Red Sox will make the team. But in reality these two teams are in second (BOS) and third (NYY) in the AL East. Where’s the Tampa love? (None here.)
American League
Starting Picther \nCliff Lee, Cleveland Indians \nLee has an ERA of 2.26 and is second in the league in wins. He’s no doubt been lights out this year, but I hesitate to award him the nod at the 1 spot because his team, who many projected to WIN the World Series, is 1 1/2 games behind Kansas City of all teams. His numbers are hard to ignore, but in reality he probably should give leeway to the Angel’s Joe Saunders, who is leading the AL in wins on a team light years ahead in their division.
Catcher \nJoe Mauer, Minnesota Twins \nNumbers aren’t outstanding, but Mauer is second in the AL with a .325 batting average and only has two errors in 75 games, good for second in the AL. Minnesota is a team in second place after being written off for losing Johan Santana. Mauer helped immensely in transitioning an inexperienced staff to be in position for an AL central win.
First Base \nKevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox\nI so badly wanted to give this spot to Jason Giambi, his gold man-thong and his porn ‘stache, but Youk is batting 39 points higher for the year and the Red Sox, although not winning their division are still five games up on the Yanks. 2006 MVP Justin Morneau also gets some love for being second in the AL in RBIs.
Second Base \nIan Kinsler, Texas Rangers \nKinsler leads all AL second basemen in hits, at-bats, stolen bases, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Pretty good, right? Those numbers are secondary considering Kinsler also is winning the triple crown at his position while blowing open the lead in all statistical categories. Kinsler has five more home runs, nine more RBIs and 11 more points batting average than his next closest competitors. This is about as close to a no-brainer as you will find.
Third Base \nAlex Rodriguez, New York Yankees\nA-Rod is batting .320, and has hit 17 long balls. Not a spectacular year by his standards, but still leading all AL third basemen in those departments. A-Rod, St. Louis’ Albert Pujols and Detroits’ Miguel Cabrera don’t get enough respect from fans and media. When my generation gets old, these are going to be the guys we tell our kids about as being the best that ever played the game.
Shortstop \nOrlando Cabrera, Chicago White Sox\nCabrera is in the top-five hitting categories amongst AL shortstops. What separates him is his fielding percentage with five errors in 280 attempts for the biggest surprise in baseball, the Chicago White Sox. At positions like shortstop and catcher, it really should come down to who plays the best defense.
Outfield \nJosh Hamilton, Texas Rangers \nPlain and simple, Hamilton is your MVP. He is on pace to hit over 150 RBIs and to knock in around 40 home runs. Also, Hamilton is third in batting average. Triple Crown? Probably not, but pretty damn close.
Jermaine Dye, Chicago White Sox \nAnother Jermaine Dye-like year, meriting another All-Star spot.
Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians Someone needs to tell Grady to calm down. He has 22 homers while playing great centerfield for the Indians. With an array of spectacular catches to boot, Sizemore is turning into a perennial All-Star. 2008 is no different.
National League
Starting Pitcher \nEdinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds\nWith an ERA below his AL counterpart Lee, the other Ohio team should start shelling out some cash to keep this Pedro Martinez clone happy. Volquez has chimpanzee arms. When he reaches back to deliver no batter ever sees this sub-six footer’s 98-mph fastball coming.
Catcher \nGeovany Soto, Chicago Cubs \nI’m sipping the Geovany Kool-Aid. Channelling Henry Rowengartner from film, Soto is a shoe-in for the NL Rookie of the Year. With a statistical log-jam at the position for the NL, Soto stands out for catching for the best team in the league.
First Base \nLance Berkman, Houston Astros\nAlthough Berkman seems to have been around forever, 2008 might be the best year yet for this 32-year-old. Berkman is batting .350, has driven in 69 RBIs and crushed 22 long-balls. Berkman edges Pujols and Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard. With 23 homers and 76 RBIs, Howard is tops in the NL in both categories but is hitting a dismal .223, 132 points lower than Berkman.
Second Base \nChase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies \nA real close call between Utley and Florida Marlins two-bagger Dan Uggla came down to a slight edge in the triple crown statistics for Utley. In baseball, when it all boils down to it you really can’t argue against the numbers.
Third Base \nChipper Jones, Atlanta Braves \nWhat do you need to know about Chipper? How about a .385 batting average? How about leading NL third basemen with 17 homers? Jones has accomplished all of this while playing injured. Pretty impressive stuff from a guy who should be the unanimous NL MVP.
Shortstop \nHanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins \nHan-Ram has hit 21 homers this year while keeping a Marlin team in contention for the AL East crown. If owner Jeffrey Loria had any wits about him, he’d keep the blockbuster middle infield of Ramirez and Uggla together forever. Sadly, the small-market Marlins probably won’t be able to afford these guys.
Outfielders \nCarlos Lee, Houston Astros \nEl Caballo has hit 66 RBIs and is eighth in batting amongst NL outfielders. Most astonishingly, though, is the fact that Lee has struck out only 36 times in 328 at-bats, or roughly one strike out every 9 at-bats.
Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies \nLast year’s runner-up in the MVP voting, Holliday is off to a blistering start again with a .342 batting average. Even though Colorado is 37-51, they are still six games behind Arizona in what is possibly the worst division in the history of baseball, yet again.
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers \nThe 2007 NL Rookie of the Year is doing it again. Twenty-one homers and 58 RBIs give the Brew-crew a jolt in the three spot of their line-up. With Braun playing like he has been, don’t be surprised if Milwaukee wins the NL Central, much to fair-weather Cubs fans’ dismay.
