So as we all know by now, the following Red Sox players will be on the All-Star roster, with an asterisk designating that the fans voted him in as starter:
- J.D. Drew — Can’t quibble with this one.
- Jonathan Papelbon — Makes sense.
- Dustin Pedroia* — Okay, defensible. He has a clear edge over Ian Kinsler on defense and his recent torrid hitting streak puts him on similar offensive ground.
- Manny Ramirez* — I don’t like this. Drew, Quentin, Sizemore all had better statistics. He got in on name value, but so did Derek Jeter, so whatever.
- Kevin Youkilis* — He’s hitting the ball well and is a Gold Glove over Morneau. This is defensible.
- Jason Varitek — … What? Come on, Tito. Way too much of a homer pick. I know that managers always have the right to these picks and lord knows Joe Torre made some serious head-scratches back when he had the right, but … be serious.
Also, no Sox starting pitchers made it, but mostly because most of the pitchers are relievers. Going too far.
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Tito doesn’t pick the reserves. Players do.
I thought it was a combination of both. Rob Neyer seems to feel the same way as well. Can anyone clarify?
Arod gets curtain call #39,746,483,930 of the season for the Yankees tonight…pathetic.
In other news, CC is a Brewer. Whew, I’m so glad the Rays didn’t land him because it’d be hell facing Kazmir, Shields AND Sabathia in a three-game series.
Heya guys … game thread? eh? I mean this is the Yankees tonight right?
Yeah, way to go East Coast! Way to have a higher population of baseball fans than the rest of the country, leading to more votes for the hometown boys.
The fan balloting has to end if the rest of the country has to watch the Yankees vs. Red Sox every all-star game. Stupid.
Varitek was chosen by the players.
Yeah, I’m with Zach – I thought Varitek was in because of player votes. He’s certainly been cold lately at the plate, but if his fellow players think he should be at the game who are we to quibble?
Fellow players think Gritty McHustlestein is a worthy player and WS MVP. Many players are stupid.
If Varitek had any self-respect, he’d politely decline the AS invite (and so avoid having FOX add “.218″ below his name when he comes up to bat) and spend the time off at the massage therapist, or the eye doctor, or the sports psychologist, or the chiropractor, or the witch doctor, or some experimental clinic in the former East Germany, or praying, or, hell, even in his favorite bar just getting plowed under so he can start the second half in a totally different frame of mind.
If he really wanted to help the team, he’d bring Manny along with him.