Having six 2009 Red Sox All Stars is impressive, and partially explain why they are the Division leaders, and complete their first half with an American League leading 49-32 record.
But those six are, literally, less than half of the All-Star story, as the Red Sox now have FOURTEEN (14+) All-Stars on the 25 man roster.
THE LINEUP: Along with Youk, Pedey and J.Bay, also in the lineup on a daily basis are past All-Stars J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, David Ortiz and Jason Veritek. Mike and Tek are also Gold Glove recipients
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The Red Sox start seven All-Stars in the lineup.
Plus, Jacoby Ellsbury was running 6th in this year’s voting for OF (and 3rd in ROY last year), on the bubble twice. With his team leading .303BA, along with his 59R, 35SB and consistent GG defense it’s a bit of a surprise he didn’t make the team. Wait ’til next year.
THE ROTATION: Wake and Beckett certainly deserve to be on the 2009 team. They are joined in the Red Sox Rotation by former All Stars Brad Penny and John Smoltz. If only Lester had come out of his early funk a little sooner. His 123K’s and tight games make him a near miss. Wait ’til next year.
And next year, we will have Clay Buchholz who is biding his time in Pawtuckett by pitching for the MiLB All Star team, and the return of Daisuke who has been a frequent AS and MVP in Japan. Red Sox Rotation: 4 + All Stars.
THE BULLPEN: Of course Papelbon is a reliever on the AS team. He is joined in the Sox Bullpen by former All-Stars Hideki Okajima and Takashi Saito. Too bad the very recent fall off by the Sox Bullpen caused the stats of RRamirez, MDC, Masterson and Saito to spike, though Rammi’s 2.25/1.03whip/.184BA, and MDC’s 1.97/.238BA are still special. Let’s not forget Pawtucket’s already re-claimed Cabrera, who joins Buchholz on their All-Star team.
The Red Sox have 3+ All-Stars in the Bullpen, and a few more that are saying “wait ’til next year.”
Along with the 14+ All-Stars, and All-Star depth in MiLB, and a few that are close, the Sox add a remarkable and good fitting bench with above average defense and bench bats with Baldelli, Green, Kotsay, Kottaras. Even the bench follows Theo’s philosophy of filling every position with above average players.
It’s true the All-Star selection process isn’t perfect, but it is an indicator of who is playing at the top of their game. Within this context, having 14+ All-Stars and several more who could be should make everyone feel confident in the ability of this team to keep winning through November
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