Scanning through the latest update of AL All-Star voting shows a ton of Red Sox and Yankees are going to start this season, and that’s not necessarily a good thing for the AL’s chances. The two teams immense popularity around the US means Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are all pretty much locks to start at their respective positions. Take a look:
First Base:
1. Kevin Youkilis (.299/.365/.506), 926,758 votes
2. Justin Morneau (.293/.361/.475), 678,037 votes
Close, but Youkilis is deserving.
Second Base:
1. Dustin Pedroia (.263/.310/.372), 809,114 votes
2. Ian Kinsler (.308/.357/.477), 512,894 votes
Fairly clear who is deserving here, but Pedroia is a lock.
Third Base:
1. Alex Rodriguez (.313/.391/.575), 1,109,916 votes
2. Mike Lowell (.271/.316/.486), 584,563 votes
A-Rod is the correct choice and it’s not even close.
Shortstop:
1. Derek Jeter (.279/.332/.384), 1,218,881 votes
2. Michael Young (.309/.361/.452), 533,582 votes
Young is the choice, but Jeter is way too popular for this to even be close.
Designated Hitter:
1. David Ortiz (.252/.354/.486), 1,261,879 votes
2. Hideki Matsui (.329/.411/.468), 672,267 votes
This one is over, too. Matsui is having a much better year.
Catcher:
1. Jason Varitek (.257/.330/.429), 681,451 votes
2. Joe Mauer (.328/.408/.438), 630,372 votes
A dead heat! As much as I love Tek, Mauer deserves this honor.
In the outfield, Manny is a lock, with Ichiro and Hamilton looking like the other two spots, and Ichiro clearly undeserving (you could make a case for Johnny Damon).
Likely lineup: 1) Suzuki (CF), 2) Jeter (SS), 3) Ortiz (DH), 4) Rodriguez (3B), 5) Ramirez (LF), 6) Hamilton (RF), 7) Youkilis (1B), 8) Mauer (C), 9) Pedroia (2B)
The NL’s lineup could feature Berkman, Utley, Hanley, Soriano, Chipper and Pujols with Derrek Lee and David Wright off the bench. This may be the year the NL wins, folks.
So much for the “quick” post. Discuss.
