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.