A Midsummer blunder

There's no rhyme or reason when it comes to picking MLB's All-Stars, as seen by the selections announced Sunday.

Just consider this blind test... Who's a more deserving All-Star?

Player A: 99.2 IP, 9 Wins, 91 Ks, 2.62 ERA, 0.96 WHIP
Player B: 109.2 IP, 8 Wins, 121 Ks, 3.28 ERA, 1.30 WHIP

It's a tough call.

Mat Latos is Player A, the ace of San Diego's 1st place pitching staff and is not an All-Star. Player B is Tim Lincecum ace of the 4th place San Francisco Giants and is an All-Star.

This exercise just proves that All-Star selections are largely arbitrary. And saying that Player X got snubbed, is rather futile.

Now if I were making the selections I would have found a spot for Reds 1B Joey Votto, Nats phenom Stephen Strasburg and a few more Angels since the game is being played in Orange County. But, I just want to see the best players and watch entertaining baseball. The managers who made this year's reserve All-Star selections must play to win.

And there's the disconnect.

As a fan I don't have a say in the 162 games my team plays, nor in the postseason should they make it. But here comes the Midsummer Classic, which determines a big advantage in the World Series, and suddenly the fans gets a say.

If Bug Selig and MLB want the All-Star game to truly matter, fans shouldn't get a vote at all. The entire roster should be selected by the managers and the league office. And if that were the case, it would make complete sense for Braves utility man Omar Infante to be an All-Star.

But this is one game that shouldn't matter.

All-Stars are meant to be fun exhibitions, where the fan experience matters most. Where we the fans get to vote on everything from the starting lineup to that last player on the roster and even who pitches in the 5th inning of the game.

It's a pipe dream, but one I hope is realized.

All-Star madness

MLB commissioner Bud Selig’s blunder was nearly on full display Tuesday night, well, make that Wednesday morning.

Texas shortstop Michael Young and exhausted Pilly closer Bard Lidge spared Selig some embarrassment.

Young’s sacrifice fly in the 15th inning, gave the American League a 4-3 win, a mere 4-hours and 50-minutes after it started. For Lidge the sac fly was the end of insanity that saw him warm up and sit down about a half-dozen times.

The headache for both managers during this epic game was due to the fact that somebody had to win and they were both out of pitchers.

Talk about absurdity, a glorified exhibition game between a hodgepodge of stars determines who gets an advantage in October!?! What happened to the other 162 games that each team plays? They don’t really count anymore.

“This time it counts” dates back to 2003 when a terrible two-year experiment began awarding home-field advantage to the All-Star winning league. This Dr. Frankenstein-esque mistake came after Selig called the 2002 All-Star Game a tie. In part, MLB was to looking to help boost sagging TV ratings.

But it’s just more hype. If baseball were truly looking to really boost TV viewership they could try throwing out the first pitch before 8:45 ET. Isn’t All-Star weekend a great chance to attract young fans?

Baseball ought to give up on this madness. They need to follow all the other professional sports and award home-field advantage in the World Series to the team with the better regular season record.

I can’t say this would have been Selig’s biggest gaffe, but could you imagine Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew or Mets third baseman David Wright on the mound deciding which league gets home-field advantage?

We were almost there yesterday, and it’s a ridiculous prospect.

Fans selections are far from perfect

We've reached the unofficial mid-point of the 2008 MLB season, which means it's time for break. Looking at this year's All-Star game rosters, one thing is crystal clear, fans aren't perfect.

Seven now eight Cubs will grace the National League bench. The predominant hat for the American League has a distinctive “B” on it, as seven players from Beantown will soil Yankee Stadium’s final season.

This is ridiculous, nearly one-quarter of this year’s All-Stars are from two teams. If fans wanted to see a Cubs-Red Sox match-up so bad, MLB should have just played an Interleague game between the teams at Fenway Park. Anyway, let’s get down to specifics mistakes here.

The most egregious fan mistake on the AL roster was voting Boston’s Dustin Pedroia a starter. This barely squeaks over voting fellow Red Sox Kevin Youkilis a starter. Honestly, fans picked Pedroia over a guy who’s putting MVP caliber numbers right now, Texas Ranger Ian Kinsler. Pedroia is having a very good year, just not a great year. Kinsler’s 84 runs scored dwarf Pedroia’s 67, plus the Rangers’ budding star has a higher batting average, more homers (by 5) and RBIs (by 11).

On the NL roster, the most outrageous fan mistake was selecting Chicago Cub Kosuke Fukudome a starter. Fukudome’s .279 average, with a measly 7 home runs and 36 RBIs is just plain sad. Voting Fukudome in was like voting Braves infielder Kelly Johson in (.272 BA, 10 HR, 38 RBIs). Why didn’t Kelly get any love?

And the least, least deserving All-star is Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek. How in the world did he make the roster? Varitek’s batting average is rotten, .218, and he has 17 more strikeouts than hits this season. It’s a ridiculous selection.

Finally, if you’re a fan of baseball in Pennsylvania you have every right to feel abused. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield, arguably the most productive in the majors, received one All-Star selection. Deservedly, Nate McLouth is going to the Big Apple, but what about Jason Bay, Xavier Nady or Philly’s Pat Burrell? Bay ranks ninth in the majors in runs, Nady in the top 10 in batting average and Burrell fourth in homers. Any of them would have made great All-Star picks. There’s always next year, but probably not.

Enjoy the game!