I figured that, as voting winds down for the 80th MLB All-Star Game/Popularity Contest (c'mon people...I love Junior to death, he's one of my favorite players, but - 7th?!?!? The man is hitting .220!), it was about time that I posted my ballot. I mean, what else am I going to do - I can count the number of days it hasn't rained over the past month on my fingers.
American League
1B - Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox (I know Morneau and Big Tex have better stats - but I can't vote for Big Tex, he's a Yankee. And I still haven't forgiven Morneau for stealing the HR Derby last year. As a good friend of mine once opined, you vote for the guys on your team if they're close to the top. Youk certainly is.)
2B - Aaron Hill, Blue Jays (Kinsler is having the best year stat-wise, but I felt like if I voted for him, I was voting too much against Pedroia. Since there was no way I could justify voting for Pedroia, Hill was the next-best option. He's having a breakout year - nearly Kinsler's equal - and plus, he played Double-A ball half an hour down the road in Manchester for the Fisher Cats.)
3B - Evan Longoria, Rays (What, you thought I was going to vote for A-Fraud? "Not Eva" Longoria is clearly the best option here.)
SS - Jason Bartlett, Rays (Yes, you heard me right. Jason Bartlett. The man is hitting .362 with 17 stolen bases! Who cares if no one outside of Tampa and Minnesota (he also played for the Twins) knew who he was previously? Jeter, who will most likely start, also has 17 swipes, but is hitting merely .307.)
C - Joe Mauer, Twins (He has a shot at breaking .400. Enough said.)
OF - Jason Bay, Red Sox (I think leading the AL in RBIs qualifies you for an All-Star start. Manny Who?)
OF - Torii Hunter, Angels (Having a fantastic year, although it was a tough pick between him and Crawford. The defense won this one for Torii.)
OF - Ichiro, Mariners (Similar to Bay, except it's batting average, and it's the entire major leagues. This guy was born to hit.)
SP - Zack Greinke, Royals (Although I can't vote on this, Greinke is the guy I would vote for if I could. I'd say his start to this season was even more impressive than Cliff Lee's last year.)
National League
1B - Albert Pujols, Cardinals (He's okay, I guess.) (But seriously, can I just point out that he currently on pace to win 2/3 of the Triple Crown...FOR ALL OF BASEBALL. And he's 5th in the majors in batting average. If he keeps this up, he's easily one of the top 5 right-handed hitters of all time. Plus his defense is Gold-Glove caliber. Maybe he really is a machine.)
2B) - Chase Utley, Phillies (Having another fine season, and who else was I going to pick? Second basemen just don't put up numbers like the Chase Utleys and Ian Kinslers of the world do.)
3B - David Wright, Mets (So his ballpark hates having him hit home runs (consonance anyone?) - so what? He's still 3rd in the majors in batting, and has swiped 20 bags.)
SS - Hanley Ramirez, Marlins (How can people justify voting for Rollins? He's barely hitting over the Mendoza Line! Meanwhile, Hanley is putting together another very Hanley-like year - equal parts power and speed -, and is hitting a sweet .348 to go along with it.)
C - Bengie Molina, Giants (Soto had an incredibly slow start, and McCann had vision problems for a month. Bengie it is, who's quietly having a good year out in San Fran.)
OF - Ryan Braun, Brewers (Started a little slow, but has ramped it up to his usual Hebrew Hammer level of production.)
OF - Raul Ibanez, Phillies (I'd like to say that I saw this coming when I drafted Ibanez for my fantasy team, but - I didn't see this much of it coming. 22 homers and 59 RBIs is impressive enough, but is even more impressive when you consider that he's been out since June 18th with a groin injury. Clearly, the move to a better lineup and hitter's park has helped him out.)
OF - Justin Upton, Diamondbacks (I could've gone several different ways with this one, but I settled for a slightly biased pick of Upton, who's also on my fantasy team. He's having a breakout year, adding the speed and batting average that were sorely missing last year. With one of the sweetest swings this side of Pujols, expect this kid to be around for many years to come.)
SP - Tim Lincecum, Giants (So last year wasn't a fluke, and I think we can all safely say that Lincecum is the best pitcher in the NL. Either that or 1A to some guy named Santana up in New York.)
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