We have had a lot of discussion here at TYU over the last few days regarding the All Star game and whether certain Yankees players should be chosen to attend this year’s contest. I wanted to create a thread where everyone could log their choices for Yankee All-Stars. Simply put, imagine fans did not vote on the game, and you were starting the team with a blank slate. Which Yankees would make your roster, and why? If someone who is generally considered a good candidate is not on your list, why not? I will get us started with my list of 5 Yankee All-Stars and one borderline pick (And yes, Honorable Congressman Mondesi, I know there is still time for this to change).
All-Stars
1) Phil Hughes: As Stephen noted this morning, 3.11 ERA, 2.90 FIP, 3.70 xFIP, and 9 wins. He has been one of the 4 or 5 best pitchers in the AL.
2) Robinson Cano: As Matt outlines in the post below this one, Cano is a legitimate MVP candidate. With his 3.8 WAR placing him second in all of baseball, he is an easy pick.
3) Derek Jeter: Derek is second among all MLB shortstops with 2 WAR, just behind Troy Tulowitzki. He’s had a slightly down year by his standards, but is still the class of the AL at his position.
4) Mariano Rivera: Mo is still the class of the AL relief class, with numbers (1.21 ERA,.63 WHIP) that stack up well against all of the other relief contenders. Another easy choice.
5) Nick Swisher: Swisher leads all AL outfielders at 149 OPS+ and has been a solid defensive player. He has avoided the sort of defensive miscues and baserunning errors that plagued him at times in 2009, and has therefore been able to remain in the good graces of the more finicky elements of the fanbase.
Borderline
1) Andy Pettitte: I happen to agree with Stephen that Pettitte misses the cut, but I think it is quite close. He could easily work his way up the list with a few more good starts.
2) Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez: Both are 3rd in WAR in the AL at their respective positions, but I doubt Joe Girardi will take more than 6 Yankees, and the others are simply more deserving.
Mark Teixeira—not Kevin Youkilis—will be the starting first baseman for the American League in the 2009 All-Star Game. Teixeira narrowly defeated Youkilis in this year’s voting as the deadline approached and will represent the Yankees along with teammates Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter. Awesome news and good work to all those who voted.
A few windows I have open in my browser that could not be worked into individual posts:
- Tom Verducci picked his All-Stars, and he only has two Yankees (Jeter and Rivera). I think Teixeira and Sabathia both have a decent shot as well, but his team is fairly reasonable. I will have more on the ASG once the actual teams are released.
- From Buster Olney:
- Ken Singleton was a fine player, ahead of his time with a .388 career OBP. I really had no idea.
- Joe Posnanski on Mariano
and the Yankee mythos. Just an excellent read.
The two sides haggled for a time, and in the end, the Pirates — with a payroll one-quarter the size of the Yankees’ — relented, because it makes sense for them to save as much money as possible, even $400,000, in what’s becoming a summer of frugality. This small trade says a lot about what’s going on in baseball this season. The expectation among a lot of general managers is that you’re going to see a lot of teams looking to make deals like this, eating some salary to get rid of as much as they can. The small handful of teams that appear willing to take on salary — the Red Sox, the Phillies, the Giants, the Mets, perhaps a few others — will be in position to dictate terms in what will be a buyer’s market.
Sounds like a buyer’s market, which bodes well for the Yankees.
Caleb’s Door move Alright everyone, you know the drill. Mark Teixeira is vying for his second All-Star Game start at 1B and Kevin Youkilis is muscling in on his goal, as he surpassed Tex this week in the voting. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to vote for Tex and help him out while we still can (voting ends tomorrow). You can vote up to 25 times. Also, remember to vote for Ian Kinsler in order to keep the undeserving Dustin Pedroia out of the AL’s starting lineup.
Ben over at RAB had the following to say about the ASG:
For some reason, Major League Baseball insists on turning the All Star Game, a glorified exhibition for the game’s best players, into something that plays a determining role in the World Series, the game’s crowning event. It doesn’t make sense. It never will; it never has; and as long as the All Star Game continues to count, the popular fan vote method of balloting will continue to be utterly absurd.
The link between the ASG and home field really does not bother me. Is this really any more arbitrary than alternating years, or flipping a coin? I have heard no legitimate solution to this issue, and therefore MLB’s insistence on this particular arbitrary method does not rile me up. In regard to the fan voting, on a basic level, this does not perturb me either. This is an exhibition, and the fans want to see certain players. The problem is that players eventually get judged based on their career achievements, and ASG nods have become go-to numbers for the less diligent Hall of Fame voters to base their decisions upon. This does not mean that we should change the All Star Game to correct for their stupidity. However, it does justify some level of disappointment and anger over egregious selection errors.
What do you think about these All Star Game issues?
