All-Star Final Vote - NL

All-Star fever may have reached it's pinnacle this season, as we head into the final 24 hours of the "Final Vote."  MLB has been doing this for the past ten years or so to drum up fan support heading into the break, and it's done a fine job.

Not only have we seen two-man teams jockey for votes (shades of racing at Daytona...), but now teams are offering perks (50% off tickets, auction entries, etc.) to drum up support for their players on the final ballot.  Not necessarily a great gauge of who is the most deserving, but interesting none the less. 

The one downside of having fans vote on the final spot is it means someone that might be more deserving will get snubbed at the last minute.  Here's my take on this year's NL ballot:

THE CANDIDATES:

Ian Kennedy, P- Arizona Diamondbacks
Michael Morse, 1B- Washington Nationals
Shane Victorino, OF- Philadelphia Phillies
Todd Helton, 1B- Colorado Rockies
Andre Ethier, OF- LA Dodgers

THE LEADER (as of Wednesday, July 6):

Shane Victorino, PHI

WHO SHOULD WIN:

Michael Morse, WAS
Whether he's a late bloomer or just a one-hit wonder, Morse has been the heart and should of the Nationals lineup this season.  Rapidly approaching 30-years old, Morse came to the Nationals in a trade for Ryan Langerhans (Remember him? He's in AAA now barely hitting his weight). 

Since April (where he hit under .215), Morse's numbers have been outstanding- .298 BA for the year, 15 HR, and 46 RBI.  The strikeout-to-walk ratio is a little out of whack (62 K's to just 16 BB), but here's a guy that's only registered 870 career at bats.  The whole package is just too good to turn your head- Morse gets my vote for most deserving. 



Michael Morse should be an All-Star

 Morse has come a long way since being drafted by the White Sox as a SS- a few years in the minors, and a run in with PED's to recover from a thigh injury.  The biggest thing he has going against him, is Joe-Blow baseball fan has no idea who he is.  He plays for the Nationals, and if you Google his name, he's not even the first picture that pops up (some cracked out looking mug shot does).  You've got to go three or four deep in baseball photos before you find one of him in a Nationals uniform.

Ethier and Kennedy should also get some recognition.  Kennedy has had a fringe-Cy Young type year so far, 8 wins with a 3.38 ERA and over 100 K's.  Plus he'll get some hometown love with the game being in Phoenix.  Ethier's overall numbers have not been great, but he did put together a 30-game hit streak to bring some positive vibes to a team that really needed the goodwill.

WHO WILL WIN:

Shane Victorino- PHI
Why?  Because he plays for the Phillies, who happen to be the best team in baseball, and have sold out every home game since Christ left Chicago.  He won the final vote last year (which is a great reason why he shouldn't be eligible this year- but that's a whole different topic), and as an added bonus, any crazed Philly fan that votes for him at least 100 times is entered into a drawing to meet him at the ballpark!  Of the hitters on the ballot, he's probably the least worthy of an All-Star trip, but the most likely to get it.  Maybe I'll spend all afternoon voting for Morse to even up the stakes.   
 

The Woes of Daytona

Dale Earnhardt Jr. hates Daytona.  So do a lot of other people. 

By now, Dale Jr's rant after this weekend's Coke Zero 400 (formerly the Firecracker 400) at Daytona is legendary.  He doesn't like the new 2 car trains, doesn't like the close packs, and certainly doesn't like the amateur hour that seems to take place the last few laps when half the field wrecks and a no-namer wins.  I can't blame him- It's time for NASCAR to do something with this track.

In case you haven't seen it : http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6736071

"What kind of move can you make?," was Dale's comment after the race.  He's got a point- with the new surface and plate rules at Daytona, you literally have to ride around hooked up to another car, and hope you don't wreck.  When you've got 20 other idiots around you doing the same thing at 200 MPH, it becomes a lot tougher than you'd expect.  There's no real passing, no "drive it in hard and hope that it sticks," it's just stay glued to the guy in front of you and hope he's going the same way you are.

Back in the day when guys like Dale Jr., Dale Sr., and Jeff Gordon were winning at Daytona, it was about horsepower and guts- sure you needed the drafting help, but when it came time to race, the five or six best cars always rose to the top.  Now, whoever wins the race is completely up to chance- you don't need things you can put into a race car to win - all you need is luck.  Sure, I can't win the race in my Altima, but the field is too evenly matched with the plates. 

I don't care what anyone says, Trevor Bayne and David Ragan being your two winners on the most famous circuit in NASCAR is not good for the sport.  Good for them- bad for NASCAR.

So, how do I propose we fix this dilemma?  I don't know.  Neither does Dale.  In his three minute rant, he seems to blame everyone from the brass to the media, but doesn't really offer up a solution.  One fix would be a rule change, but that seems out of the question.  There has always been drafting at Daytona- just not to the quirky extreme it is now.  Plus, how would you enforce/define violations?  Probably not the solution.

Another idea is to get rid of joint radio communications between "drafting partners."  Right now, the two-man teams share spotters and radio communications.  I'd be all for it- I don't really like to think of NASCAR as a true "team" sport.  I'm still not sure this is going to fix the problems- it will probably just create more wrecks with teams not being on the same page.

Taking the restrictor plates off the cars seems to be a popular idea amongst some fans, but it would make the race suicidally dangerous.  Rusty Wallace reportedly ran a few laps around Talladega "plate free" during a practice session a few years ago and hit over 230 MPH.  A major wreck would probably kill both the driver and some fans.  Think I'm crazy?  Look at Bobby Allison's wreck from 1987 in the Winston 500 at Talledega- it's one of the major reasons plates went on the cars in the first place.

I know there are a lot of fans that like the 2-man draft you see at Daytona and Talledega, but I'm going to side with the drivers and say that something has to change.  It's just not racing anymore at this point.

MLB All-Star Snubs, Surprises

With the thermostat getting cranked up here in Des Moines, its finally starting to feel like All-Star season in baseball.  Although the final tallies won't be released until Sunday night, MLB gave an update just a few days ago on who was leading the All-Star fan vote.  I thought it would be fun to take a look at the latest standings, and decide just how smart (or how stupid) the fans have been this season.

The standings: (as of June 28)

American League
CATCHER
Russell Martin, Yankees: 2,779,592
Alex Avila, Tigers: 2,345,065
Joe Mauer, Twins: 1,699,604


FIRST BASE
Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox: 4,014,722
Mark Teixeira, Yankees: 3,077,242
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: 2,184,480

SECOND BASE
Robinson Cano, Yankees: 4,724,816
Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: 2,979,181
Ian Kinsler, Rangers: 1,896,259


THIRD BASE
Alex Rodriguez, Yankees: 3,735,406
Adrian Beltre, Rangers: 2,935,373
Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox: 2,724,286

SHORTSTOP
Derek Jeter, Yankees: 3,392,128
Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians: 2,885,778
Elvis Andrus, Rangers: 1,971,514


DESIGNATED HITTER
David Ortiz, Red Sox: 4,237,014
Michael Young, Rangers: 2,235,504
Jorge Posada, Yankees: 1,453,385

OUTFIELD
Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: 5,263,840
Curtis Granderson, Yankees: 4,582,419
Josh Hamilton, Rangers: 3,173,000
Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox: 3,051,675
Carl Crawford, Red Sox: 2,294,337
Nelson Cruz, Rangers: 1,912,783

National League
CATCHER
Brian McCann, Braves: 3,062,884
Yadier Molina, Cardinals: 2,271,887
Buster Posey, Giants: 1,849,984


FIRST BASE
Albert Pujols, Cardinals: 3,358,432
Prince Fielder, Brewers: 2,903,584
Joey Votto, Reds: 2,832,857


SECOND BASE
Rickie Weeks, Brewers: 2,869,583
Brandon Phillips, Reds: 2,791,186
Chase Utley, Phillies: 2,406,965


THIRD BASE
Placido Polanco, Phillies: 3,261,718
Chipper Jones, Braves: 2,040,594
Pablo Sandoval, Giants: 1,584,671


SHORTSTOP
Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies: 2,955,609
Jose Reyes, Mets: 2,710,777
Jimmy Rollins, Phillies: 1,724,166


OUTFIELD
Ryan Braun, Brewers: 3,932,100
Lance Berkman, Cardinals: 3,208,183
Matt Holliday, Cardinals: 2,935,965
Matt Kemp, Dodgers: 2,743,927
Andre Ethier, Dodgers: 2,264,640
Jay Bruce, Reds: 2,119,267

Biggest "The Fans Got It Right" Pick: Jose Bautista, OF-Blue Jays
Thank god he's the top overall vote-getter.  He's unstoppable.  For those that thought last year was an aberration, you've been quickly silenced by another great campaign in 2011.  He's the cornerstone of a franchise that's finally starting to show some life north of the border, and the best hitter in the game this season.

Biggest "The fans obviously don't pay attention to this position" pick: SS, both AL and NL
Just because you might have taken Derek Jeter and Troy Tulowitzki in the first round of your fantasy league doesn't mean they are the best players at their position (thank goodness Hanley Ramirez didn't make the list).  In the NL, Jose Reyes is having the best season of any hitter- he leads the league in batting average, and is a triples and stolen base machine.  You kind of get the sense it might be a contract year for him... In the AL, Jeter gets the nod because of his name, but pay attention to #2 on the list -Asdrubal Cabrera of the Indians.  He's a stud on defense, and can hit the ball for power and in the clutch.  He'll make the trip as a manager's selection, but should be the starter.  Truthfully, Jeter shouldn't even be in the top 3.

Biggest "Are these really the only guys that play this position?" spot: 3B- NL
Chipper Jones is my favorite player of all time.  Placido Polonco is a solid .300 hitter that you can count on every day.  Are either one of these two guys really All-Stars this year?  Look at the AL 3B situation- A-Rod, Beltre, Youk, the list goes on.  I guess with David Wright out with injury (he's 4th in votes by the way), it's a, "well, who the hell else plays this spot" kind of deal.

Biggest "I'm glad I play for a big market team" selection: Russell Martin, NY Yankees
Yeah, Alex Avila is the All-Star catcher in the AL.  No question.  Martin was great a few years ago, but he's been mediocre at best this season.  A close second is his teammate Jorge Posada.  The fact that fans think he's the third best DH in the AL is nuts.  He wasn't even hitting .200 for a good stretch of this season.

Biggest potential snub: Miguel Cabrera, 1B- Detroit Tigers
He's in third place because of the Boston/New York effect, and it's just a tough spot to get picked at.  Texiera and Gonzo have been top-notch hitters this year.  Cabrera is every bit as good, but may not get picked because 1B is such a deep position in the AL.  All three players deserve the selection. 

Biggest feel good selection: Lance Berkman, OF- Cardinals
What a year he's had.  If not for Berkman, the Cards would be long out of the race in the NL Central by now.  He had some rough years, playing through injury and criticism, but he's finally back where he belongs- soundly in a starting spot at the All-Star game.