HE SAID: Hey Now, You're an All-Star!

The All-Star game. Ahhhhh, the Mid-Summer Classic. Drink it in, it always goes down smooth (well, except for that 2002 tie in bark-twice-if-you’re-in-Milwaukee). The ever-expanding group of 66 stars have been anointed for the 2009 season. The Yankees are sending three fellows this season. The Mets are sending four, despite wallowing in fourth place of the abysmal NL East. But hey, that’s the National League for ya! Anyhooooo, here’s a rundown of the Yankees All-Star selections and possible omissions:

THE ALL-STARS:

Derek Jeter, starting SS: As ridiculously overstated as Jeter’s “fundamentals” and “intangibles” are year after year (see two atrocious base running blunders this past week alone), his on-field work this season is legitimately worthy of the All-Star start. The fact that he was the leading vote-getter in the American League is a mere product of his name recognition, and the lack of star power at the position in the AL. With 10 home runs, 17 stolen bases, and a .314 BA at the season’s midway point, Jeter has been the most offensively productive player at his position thus far. His defensive vectors have also shown a strange and frankly unexpected improvement this season. Some how Jeter’s range in the field has increased at the age of 35. Jeter says “he’s just healthy”, perhaps implying that he hasn’t been healthy in recent years, or perhaps just spewing another one of his trademark recycled media clichés. There is a case to be made for Tampa Bay SS Jason Bartlett being deserving of the start. He has almost the same power and speed output as Jeter while sporting a .358 BA. Bartlett was rewarded with a selection as a reserve shortstop for the AL. However since Bartlett has missed a number of games due to injury, and because he is playing WAY above his skis and will assuredly drop down to earth in the second half, plush he plays for the equally overrated Rays, Bartlett can suck it. Good call here, baseball fans.

Mark Teixeira, starting 1B: Teixeira beat out Boston supermodel/1B Kevin Youkilis in fan voting on the final day of the balloting. The announcement caused a rousing ovation at Yankee Stadium and a collective fist pump throughout Yankee Universe since they finally beat Boston at something this season (even though the 0-8 start is not Armageddon, see previous column). Whether or not Teixeira deserved this start is a better debate. As beloved as Youkilis has become in Bandwagon Nation, his offensive production has fallen remarkably since his scorching hot start to the season. His numbers no longer match up to Teixeira’s, although both bring Gold Glove caliber defense. Peace out Youk, you ugly mofo. The real debate is between Teixeira and Minnesota 1B Justin Morneau. Morneau is quite possibly the most under-the-radar superstar baseball has seen this decade, despite his newsworthy accomplishment of robbing Jeter of the 2006 American League MVP award. His production at the plate this year has been stellar, with a .323 BA, 21 HRs, and 69 RBIs. Though his numbers are slightly better than Teixeira’s, I’ll say Mark deserves the nod since his defense has brought a whole new dimension to the Yankees infield. The geriatric Yanks have already set a Major League record with 17 consecutive errorless games earlier this season, largely due to Teixeira’s soft hands around the first base bag. Also, Morneau is Canadian... gross. Once again, the fans got it right!

Mariano Rivera, reserve RP. No brainer (again, see previous column). Rivera is the best closer in the league and has been for well over a decade. Since “this time it counts!” (Like the last few All-Star games, the winner earns home field advantage for their World Series representative), manager Joe Maddon will need to call on Rivera to save the game, as he has done three times before for the American League. Besides the resumé, his 22/23 in saves and 2.60 ERA give Rivera the numbers to make the team. See you in St. Louis, Mo!

UP FOR DEBATE:

Johnny Damon, LF: Hard to get up in a tizzy about Damon being left off the team. All of the reserve AL outfielders are either deserving, or have to be on the team because their sucky clubs must send one representative by rule. Also Damon’s defense in left has made my eyes burn this year and would warrant the hyperbolic “worst I’ve ever seen”, had I not seen David Murphy play some games in the outfield for the Mets this season while doing his best 1998 Todd Hundley impersonation. Damon’s offensive numbers this year have been very good, and I thought he would get a nod on the “Final Ballot”, in which fans get to vote on the 33rd and final member of each squad. The new “Final Ballot” follows MLB’s logic of allowing fans to vote in undeserving starters to the game, and now an allows them to vote on equally undeserving reserve All-Stars. Damon has outperformed at least two final ballot candidates (which interestingly includes Blue Jays’ DH Adam Lind, despite the lack of use of the DH in the actual game), but there’s really no legitimate grounds to get upset about this alleged snub. Sorry Johnny.

AJ Burnett, SP: Burnett’s omission from the All-Star team brings up the continual debate about what it means to be an All-Star. In the past, the team was supposed to reward the players having the best season. With pitchers, the issue of “what’s a good season” would invariably come up. Often times, this is defined by wins, which is why shitbag 11-game winner Jason Marquis was named to the National League team. Frequently great pitchers that are victims of tough luck or sub-par offenses are omitted from the team, such as Giants starter and previously prolific loser Matt Cain. The problem now is the aforementioned credo “this time it counts!”. Essentially, we are telling the respective managers that the game is not a showcase exhibition, but rather a real game that has real consequences (again, home field advantage in the World Series). If that is the case, it behooves the managers to use their few selections on players that can contribute to winning a ballgame. With the way AJ has been pitching his previous four starts, there is no doubt that he is one of the best equipped pitchers in the game to get outs right now. By that logic, Maddon should have brought him along to St. Louis. Instead, selections were given to noticeably inferior pitchers such as Mark Buerle and Tim Wakefield due to their loftier win totals thus far. If I were Maddon, I would rather bring in a guy that can throw and inning of gas with a devastating breaking ball than a soft lefty and/or erratic knuckleballer. That’s just me.

All in all, the All-Stars were pretty well selected (besides Marquis, who blows regardless of how many wins he has). Josh Hamilton doesn’t deserve to start on the Texas Rangers, let alone the American League All-Stars, but I don’t have a problem with the fans wanting to see him in the game. What he did in Yankee Stadium during last year’s game was magical, and certainly left an impression on the fan voters. Unlike the Burnett hypothetical, I agree with Maddon selecting Michael Young over A-Rod as the backup at third base if he’s playing to with the game. Even though A-Rod is liable to pop-one out of the new Busch Stadium in any given at-bat, Young has been a perennial hero in recent All-Star games, including a game-tying 9th inning triple off of Trevor Hoffman in the 2006 game in Pittsburgh, and a game winning sac fly last year in the Bronx. A-Rod has been, well, “not as lucky” under pressure in recent years.