Kuzul

The 2012 MLB All-Star Game rosters will be released on Sunday. Fans are eager to see which of their favorites will make the Midsummer Classic and third base in the American League is one of the more interesting position battles.

A fan poll on ESPN.com shows third base is one of the most competitive battles. Miguel Cabrera is leading, followed by Mark Trumbo. But Adrian Beltre is a distant third at third base.

The fans are getting this contest wrong.

I have no intention of taking anything away from Cabrera or Trumbo. Both are great players having good seasons. However, Beltre is putting up the offensive numbers he needs to pair with his Gold Glove defense to earn the starting spot.

While playing with the Seattle Mariners, Beltre’s offensive output suffered. His best season produced a batting average of just .276 and 26 home runs.

However, his strong defense at the hot corner helped fans overlook his struggling bat.

The move to Boston and then Texas brought back the offensive production. His third Gold Glove, coming after the 2011 season, shows he still possesses great defense.

The same can’t be said for Cabrera or Trumbo.

Both have been moved across the diamond to get them in the lineup. Cabrera has been passable at the position, but Trumbo was so bad early in the year that the Anaheim Angels opted to bench him.

So why are they leading the ESPN.com vote?

Fans simply can’t be trusted to know who the best players are…but that is a different article.

Looking at the offensive side of the stat sheet, Beltre still holds the edge. He has the best batting average of the trio and the fewest strikeouts. While he is last in home runs and RBI, the difference isn’t material. 

The ESPN.com fan vote isn’t reflective of the official voting, as Beltre has been leading in the votes that count. He had a slim lead over Cabrera, with Alex Rodriguez a distant third.

Trumbo didn’t crack the top five.

Final rosters will be announced on Sunday. Beltre’s revived offensive production and stellar defense should make him the clear choice at third base. 

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The MLB has the best All Star game in sports, so the fact that they have a selection show is somewhat pointless. It doesn’t need any more hype.

Seriously, how many people are going to purposely sit down to watch the MLB All Star selection show? Tuning in accidentally or in an unplanned manner is all fine and dandy, and believe you me, that is nothing to be ashamed about.

Between the Matlock reruns, the infomercials and the worst of the worst movies ever made (Snakes on a Plane, anyone?), there is very little worthwhile television to watch on a Sunday afternoon. All of us would understand if you were to be scanning channels, ran across the selection show and spent a few minutes of your afternoon watching in “suspense” as the “drama” unfolded before your very eyes.

That scenario is likely, but who in their right mind purposely sits down to watch the MLB All Star selection show?

If I were to pick up the phone, call up my bro’s and invite them to an exciting afternoon of All Star game selection they would probably disown me.

Me: Hey guys, so here’s the plan. Come on over, we’ll put some steaks on the grill, play a little Frisbee, and then when the time is right we’ll pull the TV outside and enjoy the excitement of the selection show. Heck, feel free to bring your girlfriends and wives too, I’m sure they’ll love it.

Bro’s: Uhh…click…

The point that I’m trying to make here—it’s just pointless.

There’s plenty to gripe about with the MLB—their unwillingness to completely accept instant replay, horrible calls by umpires and the snail’s pace of many games—but if there’s one thing they do better than anyone else, it’s their All Star game.

At the very least, it’s watchable.

The NFL’s Pro Bowl has guys walking through plays at Tai Chi speed or quarterbacks kicking field goals. The NBA’s All-Star game is generally void of anything that resembles defense.

In contrast, MLB has done a great job of giving their players something to play for—home field advantage in the World Series.

This usually leads to players giving it their all, especially players on the better teams in the latter innings. They know that if their team makes the World Series, their play in the All Star game could drastically impact their chances.

This leads to better overall play, which leads to a good viewing experience for the fans.

The MLB All Star game doesn’t need additional hype—it’s good as it is. While most All Star games in sports have become unwatchable spectacles, the MLB has found a way to keep theirs relevant. They don’t need to do anything more than that.

Instead of a ridiculous selection show, why not just put the roster online, give it a few minutes of TV time on ESPN and the MLB Network, and of course let Twitter and the individual teams take care of the rest of the hype.

I’m not sure why there has to be a show where every selection is surrounded by drama, over-analysis and talking heads. Just keep it simple, and let’s get to the game.

It’s much more efficient, and it’s far less silly.

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On Sunday, MLB will announce the rosters for the 2012 All-Star Game. Along with the starting lineups, reserves and pitching staff, we’ll also get the five Final Vote candidates for the last spot on each of the American League and National League All-Star squads.

And yet, after the 34 players are selected (well, 33 and the five Final Vote candidates), we will still have several deserving players who won’t have been selected for the All-Star teams. The snubs. It’s the first thing discussed after the rosters are announced and will be a major topic of discussion on Monday. 

Which players will get screwed over in the All-Star selection process? We’ve chosen 10 that seem likely to be snubbed. Remember that some of these players will end up on the team due to injury. Some pitchers who pitch the Sunday before the All-Star Game will be unavailable and need to be replaced.

However, as CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman reports, commissioner Bud Selig plans on making sure selected players don’t skip All-Star festivities because they don’t feel well. 

One player that I believe would have been snubbed is Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier. But with Matt Kemp’s injury, I think Ethier will end up being named to the team. 

But that still leaves plenty of guys who will get four undeserved days off during the second week of July. Here are 10 NL players that should be making the trip to Kansas City but won’t be. 

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The latest update of MLB All-Star voting results was just released on Tuesday afternoon. In the National League, there isn’t much change from the last wave of voting totals. Virtually every player who led at his position continues to do so.

The one change was in the NL outfield, where the Milwaukee Brewers’ Ryan Braun leapfrogged over Melky Cabrera of the San Francisco Giants for the third starting spot. 

However, the lead at every other position looks pretty solid. Barring an amazing surge in voting at two or three positions, the starting lineup for the NL looks to be in place. 

But let’s take a look at each position and see which ones might still be up for grabs until online voting ends on Thursday. 

First Base: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

This is the absolute lock. Votto is the leading vote-getter among NL players and holds a lead of nearly three million votes over Lance Berkman. Would anyone care to argue this outcome? Votto is the best player in the NL right now.

Second Base: Dan Uggla, Atlanta Braves

Uggla leads Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips by just over 770,000 votes, according to the latest results. That lead is not going to be overcome in the next two days. Going solely by performance, it’s pretty close between the two. Phillips has a higher batting average, but Uggla is ahead of him in OPS. 

Third Base: David Wright, New York Mets

How many votes can Giants fans stuff the ballot box with over the next two days? Wright leads Pablo Sandoval by 464,549 votes, which is probably going to hold. And it should. Wright is the best third baseman in the NL, and among the top two players in batting average, on-base percentage and OPS. 

Shortstop: Rafael Furcal, St. Louis Cardinals

With a focused campaign by Rockies fans, could Troy Tulowitzki overcome a deficit of almost 260,000 votes? It’s irrelevant with Tulowitzki injured and unavailable to play. Among the top five vote-getters at shortstop, the Cubs’ Starlin Castro is probably most deserving, but he trails Furcal by almost one million votes.

Catcher: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants

Here’s a position where it could get interesting. Posey leads the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina by a little over 215,000 votes. I don’t know how many votes can be cast in two days, but people can click their mice a lot. Molina is the more deserving starter, but Posey winning the vote is hardly a crime.

Outfield: Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals

Outfield: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

Outfield: Melky Cabrera, San Francisco Giants

Matt Kemp is the leading vote-getter among NL outfielders and received the second-most votes of any NL player, with approximately 4.12 million. But as the Associated Press’ Janie McCauley reports, Kemp isn’t going to appear in the game unless he can play in a regular game beforehand. 

So will Melky Cabrera get Kemp’s open slot, since he has the fourth-highest vote total among NL outfielders? Cabrera also leads the next closest outfielder, the Dodgers’ Andre Ethier, by more than a million votes. 

Braun passed Cabrera in the latest round of voting and now leads him by over 120,000 votes. If not for Kemp’s injury, we might have a tight race for that third starting OF spot. But Kemp’s injury kills the suspense. 

The Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen, seventh among NL outfielders, would be a nice fit in the starting lineup. Not only are his numbers deserving of the honor, but he’s a natural center fielder. Such things don’t really matter in an All-Star game, though. Otherwise, why wouldn’t we vote for each outfield position? 

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When discussing Baltimore’s selections for the 2012 All-Star Game in Kansas City, offensive stars Adam Jones, J.J. Hardy and Matt Wieters come to mind.

This is deservedly so.

However, it is indisputable that Baltimore’s pitching staff has played a critical role in this ball club’s magical season so far.

With a 3.75 team ERA through 67 games, this staff has certainly exceeded expectations.  

In this slideshow, I will highlight five Orioles hurlers responsible for the turnaround who, in turn, deserve to make the 2012 AL All-Star Team.

One pitcher in this mix may very well surprise you.

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Have you been filling out any MLB All-Star Game 2012 ballots at the ballpark or online? I suspect that the balloting won’t really pick up until MLB releases some of the voting results shortly after Memorial Day weekend.

Fans will see that their favorites at certain positions aren’t getting much support and will try to pick up the slack. Perhaps an undeserving player or two will be the leading vote-getter due to a larger fanbase, as fans will attempt to give their candidate a push. That seems to be how this usually goes.

The NL ballot actually doesn’t allow a vote for designated hitter, which seems sort of silly since the game is being played in the Kansas City Royals’ Kauffman Stadium, an AL ballpark. And with no one on the ballot to name as a candidate, I won’t speculate as to who the NL manager will pick to man that spot. 

The same goes for the starting pitcher. The top ace in the league doesn’t often get the nod, as it depends on the pitcher’s schedule in his team’s starting rotation. So predicting who gets the start would be a guess, at best.

So here are the eight starters I believe will be selected by the fans for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game—not necessarily who deserves to start at those respective positions. 

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Voting for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game is underway.  There is nobody more deserving of making the trip to Kansas City for the midsummer classic than Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp. 

Kemp has started this season right where he left off a year ago.  The Dodgers are off to a fabulous 11-3 start and there is no question that Kemp is the reason. 

Kemp entered the 2011 campaign as one of the most hated players in Los Angeles, and came out beloved.  People blamed his romance with singer Rihanna for his awful 2010 season, and fans wanted him out of Dodger blue.  He dedicated that offseason to perfecting all of his skills and came out a new man the next year. 

Kemp put together one of the most balanced seasons in baseball history, by finishing in the top-three in every single major offensive category in the National League.  He led the league in home runs, RBI’s and runs scored.  His 39 home runs and 40 stolen bases nearly put him in the exclusive 40-40 club, but they were enough to make him the first Senior Circuit player to end the year in the top-two in those two categories since Hank Aaron. 

He also played in every single one of the Dodgers 161 games (one was cancelled due to rain), which helped him extend his baseball leading streak to 365 (now 379).  As much as he scared pitchers, he frustrated opposing hitters with his defensive work, which helped him win his second Gold Glove Award. 

Kemp was completely robbed of the NL MVP Award, which went to Ryan Braun.  Braun might have finished ahead of Kemp in a few percentages, but he got help with those stats because he played in fewer games.  Furthermore, Braun had Rickie Weeks and Nyjer Morgan at the top of his lineup and another MVP candidate, Prince Fielder as his support the whole year.  Pitchers never needed to throw to him, as he had the likes of James Loney and Juan Rivera behind him for most of the year. 

Braun likely won the award because his team made the playoffs, but the MVP is an individual award and not a team honor.  There was also Braun’s failed steroid test, but I will ignore that for the sake of sanity.  Kemp congratulated Braun for winning the award and thought that he was more than deserving of the honor. 

Kemp used his second-place MVP finish as a piece of motivation for 2012.  During the offseason, he jokingly said that he had his eyes set on a “50-50” season.  After what he has done in the first few weeks of this season, Kemp might not have been joking. 

The Dodgers outfielder has put together one of the greatest starts to a season in Dodgers history.  Through the first 14 games, he has tied Wally Moon’s 51-year-old franchise record for the most home runs in that span, with eight.  It should also be noted that all of those homers have gone the other-way.  Kemp also leads the league with 20 runs batted in, 16 runs scored, and 26 hits.  His 1.000 slugging percentage and 1.525 OPS lead the league and are also tops in all of baseball.  While he sits just behind Davis Wright with a still stellar .481 batting average through 54 at-bats. 

It is far too early to really make any fair judgments about this season, but Kemp has sure got off to a great start and proven that he should have been last year’s NL MVP.   In 2010, Kemp was booed at Dodger Stadium, but this year he gets that same response on the road, which is a sign that he has reached the stardom. 

Even though the Dodgers have played 11 of their games this season against three of the worst teams in the league a year ago, Kemp has had to play most of those games in two of the toughest parks to hit in—Dodger Stadium and Petco Park.  He has been a monster fair and square, and nobody should make any claims that state otherwise.    

With voting for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game already underway, I would like to make sure that Matt Kemp is a part of every single voter’s ballot.  There is no saying what this unreal athlete can do now that he has let “beast mode” off of its leash.    

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The re-signing of veteran starting pitcher Freddy Garcia may have been the last major transaction for the New York Yankees this offseason.

What if it is?  This roster is stacked with All-Stars.

Eight Yankees were involved in the 2011 MLB All-Star Game.  A couple didn’t play because of injuries, while the others participated in either starting or reserve roles.

In 2012, New York will have at least seven representatives.

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