Kuzul

In an MLB.com article earlier today, Alden Gonzalez wrote that “one thing was evident when the first batch of American League voting results for the 81st All-Star Game were made public Monday: Winning yields votes.”

On the surface that may appear to be true. If we were to look at the American League voting so far, it rewards teams rather than players. More accurately, it rewards the well-known players on these winning teams, showing that in the American League voting, fans are just voting for popularity.

This is to be expected, given that the fans are voting, but shouldn’t the best players be the ones getting the votes? In some cases they are. There is no question that Robinson Cano is deserving of the starting second baseman job, and Joe Mauer is the obvious choice at catcher

Beyond that, Evan Longoria deserves the third base nod, and Ichiro deserves the top outfielder spot, as usual. Vladimir Guerrero is without question the top DH, as well.

My praise for the voting ends there though.

For as many good choices as there are, there are some that I’m scratching my head at. Yes, I get the players are popular, but they’re really doing that well?

Let’s look back at the designated hitter.

Vlad should be first, but the next four make no sense; we have Hideki Matsui, Ken Griffey, Pat Burrell, and David Ortiz rounding out the top five. Matsui is not playing very well, hitting only .227, and we all know how shoddy Griffey is. Including Ortiz in the discussion is fine.

But Pat Burrell? Really?

Yes, the guy who does not even have a team is fourth in voting.

Still, no Jose Guillen in there? I guess he’s on the Royals so he doesn’t count. Well, there are few DH playing well this year so I’ll let it slide.

The shortstop position isn’t as bad, but Elvis Andrus is playing well enough that he may well be worthy of the starting bid rather than Derek Jeter. Also, Alex Gonzalez should be third at worst—he’s playing far better than J.J. Hardy and Jason Bartlett, but again, they’re on good teams and that’s all that matters apparently.

I can’t argue with the current outfield of Ichiro, Carl Crawford, and Nelson Cruz. What puzzles me is how Yankees fan have Curtis Granderson ahead of Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner, who are playing far, far better baseball than he is. Still, how Vernon Wells is 11th and losing to Bobby Abreu and B.J. Upton shows what drives fans to vote.

Favorites.

The only position that truly bothers me right now though, and I hope it will be fixed, is first base. Mark Teixiera is first, then Justin Morneau, then Miguel Cabrera.

Mark “.209 average but it’s just a slow start” Teixiera is beating Justin “.383 average and beating you in HR and RBI” Morneau, and Miguel “also beating Teixiera in everything” Cabrera. Even Youkilis is doing better. But again, it’s a popularity contest. That being said, it will be rather hard to add in four first basemen to the roster.

Now, I’m aware that we are in the early stages of voting, and it’s very possible that the bugs, now that people have seen the first round, will fix themselves. The casual fan knows to vote for Morneau right now, though they’ll still vote for Cano, and possibly Jeter and A-Rod.

My problem with the current numbers may mean nothing. If we are just voting the popular ones to the all-star game no matter how badly they play though, then what’s the point? It’s not an honor any more if we do that.

So go vote, and vote for those players you think are most deserving. Don’t stuff your ballot with everyone from your team (come on Yankees fans, even you know Granderson’s not playing like an all-star).

Just go out there and vote smart. Make an informed decision. For it’s not the color of the uniform, but how well they play the game, that makes an all-star.

One last footnote: Taylor Teagarden is fourth in catcher votes. He’s played 10 games with a .037 average and isn’t even the Rangers’ starter now. The guy is fourth and has one hit!

Think about that.

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Dallas Braden has been all over the media by pitching only the 19^th perfect game in the history of major league baseball on May 9^th, 2010.

The accomplishment rightfully overshadowed a possible code violation, but it should be pointed out.

Braden was in the middle of a perfect game when yet another player disrespected him. In the fifth inning, Oakland was beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-0. Evan Longoria might have committed a violation of one of baseball’s unwritten rules by attempting to bunt his way onto first thus ending Braden’s perfect game.

Longoria’s accused bush league antic sent him to the dugout. His bunt went foul and forced him to go down swinging. There were plenty of fans who were aware of his attempted breach and let Longoria hear it as he left the plate.

Joe Maddon made the following statement on MLB.com:

“We’re trying to score runs there,” Maddon said. “We’re not just trying to permit him to go into the record books. Our intent is to win the game. And actually if he gets it down, who knows what could have happened. That’s one of those other unwritten rules that I’m not a subscriber to.”

Just because someone doesn’t believe in an unwritten rule doesn’t mean they have the right to violate them.

In Alex Rodriguez’s head Braden wasn’t A-list enough to call him out when he ran across the mound. That doesn’t negate the fact that he knew he was violating the code.

The situation might have been overlooked had it been Ichiro Suzuki with the attempted bunt merely because it’s a common strategy used by the Japanese star. But Longoria is an elite power hitter that never bunts for hits. The fact is the Rays did not want to be the victim of a perfect game.

Longoria stated to the Tampa Tribune:

“I figured I’d try to take the opportunity there, maybe it stays fair and we get a runner on. At that point, you’re really not thinking about the guy’s perfect game or no-hitter; you’re just trying to get back into the game. It was a manageable game. Get somebody on and try and score.”

Critics often question the unwritten rules of baseball often missing the point. Baseball is played with grace and some acts are considered classless. The majority of players adhere to this code of conduct.

The violation would be more clear if it was in the eight or ninth inning. Dallas Braden doesn’t seem to be bothered by it but that might be only due to the fact it did not break up his perfect game.

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A day after all 27 batters failed to reach base, the Tampa Bay Rays head to Anaheim for a three-game series against the Angels. Looking to break out of a slump, the Rays would probably prefer a different venue. The team has lost 23 of their last 26 games in Anaheim, including the last five.

While the Rays still boast the best record in baseball at 22-9, their bats have been kept silent of late, hitting just .189 as a team over the last nine games. Tampa Bay is 5-4 in those games, which speaks volumes to how good the starting pitching staff has been.

This year’s Angels may need the extra support of playing at home and the added assistance of the Rally Monkey. The team is off to a 14-19 start, the worst in recent memory for Angels fans.

Matt Garza takes the mound in the first game, having already won five games this season. He’s struggled against the Angels though, with a 6.46 ERA in three career starts. The Angels counter with Joel Pineiro, who’s had similar struggles against the Rays.

Game two is the most intriguing as it features Scott Kazmir, the Rays all-time leader in numerous pitching categories, who was traded to the Angels last season. Kazmir has said it will be weird facing his former team and that he may have a hard time not laughing when some of his buddies, namely B.J. Upton, step up to the plate.

The Rays counter with Jeff Niemann, who’s been one of the AL’s better pitchers this season. On Wednesday the Rays send David Price, who’s off to an even better start, against Angels ace Jered Weaver.

Projected Lineups

Rays

1. Jason Bartlett – SS

2. Carl Crawford – LF

3. Ben Zobrist – RF

4. Evan Longoria – 3B

5. Carlos Pena – 1B

6. B.J. Upton – CF

7. Willy Aybar/Pat Burrell – DH

8. Dioner Navarro/John Jaso – C

9. Reid Brignac/Sean Rodriguez – 2B

Angels

1. Erick Aybar – SS

2. Bobby Abreu – RF

3. Torii Hunter – CF

4. Kendry Morales – 1B

5. Hideki Matsui – DH

6. Juan Rivera – LF

7. Howie Kendrick – 2B

8. Brandon Napoli – C

9. Brandon Wood – 3B

Monday

TB: M. Garza (5-1, 2.09)
LAA: J. Pineiro (2-4, 5.30)

Batter vs. Pitcher: Carl Crawford has seen Pineiro the most, going 5-for-17 with a home run. Carlos Pena is 2-for-11 with six strikeouts. Kendry Morales in 2-for-2 with a homer off Garza. Hideki Matsui is 1-for-9.

Tuesday

TB: J. Niemann (2-0, 2.23)
LAA: S. Kazmir (2-2, 7.11)

Batter vs. Pitcher: A few of the current Rays have seen Kazmir when they were on other teams. Jason Bartlett is 3-for-7. Matsui has seen Niemann the most and is 1-for-7. Mike Napoli is 3-for-5 with a triple.

Wednesday

TB: D. Price (4-1, 1.91)
LAA: J. Weaver (4-1, 2.66)

Batter vs. Pitcher: Bartlett is 2-for-10 with a homer off Weaver. Evan Longoria is 2-for-5 with two doubles and Crawford is 1-for-9. The Angels haven’t seen much of Price. Jeff Mathis is 2-for-4.

Game Notes

-Rays manager Joe Maddon is 1-13 in Anaheim against his former team.

-Former Angel Sean Rodriguez, traded in the Kazmir deal last year, will play against his former team for the first time.

-Tampa Bay was 12-21 against the AL West in 2009, 6-2 this season.

-The Angels went 4-2 against the Rays last season, 3-0 in Anaheim.

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I can’t believe it has already been a full month of baseball. Here are the guys who knocked the cover off the baseball this past week.

1)      3B David Freese, STL

St. Louis third baseman had a solid week. He had twelve hits, 11 RBI, three home runs and had a .462 AVG.

2)      2B Robinson Cano, NYY

New York couldn’t ask for more from the young second baseman. Cano had eleven hits, seven RBI, rocked four into the stands, and finished the week with a .440 AVG.

Cano’s RBI rate would be even higher if Teixeira made it on the bag once in a while. Cano’s last two homers have been solo shots.

3)      OF Andre Ethier LAD

Hollywood has a new producer and his name is Andre Ethier. The Dodgers outfielder blasted four home runs this week. He had 10 hits, 10 RBI, and a .385 AVG after a week of nice production.

4)      SS Hanley Ramirez FLA

Fantasy baseball’s number two overall draft pick paid off this week. Ramirez hit four homeruns, had nine hits, eight RBI, and ended the week with a .409 AVG.

5)      OF Austin Jackson DET

The Detroit outfielder had a perfectly average week, but in baseball, that means greatness. Jackson ended the week with a .500 AVG while crossing the dish eight times, himself.

6)      3B Evan Longoria TB

Longoria had a nice week after hitting three homeruns, five RBI, stealing two bases, posting a .417 AVG, and touching home plate seven times.

7)      OF Tori Hunter LAA

The Angels outfielder had nine hits, six RBI, two home runs, and topped off the week with a .450 AVG.

8)      OF Alfonso Soriano ChC

Soriano had a stellar week of baseball. He sent four over the outfield wall, posted ten RBI, seven runs, and a .400 AVG was simply the cherry on top.

Soriano’s bat is burning, so he will likely see more time on the field despite his less than spectacular defense. Tyler Colvin will be riding the pine until Soriano’s broomstick cools off.

9)      1B Paul Konerko CWS

The Chicago White Sox first baseman hit home runs like first basemen are supposed to. Konerko hit four dingers and knocked in 10 teammates across the plate. He finished the week with a .316 AVG.

10)   OF Austin Kearns CLE

Kearns had eleven hits, two home runs, eight RBI, one stolen base, and a .393 AVG for the week.

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This is an All-Star starting lineup, as would be voted by the fans (if the fans actually knew what they were doing), plus a starting rotation and one relief pitcher.

But this is one fan’s opinion: mine. It was an easy exercise. There were several somewhat close calls, but nothing which I had to wring my hands over.

All numbers displayed are from the month of April only, and nothing these players did in the first couple of games in May had any impact.

One thing I wanted to do was to actually have a real, live designated hitter (DH) as the team’s DH, not just put any hitter who didn’t make the cut at this position.

While most positions had dominating first months, the DH position did not.
Adam Lind of the Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero of the Texas Rangers are having decent, but not great starts.

So I chose one of the “losers” from the other positions, as there were many deserving players from that second status list, and with better productivity than the real, live DH’s.

If this team played in the real, live 2010 All-Star game, the manager would be Joe Girardi, last season’s World Series manager. But for a couple of reasons, I am picking Joe Maddon of the Tampa Bay Rays as my American League manager.

First, his 2010 team has the major league’s best overall record, and second, he and I shared a drink and half hour conversation during the 2008 Winter Meetings in Las Vegas.

He also coaches his players to play the game hard all the time, even in Spring Training.

I like the guy.

He was funny, direct and open to every part of the conversation, even about the recently completed World Series.

Maddon is my manager…and now for the team.

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