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Almost immediately after news broke that Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton will miss the All-Star Game due to a knee surgery (h/t Joe Frisaro, MLB.com), there was breaking news out that young Bryce Harper will replace Stanton in the game (h/t Dayn Perry, CBSsports.com). This makes Harper the youngest position player to ever become an All-Star, and the third-youngest player overall.

While Harper, just age 19, has come up and done a good job for the injury-plagued Nationals to help keep the team in first place, this All-Star selection is a farce. This article takes a look at exactly why Bryce Harper being named an All-Star is a total farce by Major League Baseball.

Before I get into this article I just wanted to give a disclaimer that I am personally a fan of Harper and his ability. I’ve seen him in person and believe he will become a huge star in time. However, he hasn’t earned a spot in the All-Star Game in 2012.

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Ah, midsummer.

All-Star season is officially in full bloom, and with rosters having been announced, and new substitutions seemingly every day, a baseball fan can scarcely avoid the ubiquitous discussions of which players are deserving and which ones have no business being anywhere near Kansas City next week.

Especially since this time, it counts.

In 2003, in order to the provide additional incentive for victory, it was agreed that the winner of the All-Star Game would be awarded home-field advantage in the subsequent World Series. The idea was that this would stop managers from simply parading players out on the field; with nothing on the line, the only duty of a manager was to ensure that fans from every city would get to see their representative get some playing time.

Since then, managers have been making a more concerted effort to bring the title home for their respective league. Or have they?

Baseball is never about one single player winning the game for his team. Any manager will tell you that games are rather won by a collaboration of all 25 guys. You need the big boppers, the base stealers, the benchwarmer who can lay down that perfect bunt, the long relievers, the lefty one-out guys and the closers.

The All-Star Game should be no different, but it’s those smaller pieces that get often overlooked. Rosters get stocked with big jumbotron-smashing bats and pitchers who can light up radar guns, but it’s the other, vital smaller pieces that can really win you a close game in the later innings.

One of the most prominent omissions from All-Star Game rosters are setup men. The pitchers whose job it is to maintain a lead in the eighth inning and hand the ball to the closer. Often able to pitch comparably well to the closer, the setup man’s job can be a lot more matchup-based, and therefore arguably tougher. They have to be versatile, able to get the strikeout when called on with the bases loaded and nobody out or able to shut down that dangerous pinch-hitter that the opposing team has been saving for a big spot.

All-Star managers perennially overlook these guys, and instead load their rosters up with closers.

Here are five setup men who were snubbed this year, all deserving of a spot to represent their team.

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The Home Run Derby is arguably the most exciting part of All-Star weekend. There are eight players participating in the derby this year which pits team Kemp against team Cano. 2011 Home Run Derby champion Robinson Cano will be looking to repeat this season.

Each of the players participating in the Home Run Derby has shown off their power stroke this season, but not all of them have gotten a chance to play a game at Kauffman Stadium this year.

All of the players have their own strengths and power alleys that have worked for them this year, but that might just lead to some long outs in the Home Run Derby this year. Each graph of home runs hit by Home Run Derby participants from this year will also show an overlay of Kauffman Stadium to show if the ball would have left the park there as well.

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Giancarlo Stanton was set to play in the 2012 All-Star Game, but with upcoming knee surgery, he will not only miss the game, he will also miss the next four to six weeks, according to The Miami Herald.

Replacing Stanton in the All-Star Game will be Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper. Harper will become the third-youngest player in All-Star Game history. The two that were younger than him were Bob Feller and Dwight Gooden.

Harper’s addition to the All-Star Game is a big accomplishment for him this early in his career and it should be fun to see how he performs.

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R.A. Dickey is having the most dominant season in baseball, and is the rightful starter in the upcoming All-Star game.

In fact, if Matt Cain were to be elected the starting pitcher for the National League team, it would be the biggest injustice in baseball since Pablo Sandoval was elected to start at third base over MVP candidate and New York Mets star David Wright. Wright, who’s hitting .353 with 11 home runs and a career best OPS of 1.012, is beating The Panda in every major categorical outlet (.314/7 HRs/0.867).

Wright has 4.9 wins above the replacement player—the most out of anyone in baseball not named Joey Votto, while Sandoval has earned only 1.4—comparable with New York Mets rookie outfielder Kirk Nieuwnheis (1.3 WAR, did not make All-Star ballot).

Wright’s 59 RBI dwarf the 28 runs that Sandoval has driven in, and Wright even led Sandoval by 460,000 votes the Tuesday before the ballots closed.

Yet, Sandoval finished with 1.6 million more votes than Wright when the polls closed, ensuring that he would start at the hot corner when the National League takes on the American League in Kansas City.

The fans got that one wrong, and one San Francisco player will be starting in the spot of a New York player. Thankfully, there’s room for redemption. Not so quietly, New York Mets staff ace R.A. Dickey has been dazzling fans all season long and has yet to hear whether or not he will get the starting nod by manager Tony La Russa in the upcoming All-Star game.

His primary competition is San Francisco Giants wiz and workhorse Matt Cain, who highlighted his season with a perfect game on June 13th. While he has had an undeniably awesome season by anyone’s definition of the word ‘awesome’, La Russa has an opportunity that the general public does not: settling the score.

While position players are (often obsoletely) decided by a fan vote, pitching decisions rest in the hands of an all-knowing skipper.

When put under the responsibility of La Russa, the decision is given the thankful elimination of fan bias and is replaced with baseball facts.

Some facts off the bat: Dickey is baseball’s best 12-1 on the season, sports a flashy 2.40 ERA, has an impressive K/9 rate of 9.23, has a WHIP of 0.93 and virtually never allows a batter on base as evidenced by his two consecutive one-hitters.

Cain is 9-3, has a 2.63 ERA, has a K/9 of 8.83, a WHIP of 0.96, and most importantly, he has no cute nickname for Sandy Alderson to make fun of. He’s also no more impressive than Dickey in any major indicating statistic. As inspiring and dominant as his perfect game was, that was a single day in his history. Dickey, on the other hand, continues to make history with every pitch—namely, his knuckleball.

His knuckleball is revolutionizing the game of baseball day in and day out, with every outing of his on the mound. With three different versions of the pitch, including the fastest and most accurate knuckleball in history, it’s a new beast from anything ever seen in baseball.

Tim Wakefield, for instance, was the most recent knuckleball pitcher in baseball. Like Dickey, who has thrown the pitch 86.2 percent of the time on the mound this year, Wakefield heavily relied on the pitch and threw it 84.3 percent of the time he threw a pitch.

Unlike Dickey, however, his pitch was inaccurate and he walked 3.36 batters per game, compared to the 1.95 Dickey has recorded this season. Wakefield was also not a strikeout pitcher, and recorded only 6.01 K/9 in his career. This season, Dickey has recorded 9.23 K/9 and fans 26.6 percent of the batters that he faces. In his career, Wakefield struck out only 15.5 percent.

The most perplexing statistic in Dickey’s favor as a knuckleball pitcher is the speed of his pitch. Dickey has somehow managed to throw his knuckleball at an average speed of 77.0 MPH this season, whereas Wakefield’s career average was only 65.8 MPH for the pitch.

“Boy, I’ll tell you, he’s on fire,” said Hall of Famer knuckleball pitcher Phil Niekro on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Radio. “He is the talk of baseball right now. The talk of sports. I’ve never seen a knuckleballer that has pitched as well as he has. I certainly haven’t done that and I don’t know of any other knuckleball pitcher that I’ve seen has done that. Everybody in baseball is talking about this guy.” 

To make matters even more impressive, Dickey is the only remaining knuckleballer active in baseball,  and he’s doing all of this at 37 years old, coming out of an offseason in which he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in an effort to raise money for child sex trafficking and in which he published an extraordinarily well-written New York Times Best Seller that he co-wrote with Wayne Coffey, entitled Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity, and the Perfect Knuckleball—a memoir about his life and troubled childhood in which he was molested in separate incidents as a child.

Dickey, as we’ve all realized, has also done all of this phenomenal work without an ultra collateral ligament, the primary elbow stabilizer and critical for the profession of, say, a professional pitcher in Major League Baseball.

“I just try to be in the moment with every pitch,” says Dickey in an L.A. Times article, who’s hoping to hear if he will be selected to start in the All-Star game.

“Dickey could certainly start the game,” La Russa explained in a Yahoo Sports article. “He’s got the credentials. But I look at the starter types of the five guys that were selected and each of those guys can make a claim, so as a manager, you have to keep your heart pure and do the best you can for the team over one individual.”

Other names still in the running for the starting spot include Matt Cain, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Clayton Kershaw, and arguably, even Philadelphia Phillies starter Cole Hamels.

But which catcher would be able to handle the knuckle ball?

“With Dickey, I’ve given that a lot of thought,” La Russa added in a Wall Street Journal article by Brian Costa. “There is an issue about catching him and what spot to use him. His season has gotten everybody’s attention, including our staff’s, and we’re talking about the best way to just win the game with the personnel—and how we use Dickey will be a part of that.”

According to CSN writer Andrew Baggarly, he’s not the only one concerned. “Buster Posey got the number for Mets catcher Josh Thole from Andres Torres. Hasn’t called yet to get advice about catching knuckler.”

“I would have no problem starting him,” added former pitching star John Smoltz. “Dickey has dominated a stretch of baseball we haven’t seen in a long time.”

And now that Dickey’s story has become one of the most talked about in recent baseball memory, fans have begun to hamper on a new question: should Dickey’s life be turned into a movie? If so, the baseball star would also become a Hollywood star; for a man who understands culture as deeply as anyone in the game, acting as a cultural icon of his own.

If he were neglected for the start, it would violate the very fundamentals of what the All-Star game is about: showcasing the top talent and most compelling players in the game. That’s exactly what R.A. Dickey has become.

Of course, Dickey has had help from his self-titled “Jedi Council of Knuckle Ballers”, including Phil Niekro (318 career wins) and Charlie Hough.

After not making his first All-Star appearance until 37, after spending 14 years in the minors and after not getting his first full season in the MLB until he was 36 years old, we have some context to proven that Dickey is here to stay. Niekro retired at 48. Charlie Hough retired at 46.

The All-Star game is not a popularity contest when it comes to pitching. It’s a matter of who’s the best pitcher in the game at the time. That is, without a doubt, R.A. Dickey. So if we’re going to pretend that the All-Star game means something, then let’s actually do it and get the right pitcher on the mound.

If Mets fans had any say in it, they’ll be sure to try to keep it that way for years to come. With the book published this year, with the offseason feats of climbing a mountain and with all of his accomplishments on the field, this is the time for R.A. Dickey to shine in his new role—an All-Star.

If he doesn’t get the start, it would and should be a criminal offense.

Follow @BryanKalbrosky

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

I knew New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson about 30 years ago. He was new in baseball, acting as the general counsel for the Oakland Athletics. He was a classy guy. Very nice, very engaging. Very friendly to a young kid who was doing some day of game work for MLB Productions.

The guy who ripped Giants fans and one of the fine young hitters in baseball, Pablo Sandoval, is a different guy. Alderson showed absolutely no class with his Twitter comments. He came across as petty and arrogant.

Alderson tweeted:

ASG election of “Kung Fu Panda” shows the value of a cute nickname. Surprised Giants fans didn’t elect a “ball dude” to start at 3B.

— Sandy Alderson (@MetsGM) July 3, 2012

Of course Wright deserves to start ahead of Sandoval at third base for the National League.

But did Alderson forget about the 2009 election, when Sandoval clearly deserved to be voted in over Wright? That time the vote went the other way. I’m sure he wasn’t complaining then.

Alderson shouldn’t take it out on the Giants or their fans for voting for their most beloved young player. He has two groups to blame, and they’re both very close to home.

The first group is MLB for allowing a flawed process to exist. You’re allowed to vote 25 times per email address. Now if you want to take the time to create 1,000 gmail accounts, you can vote 25,000 times.

And quite frankly, based on my experience with the poor technology at MLB, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the process could have been compromised. After all, the Bay Area is host to the world’s technology center, Silicon Valley.

Leave it to some tech savvy Giants fan to hack into the MLB servers or create a code that circumvents the balloting.

The fact that Freddie Sanchez was fourth in ballots at second base, despite not playing for over a year, and that Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt were second at shortstop and first base respectively, tells me something is not right.

The second group Alderson should blame is the New York Mets fans for letting this happen. Alderson said it himself when he tweeted:

Wright vs.Sandoval: A city of 8 million was outvoted by a city of 800,000.

— Sandy Alderson (@MetsGM) July 2, 2012

And he’s absolutely right. This would have never happened to a Yankee.

I guess the Mets have been losing so long that their fans forgot what to do when they win.

Stop whining Sandy and stop blaming the Giants and the fans for getting their player voted in.

The culprits all reside right there in New York.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The first half of the MLB season was all good and fun, fantasy owners, but it’s time to get down to business.

The All-Star break is just one week away, providing a perfect opportunity to rethink and re-tune those fantasy rosters for a second-half surge.

While sleepers are hard to come by this far into the season, here’s a look at five under-the-radar studs who may still be floating around your waiver wire.

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The 2012 All-Star game is on July 10 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, and the selection show will be held Sunday July 1. 

With the game and the selection show quickly approaching, let’s take a glance at each MLB team and determine which players have earned a trip to Kansas City. 

Of course, not every team deserves to have an All-Star representative, but since the MLB requires that each team is represented, we’ll take a shot at picking the top player from each club. 

A.L. East

New York Yankees: Derek Jeter, SS

Derek Jeter is the most popular Yankee, which means he’s automatically one of the more popular players in baseball. His .303 average will be more than enough for an All-Star nod. 

Baltimore Orioles: Jason Hammel, P

The Orioles are playing solid baseball despite the lack of true star power. With that in mind, Jason Hammel deserves the nod with his 8-3 record. 

Boston Red Sox: Will Middlebrooks, 3B

Will Middlebrooks has been consistent at the plate with a .307 average, but the rookie has also added some pop with 10 home runs on the year. 

Tampa Bay Rays: David Price, P

The Rays have been lacking at the plate, but David Price has been solid on the mound with an 11-4 record and a 2.92 ERA. 

Toronto Blue Jays: Edwin Encarnacion, DH

Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacian have a combined 48 home runs on the season, but Encarnacian has the better average at .289. 

A.L. Central 

Chicago White Sox: A.J. Pierzynski, C

A.J. Pierzynski has been solid behind the plate, but unlike most catchers, he is an offensive weapon as well. 

Cleveland Indians: Asdrubal Cabrera, SS

Cleveland’s starting pitching has been lacking, so we’ll have to turn to position players to find an All-Star. Asdrubal Cabrera has been serviceable in the middle and is leading the team with a .292 average. 

Detroit Tigers: Justin Verlander, P

Justin Verlander is one of the best pitchers in the game and has maintained a 2.69 ERA. 

Kansas City Royals: Alcides Escobar, SS

The Royals are typically lacking in talent, but Alcides Escobar has been a pleasant surprise in the middle with a .318 average. 

Minnesota Twins: Joe Mauer, C

The former MVP’s long-ball has been lacking this year, but Joe Mauer is still producing with a .324 average and a .415 on-base percentage. 

A.L. West

Texas Rangers: Josh Hamilton, CF

Josh Hamilton is currently the best player in the league and will eventually win A.L. MVP, barring any unforeseen disasters. 

Los Angeles Angels: C.J. Wilson, P

Albert Pujols had a slow start, which might not sit well with some fan voters. Meanwhile, C.J. Wilson is 9-4 with a 2.36 ERA. 

Oakland A’s: Brandon McCarthy, P

Brandon McCarthy has the lowest ERA on the team at 2.64 and is sitting with a 6-3 record. 

Seattle Mariners: Kyle Seager, 3B

Kyle Seager is hitting a modest .253, which happens to be the second-best average on the woeful Mariners. Seager also has 10 homers and 46 RBIs. 

N.L. East

Washington Nationals: Gio Gonzalez, P

The Nationals are a talented team ready to make the first serious run of their short history. Leading the way on the mound is Gio Gonzalez, who has already accumulated 10 wins. 

New York Mets: David Wright, 3B

If David Wright’s MLB-leading .359 average isn’t enough to get him in, his popularity in a big market is. 

Atlanta Braves: Jason Heyward, RF

Jason Heyward is leading the team with 12 homers and has put together a respectable .272 average. He’s not spectacular, but he’s one of their best hitters. 

Miami Marlins: Hanley Ramirez, 3B

The Marlins do not have a single pitcher with a winning record, so Hanley Ramirez is the best they have to offer

Philadelphia Phillies: Carlos Ruiz, C

Carlos Ruiz has the second-best average in baseball at .358 and has provided 11 homers and 43 RBI’s. 

N.L. Central

Cincinnati Reds: Joey Votto, 1B

The former MVP is having another solid year with a .354 average and 14 home runs. And with Albert Pujols out of the picture, he’s finally the dominant first baseman of the National League. 

Pittsburgh Pirates: Andrew McCutchen, CF

If a .344 batting average and a .399 on-base percentage isn’t enough, the star center fielder also has 15 homers and 51 RBI’s. 

St. Louis Cardinals: Carlos Beltran, OF 

The defending World Series champs are trailing Pittsburgh and Cincinnati in the division, but Carlos Beltran is certainly carrying his weight with 20 home runs on the season. 

Milwaukee Brewers: Ryan Braun, LF

Ryan Braun’s steroid acquisitions are troubling, but that won’t keep the reigning N.L. MVP out of the All-Star game.  

Houston Astros:  Jed Lowrie, SS 

The Astros are struggling with a 32-45 record, but Jed Lowrie has been a pleasant surprise on offense with 14 home runs and 33 RBIs. 

Chicago Cubs: Bryan LaHair, 1B

It’s tough to find an All-Star on a team that could eventually lose 100 games, but Bryan LaHair gets the pity vote for 13 home runs and a .288 average (both team highs). 

N.L. West

San Francisco Giants: Matt Cain, P

With former Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum struggling, Matt Cain has stepped up with nine wins and a 2.53 average. 

Los Angeles Dodgers: Chris Capuano, P

Clayton Kershaw gets all the publicity, but Chris Capuano is leading the team with a 2.69 ERA and nine wins. 

Arizona Diamondbacks: Wade Miley, P

Rookie starting pitcher Wade Miley is riding high with a 9-3 record and a 2.19 ERA in 90.1 innings. Miley will start off a promising career with a rookie All-Star appearance. 

Colorado Rockies: Carlos Gonzalez, LF

Carlos Gonzalez is hitting with a remarkable .338 average, and he also has 17 bombs and has batted in 58 runners. 

San Diego Padres: Chase Headley, 3B

San Diego is greatly struggling with only 28 wins on the season. They have no worthy players, but Chase Headley is the top candidate for the pity vote. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The National League could be one of the most loaded All-Star teams in recent memory when it rolls into Kansas City for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 10.

Filling out my ballot for the senior circuit was a difficult task, as there are about 15 players who could potentially start for the All-Star team. Of course, that’s a good problem to have when only nine players play on the baseball field.

There are some quality players who will be snubbed in the NL, but here’s a look at the players who will take the field and start for the National League.

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Fans vote for the starters in the MLB All-Star game which means one thing: it’s a popularity contest. Year after year we see the American League starters as a Yankees and Red Sox All-Star team featuring Ichiro or Josh Hamilton. There are usually a few guys who get a deserving start, but it’s rare that the fans get it right all the way through. The 2012 All-Star game in Kansas City is under a month away, so here are the players who, as of now, deserve to be starting.

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