The All Snub Team: American League Edition

Summer is upon us. For some that means getting ready for the football season, but for others, it’s the midway point of the baseball season. On Tuesday July 10 some of the game’s greatest players will play in the MLB All Star Game in San Francisco.

Unfortunately, not all of them will be there. Every year there are a noteable list of players snubbed out of an appearance. One reason is due to the rule that each team much have one representative in the game (causing disgraces like Mark Redman to make the team), some are simply not as good as their competition, and others are just flat out robbed. Here is my All Snub Team for the American League.

American League

Catcher: Joe Mauer (Minnesota Twins) –  This is a tough choice to make, considering the Ivan Rodriguez is likely the least deserving of the bunch, but was voted in by the fans. Jorge Posada and Victor Martinez both put up great stats well deserving of the honor. Coming off winning the AL batting title, Mauer is hitting a solid .299, and is a great defensive catcher with the best speed out of any AL catcher. He shouldn’t be in the All Star game, but he’s the most deserving out of everone who did not.

First Base: Kevin Youkilis (Boston Red Sox) – Not quite a house hold name, but the Greek God of walks have been on fire throughout the first half. Known for his great plate discipline, Youkilis took the next step this season, greatly improving his bat on his way to his current .329 batting average. Add a .420 on base percentage, 9 home runs, and great defensive flexibility, and you get an All-Star. Ironically, teammate Mike Lowell seems to be the guy that Youkilis could have been selected instead of. Lowell has cooled off after his hot start, with a much worse .347 OBP.

Second Base: BJ Upton (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) – The highly touted prospect came in to his own in a career season. He hit for a .320 batting avergae with 9 home runs and 13 stolen bases, making fantasy baseball owners especially happy. Unfortunately, an injury to his left quad strain has forced him to miss some action. The second baseman chosen instead was the Orioles Brian Roberts, who was certainly not a bad choice with his .321 batting average and 26 stolen bases.

Third Base: Mark Teahen (Kansas City Royals) – Ok, this is a HUGE stretch. Any followers with baseball will be quick to point out a few flaws in this selection. For starters, he hasn’t played a game at third base all year. However, he played there last year and all of his career before moving to make way for future star Alex Gordon. Also, his stats aren’t too impressive. His .290 batting average, 41 runs scored, 8 home runs and 42 runs batted in is solid, but not worthy of representing the AL. However, remember that each team needs at least guy in the game. Instead of putting average starting pitcher Gil Mecche on the roster, Teahen could have been placed in a slot where the solid but not great Lowell occupied. That opens an extra slot for a more qualified pitcher. You got to think big picture.

Shortstop: Orlando Cabrera (Los Angeles Angels) – Here we have the definition of snub. After hitting for an amazing .333 batting average for the first place Angels, there is no room for the underrated Cabrera. His 53 runs scored are ignored. His 48 runs batted in (which is very good for a guy who isn’t a big power hitter) doesn’t matter. Fellow shortstop Carlos Guillen certianly deserved it as well, and of course Derek Jeter got voted in by the fans. Who got the spot? Michael Young got it because the Rangers had nobody better. His RBI total is the same, but his batting average is .43 points lower (ha! I’m making you do the math) and he has does less of seemingly everone else. That stupid one rep for team rule really screwed Cabrera in a year where many shortstops are deserving of an appearance in the Midseason Classic.

Left Field: Gary Sheffield (Detroit Tigers) – WOW. What was AL manager Jim Leyland and his fellow staff thinking? Sheffield is hitting the crap out of the ball this year. He’s hit 19 home runs, even after a bad April, and has scored 70 runs, second to only Alex Rodriguez. With a .295 batting average, .404 OBP, and a shocking 11 steals from a man not known for his speed, Sheffield should no doubt be representing the AL on July 10. This is also not one of those cases where anyone else deserved to be in. Boston’s Manny Ramirez got in solely on reputation. His numbers are average at best, with a .285 average, 11 homers, 44 RBI, and 42 runs (and no steals, come on!). His stats right now are basically similar to Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis, and everyone would be laughing if someone even considered him as an All-Star. 

Center Field: Curtis Granderson (Detroit Tigers) :  Five people from the Tigers aren’t enough? Apparently not, since their whole outfield is deserving. With an amazing 48 extra base hits (22 doubles, 15 triples, 11 home runs) Granderson has been amazing in the lead off role in the league’s top office. Unfortunately, there is nobody outsider of Manny who is undeserving of the role. Torii Hunter and Grady Sizemore are the only other outfielders who weren’t either voted in or selected due to the one rep rule (Alex Rios and Carl Crawford are both somewhat deserving though).

Right Field: Sammy Sosa (Texas Rangers): A big part of this is sentimental value. Then there’s the fact that the Rangers are horrible and have nobody better. Sosa, now with over 600 career home runs, was considered finished when he hit .221 for the Orioles in 2005. Sosa has come back a completely different player from 2005, driving in 63 runs with 14 homers. If not Sheffield, Sosa should have been chosen over Manny, thus clearing Michael Young’s spot for Cabrera. On a side note, wouldn’t it be fun to see Sosa and Barry Bonds in the home run derby?

 Pitchers:

Starting Pitcher Erik Bedard (Baltimore Orioles) – It’s odd that Cole Hamels gets in for the National League just for his high strikeout total (I’ll attack that further in the NL post) but Bedard did not make the team despite currently leading the league in strikeouts. He also has a better ERA (3.67) and WHIP (1.20). However, Bedard plays for the crappy Orioles, who only managed to gethim enough run support for six wins. Bedard has been a work horse, and had not gave up more than 3 earned runs in his past 11 starts before faltering in his last start. This is why Teahen was suggested at third base. Bedard is more qualified than Meche.

Starting Pitcher Jeremy Guthrie (Baltimore Orioles) – Pitching coach Leo Mazzone is working his magic in Baltimore.  Guthrie has come from nowhere to post amazing numbers, including a 2.63 ERA and league leading 0.89 WHIP. However, Guthrie is only has 4 wins since he only made 1 start during April. He has really been under the radar, apparently so much that the coaches and players haven’t noticed him.

Starting Pitcher Daisuke Matzusaka (Boston Red Sox) – Unlike Bedard and Guthrie, the spotlight has been on Dice-K the entire season, and he has not let anyone down. With 10 wins, 119 strikeouts and a 3.53 ERA for the Red Sox, it’s a bit surprisingly everyone didn’t jump to get him in the All-Star game to attract more Japanese viwers. Bottom line, Dice-K has been unhittable since the end of May. In his last six starts, he’s only given up six runs in 40 innings, striking out 51 batters. Oh well, he gets enough attention and recognition already. 

Relief Pitcher Joe Nathan (Minnesota Twins) – Damn that one All-Star per team rule! Leading the spectacular Minnesota bullpen, Nathan is 16 out of 17 in save chances (and he got the win in the only save attempt he blew.) Nathan gets the least respect out of all the elite closers, posting a great 2.25 ERA. He is more deserving than the White Sox’ only rep Bobby Jenks, who has a 3.21 ERA with 3 blown saves.

The Final Vote: The roster is not done yet! MLB.com is hosting a poll, where the fans decide between five more players competiting for the last spot. This year, all the nominees in both the AL and NL all are pitchers. Here are the candidates.

Starting Pitcher Jeremy Bonderman (Detroit Tigers) – He’s 9-1 with a 3.58 ERA, 89 strikeouts, and an above average 1.18 WHIP. Not a bad choice, but he’s shown a bit of inconsistency, and the AL team is loaded with starting pitching as it is.

Starting Pitcher Roy Halladay (Toronto Blue Jays) – This is mainly based on reputation. The former Cy Young winner is 9-3 with an unimpressive 4.27 ERA. Forget what I said before. This is ONLY because of his past success.

Starting Pitcher Kelvim Escobar (Los Angeles Angels) – 9-3 with a 3.32 ERA is a great first half, and he’s matched Bonderman’s 1.18 WHIP. However, he’s had three starts where he has been shelled. Do you really want a pitcher prone to being bombed on an All Star roster?

Relief Pitcher Hideki Okajima (Boston Red Sox) – Dice K isn’t Boston’s only phenom from Japan. Okajima has been a God’s send for Boston in the set up role, posting a 0.88 ERA and 0.78 WHIP. That’s only four earned runs allowed in 41 innings. He is in the lead right now, and will likely compete with his fellow Japanese teammate for AL Rookie of the Year.

Relief Pitcher Pat Neshek (Minnesota Twins) – As the 8th inning man for the Twins, Neshek is producing a 1.34 ERA, a 0.71 WHIP, and has fanned 49 batters in 40.1 innings pitched. With one the weirdest pitching motions in baseball, Neshek is dominating.

The voting ends 6 EST on Thursday. It’d be a shame if Okajima or Neshek didn’t make it. Middle relievers are becoming a valuable commodity in baseball, and at least one of the best should be honored with the trip to San Francisco.

The NL All Snub Team will be coming soon, so keep your eyes out for that.