Well, folks...I think I understand what Dusty Baker, Brian Snitker and, ultimately, Rob Manfred, were going for with these rosters for the 2022 All Star Game. But I do have some issues with how things went. And if Ryan Helsley's parents read the blog for some reason, I'm gonna ask that they go off to the bar before the finish this post.
Okay. Let me do the starting lineups, because those I have little to no issues with.
AL:
C: Alejandro Kirk, Blue Jays. With no Perez, Grandal or any veteran backstops in the AL worth a vote, I get that we're going to just 'well who's good right now'. I think Kirk does have a chance of having a great career, but even if not, he deserves it this year.
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays. Yeah, no duh.
2B: Jose Altuve, Astros. If the ballot actually had LeMahieu at 2nd and Donaldson at third, it'd be over for y'all. I guess this is fine.
SS: Tim Anderson, White Sox. A solid pick, and a guy I definitely voted for a lot to prevent an Astro or Red Sox.
3B: Rafael Devers, Red Sox. Kinda inevitable, honestly.
OF: Aaron Judge, Yankees. Once again, no duh.
OF: Mike Trout, Angels. I have no idea why he wasn't the top vote getter. Somehow the Yankee fans came through
OF: Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees. I like this. There were arguably AL OFers more deserving, like Cedric Mullins or George Springer, but I think Stanton deserves it with the year he, and the Yankees, are having.
DH: Shohei Ohtani, Angels. Narrowly beating Alvarez, and deservingly so.
NL:
C: Willson Contreras, Cubs. Not enough people voted for Realmuto. Like, Travis D'Arnaud was a contender, and while, as I'll say later, I get why he's on, he seems like a sort of weak choice compared to someone like Contreras, Realmuto or Will Smith.
1B: Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals. With the season he's having, I'd be more shocked if he didn't make it.
2B: Jazz Chisholm, Marlins. Maybe it's because Albies and Segura were injured for parts of the season, but kind of a weak year for NL 2Bs. Chisholm's an inspired choice, though.
SS: Trea Turner, Dodgers. A very valid choice that I'm glad won out.
3B: Manny Machado, Padres. I voted for him over Arenado and Riley, and he's definitely the right choice.
OF: Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves. Even with a month or so behind he still is the top vote getter. I'm really not surprised.
OF: Mookie Betts, Dodgers. Another easy one.
OF: Joc Pederson, Giants. A very pleasant surprise. I kind of thought Starling Marte had this one, but Joc and the Giants fans came in the clutch. Kinda glad to see it, Joc's become a fun player wherever he goes.
DH: William Contreras, Braves. So...obviously Bryce Harper can't play in the ASG, so Contreras is a logical choice, but it illuminates one of the main problems I have with the rosters this year, and that is throwing too many of the 2nd place finishers in the fan vote a bone anyway. These can't be life or death 2-man races if they're just gonna be voted in anyway. Where's the suspense? Contreras loses then wins 2 days later. It just proves that we shouldn't have limited the last week of voting to 2 choices.
All right, modest enough. Onto the reserves, which dropped yesterday:
AL Pitchers:
SP: Paul Blackburn, A's. Only Oakland selection, and as he might not even be an A after this month, a worthy one.
SP: Gerrit Cole, Yankees. Yes, obviously.
SP: Nestor Cortes, Yankees. Less obviously, but man am I happy he gets in.
SP: Alek Manoah, Blue Jays. Another obvious pick. I think he should start.
SP: Shane McClanahan, Rays. Heyguys....heyguys guess what? Only Ray on the rosters. After last year's Kevin Cash rosters, where people like Mike Zunino and Andrew Kittredge landed on the ballot solely because of who was managing. And believe me, this is not the last time I will mention this phenomena here.
SP: Shohei Ohtani, Angels. Damn right. I honestly think he deserved it more as a pitcher than a DH this year, but whatever keeps Yordan Alvarez from starting.
SP: Martin Perez, Rangers. Their only nod, and a pretty great choice for one.
SP: Framber Valdez, Astros. Yeah, valid enough pick.
SP: Justin Verlander, Astros. Can't argue with this one either.
RP: Emmanuel Clase, Guardians. Thankfully not the only Guardian on this ballot, but I'm glad he made it on. Weird that he's the only Cleveland pitcher here though.
RP: Clay Holmes, Yankees. Amazed by this pick. Happy for him. This may be his only big year, and I hope he swims in his success. I'll say that if this wasn't my team I'd maybe be wary, but who cares.
RP: Jorge Lopez, Orioles. As awesome as Lopez has been in the ninth, I do not think, with how well the O's have been playing lately, that he should have been the only Baltimore rep.
RP: Gregory Soto, Tigers. Because Soto is no longer the only Tiger, I would have preferred someone like Jordan Romano, Scott Barlow or Liam Hendriks in this spot. But hey, maybe the 'special selection' moves happened after the rosters were finalized.
AL Reserves:
C: Jose Trevino, Yankees. A second placer pick. Can't really complain, seeing as it's Trevvy and he's having an awesome year.
1B: Luis Arraez, Twins. Yeah, I like this pick a lot.
2B: Andres Gimenez, Guardians. Another very smart one.
SS: Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox. He should have been starting. Weird Bo Bichette isn't here as well.
3B: Jose Ramirez, Guardians. Another 2nd placer. This one I totally understand though.
OF: Andrew Benintendi, Royals. Only Royal, and he may not even be with the team by the end of this month.
OF: Byron Buxton, Twins. A 'you're damned right' pick. Should have had more of a chance in the fan vote.
OF: Julio Rodriguez, Mariners. Only M's pick? With Logan Gilbert, J.P. Crawford and Ty France playing like they have? Seems a bit cross-eyed, but okay Dusty. Then again, Dusty gave the A's one, the Rangers one, and the Angels just their stars, so...I get it.
OF: George Springer, Blue Jays. 2nd placer pick, but...again, I get it.
OF: Kyle Tucker, Astros. Out of all Dusty's picks, this one seems the most like him flexing his managerial power and putting his own guys on. I think Cedric Mullins or Austin Hays should have had this spot. Yes, the Astros are good, but so are the Orioles.
DH: Yordan Alvarez, Astros. Uh oh, Alvarez just got hurt and might miss the game. Perhaps this opens the door for J.D. Martinez or, well, another guy I'm gonna talk about at the end that honestly saved them a sub.
NL Pitchers:
SP: Sandy Alcantara, Marlins. Should start.
SP: Corbin Burnes, Brewers. Yeah, easy pick.
SP: Luis Castillo, Reds. Not the Red I would have picked for this roster, but still a good one.
SP: Max Fried, Braves. I would have gone with Kyle Wright. But again, Brian Snitker is behind this roster, and so he may have an inkling of when Wright's starting.
SP: Tony Gonsolin, Dodgers. Oh man, I'm so happy he got in.
SP: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers. Even though Alcantara probably should start, Kershaw is probably going to start, cause it's LA.
SP: Joe Musgrove, Padres. Yeah. Kind odd that Carlos Rodon didn't make it on as a starter, or Logan Webb, but...I guess Snitker really needed a place for Max Fried.
RP: David Bednar, Pirates. Only Pirate. With the crowded 3B field, there was no room for Ke'Bryan Hayes.
RP: Edwin Diaz, Mets. I can see it, yeah.
RP: Josh Hader, Brewers. Another easy one, yeah.
RP: Ryan Helsley, Cardinals. Uhhhhhhhh...I understand Helsley has a 0.75 ERA, and that Snitker might be trying to put in a Clay Holmes type 'look how hard to hit this guy is' pick, but...people have HEARD of Clay Holmes. Helsley is a particularly out-of-nowhere pick because the Cardinals have other reps, and the Cardinals have other pitchers that could have been on the roster, like Miles Mikolas or Adam Wainwright. But he really wanted Ryan Helsley. This baffles me.
RP: Joe Mantiply, Diamondbacks. Only D-Back, and he's been having a great season, so I get it.
NL Reserves:
C: Travis d'Arnaud, Braves. Not only a 2nd place pick, but a Snitker flexing that he's the manager pick. Omar Narvaez, Will Smith or Tyler Stephenson could have had this spot. BUT NOOOOO
1B: Pete Alonso, Mets. Kind of a no-brainer. People are pissed Freeman didn't get on. I can see why, but Alonso and Goldy are great picks, at least as far as multi-player teams are concerned. I would have honestly pulled for Josh Bell. As for team-based selections...
1B: C.J. Cron, Rockies. Only Rockies pick, and an easy one, too.
2B: Jeff McNeil, Mets. I honestly voted for him to start, so yeah. No Tommy Edman though, which is odd.
SS: Dansby Swanson, Braves. A Snitker pick I can't be too mad about because Swanson's actually having a great year
3B: Nolan Arenado, Cardinals. Again, would be shocked if he missed it.
OF: Ian Happ, Cubs. Yeah, he deserves it.
OF: Starling Marte, Mets. Voted for him to start, so even if this is a 2nd place finisher pick, I get it.
OF: Juan Soto, Nationals. I don't think he's having the best season, but the Nats need a rep if Bell isn't in, and Soto really should be there anyhow.
And then there's the 'special selection' bit, which I'm still puzzled about. The additions of Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera feel like they were thrown in as an audible by Manfred in addition to what was already agreed upon. Gregory Soto still reads like a 'this is the Tigers' only pick' one. And Manfred suddenly dropping the other day, 'oh Pujols and Cabrera will be there' just seemed odd. Like, completely out of sync with the progress of the season. Not as if they're not having good seasons, but...is it the right idea to commit non-voted roster space to two 40-year-old veterans?
I think Manfred is harkening back to the old days of the MLB, where Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Cal Ripken would get voted in even in their final seasons because the fan vote was less statistically inclined and more 'who do we, the fans, want to see'. And so you get that perspective of Rob Manfred trying to speak for the fans, saying 'they want Pujols and Cabrera, two of the all time greats.' But why is he saying this? Is he saying this to save face after he went through a lot of shit delaying the season? Is he saying this because he wants the ASG to get big ratings and he knows that Pujols and Cabrera could, and probably will in Pujols' case, retire after this season? Is he saying this because he's desperately trying to what fans want now?
It's an odd move. And it's one that honestly slides a bit more into place given that Alvarez and Harper might not make the game, so...you've got two extra DHs now. Are they the ones that were playing well enough to graduate to the roster? Probably not. But they may not ever get the chance to be here again, and they're both legends, so...yeah.
Again, I think I understand the intent with all of this, and I think I see the kind of fan they were trying to appeal to, but they're sacrificing some pieces of logic in order to please some people, and while it could be a fine strategy that succeeds where Manfred wants it to...I dunno, it's not quite how I would have done things.
So yeah. A lot I agree with, some stuff I don't. Check back in like a week or so to see how I feel about the guys they inevitably throw in to replace people.
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