2012 All Star Rosters: My Opinion

Some times I do things only for tradition's sake, and not for the sake of anyone else. Last year I had a whole post about how I was simply "meh" on the All Star Rosters. And people disagreed with me. And then the rosters got worse when people got injured and the dreaded starter pull-out rule reared its ugly head, which meant we were left with the "some-star team". Which proves that if I gloat, or if I say it's too good, it'll bite me in the ass.

Here we are again, a year later, and I'm doing the exact same thing, for tradition's sake only. I'll go through each roster, and voice my opinion on them. I'll start with the NL, because Ron Washington decided to pull the midterm route and push the rest of the roster to the last minute.

NL:

Starters:
1B: Joey Votto. Reds. I can get behind that, I guess. He had my vote...only because the guy I was gonna vote for had his achilles shattered by Jason Motte. Yes, I'm blaming Fozzie on this one.
2B: Dan Uggla, Braves. Voted for him as well. Deserves it, though I kinda wish Brandon Phillips got it.
SS: Rafael Furcal, Cardinals. I still voted for Rollins, but Furcal played better.
3B: Pablo Sandoval, Giants. WHOOOOOA, No. I'm sorry. David Wright had the better season. But either way, I don't hate Panda, and Wright will be a reserve anyway.
C: Buster Posey, Giants . Chooch deserved it. I'm sorry, but he had the better season. Posey's awesome, but Chooch was hitting better.
OF: Matt Kemp, Dodgers,  Melky Cabrera, Giants,  Carlos Beltran, Cardinals. 2/3 of this outfield I trashed earlier in the season. I said the Cabrera trade was stupid and lopsided, and I said that Beltran was a crappy way to replace Pujols. I also said that Matt Kemp would have an even bigger season than last. Am I terrible at predicting things or what? They'll probably call Hunter Pence to replace Kemp. I hope.

Pitchers:
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers. Yeahhhhh, that's about right.
Craig Kimbrel, Braves. Kinda saw it coming.
Aroldis Chapman, Reds. Having a great season, and deserves it.
Gio Gonzalez, Nationals. Not one Washington starter, but two pitchers. Okay, fine. Gonzalez and Strasburg were some of the best in the league, so I can get behind that.
Stephen Strasburg, Nationals. I apologize for Todd Van Poppel comparisons. He's awesome now.
Cole Hamels, Phillies. Totally deserves it. Only one of the Phour who's playing well.
Jonathan Papelbon, Phillies. Really? Cholly keeps him in too long, and he still gets the nod. Alright. Won't say no to another Philly.
Wade Miley, D-Backs. Okay, fine. They needed a nod.
R.A. Dickey, Mets. Where's Johan? Still, I'll take the knuckler.
Lance Lynn, Cardinals. Having a great season.
Joel Hanrahan, Pirates. You know, because there's always one anonymous Pirates pitcher that gets an All-Star nod, that you've never heard of. Here's this year's.
Huston Street, Padres. Uhhh...Carlos Quentin?
Matt Cain, Giants. Of course.

Reserves
C: Carlos Ruiz, Phillies. Of course.
C: Yadier Molina, Cardinals. Alright, I'll take it.
SS: Starlin Castro, Cubs. Having a good season.
1B: Bryan LaHair, Cubs. Haven't seen him play, but judging by nod, obviously better than Jim Thome.
2B: Jose Altuve, Astros. Good, they needed a nod.
3B: David Wright, Mets. Yeah, he should be where Panda is.
2B: Ian Desmond, Nationals. I met him. Seems good enough to go.
OF: Jay Bruce, Reds. Yeah, he deserves it.
OF: Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies. Why is he the only Rockies nod?
OF: Ryan Braun, Brewers. Why is he the only Brewerd nod? Zack Greinke, hello?
OF: Andrew McCutchen, Pirates. Yup. He deserves it.
OF: Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins. Only Marlin on the roster? Wow. Nice job, Ozz.

AL:

Starters:
1B: Prince Fielder, Tigers. Yeahhh...kinda saw that coming.
2B: ROBINSON CANO! OH YEAH!
SS: DEREK JETAHHH! OH YEAH!
3B: Adrian Beltre, Rangers. Voted for A-Rod, but I guess he's better.
C: Mike Napoli, Rangers. I strongly disagree. I think Matt Wieters deserves to start.
OF: Josh Hamilton, Rangers,  Curtis Granderson, Yankees,  Jose Bautista, Blue Jays. I thought Adam Jones would get Bautista's spot. Oh well.
DH: David Ortiz, Red Sox. Yeah, they needed one guy. Still voted for Raul.

Pitchers:
Matt Harrison, Rangers. Kinda thought Holland would beat him.
Joe Nathan, Rangers. Wow. What a comeback.
Felix Hernandez, Mariners. Still did not deserve the Cy Young in 2010.
Ryan Cook, A's. Nope. Nope. Nope. Give that back, and give Jemile Weeks his nomination.
Justin Verlander, Tigers. Of course.
CC Sabathia, Yankees. Sad that the only Yankee pitcher on the roster is hurt. Hopefully Rafael Soriano or Ivan Nova will jump in.
CJ Wilson, Angels. Yeah, I guess so.
Jered Weaver, Angels. Of course.
Jim Johnson, Orioles. Kinda thought Jason Hammel would get it.
Chris Sale, White Sox. Yeah. I thought so.
Chris Perez, Indians. One of the best closers in the AL. Deservingly so.
Fernando Rodney, Rays. Where Rafael Soriano should be.
David Price, Rays. Yeah, fine.

Reserves:
C: Matt Wieters, Orioles. Should be starting.
C: Joe Mauer, Twins. Welcome back, buddy.
1B: Paul Konerko, White Sox. I can kinda see that happening.
2B: Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians. Yeah.
3B: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers. Voted for him over Beltre.
SS: Elvis Andrus, Rangers. I guess so.
2B: Ian Kinsler, Rangers. Thank God he didn't get the starter nod.
1B: Mark Trumbo, Angels. This will be the 2nd straight AS game without a Pujols.
OF: Adam Jones. Damn right.
OF: Mike Trout. DAMN RIGHT!
OF: Adam Dunn. Fitting, really. No Ichiro either.
DH: Billy Butler. Fine, him over Moustakas.

As for the final man vote, Chipper Jones or Bryce Harper will likely prevail, while Yu Darvish should win the AL.

Overall, I don't think they're that bad. I just wish there were more Yankee pitchers.