I didn't see the All Star Results Show Sponsored by Trojan Vibrations or whatever the hell the special was called. Why not? Because the goddamned Foo Fighters were in town. And in my book, Dave Grohl and co. >>>>> shameless pandering and stalling and Kurkjianing.
So yeah. I saw a really awesome rock concert, my eardrums are shot, my voice is gone, and i'm still hyped up rock fumes. So let's get this damn post written.
Last night the rosters were announced for the starting lineups for the AL and NL. Holliday and Peralta aside, they were pretty good. Now, here comes the pitchers and the reserves. And I ain't holding back for nothing.
PITCHERS GO FIRST
AL:
Chris Archer, Rays. Yeah, that makes sense. He's been pitching beautifully for los Rays this season, and last season.
Dellin Betances, Yankees. Best set-up man in baseball. And sometimes closer.
Brad Boxberger, Rays. Nothing classier than a rookie closer. And he's a good closer, too.
Zach Britton, Orioles. The tally: CLOSERS, 3. STARTERS 1. Not to diminish Britton's efforts. He's pretty damn good.
Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera, Royals. Because we have to remember who's putting the team together. They may not be indispensable players, but they're good setup men, and Yost likes 'em.
Sonny Gray, A's. Hoping stomach problems keep him in this one. He has become the best starter in Oakland.
Felix Hernandez, Mariners. Like there was any doubt.
Dallas Keuchel, Astros. The man with the best facial hair in baseball deserved to be here, and will be a welcome addition to this squad.
Darren O'Day, Orioles. Really, Ned, enough with the relievers. I get that it's important to have a bunch, but dammit, a lot of these guys aren't even gonna frickin play. Especially this guy.
Glen Perkins, Twins. The umpteenth closer. Thankfully, this one's having an amazing season.
David Price, Tigers. Makes a ton of sense. With no Verlander, Scherzer or Fister, this guy's been commanding the Detroit rotation.
Chris Sale, White Sox. If I were a betting man, I'd say he'd be starting the game.
NL:
Madison Bumgarner, Giants. I'm not deferring to Bochy here. Any manager in the nL and this guy would still be here.
A.J. Burnett, Pirates. Kind of surprised he's never been here before. Also, at 38, he's the oldest guy on either team. And he's actually having a pretty nice season.
Gerrit Cole, Pirates. The only guy in Pittsburgh that's having a better season than Burnett. I mean, this guy's phenomenal.
Jacob deGrom, Mets. The only met on the entire damn roster. I'm not kidding. Jeurys Familia's a final man nod. I'm still happy that deGrom got one, as he's on fire right now. But...NO OTHER METS??? REALLY? And I'm a YANKEE FAN saying that.
Zack Greinke, Dodgers. Well, of course. This goes without saying.
Shelby Miller, Braves. I think this is the only Brave on the roster. No Maybin.
Max Scherzer, Nationals. Yeah, if he didn't get on, I'd be really mad. The dude's untouchable.
Michael Wacha, Cardinals. One of the many strong Cardinal arms this season.
(Relievers:)
Aroldis Chapman, Reds. Not arguing with this one.
Mark Melancon, Pirates. Another really nice closer.
Jonathan Papelbon, Phillies. Uh...this is the only Phillie on the roster. And he's not even having that good of a season. If you're gonna do a Philly reliever, do Ken Giles. The kid's having a breakout year as the setup man, and he should get this nod. Not Papelbon. He's not even gonna be with us in a month.
Francisco Rodriguez, Brewers. Another Papelbon-esque nod.This is the only Brewer on here, and he's not even having that great a season. Like, I've not heard a damn thing about him this whole time.
Trevor Rosenthal, Cardinals. Yeah, this one was a given.
RESERVE BATTERS:
AL:
Jose Bautista, Blue Jays. He's not having a Joey-Bats-esque season, but I'm not arguing. If he wasn't on, Toronto would secede.
Prince Fielder, Rangers. This guy is having a wonderful return to form. And I'm happy to see him back here.
Brock Holt, Red Sox. This guy is the only Red Sox player on this roster. And not Mookie Betts. Bogaerts is an option for Final Man, but...Brock Holt? Really?
Jose Iglesias, Tigers. Yeah, the guy's had a huge start to the year.
Adam Jones, Orioles. Another no-brainer.
Jason Kipnis, Indians. Should be starting, but I'm not complaining.
Manny Machado, Orioles. Other than Holt, literally all of these make sense. Machado's a boss.
Russell Martin, Blue Jays. Again, YES! RIGHT ON THE MONEY! Martin's having a wonderful season.
J.D. Martinez, Tigers. Ned Yost did a really good job with this roster.
Albert Pujols, Angels. Albert will be starting at 1st base in place of Miguel Cabrera, which makes more sense than any other move this roster.
MARK TEIXEIRA, YANKEES. YOU BETTER BELIEVE TEX IS IN THERE.
Stephen Vogt, A's. Another deserved pick.
NL:
Nolan Arenado, Rockies. The man's broken out big-time this season, so a nod is a good idea.
Kris Bryant, Cubs. Kris essentially fills the hole made by Giancarlo Stanton leaving the roster, and nobody deserved an AS nod more than this guy. He's having an amazing rookie season.
Brandon Crawford, Giants. Should be starting at SS.
Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers. Having another wonderful season at 1B. The Dodgers should be overjoyed that he's been such a great fit there.
Yasmani Grandal, Dodgers. I don't really see why he's on here, but not necessarily arguing.
DJ LeMahieu, Rockies. Glad there are 2 Rockies infielders on there, even if they're in last.
Andrew McCutchen, Pirates. Cutch will be replacing Stanton at OF, which, like Pujols, makes so much sense that is makes me happy.
Yadier Molina, Cardinals. Can't especially argue with that.
Joe Panik, Giants. Could not be happy for the sophomore 2nd baseman.
Joc Pederson, Dodgers. Another deserved rookie nod.
AJ Pollock, D-Backs. Doesn't especially need to be here because Goldy's starting, but I'm not too mad.
Anthony Rizzo, Cubs. I wholeheartedly agree with this. Rizzo is the kind of leader they need in Chicago.
Justin Upton, Padres. If somebody from San Diego is gonna get nominated, it should be him.
FINAL MAN NODS:
AL:
Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox
Brett Gardner, Yankees
Yoenis Cespedes, Tigers
Brian Dozier, Twins
Mike Moustakas, Royals.
MOST DESERVING: Cespedes
WILL PROBABLY GET IT: Moose.
NL:
Carlos Martinez, Cardinals
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
Jeurys Familia, Mets
Johnny Cueto, Reds
Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies
MOST DESERVING: Martinez
WILL PROBABLY GET IT: Kersh.
One more thing. A lot of people are mad that A-Rod didn't get nominated. In my opinion, he hasn't especially moved mountains this season. He had a nice start, had some nice games, rose and fell. Tex has been the real star in New York. A-Rod has been pretty nice, but not necessarily AS worthy.
So, for the most part, these rosters are pretty damn good. Over the next week or so there will be some changes, and dropouts, so I'll be updated with that. But, so far, these are pretty nice.
I'm going to start a new drinking game and take a shot every time you say "damn" in a post. My liver thanks you.
ReplyDeleteO'Day getting on the team is actually a good story. He was a walk-on player in college. Undrafted, but signed by the Angels. Picked up in the Rule V draft by the Mets, he was waived by two different organizations, had a major shoulder injury, then was finally picked up by the Orioles when they were between GMs (after Andy MacPhail left and Dan Duquette signed on), meaning he was signed when buck Showalter was acting as GM of the team. I think it is really awesome that he made the team, and I bet he does get into the game in the late innings.
I don't really have anything against O'Day. I'm just not sure he's gonna get too much playing time, because Yost stacked that roster with middle relievers. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody like Kelvin Herrera or Wade Davis gets in and O'Day doesn't.
DeleteBy the way, my 'damn' counter was higher up last night because I was still very hyped up on Dave Grohl fumes. Usually I have only one or two damns per post.