All Star ballots: they're a joke

[General]

Seriously, this really pisses me off. I'll go by position:

1st Base: Pujols, then Lee not too far behind, then..Mienkewicz? What ****?

Grade=B+

2nd Base: Kent, followed by Grudzielanek and Biggio. Kent belongs there, with 14 HRs and 53 RBI. Biggio ahead of Giles? Nuh-uh.

Grade=B+

3rd Base:Rolen followed by Ramirez, Glaus and Chipper. Okay...am I missing something? Rolen's missed about a month. Glaus tore the ball up the early part of the season but has cooled down. Ramirez is just plain scary. Chipper doesn't belong there at all.

Grade=C+

SS: Cesar Izturis followed by Eckstein and Nomar. I acknowledge that this has been a bad year for NL SS, but dude...Izturis? 1 HR? 20 RBI? .341 OBP? And he's ahead of Eckstein by 60,000 votes? Eckstein tops him in HRs, RBI, OBP, AVG, OPS, and SB. Furcal?? I don't think so. Clint "Groceries" Barmes?

Grade= D

Catcher: MIke Piazza followed by Loduca and Barrett. Well, outside of the fact that Mike is the worst defensive catcher in the majors, can't hit, and has a lower OBP (.329) than Kelly Johnson (.348)..well...actually, it doesn't get any worse. Hell, Michael Barrett is putting up better numbers than Piazza.

Grade= F

OF: Beltran, followed by Edmonds, Abreu, Cabrera, and Griffey. Okay..what am I missing? Where is the ML leader in HRs, Andruw Jones? He's 10th on the list, behind the likes of the great Milton Bradley. Beltran has been struggling all season, arguably a 5th OFer. Hell, he's not even the best CFer on his own team.

Grade= D-


You don't like it? Blow me.

[Hmark6]

I agree. If Homefield in the WS is on the line, don't let the fans vote.

Its like Carl Everett said, "99% of [us] don't know what [we're] watching!"

[Kingdom]

You can't list Barmes, he's gone for long while. The catcher should be Ramon Hernandez.

[riverdunesrat]

Of course they're a joke. The whole game is a joke especially under the reign of the fidiot Selig. Didn't anyone see the game last year? Selig and FUX Sports musta worked out a deal. Then the year before he called the game a tie......what a freaking wussie......

When MLB sends out mass e-mails asking fans to "Vote early, vote often" then you gotta know something is not right in the world of All-Starville.

Do you guys know any baseball fans? Some unknowledgable, bandwagoner, front runner, baseball fans have no clue or no business picking up a ballot.

That doesn't apply to anyone here btw.....we all at least know some of what we are talking about.......well, some of us......

[Fishercat]

I think Selig gets way too much shit for calling it a tie, making it count was worse (although I'm grateful that the Sox got their HFA in the WS by pounding on Rawjah).

They have two choices, let the fans vote or make it count, should be mutually exclusive.

[Steak]

You hit the nail in the head, General. This voting process is a complete joke. There are lot of fans that have no clue what the heck they are doing when it comes to voting. I really have to wonder if those fans are even watching baseball. I understand they may not have Extra Innings or MLB.TV, but geez you would think they would read the papers and publications each week on the MLB teams and the players. Sports Weekly cost $1.25 in the newsstands. They should buy it every week and learn about who is doing great and who is not doing great. They should vote based on that.

[riverdunesrat]

And.......don't forget about the internet and baseball boards......that is where I get most of my info........

[777rak]

Of course they're a joke. The whole game is a joke especially under the reign of the fidiot Selig. Didn't anyone see the game last year? Selig and FUX Sports musta worked out a deal. Then the year before he called the game a tie......what a freaking wussie......

When MLB sends out mass e-mails asking fans to "Vote early, vote often" then you gotta know something is not right in the world of All-Starville.

Do you guys know any baseball fans? Some unknowledgable, bandwagoner, front runner, baseball fans have no clue or no business picking up a ballot.

That doesn't apply to anyone here btw.....we all at least know some of what we are talking about.......well, some of us......

Oh i see, you have a pont. You would have gotten rep. for that, but I have to spread it around.

[Kingdom]

Most of the people that deserve to be there, will get in when the coaches select. Granted, Torre likes to pick half his team, but I doubt they will have truly deserved it this time. If a guy who is hurt, or is sucky, gets in, ...critically burn that player for not having the integrity to step down for someone deserving. This is the fan's game, even with the "this time it counts", I don't think MLB would accomplish much by setting down a barage of rules come voting time. I really think it is horrible to see Jason Giambi and Frank Thomas is a lot of votes, but they won't get in, so it doesn't bother me as much as it should. Fortunately, the reserves are not selected based on where they finished in the voting.

[Kingdom]

Hopefully La Russa or Francona(sp) don't pull a Torre.

[Steak]

And.......don't forget about the internet and baseball boards......that is where I get most of my info........

And also the various sports sites like ESPN.com, MLB.com, cbssportsline.com, and CNNSi.com. There is simply no excuse for fans not to do their homework on the players in baseball. This is nothing than them being lazy and uneducated on these guys.

[missionhockey21]

The fact that Felipe Lopez isn't in the top 5 for NL shortstops shows how much of a joke this process is. Yeah he has a chance to be selected to go as the lone guy for the Reds but he deserves to get votes for his terrific performance thus far.

Ratings among NL shortstops:
#1 in OPS (.890)
#1 in SLG% (.544)
#4 in OBP (.346)
#4 in BA (.295)
#1 in RBI (43)
#1 in HR (12)
#3 in 2B (16)

What else does this guy have to do? A young breakout player has shown improved power and defensive skills should be something all baseball fans love. But due to the Reds woes players like him haven't gotten their name praised. You either have the bandwagon fans who jump all over anything ESPN hypes (like Clint Barmes) or you have the homers who are ballot box stuffers. Why can't the fans just do their homework like Steak mentioned and make this sport one that appears to have knowledgable fans.

[Providence A's]

What else does this guy have to do?

he has to play in NY or Boston

[browntown653]

I think the All-Star voting process is a complete joke...let the fans vote. My NL ballot-

First Base: D. Lee, CHC
Second Base: J. Kent, LAD
Third Base: A. Ramirez, CHC
Shortstop: F. Lopez, CIN
Catcher: M. Barrett, CHC
Outfielder: B. Abreu, PHI
Outfielder: M. Cabrera, FLA
Outfielder: R. Sanders, STL
DH Pujols or something...Mike Piazza, Carlos Beltran, Scott Rolen? Gimme a break...

[General]

I'll do the AL later today...I need some time before my blood boils.