NL All-Star Roster - Right or Wrong?

On to the National League roster, which has already made one move - Chipper Jones replacing Matt Kemp.  It's the absolute right thing to do, regardless of stats.

Here we go:

National League
Catcher - Buster Posey, SF
Reserves - Yadier Molina, STL; Carlos Ruiz, PHI
Snub - Carlos Ruiz not starting is complete bullshit, he leads the NL in batting average.  As a catcher!

First Base - Joey Votto, CIN
Reserve - Bryan LaHair, CHC
Snubs - Paul Goldschmidt, ARI

Second Base - Dan Uggla, ATL
Reserve - Jose Altuve, HOU
Snub - Aaron Hill, ARI

Third Base - Pablo Sandoval, SF
Reserves - Chipper Jones, ATL; David Wright, NYM
Snub - David Wright not starting is once again, utter bullshit.

Shortstop - Rafael Furcal, STL
Reserves - Starlin Castro, CHC; Ian Desmond, WAS
Snub - no one because NL shortstop is very down this season

Outfield - Melky Cabrera, SF; Matt Kemp, LAD; Carlos Beltran, STL
Reserves - Ryan Braun, MIL; Jay Bruce, CIN; Carlos Gonzalez, COL; Andrew McCutchen, PIT; Giancarlo Stanton, MIA
Snub - Michael Bourn, ATL; Andre Ethier, LAD; Martin Prado, ATL

Pitchers
Matt Cain, SF - perfect game, no qualms here.  3rd in K, 7th i n ERA
Aroldis Chapman, CIN - 100mph from the left side?  I hope he doesn't do somersaults.
RA Dickey, NYM - back-to-back one-hit shutouts, "power knuckler".  1st in W, 3rd in ERA
Gio Gonzalez, WAS - stud.  2nd in W, 4th in K
Cole Hamels, PHI - 10 wins, 6th in K, 3.08 ERA
Joel Hanrahan, PIT - McCutchen was the only Pirate who should have made it.  20/22 in saves.
Clayton Kershaw, LAD - 1st in IP, 4th in K, 8th in ERA and only 6 wins to show for it
Craig Kimbrel, ATL - 1st in saves, only 13 hits in 30 IP
Lance Lynn, STL - 10 wins, but he started off hot (6-0, 1.80 ERA)
Wade Miley, ARI - two hitters listed above are more deserving.  9 wins, sub-3.00 ERA, ehhh.
Jonathan Papelbon, PHI - 18 saves, ERA just over 1.00, getting it done for the lowly Phillies
Stephen Strasburg, WAS - 1st in K, 13th in ERA.  Electric arm, but he struggles going deep in games
Huston Street, SD - a Padre made it?  12/12 in save chances, only 8 hits in 21 IP

Snub - AJ Burnett, PIT - 9-2, 3.31 ERA; Johnny Cueto, CIN - 9 wins, 4th in ERA; Zack Greinke, MIL - 9-2, 106 K

You can't really argue for Brandon Beachy or Ryan Dempster because they are both hurt, but I think the National League did a good job with the pitchers.

Ruiz should be starting, it's an absolute joke that he's not and Uggla is hitting .234 with almost 100 strikeouts.  Aaron Hill, he's at .300 with better numbers across the board.

Grade - C

AL All-Star Roster - Right or Wrong?

Every year there is controversy over who is on the All-Star roster and who got snubbed.  This seems to be almost as certain as death, taxes, and Nolan's awesomeness.  Time to take a look at what all this bitching is about.

Personally, I think it's kind of ridiculous how players from teams that aren't even in a pennant race have to be represented, but on the other side of the coin, I kind of like giving everyone a chance.

I'm sure the roster will change because guys might be hurt or might not want to be there, it happens every year.

Without further ado, here is the American League roster. (Starters in BOLD, Reserves in italics, Snubs in plain font)

American League
Catcher - Mike Napoli, TEX
Reserves - Joe Mauer, MIN; Matt Wieters, BAL
Snub - AJ Pierzynski, CWS

First Base - Prince Fielder, DET
Reserve - Paul Konerko, CWS
Snub - no one

Second Base - Robinson Cano, NYY
Reserves - Ian Kinsler, TEX
Snub - Jason Kipnis, CLE (maybe?)

Third Base - Adrian Beltre, TEX
Reserve - Miguel Cabrera, DET
Snub - no one

Shortstop - Derek Jeter, NYY
Reserves - Elvis Andrus, TEX; Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE
Snub - no one

Outfield - Josh Hamilton, TEX; Curtis Granderson, NYY; Jose Bautista, TOR
Reserves - Adam Jones, BAL; Mike Trout, LAA; Mark Trumbo, LAA
Snub - Josh Reddick, OAK; Colby Rasmus, TOR

Designated Hitter - David Ortiz, BOS
Reserves - Billy Butler, KC; Adam Dunn, CWS
Snub - no one

Pitchers
Ryan Cook, OAK - only 12 hits allowed in 35 innings
Matt Harrison, TEX - tied for league lead with 11 wins
Felix Hernandez, SEA - only Mariner worth a shit, 3rd in K, 7th in ERA
Jim Johnson, BAL - tied for league lead with 23 saves
Joe Nathan, TEX - 18 saves and only 4 BB
Chris Perez, CLE - tied for league lead with 23 saves and he's got a great beard
David Price, TB - tied for league lead with 11 wins, 5th in ERA
Fernando Rodney, TB - tied for league lead with 23 saves
CC Sabathia, NYY - 5th in K, 4th in W even though he's not having a great year ERA-wise
Chris Sale, CWS - electric stuff, 4th in W, 2nd in ERA
Justin Verlander, DET - machine, 1st in IP, 1st in K, 4th in ERA
Jered Weaver, LAA - no-hitter, 1st in ERA, 9-1 record
CJ Wilson, LAA - 9-4, 3rd in ERA

Snub - Yu Darvish, TEX - 10 wins, 117 strikeouts; Jake Peavy, CWS - 6th in ERA, 6th in K; Scott Downs, LAA - 14 holds, 0.43 ERA in 28 IP, lefty-lefty match up guy

The Rangers lead everyone with 7 players on the roster while the Angels have four.

They did a pretty decent job besides Pierzynski and Royals' closer Jonathan Broxton not being on the team.

Grade: A-