My Hiatus

Hey everyone. I know I have not posted in a long time. Things have been crazy with school, and taking two, four week, summer classes has not helped. The hiatus will probably continue for a little while, but I hope to get back into the swing of things by the All-Star game. At that point my summer classes will be over and I'll be able to plow forward through the rest of the season. As a final pre-hiatus post I'd like to touch on the All-Star voting. It's absolutely ridiculous. Ballots, for starters, close Friday and there are going to be some big snuffs. I've touched on some below and I hope if you haven't voted, you do so, and give these unappreciated players some love. 

AL: 
Snuff 1: Russel Martin over Alex Avila

Martin started off hot, but since then has dramatically cooled down. He's batting .229/.336/.398 with 9 homers. The .336 OBP is kind of impressive when put in perspective with his .229 batting average; but a .398 SLG is putrid. Meanwhile, Avila is hitting .303/.373/.406 with 10 bombs and an impressive 52 walks. 

Snuff 2: Derek Jeter over Asdrubal Cabrera
Could be the biggest All-Star snuff this season. Jeter is at the bottom of the barrel for shortstops right now, batting a horrid .259/.324/.324, with only 2 home runs. It's pretty bad when your OBP is equal to your SLG. Meanwhile Cabrera has been a refreshing change at the position, batting .292/.344/.488 with 12 home runs and 12 stolen bases. He doesn't draw too many walks, but he makes great contact, has power/speed, and plays some really good defense. He deserves to be starting. 

NL: 
Snuff 1: Albert Pujols over Prince Fielder
I know, Pujols is the best hitter in baseball... but, this season he has not proved that. He got to a really slow start and only back up to hitting .278/.355/.500 with 17 home runs and only 45 RBIs. Meanwhile, Fielder (.305/.425/.610, 21 home runs, 68 RBIs) has been a beast for Milwaukee and much more deserving of starting honors. Pujols plays better D, that's for sure, but Fielder's bat is more than enough of a resume.

Snuff 2: Brandon Phillips over Rickie Weeks
Weeks is making progress in the voters polls, but how this one even came to be flabbergasts me. Phillips is having a pretty good season (.290/.345/.405), but his power and speed have been lacking (6 homers, 4 bags). Weeks has a better slash line (.290/.359/.498), but Phillips plays better defense so maybe he deserves the edge. HOWEVER, Weeks has 14 bombs, and 7 stolen bases, much better than Phillips.

Snuff 3: Troy Tulowitzki over Jose Reyes
What is it with shortstops that the voters just can't get it right? I like Tulo, a lot, and his offense has been pretty solid (.272/.334/.488). His 14 bombs well outpace Reyes' 3. As far as defense goes, both play a very good shortstop, with Tulo getting a bit of an edge. However, the real difference is overall offense. Reyes is on top of the NL in batting average and having a hell of a year (.341/.385/.513) with 28 bags, and an astonishing 14 triples. Tulo has more homers, but Reyes is outpacing him in SLG and just about every other offensive category.

As far as outfield goes for both divisions there are some spots that could go either way so I don't see them as snuffs. I know these are just votes for starters, and all of these guys will probably make the team, but some players deserve that honor of being a starter and being noticed by the fans. It's a shame that the voting is so team biased and I wish they could develop a better system to give fans full knowledge of how good some of these guys are. Below are my picks for who I'd love to see start these games. 

AL:
C- Alex Avila (Detroit Tigers)
1B- Adrian Gonzalez (Boston Red Sox)
2B- Robinson Cano (New York Yankees)
SS- Asdrubal Cabrera (Cleveland Indians)
3B- Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees)
OF- Jose Bautista (Toronto Blue Jays)
OF- Curtis Granderson (New York Yankees)
OF- Jacoby Ellsbury (Boston Red Sox)
SP- Justin Verlander (Detroit Tigers) 

NL:
C- Brian McCann (Atlanta Braves)
1B- Prince Fielder (Milwaukee Brewers)
2B- Rickie Weeks (Milwaukee Brewers)
SS- Jose Reyes (New York Mets)
3B- Placido Polanco (Philadelphia Phillies)
OF- Matt Kemp (LA Dodgers)
OF- Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers)
OF- Justin Upton (Arizona Diamondbacks)
SP- Roy Halladay (Philadelphia Phillies)