Dan Uggla over Chase Utley for NL 2B??? Explain, s'il vous plaît?

What makes Cano 'by far' the best offensive 2nd baseman? He's no hitting for power or getting on base a lot. There aren't many good hitters at 2nd base this year, but cano is hardly any better than iguchi or loretta. And Mark derosa and kinsler are both putting up better numbers.

Very similar to my own. Our AL ballot is exactly the same as my own. We differ in the NL, in that I voted Wright at third and Utley at second. I can't really remember my outfield.

You suggested that Bonds would be the DH. The game is in Pittsburgh, an NL park, hence no DH.

As with most years the real struggle is in finishing the roster after the fans picks to ensure each team is represented. Who gets screwed so some Royal can sit on the AL bench? Three guys having great seasons (Thome, Ortiz and Hafner) have only used their gloves during interleague play. My guess is Hafner doesn't represent Cleveland. Sizemore is having an All Star type season and Guillen has said he is his kind of player.

1) there should be much more attention give to the fact that Thome was left off the ballot. If Ortiz makes the ballot, Thome should, too.

2) I don't see how you can pick Cabrera over Wright...

What about Jose Lopez at AL 2B? He rates with Cano in offense, and according to fielding WS, he's still towards the top. He doesn't have the name power of Iguchi or Cano, but he's having a great '06.

No major problems with the list, except for thrid base; I'd take Crede over Rodriguez (by a slim margin - this isn't a slam at all on A-Rod). And I can't see voting for Barrett considering how bad he is in dealing with base runners (have you seen the poor guy try to throw out a steal at second?)

Carlos Lee is more deserving than Abreu. In fact, I'd leave Abreu off the team completely.

Why Nick? Because he doesn't do all the hustley veterany things that guys like Darin Erstad do? He's got a .450 oba, close to .500 slg, plays every game, and is a great fielder. I'd probably vote Lee as a starter, but ABreu should be on the team.

On a side point, which Royal gets on the team? Is this the year when that stupid rule finally goes away?

Yankees truly do have an impressive infield!

That said, I don't know whether the extra .50-.100 OPS Giambi offers is worth the poor D @ 1st. I think Konerko might be the better choice.

Can't argue w/ Cano or Jeter. There are other solid AL 2B's & SS's, but no one's clearly better!

A-Rod has the fame & fortune, but he's been terrible this year (compared to his previous-year's selves). Lowell deserves the choice here. He's been tops on both sides of the plate for the first half of '05 (best defensive #'s, only slightly behind Glaus in OPS).

Note: I'm using espn.com to compare players...

RE: Giambi vs. Ortiz...
Giambi has had more than half of his ABs as a DH
44 Games 142 ABs at 1B
23 Games 86 ABs at DH

Utley definitely.

Hm, Giambi's OBP is .426; Ortiz's is .380. Giambi's SLG is .613; Ortiz, .548. Only Red Sox fans would give their All-Star votes to Ortiz. Giambi is a real (though not good) first baseman, slugs better, gets on base more.

Yeah, I know, Ortiz is clutch.

Oh man, trying to come up with a Royal to put on the All-Star team is torture... maybe it'll be new acquisition Joey Gathright! I looked through the team stats and about the best you could say is that there are a few players who are at least average.

My choice, though? No-power utility man Esteban German. He's got a .330 BA and a .425 OBA, so he may actually be useful in certain situations.

Funny how you have nobody from either Western divisions. Where's Nomar? He's only leading the NL in hitting this year. Ichiro might break his own hitting record this year, but that's not good enough for you? I'd put him in over Dye, not that Dye isn't having an excellent year. Matt Holliday from the Rockies is fourth in the MLB in batting average, and this is in Colorado's humidifier era, so that's not just because of playing at Coors Field. I think the West deserves more credit.

I'm a Marlins fan and even I know Uggla has no business starting in this year's all star game. Sure, he's hitting very well, but he's sooo bad in the field!

Forget Giambi vs Ortiz -- Youklis deserves it over either of them. He is hitting almost as well as Giambi, but has been a superb fielder as opposed to a disaster.

WARP1 OBP SP EQA

Youk 3.7 422 496 309
Giambi 2.9 423 609 328
Ortiz 2.7 380 548 299

One point. Get rid of balloting by fans. Varitek over Mauer. What a joke. Right now Mauer is hitting .392 and Varitek .256. That's nearly 150 points. If Varitek starts, he should get one inning. I will go on record that Mauer will be the first to hit .400 since Ted. Maybe not this year, but soon.

Would pick Brian Roberts over Cano. Roberts has a better OPS, zone rating and fielding percentage. Cano beats him on range factor, but the Orioles don't have many ground ball pitchers, which distorts the stat.

Anyway, Ozzie will make sure Iguchi starts.

I'm not thrilled with A-Rod, who's not having a tremendous year. He does lead his position in the AL in OPS, but just barely over Glaus and Lowell. And he doesn't rank well at all on any of the fielding stats. I'd spite the Yankees by giving my vote to Lowell, who's the best fielding 3B in the AL and is hitting almost as well as A-Rod this year.

And, yes, BALCO or no BALCO, Giambi has to get the nod over Ortiz. He's way ahead with the bat and Ortiz literally has no glove.

Agree with Uggla, by the way. He's ahead of Utley in OPS despite the difference in ballparks. And he's hardly an awful fielder. Good on zone rating and range factor, middle-of-the-pack on fielding percentage.

Rolen ranks well on all the fielding stats, Cabrera and Wright are so-so to poor. Rolen's OPS is plenty high though he's a close third behind Cabrera and Wright. It's a toughie, but I give the all-round vote to Rolen.

Did you ever think that you are wrong? Ortiz is not a 1B, but Giambi is? Have you looked at AL 1B error leader listing? Giambi, Millar, J. Lopez...they try but all are not first baseman.
To talk about M. Cabrera and say he's with a lousy team...a lot of fans will say differently. Marlins seem to reload better than most teams do.

Nobody says Giambi is a good first baseman. He's average at best on range factor, poor in fielding percentage and zone rating. But Ortiz is no fielder at all. And there's no way he can make up a 137 point deficit to Giambi in OPS.

Yeah, but Giambi is on steroids and Ortiz is not

I would also go with a-rod. His numbers are better but you are right about one thing............A-rod probably doesnt deserve the all star spot this year.

How can you not pick A'rod? Although he is not having an amazing season, he's a definete hall of famer and one of the best players of all-time! Also, Ortiz doesn't have a good glove at first, but nobody really cares about fielding in the All-Star game! All they care about are homers!

Also, Giambi is at the top of the error list. That also doesn't impress me.