Friday, Jul. 04, 2008

Ichiro didn't get my vote this year

By Eric Degerman, sportstricities.com

He's my favorite player, and he has been since June 4, 2001 when I dragged my wife to Safeco Field and we sat in the right-field bleachers.

Heck, we even named one of our cats in honor of this superstar from Japan.

However, I couldn't justify giving Ichiro my vote to the 2008 All-Star Game. His play this season doesn't warrant a spot on the roster, much less the starting lineup. It's been a fight for Suzuki to get his batting average over .300, and while he's No. 2 in the league in stolen bases, his power numbers and on-base percentage are down from last year. A good season for most, but it's not been great.

Heck, I don't think any Mariners have earned all-star status, but there will be at least one token representative. And we'll find out at 11 a.m. Sunday. The selection show is on TBS, and Corvallis product Harold Reynolds — a former M's second baseman — will anchor the program.

There should be remarkable interest in the results if the 41 million votes cast in the final 24 hours is an indication. More than 16.5 million folks clicked on 214.7 million selections, which are 40 percent increases.

Still, I'm somewhat confident enough others voted for Ichiro to get him into the starting lineup, and No. 51 has a sense for the dramatic (MVP of last year's "Midsummer Classic" in San Francisco) so I'm predicting he won't embarrass himself July 15 at Yankee Stadium.

My three votes for the American League outfield were Chicago's Carlos Quentin (he could help Arizona right now) and Texas teammates Milton Bradley and Josh Hamilton. In my mind, Hamilton is the best story in baseball, although I guessing this recovering drug addict would not have received as many chances to come back if were he a minority or not a former No. 1 pick overall.

The above link is to a fascinating feature written by Bob Nightengale for USA Today. Hamilton doesn't carry more than $20 in his pockets. He still suffers from nightmares tied to his substance abuse. He leans on the guardian-like support from the brother of Wayne Krivsky, who traded him from Cincinnati to Texas. And Hamilton would remove his 26 tattoos if it wouldn't be so painful to do so. (Oh, and in case you didn't know, Yankee fans are disgusting).

So here are the rest of my votes, which I based on a combination of sabermetrics (OPS/on-base + slugging percentage) and my gut feelings with regards to their value to their team.

It was a struggle to come up with the National League outfielders. No wonder the NL hasn't won since 1996.

American League
1B: Justin Morneau, Minnesota, over Casey Kotchman, Anaheim.
2B: Ian Kinsler, Texas, over Dustin Pedroia (Boston) and Jose Lopez (Seattle).
SS: Michael Young, Texas, over Derek Jeter
3B: A-Rod over Mike Lowell, Boston.
C: Joe Mauer, Minnesota, over Dioner Navarro (Tampa Bay) and A.J. Pierzynski (ChiSox).
DH: Aubrey Huff, Baltimore.

National League
1B: Lance Berkman, Houston, over Albert Pujols, St. Louis
2B: Chase Utley, Philadelphia, over Dan Uggla, Florida.
SS: Hanley Ramirez, Florida, over Christian Guzman, Washington, and Jose Reyes, New York.
3B: Chipper Jones, Atlanta, over Aramis Ramirez, Chicago, and David Wright, New York.
C: Geovany Soto, Chicago, over Russell Martin, Los Angeles, and Brian McCann, Atlanta
OF: Matt Holliday, Colorado
OF: Pat Burrell, Philadelphia
OF: Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis. Honorable mention: Carlos Lee, Houston and the starting Pittsburgh outfield — Gonzaga product Jason Bay, Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady.

P.S. I know Ludwick is a stretch, but he helped keep the Redbirds in the race when Pujols was out with his calf injury. Besides, I'm a Cardinals fan, and here's an example of what happens when you let the fans vote.