Starting Whineup

When Charlie Manuel was asked whether or not he was relieved this past Sunday morning after he had made his All-Star selections, he replied by reluctantly agreeing and then countering with something along the lines of, “but now the second-guessing starts.” Well Chuck, here’s a bit of defense.

Joey Votto, one of the biggest All-Star snubs in recent memory, should be a part of this game. Actually, he shouldn’t only be playing, he should be starting. Charlie Manuel has been criticized for taking “his guy” over Votto. Manuel’s guy, Ryan Howard, should be in Anaheim as well this year. Put the blame for this one partially on the players and Major League Baseball itself. The players’ ballot had elected Adrian Gonzalez, who is having the fourth best year among National League first basemen. And Major League Baseball had told both Manuel and Joe Girardi to choose a reserve for the roster that can play multiple positions as a utility man. Manuel went with the Braves’ Omar Infante, who has half the at bats as most of the All-Star starters. This ended up taking away another roster spot away from a more deserving player.

Apart from the likely situation that Charlie Manuel was taking Howard to the All-Star Game no matter what, I do have a Charlie conspiracy theory on this whole topic. It came about when Votto flipped his bat on a game tying homerun last week while the Phillies were in Cincinnati. For those who are unfamiliar with the manner of the game, flipping your bat is seen as showing up the pitcher, other team, etc. The game wasn’t even over when he did it, and then the Phillies got the best of the Reds in extra innings that night. The next day Votto crushed a ball that was way inside from Roy Halladay in the right field bleachers in a heart breaking loss for the Phils. Philadelphia went on to lose two out of three to the Reds and then lose two of three to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates before Manuel’s decisions were made Sunday morning. Is it possible that a frustrated Charlie Manuel decided to show up the player that had showed up him and his team? The possibility is not very likely. But you never know with Manuel, he’s a one-of-a-kind person and as a Phils fan, I love the guy.

In the end, what should have happened is that Votto be named the starter, Albert Pujols would have then been voted in by the players, and the manager would have taken his guy. Fan voting is always going to put guys like Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols, and Chase Utley in the starting lineups, and if Major League Baseball wants fans to play a part in the selection process then this is basically the only way it is going to be done because having fans vote on the bench players is lame. It is a crying shame in some, if not the majority of situations. In the spirit of what should have happened, here is who should be starting this summer’s All-Star Game.

National League

Catcher
Wrong: Yadier Molina
Should be: Miguel Olivo

First Base
Wrong: Albert Pujols
Should be: Joey Votto

Second Base
Wrong: Chase Utley
Should be (and is): Martin Prado (who will be starting due to Utley’s injury)

Shortstop
Correct: Hanley Ramirez

Third Base
Correct: David Wright

Outfield
Correct: Andre Ethier
Correct: Ryan Braun
Wrong: Jason Heyward
Should be: Corey Hart

American League

Catcher
Correct: Joe Mauer

First Base
Wrong: Justin Morneau (tough one)
Should be: Miguel Cabrera

Second Base
Correct: Robinson Cano

Shortstop
Correct: Derek Jeter

Third Base
Correct: Evan Longoria (although it was very close with Adrian Beltre)

Outfield
Correct: Josh Hamilton
Correct: Ichiro Suzuki
Correct: Carl Crawford

Designated Hitter
Correct: Vlad Guerrero

The fans were right on the money for the American League (eight for nine) but in the National League, they only provided the NL lineup with half of who deserved the starting spots.

One of the newly instituted rules for the All-Star Game is that, regardless of the whether the game is in a NL or AL stadium, there will always be a designated hitter in use. Charlie Manuel gets to choose from Adrian Gonzalez, Ryan Howard, Scott Rolen, Corey Hart, Matt Holliday and some others for that starting spot. This spot should definitely go to Corey Hart, especially with the production numbers that he is posting this season. However, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Manuel stuck Howard in that spot.

In last year’s All-Star Game in St. Louis, Manuel showed some favor to his players by starting Shane Victorino when Carlos Beltran went down and adding Jayson Werth to the team after the rosters were announced. I was slightly surprised to see only three Phillies on this year’s roster. Manuel realizes that not many on his team are playing at an All-Star level.

Another snub for this year’s All-Star Game is Braves’ closer Billy Wagner. Instead of Wagner, Manuel brought Reds’ lefty specialist Arthur Rhodes. Rhodes is having a phenomenal season but this is Wagner’s last year (or so he says) and to go along with the miniscule earned run average, he actually earns the saves for his team. However, due to the perception that Wagner’s career in Philadelphia ended on a sour note, I wouldn’t be surprised if Charlie didn’t take Wagner for the way things ended. He had said that the Phillies had no chance to make the playoffs while he was still on the team in 2005. It was a small mess and Phillies players called out and confronted Wagner and he will never be appreciated in the city of Philadelphia. Thatta boy Chuck.

--Dan