All-Star Special - June 8, 2007

The Midsummer Classic!

The 16th annual Diamond Mind Baseball All-Star Game will be played Friday at Big Oil Field in D.C. The Morris Division won last year's contest for a third straight year, crushing the Hanover Division by a score of 15-7. Before the Morris's three-year run, the Hanovers had won four in a row. The overall standings now have Morris ahead, 8 games to 5. (Although this is the 16th annual game, only 13 intradivisional contests have been played; the first two years pitted the DMBL All-Stars against the MLB All-Stars, and the 1995 game was cancelled due to the strike.)

The skippers from the World Series teams will helm their respective teams, and for a record sixth straight year it's Newark's Don Mattingly leading Hanover. Mattingly's opposite number will be Vancouver manager Darren Daulton, who was co-MVP of the 1993 All-Star Game. Following tradition, each All-Star manager selected his two assistant coaches from last year's other playoff teams: Mattingly will be joined by Marietta manager Graig Nettles and Las Vegas skipper Morris Buttermaker. Daulton will be aided by Arkansas manager George Brett and Carolina manager Mark Carreon. Interestingly, each manager is joined by a veteran and a virgin: It's Nettles's fourth consecutive All-Star Game as a coach, and Brett has been here as the manager or as a coach every year since 1996 (and was on the team as a player in 1991). But Buttermaker and Carreon have never been to the All-Star Game before, neither as a player nor as a coach. "I've never even been able to afford a ticket," Buttermaker said.

The honorary team captains are Paul O'Neill for the Morris Division and Gary Sheffield for the Hanover Division. O'Neill was a three-time Morris All-Star ('94, '98, '00) for Columbia, the team that was purchased last year and became D.C., so the hometown fans will get a big thrill out of seeing him again. Sheffield was a six-time Hanover All-Star, playing for three different teams (Scranton/Lousiana, '93-'94 and '97; Harrison in '01 and '03; and Harrison and Stanhope in '04). Although he is sitting out the entire season to protest the war in Iraq, Sheffield insists he isn't retired from the game and vows to be back at the All-Star Game next year -- as a player.

The ceremonial first pitch was to have been thrown out by Paris Hilton, but a last-minute replacement had to be found. Luckily, Julio Lugo -- released four times already this year -- was available, so he was given the nod. But as befitting Lugo's season, he was cut at the last minute when Hilton suddenly became available again. The National Anthem will be sung by Sanjaya Malakar; everyone's wondering which hair style he'll pick for the big night.

Every team has at least one player selected to this year's All-Star squad. The Newark Sugar Bears had the most of any team, with eight selections, followed by the Philadelphia Endzone Animals and Hillsborough Hired Hitmen, with five each. The Arkansas Golden Falcons, Marietta Mighty Men and New Jersey Team Buddah came next with four players each, followed by the Carolina Mudcats, D.C. Bushslappers, South Boston Gang, Honolulu Sharks and Las Vegas Rat Pack, all with three players each.

Bringing up the rear, the Sardine City Straphangers have just one All-Star representative; the Vancouver Iron Fist and Hoboken Cutters have just two each.

Prince Albert

No player was a unanimous selection this year, but the player who tied for the most votes received also is tied for the longest active streak of consecutive All-Star Game performances: Albert Pujols, who has been here every year of his stellar six-year DMBL career. The Philly slugger hit .353 (1.099 OPS) with 26 2B, 30 HR, 73 R and 82 RBI in a remarkable first half. He had the most votes of any batter this year, and also the most votes by any Morris Division player. Pujols is in fact one of the most experienced All-Star batters on the Morris Division; the only Mo batters who have been here more than twice before are Hillsborough's Alex Rodriguez, back for the ninth time, and South Boston's Vlad Guerrero, making his seventh appearance. A-Rod is having another fine season (.313, .936 OPS, 12 HR, 49 RBI), though his power numbers are somewhat down, his defense has been unsteady (.937 fielding percentage) and his record consecutive games streak was snapped when he went down with an injury last month. Still, there's no doubting Rodriguez deserved to be here. That can't be said for Guerrero, whose numbers are rather ordinary (.279, .744 OPS, 12 2B, 14 HR, 62 RBI), but he still has name recognition going for him and a dedicated get-out-the-vote campaign in Boston. Back for a third straight year is Vancouver's Victor Martinez, who is hitting .294 (.808 OPS) with 14 2B, 6 HR, 30 RBI.

Returning for his second All-Star Game is last year's MVP, Carolina's Travis Hafner. "Pronk" is having a monster season as the Mudcats' DH (.327, 1.156 OPS, 22 2B, 27 HR, 64 R, 59 RBI). Also returning for the second time -- but after a bit of a drought -- are outfielders Alfonso Soriano of D.C. (.311, .965 OPS, 15 2B, 23 HR, 50 RBI, 11 SB) and Carlos Lee of Hillsborough (.348, .962 OPS, 24 2B, 16 HR, 58 RBI). Lee hasn't made the team since 2004; Soriano hasn't been here since 2003. The other two starters in the Morris lineup are first-timers -- Hillsborough second baseman Robinson Cano (.329, .855 OPS, 15 2B, 8 HR, 30 RBI) and Carolina shortstop Bill Hall (.282, .967 OPS, 25 HR, 61 RBI). All the other back-ups -- with one exception -- are also first-timers: catcher Chris Coste (.344, .790 OPS, 3 HR, 30 RBI) of Arkansas; second baseman Chase Utley (.299, .847 OPS, 23 2B, 12 HR, 54 R, 45 RBI) of Vancouver; third baseman Garrett Atkins (.302, .934 OPS, 21 2B, 21 HR, 58 RBI) of South Boston; and outfielder Vernon Wells (.319, .910 OPS, 15 HR, 12 SB) of Philly; and 1B/DH Ryan Howard (.309, 1.007 OPS, 32 HR, 79 RBI) of Hillsborough, who won the Pat Listach Rookie of the Year award last season. The lone reserve with All-Star experience is Arkansas 1B/OF Lance Berkman (.320, 1.030 OPS, 22 HR, 61 RBI), who also was here in 2005 .

Miguel is Swell

No Hanover batter had as many votes as Pujols, but two had more votes than any other batter on the Morris Division. Leading the charge was Hoboken's Miguel Cabrera, who is making his first All-Star appearance. The 24-year-old third baseman is having a monster season, hitting .364 (1.023 OPS) with 26 2B, 16 HR, 52 R and 59 RBI. At the opposite corner of the diamond is Newark's Nick Johnson, here for his third All-Star appearance. Johnson, who won the Kevin Mitchell Most Valuable Player Award last year, might be having an even better year this season (.339, 1.079 OPS, 24 HR, 82 R, 72 RBI in 298 AB), if he can continue to avoid the injuries that have plagued him throughout his career... The Hanovers' double-play combination should be well-practiced with Marietta second baseman Ray Durham and shortstop Derek Jeter. Durham, at age 35, is having the best season of his career, hitting .311 (.949 OPS) with 24 HR, 51 R and 58 RBI, while Jeter is producing his usual solid numbers (.300, .752 OPS, 12 2B, 51 R, 11 SB). It's Jeter's fourth All-Star appearance, but his first since 2002; Durham has been here once before, in 2005... Back for the second straight year is Las Vegas's Joe Mauer, who is having an excellent sophomore season (.322, .907 OPS, 17 2B, 16 HR, 59 RBI).

The Hanover outfielders are all having incredible seasons. Newark's Manny Ramirez, an eight-time All-Star, is adding another line to his Hall of Fame resume this season, hitting .304 (1.037 OPS) with 30 HR and a league-leading 88 RBIs. Joining him is teammate Jim Edmonds, who leads the league in BA (.412), OBP (.477), SLG (.763), OPS (1.240), RC/27 (17.2) and total average (1.556), with 21 HR, 65 R and 69 RBI. Newark selected the 37-year-old outfielder with the 158th pick of this year's draft, and the five-time All-Star has vowed to make other teams pay for the indignity of making him wait until the 12th round to hear his name called... The third bat in this outrageous outfield is Honolulu's Jermaine Dye, who is merely hitting .326 (1.057 OPS) with 20 2B, 30 HR, 70 R and 66 RBI. The 33-year-old is making his first All-Star appearance... Two old buddies are reunited at DH for the Hanovers: Newark's Chipper Jones and Marietta's Jim Thome, who spent the first 10 years of their illustrious careers as teammates on the Sugar Bears. Jones, who is hitting .353 (1.081 OPS) with 22 2B, 21 HR, 76 R and 56 RBI, gets the start in what will be his seventh All-Star Game. Thome, hitting .315 (1.187 OPS) with 11 2B, 17 HR, 44 R and 42 RBI, will be the back-up in his eighth appearance. (.282, .967 OPS, 25 HR, 61 RBI)... The other backups are Newark 2B Marlon Anderson (.353, 1.031 OPS, 12 HR, 65 RBI) and Hoboken 1B/OF Chris Duncan (.304, .999 OPS, 15 HR, 48 RBI), both first-timers; Newark SS Carlos Guillen (.306, .912 OPS, 29 2B, 14 HR, 77 R, 61 RBI), back for the third straight year; and New Jersey OF Ichiro Suzuki (.332, .775 OPS, 9 2B, 52 R, 12 SB), who ties Pujols for the longest active consecutive All-Star Game streak at six games.

The final All-Star batter is a player who has made the team for a record-tying 10th year. Catcher Mike Piazza, now with New Jersey, is back for the first time since making the team for nine consecutive seasons from 1994 to 2003. Piazza has found new life in the Garden State, hitting .293 (.824 OPS) with 21 2B, 14 HR and 41 RBI. The only other 10-timers are Mariano Rivera, who also is here for what will be his 10th appearance, and Barry Bonds, who didn't make the team this year. But Rivera and Bonds were always All-Stars from the same franchise (Jerusalem/Stanhope/Marietta and Arkansas, respectively), while Piazza has been here representing Waikiki, Jerusalem, Hawaii, Hoboken and now New Jersey.

Let's Get It Started!

Tied for the most votes received by any player is the Hanover Division's starting pitcher, Marietta rookie Francisco Liriano (8-1, 2.20 ERA, 10.1 R/9). The 23-year-old rookie leads the league in ERA, QS% (.846), K/9 (12.1), lowest OPS allowed (.593) and lowest SLG allowed (.314), and leads the Hanover Division in winning percentage (.889). Liriano, who appeared on more than 90 percent of the ballots cast, is the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Mark Buehrle got the call in 2002. (11-3, 3.63 ERA, 12.6 R/9)... Backing him up will be three other starting pitchers making their All-Star Game debuts; the "veteran" in the Hanover rotation is Honolulu's Jason Schmidt (11-2, 3.56 ERA, 11.9 R/9), who was the starter in his only other All-Star Game. Joining Liriano in breaking their All-Star cherries this year is Honolulu's Jered Weaver (6-4, 3.36 ERA, 9.9 R/9), a fellow rookie; Newark's Chien-Ming Wang (9-4, 5.57 ERA, 15.0 R/9); and New Jersey's Jose Contreras (5-4, 3.51 ERA, 11.5 R/9), who is making his All-Star debut at age 35.

Opposing Liriano will be another lefty, Philly's Johan Santana, who is back for his second All-Star Game after a one-year hiatus. (In fact, Santana faced Schmidt as the starter of the 2005 All-Star Game.) The 28-year-old southpaw is having a dominant season, going 10-1 with a 2.71 ERA, 9.1 R/9 and .765 QS% over the first half... The Mo's have no shortage of experience backing up Santana, with Arkansas veterans Roger Clemens (8-6, 4.40 ERA, 12.5 R/9) and Pedro Martinez (10-4, 3.69 ERA, 11.8 R/9) back once again. It's the sixth time for the Rocket, including the third year in a row, and the seventh for Pedro, who hasn't been here since 2003. Martinez, last year's Ben McDonald Award winner as the league's top pitcher, has started three All-Star Games, one behind record holder Randy Johnson... Here for the third time is D.C.'s Derek Lowe (9-5, 3.51 ERA, 12.7 R/9), while the fifth man is a first-timer, Hillsborough southpaw C.C. Sabathia (7-2, 3.24 ERA, 11.2 R/9). It's hard to believe that Sabathia, now in his sixth DMBL season, is still just 26 years old!

The top vote-getter among Morris Division relievers is the defending Dennis Eckersley Relief Pitcher of the Year award winner, Francisco Rodriguez. K-Rod (1.82 ERA, 9.1 R/9, 8.8 K/9) appears to be well on his way to a second Eck as he leads the league in saves (17) and relief points (36). Rodriguez returns for his second All-Star Game after making his debut last year... Setting him up will be four All-Star first-timers: Philly teammate J.J. Putz (4-2, 4 SV, 2.50 ERA, 8.7 R/9, 11 holds, .138 IR%); D.C.'s Jonathan Papelbon (2-1, 10 SV, 1.76 ERA, 8.8 R/9), who got off the D.L. just in time to play in front of the home crowd; South Boston's Huston Street (3-3, 15 SV, 3.20 ERA, 10.5 R/9); and Carolina lefty Brian Fuentes (3-5, 16 SV, 2.20 ERA, 11.4 R/9).

Closing it out for the Hanover Division will be veteran Mariano Rivera (3-1, 9 SV, 2.63 ERA, 10.8 R/9). Marietta's Mariano was elected to the team for a record-tying 10th year, joining Mike Piazza and Barry Bonds as the only 10-timers. He'll be set up by four first-timers: New Jersey's Joel Zumaya (4-2, 2.36 ERA, 10.8 R/9) and Newark's Cla Meredith (8-2, 10 SV, 2.05 ERA, 8.5 R/9), both rookies; Las Vegas's Chris Ray (2-2, 9 SV, 3.66 ERA, 9.4 R/9); and Sardine City's Akinori Otsuka (4-1, 10 SV, 2.09 ERA, 9.5 R/9), the sole Straphanger on the squad.

Not This Year

Arkansas's Barry Bonds missed all of last season, but rehabbed all winter and came back hoping to extend his record for most All-Star Game appearances, with 10. But the voters didn't see it that way, even though Bonds has put up numbers (.256, .890 OPS, 22 HR, 54 RBI) equal to or perhaps even better than South Boston's Vladimir Guerrero (.279, .744 OPS, 14 HR, 62 RBI) -- who received enough votes to start for the Morris Division! Bonds, as usual, blames the fans. "They're stupid," he said. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." Now Bonds shares the record with Mariano Rivera and Mike Piazza, who were voted to their 10th All-Star games this year... Newark's Randy Johnson could have joined the threesome if selected this year, but he was named on less than 10 percent of the ballots. Johnson is 7-2, but that has a lot more to do with the Sugar Bear offense than his 5.53 ERA, 14.5 R/9... Vancouver's Billy Wagner has been to five straight All-Star Games (and seven overall), but found himself in a six-way tie for the remaining four spots in the Morris bullpen behind Francisco Rodriguez. Wagner's own owner, Yaro Zajac, cast the deciding tie-breaker votes and left him off the roster, along with Hillsborough's Takashi Saito. "I left Saito off because already had the Asian demographic pretty well covered with Ichiro Suzuki, Akinori Otsuka and Chien-Ming Wang," Zajac said. "As for why we left Wags off, three words: Eight. Blown. Saves. Bite me, Billy!" ... Wagner's teammate Greg Maddux and D.C.'s Ivan Rodriguez and Frank Thomas also are seven-time All-Stars who stayed home... Six-timers left off: Newark's John Smoltz, Honolulu's Jason Giambi, Sardine City's Ken Griffey Jr., D.C.'s Jeff Kent and Arkansas's Curt Schilling, along with five-timers Tom Glavine from Sardine City and Trevor Hoffman of Marietta

Snubbed!

Obviously every year there are some deserving players who must be left off the ballot, but the outfielders in the Morris Division seem particularly upset this season. We already pointed out how Arkansas's Barry Bonds (.256, .890 OPS, 13 2B, 22 HR, 61 R, 54 RBI, 54.5 RC, 6.4 RC27) put up numbers as good or better than All-Star starter Vladimir Guerrero (.279, .744 OPS, 12 2B, 14 HR, 43 R, 62 RBI, 41.1 RC, 4.2 RC27). But if you think Bonds has a legimitate gripe, check out the numbers from all three Carolina outfielders -- Rocco Baldelli (.310, .868 OPS, 18 HR, 58 R, 52 RBI, 6 SB), Juan Rivera (.301, .864 OPS, 15 HR, 39 R, 37 RBI) and Grady Sizemore (.286, .857 OPS, 33 2B, 59 R, 27 RBI, 11 SB). Hillsborough's Brad Hawpe (.308, .884 OPS, 19 2B, 43 R, 30 RBI) also might have a right to whine. But by far the biggest snub among the Morris Division batters -- maybe among all players period -- is Arkansas's Justin Morneau, who didn't make the team despite hitting .333 (1.024 OPS) with 21 2B, 25 HR, 54 R and 66 RBI over the first half. Granted, he's up against Albert Pujols -- who is having an even better year (.353, 1.099 OPS, 26 2B, 30 HR, 73 R, 82 RBI) -- but there should have been room on the roster for Morneau as a reserve.

Morris starting pitchers who deserved a better fate include Carolina's Roy Halladay (5-6, 4.69 ERA, 12.2 R/9), Philly's Erik Bedard (8-3, 3.40 ERA, 12.3 R/9) and Brandon Webb (8-3, 4.57 ERA, 12.5 R/9) and Vancouver's Greg Maddux (5-2, 3.39 ERA, 11.3 R/9). There also are a number of relievers who could have made the team, but you especially have to feel for Philly's Scott Proctor (7-0, 0 SV, 1.61 ERA, 5.7 R/9), who had an unbelievable first half. It's also a shame the team didn't have room for Carolina's Kiko Calero (2-1, 0 SV, 1.13 ERA, 9.0 R/9); D.C.'s Trever Miller (1-1, 0 SV, 2.77 ERA, 11.1 R/9) or Joe Nathan (4-4, 8 SV, 2.79 ERA, 8.1 R/9); Hillsborough's Takashi Saito (1-3, 10 SV, 2.06 ERA, 11.4 R/9); Sardine City's Mike Gonzalez (2-2, 0 SV, 2.39 ERA, 12.1 R/9) or South Boston's Brandon League (5-1, 2 SV, 2.49 ERA, 11.4 R/9).

No one in the Hanover Division has quite as good reason to complain about the voters as Morneau, but one selection did have people talking. No one can argue with the choice of the Rat Pack's Joe Mauer as the starting catcher, but the division's other catchers are grumbling about his back-up -- New Jersey's Mike Piazza (.293, .824 OPS, 14 HR, 41 RBI). His numbers aren't bad, but they certainly aren't better than the production from Hoboken's Josh Bard (.321, .850 OPS, 27 2B, 50 RBI), Honolulu's Brian McCann (.296, .870 OPS, 12 HR, 44 RBI), Marietta's Jorge Posada (.306, .958 OPS, 12 HR, 39 RBI) or Newark's Gregg Zaun (.320, .916 OPS, 9 HR, 46 RBI) -- and all those guys are better behind the plate than Piazza. In fact, the only catcher in the division that Piazza clearly has better numbers than is Sardine City's Ivan Rodriguez (.265, .700 OPS, 5 HR, 25 RBI) -- who is without a doubt the league's best defensive catcher. Piazza... is not. As for the other batters, they were simply stuck behind guys having better years. At third base, Miguel Cabrera's .364 BA, 1.023 OPS and 59 RBI were just too much for Marietta's Wes Helms (.294, .922 OPS, 16 HR, 57 RBI) or Newark's Mark Teahen (.324, .988 OPS, 20 HR, 66 RBI); Honolulu's Adrian Gonzalez (.312, .862 OPS, 14 HR, 54 RBI) couldn't keep up with Newark's Nick Johnson (.339, 1.079 OPS, 24 HR, 72 RBI); the star-studded Hanover outfield had no room for Newark's Bobby Abreu (.310, .900 OPS, 18 2B, 70 R, 15 SB) or Sardine City's Gary Matthews Jr. (.319, .832 OPS, 18 2B, 41 R); and Honolulu's Jason Giambi (.277, .989 OPS, 21 HR, 58 RBI) couldn't squeeze in between Marietta's Jim Thome (.315, 1.187 OPS, 17 HR, 42 RBI) and Newark's Chipper Jones (.353, 1.081 OPS, 21 HR, 56 RBI).

Pitchers who had tough breaks: Hoboken SP Scott Kazmir (5-7, 4.10 ERA, 13.4 R/9, 11.4 K/9); Hoboken SP Vicente Padilla (8-2, 3.93 ERA, 14.7 R/9); Honolulu SP Jeff Francis (10-3, 3.87 ERA, 12.6 R/9); Las Vegas SP Chris Young (6-8, 4.23 ERA, 12.2 R/9); Marietta SP Mike Mussina (6-6, 4.07 ERA, 11.5 R/9); Marietta RP Rafael Betancourt (1-0, 1 SV, 3.16 ERA, 8.9 R/9); New Jersey RP Todd Jones (3-4, 13 SV, 3.32 ERA, 11.7 R/9); Newark RP Scot Shields (3-0, 2 SV, 3.02 ERA, 11.7 R/9); and Sardine City RP Mike Gonzalez (2-2, 0 SV, 2.39 ERA, 12.1 R/9).