All-Star Special - June 18, 2008

The Midsummer Classic!

The 17th annual Diamond Mind Baseball All-Star Game will be played Friday at Sardien City's The Cannery in New York City. The Hanover Division won last year's contest -- their first win since 2003 -- by beating the Morris Division by a score of 8-3. Newark's Marlon Anderson was the game MVP. But the Morris is still ahead in the overall standings, 8 games to 6. (Although this is the 17th annual game, only 14 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 last year's division winners will helm their respective teams, and for a record seventh straight year it's Newark's Don Mattingly leading Hanover. Mattingly's opposite number will be Philadelphia manager Steve "Bye Bye" Balboni. Following tradition, each All-Star manager selected assistant coaches from last year's other playoff teams: Mattingly will be joined by Marietta manager Graig Nettles and Hoboken skipper Wally Backman. The other team in last year's post-season, the Honolulu Sharks, are now defunct, but former manager Gary Carter was invited to join the team as a special guest. Balboni will be joined on the bench by D.C. manager Kevin Elster.

The honorary team captains are Mike Piazza for the Hanover Division and Craig Biggio for the Morris Division. Piazza, until this year, was tied with two other players for most All-Star appearances (10), but Arkansas's Barry Bonds took over the lead when he was selected this year. "Does being an honorary captain count as an appearance?" Piazza joked. Of his 10 All-Star appearances, nine came with Hanover teams -- Jerusalem ('96, '97, '98), Hawaii ('99-'00), Hoboken ('01, '02, '03) and New Jersey ('07). He was the MVP of the 2000 game. Biggio was a six-time Morris All-Star ('92, '96-'00), all with the Iron Fist. Both players are quick they haven't retired and in fact hope to showcase the fact they're still in shape by running wind sprints in the outfield during the pre-game warm-ups, and maybe during the player introductions, too. "Come on, man -- I've got the record with 16 seasons played. If I don't play this year Bonds will tie me. Doesn't anyone want to give me one lousy at-bat so Bonds won't hold at least one lousy record in this league?"

The ceremonial first pitch was to have been thrown out by Tim Russert, but a last-minute replacement had to be found. As a nod to the home team Straphangers, the first pitch will be thrown out by bullpen coach Rich "Goose" Gossage -- who will no doubt somehow strike somebody out in the process. The National Anthem will be sung by Tay Zonday, who will no doubt find a way to work in a bit of Chocolate Rain.

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 Las Vegas Rat Pack with seven, the Vancouver Iron Fist with six and the Philadelphia Endzone Animals with five. As it happens, that's the exact order of finish in the overall standings for the first half! After that, it's Blue Ridge with four, then the Arkansas Golden Falcons, Sardine City Straphangers and Tampa Bay Plunkers with three; the Carolina Mudcats, D.C. Bushslappers, Hillsborough Hired Hitmen and New Jersey Team Buddah with two. Bringing up the rear, the two worst teams -- the Hoboken Cutters and Marietta Mighty Men -- have one player each.

And the lineups are...

THE CATCHERS

There's a surprising amount of offense from behind the plate this year. The Hanovers have the powerful tandem of Las Vegas's Joe Mauer (.366/.429/.550, 6 HR, 32 RBI) backed up by Newark rookie Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.326/.364/.506, 12 HR, 59 RBI). Former Mighty Man Jorge Posada (.302/.392/.496, 9 HR, 46 RBI), now with Philly, will start for the Morris Division, backed up by Hillsborough's Russell Martin (.272/.346/.396, 7 HR, 31 RBI).

Snubbed? No one other than Mauer or Saltalamacchia got a vote in the Hanover Division, and that's not a surprise because they two stood out so much from the rest of the pack. But in the Morris, it was a much closer race for the back-up spot -- you could make a strong case for D.C.'s Brian McCann (.302/.329/.420, 20 2B, 30 RBI), Vancouver's Victor Martinez (.253/.323/.418, 8 HR, 34 RBI) or even Carolina's Johnny Estrada (.293/.310/.433, 5 HR, 21 RBI), who came up short in his write-in campaign and then got hurt days before the All-Star Game anyway. Those three plus Martin tied for second behind Posada; Martin was the pick based on a coaches' poll, based mostly on his outstanding defense (.476 SB%, second-best in the DMBL).

FIRST BASE

Each division voted in just one true first baseman. The Hanovers are sending Las Vegas's Carlos Pena (.287/.403/.637, 28 HR, 71 RBI) while the Morris elected Blue Ridge's Prince Fielder (.308/.395/.616, 23 HR, 63 RBI). Fielder tied for most votes received of any Morris Division player, appearing on 75 percent of the ballots. Neither division sent a backup, but there's a number of guys on each roster who can play first base.

Snubbed? Journeyman Matt Stairs (.349/.426/.602, 38 2B, 16 HR, 77 R, 82 RBI) looked like a shoo-in as a reserve at least after a huge first half for Newark, but some voters thought he got too big a boost from his home park. Stairs finished a distant second behind Pena, just ahead of Marietta's Casey Kotchmann (.264/.363/.439, 9 HR, 40 RBI) and Tampa Bay's Adrian Gonzalez (.256/.313/.448, 10 HR, 50 RBI)... Fielder, like Pena, dominated the voting; the second-place finisher was Hillsborough's Ryan Howard (.244/.310/.594, 26 HR, 60 RBI) followed by Arkansas's Justin Morneau (.294/.362/.532, 14 HR, 52 RBI). Long-time All-Star Albert Pujols (.281/.352/.479, 12 HR, 54 RBI) didn't get a single vote!

SECOND BASE

The Morris Division is loaded at second base as they send Vancouver's Chase Utley (.298/.372/.493, 11 HR, 69 R) backed up by D.C.'s Jeff Kent (.305/.387/.480, 12 HR, 47 RBI). The Hanover Division doesn't have anyone quite in their class, but it appears the voters got it right by selecting Tampa Bay's Brian Roberts (.279/.355/.429, 10 HR, 51 R, 9 SB). Las Vegas's Placido Polanco (.274/.321/.368, 4 HR, 40 RBI) will be the backup.

Snubbed? It's a shocker that Carolina rookie Dustin Pedroia (.289/.345/.477, 34 2B, 47 RBI) didn't make the squad as a reserve, if not the starter. The first overall pick had a nice first half, but he barely beat out Hillsborough's Robinson Cano (.249/.310/.415, 23 2B, 39 RBI) for third place in the Morris balloting. But with three strong 2B candidates this year, someone had to be left off the roster... It's the opposite problem in Hanover: Someone had to be the backup, but why Polanco? Sardine City's Freddy Sanchez (.295/.337/.377, 19 2B, 30 RBI) put up better numbers but finished third; no one voted for Hoboken's Kelly Johnson (.266/.329/.472, 10 HR, 31 RBI) or Newark's Mike Fontenot (.272/.335/.370, 14 2B, 40 R).

THIRD BASE

Newark's Chipper Jones (.393/.489/.735, 18 HR, 61 RBI) will be manning the hot corner for the Hanover Division, backed up by Sardine City rookie Ryan Braun (.303/.361./597, 24 HR, 55 RBI). No one in the Morris had a first half to match either one, but no one's complaining about Arkansas's Alex Rodriguez (.254/.376/.484, 14 HR, 41 RBI, 5 SB) and back-up Scott Rolen (.319/.363/.416, 2 HR, 19 RBI) of Philly.

Snubbed? D.C.'s Adrian Beltre (.293/.332/.500, 10 HR, 39 RBI) put numbers right up there with A-Rod and Rolen; just like with second base, one of the three had to be left out. Maybe it should have been Rolen, who missed a big chunk of the first half due to injuries. Carolina's Aramis Ramirez (.230/.288/.372, 9 HR, 48 RBI) got some votes, but why no love for Vancouver's Mike Lowell (.281/.330/.415, 10 HR, 45 RBI)?... And who the heck voted for Hillsborough's Mark Reynolds (.227/.289/.383) or Hoboken's Chad Tracy (.185/.266/.302)? Did their moms turn in ballots?

SHORTSTOP

Some pundits expected a close race between Blue Ridge's Edgar Renteria (.338/.373/.462, 23 2B, 50 R) and Philly's Jimmy Rollins (.297/.346/.568, 12 3B, 14 HR, 64 RBI, 8 SB), for Morris shortstop, but Rollins won easily, getting two-thirds of the votes. Although Renteria finished a distant second, it was good enough to make the team as the backup. Over in the Hanover, Newark's Carlos Guillen (.338/.392/.589, 18 HR, 80 RBI) was the obvious choice, backed up by Marietta veteran Derek Jeter (.270/.330/.362, 19 2B, 47 R).

Snubbed? Jeter is a bit of a surprise considering the numbers put up by Las Vegas's Jeff Keppinger (.317/.354/.443, 15 2B, 40 R), who finished third in the balloting; it's even more of a surprise that no one gave a vote to Hoboken's Hanley Ramirez (.298/.346/.493, 12 HR, 54 R, 11 SB)... Not only did the big Rollins-Renteria showdown turn out to be a blow out, but Renteria was lucky to make the team -- he was almost caught by Hillsborough's Yunel Escobar (.236/.298/.288). Name recognition is the only reason why can come up with as to why anyone voted for D.C.'s Jose Reyes (.199/.261/.330).

OUTFIELD

Matt Holliday (.313/.358/.559, 20 HR, 73 RBI) tied Las Vegas teammate Joe Mauer for the most votes received by any player after being named on more than 80 percent of the ballots. The former Bushslapper will be joined in the Hanover outfield by Sardine City's B.J. Upton (.335/.404/.516, 15 HR, 62 R, 13 SB) and Newark's Nick Swisher (.312/.412/.579, 21 HR, 83 RBI). The Hanovers have just reserve outfielder, Newark's Hideki Matsui (.327/.396/.513, 11 HR, 66 RBI).

Two outfielders tied for the most votes in the Morris Division -- Philly's Magglio Ordonez (.337/.405/.500, 10 HR, 57 RBI) and Vancouver's Curtis Granderson (.322./372/.624, 18 3B, 9 HR, 59 R). Both were the two favorites among the Morris outfielders. The third starter is Arkansas veteran Barry Bonds (.247/.399/.552, 26 HR, 59 RBI), back on the team for the first time since 2005 but the record 11th time overall. The reserves also are All-Star veterans, Blue Ridge's Vlad Guerrero (.317/.359/.521, 15 HR, 58 RBI) and D.C.'s Carlos Beltran (.246/.288/.456, 15 HR, 63 RBI).

Snubbed? Tampa Bay's Pat Burrell (.247/.347/.473, 15 HR, 42 RBI) and Marietta's Josh Hamilton (.271/.332/.562, 18 HR, 55 RBI) had solid power numbers but received half as many votes as Matsui to finish in a fifth-place tie. It was even more of a surprise to see one owner had voted for Marietta's Matt Diaz (.241/.274/.299) over Tampa Bay's Torii Hunter (.295/.327/.536, 17 HR, 55 RBI), Newark's Bobby Abreu (.328/.404/.537, 27 2B, 64 R) or even Las Vegas's Ichiro Suzuki (.295/.320/.358, 41 R, 14 SB).

After Ordonez and Granderson, the field was wide open in the Morris Division with a number of players having similar numbers. Vancouver's Andre Ethier (.316/.395/.469, 16 2B, 42 R) and Hillsborough's Brad Hawpe (.239/.349/.500, 15 HR, 40 RBI) just missed the cut, finishing behind Beltran and Guerrero in a sixth-place tie. Ethier certainly had good enough numbers to make the team and it looks like he may have been a better choice than Beltran. Eight other Morris outfielders got a vote -- even Arkansas's Lance Berkman (.214/.295/.378) and Hillsborough's Carlos Lee (.255/.279/.374). Yet no one found room on his ballot for Philly's Gary Sheffield (.269/.348/.526, 18 HR, 56 RBI) or Carolina's Randy Winn (.294/.369/.442, 20 2B, 37 R).

DESIGNATED HITTER

No surprise here as Vancouver's David Ortiz (.361/.496/.754, 26 HR, 96 RBI) was the choice on two thirds of the ballots. No backup DH was selected from the Morris. In the Hanover, Newark's Jack Cust (.337/.452/.666, 29 HR, 73 RBI) was the choice on half the ballots, but no one came close to catching him. Hoboken's Miguel Cabrera (.288/.322/.497, 14 HR, 45 RBI) came out on top from the rest of the pack to serve as Cust's backup.

Snubbed? Perhaps the biggest surprise from the Morris was that no one made the team as a reserve, as a number of DHs had very good first halfs. D.C.'s Derrek Lee (.326/.374/.481, 10 HR, 43 RBI) finished a distant second behind Ortiz in the balloting, followed by Arkansas's David Wright (.310./366/.542, 19 HR, 58 RBI) -- who also got a write-in vote as a third baseman -- and Hillsborough's Dmitri Young (.316/.363/.487, 4 HR, 25 RBI). Given that they got some love, why no votes for Philly's Mark Teixeira (.305/.362/.524, 13 HR, 55 RBI)... Cabrera is a questionable choice when you compare his numbers to Las Vegas's Jim Thome (.295/.440/.614, 19 HR, 53 RBI) who just lost on a "the fans choose" tiebreaker. Tampa Bay's James Loney (.278/.328/.499, 15 HR, 53 R) finished just behind Thome and Cabrera, tied with New Jersey's Alfonso Soriano (.251/.269/.458, 9 HR, 1 SB) -- who not only has mediocre numbers but also has been battling injuries throughout the first half.

STARTING PITCHER

Taking the mound first for the Hanover Division will be Las Vegas's A.J. Burnett (8-2, 2.96 ERA, 11.9 R/9, .588 QS%) who was named on 75 percent of the ballots. Backing him up will be a pair of lefties -- Tampa Bay veteran Mark Buehrle (7-8, 3.77 ERA, 12.1 R/9. 647 QS%) and Sardine City youngster Cole Hamels (5-6, 3.49 ERA, 12.6 R/9, .765 QS%). Joining them will be two starters from the Sugar Bears, Javier Vazquez (10-1, 3.69 ERA, 11.5 R/9, .588 QS%) and James Shields (10-4, 3.22 ERA, 11.8 R/9, .471 QS%).

The Morris counters with two Vancouver starters who tied with 67 percent of the votes -- Zack Greinke (8-0, 2.99 ERA, 11.2 R/9, .692 QS%) and Jake Peavy (12-2, 3.12 ERA, 9.7 R/9, .706 QS%). Iron Fist manager Bud Black broke the tie and said Greinke should have the honor of starting. "The kid is a little, you know, in the head," Black said, raising his eyebrows. "It'd be better for everyone involved if we just let him start." The third-most votes went to Blue Ridge's Ted Lilly (6-3, 3.02 ERA, 11.1 R/9, .563 QS%) having a surprisingly good year for a lefty. Philly's Brandon Webb (8-6, 4.82 ERA, 13.3 R/9, .563 QS%) and Carolina's Roy Halladay (8-6, 4.04 ERA, 11.5 R/9, .563 QS%) round out the rotation.

Snubbed? It's surprising that Mudcat Tim Hudson (5-5, 5.15 ERA, 13.5 R/9) and Endzone Animal Johan Santana (7-5, 5.25 ERA, 11.9 R/9) finished in the top 10 in the voting. Name recognition undoubtedly helped -- heck, some folks even voted for Blue Ridge's Josh Beckett (5-8, 5.87 ERA, 15.3 R/9) and Carolina's Carlos Zambrano (5-5, 4.76 ERA, 14.6 R/9)... The get-out-the-vote effort in Hillsborough was in full force as a number of Hired Hitmen got more votes than they seemingly deserved: C.C. Sabathia (5-9, 5.06 ERA, 13.5 R/9) finished just behind Webb, Hudson and Santana in the balloting, followed closely by Dan Haren (6-7, 4.57 ERA, 12.9 R/9) and Justin Verlander (8-7, 4.68 ERA, 13.5 R/9). Ironically, the Hitmen faithful may have been better off if they focused their efforts on electing just one starter -- John Lackey (7-5, 3.84 ERA, 12.0 R/9) had better numbers than Webb but tied for 8th in the balloting.

In the Hanover, there's a few pitchers who have legitimate gripes with the voters. Fausto Carmona (9-3, 3.17 ERA, 12.5 R/9, .625 QS%) finished behind fellow Straphanger Hamels in the balloting despite what would appear to be a stronger first half. Perhaps the voters were giving Hamels special consideration for being a lefty -- but then why not Tampa Bay's Andy Pettitte (7-1, 4.35 ERA, 13.2 R/9) or Las Vegas's Erik Bedard (8-3, 4.64 ERA, 12.5 R/9)? Carmona and Bedard tied for 6th, followed by Pettitte and Tampa Bay's Roy Oswalt (6-7, 3.97 ERA, 12.2 R/9)... Kind of a surprise that two owners voted for Hoboken's Scott Kazmir (3-11, 6.23 ERA, 15.7 R/9) and Newark's John Smoltz (5-5, 5.31 ERA, 14.6 R/9), especially when you consider New Jersey's Joe Blanton (5-7, 4.03 ERA, 11.4 R/9) got just one vote!

RELIEF PITCHER

The top vote-getter among all relievers was D.C.'s Jonathan Papelbon (4-2, 12 SV, 1.28 ERA, 6.9 R/9, .050 IR%), who tied with Prince Fielder for most votes for any Morris Division player. Given Papelbon's first half numbers, it's a surprise that three owners left Papelbon off their ballots. Finishing behind him the polling were fellow closers Takashi Saito (0-1, 16 SV, 2.60 ERA, 10.1 R/9, .154 IR%) of Hillsborough, J.J. Putz (3-1, 14 SV, 3.29 ERA, 8.7 R/9, .238 IR%) of Philly and Huston Street (3-3, 11 SV, 3.52 ERA, 11.9 R/9, .097 IR%) of Blue Ridge. The only non-closer -- and only lefty -- was Vancouver's Hideki Okajima (3-4, 1 SV, 2.35 ERA, 8.6 R/9, .077 IR%).

Two Buddah relievers tied for most votes among Hanover relievers -- Bobby Jenks (3-0, 11 SV, 1.76 ERA, 9.9 R/9, .150 IR%) and George Sherrill (2-0, 0 SV, 1.94 ERA, 8.9 R/9, .290 IR%). They'll be matched in the 'pen by a pair of Las Vegas relievers, Carlos Marmol (5-3, 16 SV, 3.38 ERA, 9.9 R/9, .125 IR%) and Rafael Betancourt (6-1, 5 SV, 2.25 ERA, 7.9 R/9, .217 IR%). The fifth man is Tampa Bay closer Lee Gardner (2-1, 15 SV, 1.29 ERA, 13.1 R/9, .231 IR%).

Snubbed? A lot of relievers had strong first halfs in the Hanover Division, so somebody was going to wind up off the roster. Still, it was a bit of a surprise to see the voters couldn't find room for veteran Jason Isringhausen (3-3, 8 SV, 2.33 ERA, 8.6 R/9, .150 IR%) enjoying a resurgence with the Cutters. Izzy, who finished sixth in the voting, put up numbers that match up favorably with any other closer in the division. Marietta's Mariano Rivera (1-2, 9 SV, 4.00 ERA, 10.9 R/9, .500 IR%) is a 10-time All-Star but it's not a surprise he was left off after a disappointing first half. (In fact, it's probably more a surprise that he finished right behind Isringhausen in the balloting.) But the biggest shocker of all might be that three owners voted for Tampa Bay's Brad Hennessey (4-2, 5 SV, 4.99 ERA, 14.3 R/9, .143 IR%). It's nice to see the voters remembered the middle men, and it looks like they picked the two best in Betancourt and Sherrill. The only other setup guys you could really make a case for are Hoboken's David Riske (3-0, 1 SV, 2.43 ERA, 10.8 R/9, .263 IR%) and Las Vegas's Pat Neshek (4-1, 1 SV, 3.33 ERA, 9.1 R/9, .391 IR%).

There were a lot of talented relievers in the Morris as well, and it's tough to make an argument that Papelbon, Saito, Putz and Street shouldn't be on the roster. But four closers? Middle relievers are people too! As it turns out, the setup guy who got closest -- D.C.'s Joe Nathan (4-4, 4 SV, 3.81 ERA, 11.1 R/9, .273 IR%), who actually tied with Street in the balloting -- didn't deserve to go. Philly's Francisco Cordero (6-0, 1 SV, 1.85 ERA, 10.7 R/9, .188 IR%), who tied with Street and Nathan, would have been a better choice, as was Hillsborough's Heath Bell (3-1, 1 SV, 2.76 ERA, 10.1 R/9, .174 IR%) who finished right behind those three in the balloting... It's a shame there wasn't room for Arkansas's Joakim Soria (0-0, 5 SV, 3.29 ERA, 10.9 R/9, .407 IR%), Blue Ridge's Russ Springer (1-1, 4 SV, 2.85 ERA, 11.6 R/9, .238 IR%), Carolina's Justin Speier (2-5, 3 SV, 3.10 ERA, 8.5 R/9, .364 IR%), D.C.'s Aaron Heilman (2-2, 1 SV, 2.68 ERA, 9.4 R/9, .375 IR%), Hillsborough's Justin Hampson (2-0, 1 SV, 2.69 ERA, 11.4 R/9 .286 IR%) or Philly's Jon Rauch (3-0, 1 SV, 3.20 ERA, 9.8 R/9, .333 IR%).

ALL-STAR DID YOU KNOW?

Frequent Fliers: After a two-year hiatus, Barry Bonds is back in the All-Star Game. This year's selection means Bonds once again holds the record for most All-Star selections, with 11. (He's been here every year except '91, '92, '97, '99, '06 and '07, remembering that we didn't have one in '95.) Bonds had set the record with 10 in 2005, but then his two-year absence allowed Mike Piazza and Mariano Rivera to catch him last year. Neither Rivera nor Piazza made this year's team, so they're stuck at 10. Joining them in a second-place tie with his 10th selection this year is Alex Rodriguez. Others who are used to not getting three days off at the mid-season point: Vlad Guerrero and Chipper Jones, who became eight-time All-Stars this year; Jeff Kent, a seven-timer; and Derek Jeter, here for the fifth time.

Let's go streaking: In terms of most consecutive appearances, Carlos Guillen has the longest active streak as this year marks his fourth straight appearance. He has a long way to go for the record, however -- that's held by Mike Piazza, who made nine consecutive All-Star appearances between '94 and '03 (although we didn't have an All-Star Game in '95). The second-longest streak is eight, by Mariano Rivera ('97-'04), followed by Tony Gwynn ('92-'99). Guillen would have to play in every All-Star Game, up to and including 2014, to break Piazza's record. Here for a third-straight year: Vlad Guerrero, Chipper Jones, Joe Mauer and Alex Rodriguez. Two long streaks came to an end this year: Albert Pujols and Ichiro Suzuki, who had been to every All-Star Game since 2002. Neither one made the team this year. Roger Clemens and Victor Martinez ended three year streaks by not making the cut.

Welcome back: Speaking of records, Scott Rolen set a dubious one -- most years between All-Star Game appearances. Rolen hasn't been to the Midsummer Classic since 1999, an eight-year drought. The record had been held by Tony Fernandez, who went seven years between appearances. Fernandez had been to the 1991 All-Star Game but then didn't get back until 2000. (Remember, no All-Star Game was played in 1995, so Tony missed seven games, not eight.) Three players are tied for third-longest at six years -- Andres Galarraga, Chris Hammond and Brad Radke. Others who have waited a long time to get back to the game: Mark Buehrle (five years). Placido Polanco and Jorge Posada have waited four years, while it's been three years for Magglio Ordonez, Edgar Renteria, Javier Vazquez and Brandon Webb.

All-Star Virgins: It's a big year for first timers -- 22 of the 50 players are making their first All-Star appearance. (And another 14 are here for just the second time.) Six of the first-timers couldn't have been here before, as they're rookies: Newark's Jack Cust and Jarrod Saltalamacchia; Sardine City's Ryan Braun and B.J. Upton; Tampa Bay's Lee Gardner; and Vancouver's Hideki Okajima.