All-Star Game Thoughts #12 - Final National League Roster

Starters
C - Paul Lo Duca (NYM)
1B - Albert Pujols (STL)
2B - Chase Utley (PHI)
3B - David Wright (NYM)
SS - Jose Reyes (NYM)
OF - Jason Bay (PIT)
OF - Carlos Beltran (NYM)
OF - Alfonso Soriano (WAS)

The vote finished up exactly as it looked like it was going to yesterday, so I don't have anything else to say about the starters. Check out the individual position posts for more information, if you're interested.

Backup Infielders/Catcher
C - Brian McCann (ATL)
1B - Lance Berkman (HOU)
1B - Ryan Howard (PHI)
2B - Dan Uggla (FLA)
3B - Miguel Cabrera (FLA)
3B - Freddy Sanchez (PIT)
3B - Scott Rolen (STL)
SS - Edgar Renteria (ATL)

I'll start with McCann, who is having a very nice season and who I picked to make the team. The decision not to go with a third catcher is, in my mind, not a good one. But then, I'm not managing the team so it doesn't matter much. McCann was selected by the players.

At first base, there is no way in my mind that Nomar Garciaparra doesn't make this list. I think it's a shame that he didn't get on, and I most definitely would have taken Nomar over Freddy Sanchez. It sounds like Howard made the team on the Player's ballot, and he's not undeserving, so I can't gripe too much there. Berkman also deserves the nod, and is the only All-Star for the Astros, although he should have been joined by Roy Oswalt.

Dan Uggla makes sense at 2B, but I feel bad for Brandon Phillips, who has played very well.

At 3B, the additions of Cabrera (by the players) and Rolen (by Phil Garner) make sense, but Freddy Sanchez? As I said before, he's having a very nice season, but there are already THREE 3B on the team! And Nomar is NOT on the team! This to me was a mistake by Garner. Additionally, I usually believe in the All-Star game being an individual thing and not a team thing (hence, you don't automatically reward the team with the best record with 8 All-Stars), but the Pirates are the WORST team in the National League, and probably in baseball. Why, exactly, should they have two All-Stars when teams like the Dodgers and Astros have only one?

Finally, I can't complain about Renteria because I picked him for the squad, and as the only SS I would have taken. I went 5-for-7 in backup infielder choices, and I guess that's not too bad.

Backup Outfielders
1.) Matt Holliday (COL)
2.) Carlos Lee (MIL)
3.) Andruw Jones (ATL)

I got 3 out of 4 here, with only Bobby Abreu being left off from the names I suggested. I don't blame Garner for only going with 3 backup outfielders, because as I mentioned in the post on Saturday, there just aren't that many strong outfielders in the National League this year. All three of these guys got on by the Player Ballot.

Starting Pitchers
1.) Brandon Webb (ARI)
2.) Carlos Zambrano (CHC)
3.) Bronson Arroyo (CIN)
4.) Brad Penny (LAD)
5.) Tom Glavine (NYM)
6.) Pedro Martinez (NYM)
7.) Chris Carpenter (STL)
8.) Jason Schmidt (SFG)

I had Chris Young (SD) and Roy Oswalt (HOU) making the team, and said nothing about Brad Penny, Pedro Martinez, and Chris Carpenter. None of them are really bad picks, but I think Young and Oswalt are more deserving than all three of them. What's really perplexing is Garner's decision not to select Oswalt, a player on his own team. Either Garner was asked by Oswalt to leave him off the team (and this isn't unheard of; some players just want a chance to recuperate over the All-Star break), or Garner was overly sensitive to cries of favoritism. Either way, it's a shame. Carpenter or Pedro could have been left at home in favor of Oswalt, and should have been.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Tom Gordon (PHI)
2.) Trevor Hoffman (SDP)
3.) Derrick Turnbow (MIL)
4.) Brian Fuentes (COL)

While I would love to harangue Garner for putting Turnbow on the team, it wasn't his fault. The Player's voted him in, and to be fair, the only reason I took him off was the performance on Saturday against the Twins that caused his ERA to jump over 4.00; the voting was over before that happened, and his ERA was at 3.28, so it's not as bad a choice if you take that into consideration. Fuentes isn't exactly a BAD choice; his ERA is fine and he's pitched well for a couple of seasons in a row. Nevertheless, it seems like an odd choice with Billy Wagner sitting there waiting for a nod. Compared to the AL closers, these guys don't add up.

Last Player In
1B - Nomar Garciaparra (LAD)
OF - Bobby Abreu (PHI)
SP - Chris Capuano (MIL)
RP - Billy Wagner (NYM)
SP - Chris Young (SDP)

The choice should be between Nomar and Young, and I don't see how the NL leader in batting average can justifiably be left off the team. Go NOMAR!

So, how did Garner do? Well, on the belief that grad inflation is bad, I'm going to give him a C and call it dead average. He made some perplexing calls, but he was fair about his own players (perhaps too much so). That said, there was nothing spectacular here. No amazing insight, no really huge botches (except Freddy Sanchez, but I'll give him a pass on that).