MLB All-Star teams announced

MLB has announced the rosters of the All-Star teams... I will go over each section (NL and AL) and give my evaluation.

STARTERS
POS PLAYER TEAM
C Yadier Molina St. Louis
1B Albert Pujols St. Louis
2B Chase Utley Philadelphia
3B David Wright NY Mets
SS Hanley Ramirez Florida
OF Ryan Braun Milwaukee
OF Raul Ibanez Philadelphia
OF Carlos Beltran NY Mets

The fans did a pretty good job here. Although Ibanez and Beltran are hurt they both are worthy selections considering their numbers this season. The only thing I would change is Yadier Molina for Brian McCann. After starting the year batting under .200 due to problems with his sight, he got his vision repaired and has batted .330 since. He also has 8 homers and 33 RBI's, as oppose to Molina's 5 homers and 27 rbi's, and that's with missed time... Pujols is having an unreal year with 33 homers and over 80 rbi's already, not to mention a .330 average. Wright, Utley, Braun and Ramirez are also the best at their respective positions.

PITCHERS
POS PLAYER TEAM
RHP Heath Bell San Diego
RHP Chad Billingsley LA Dodgers
RHP Jonathan Broxton LA Dodgers
RHP Matt Cain San Francisco
RHP Francisco Cordero Cincinnati
RHP Ryan Franklin St. Louis
RHP Dan Haren Arizona
RHP Josh Johnson Florida
LHP Ted Lilly Chicago
RHP Tim Lincecum San Francisco
RHP Jason Marquis Colorado
RHP Francisco Rodriguez NY Mets
LHP Johan Santana NY Mets

Pretty good selections here... Marquis doesn't really deserve to be there over guys like Cueto and Gallardo. I know that Marquis is the NL leader in wins, but Cueto and Gallardo are beating him in every other category. On the season Cueto was 8-4 with a 2.69 ERA (4th best in the NL) and 78 k's, when the teams were announced. Gallardo is just as impressive on the season with an 8-6 record, 2.95 era and 120 k's.

Just on a side note it's pathetic that all Chicago sent to the all-star game this year was Ted Lilly. They had 8 players selected last season.... If things don't change, this could be it for Piniella.

Reserves
Pos Player B/T
C Brian McCann, ATL L/R
1B Prince Fielder, MIL L/R
1B Adrian Gonzalez, SD L/L
1B Ryan Howard, PHI L/L
2B Orlando Hudson, LAD S/R
2B Freddy Sanchez, PIT R/R
SS Miguel Tejada, HOU R/R
3B Ryan Zimmerman, WSH R/R
OF Brad Hawpe, COL L/L
OF Hunter Pence, HOU R/R
OF Justin Upton, ARI R/R
OF Shane Victorino, PHI¹ S/R

I agree with almost every pick here.... Pablo Sandoval is the only player being snubbed. The guy is batting .326 on the season with 13 HR's, 48 RBI's and 38 runs. He could have replaced either Hudson or Howard on the reserves...

Starters
Pos Player B/T
C Joe Mauer, MIN L/R
1B Mark Teixeira, NYY S/R
2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS R/R
SS Derek Jeter, NYY R/R
3B Evan Longoria, TB R/R
OF Jason Bay, BOS R/R
OF Ichiro Suzuki, SEA L/R
OF Josh Hamilton, TEX L/L

The fans messed up big time here... It's the same issue we see every season, fans vote based on fanhood and name recognition over the best players. It's always the same two teams that run the American League team and that's the Yankees and Red Sox. Starting at 1st base, Teixeira should not be starting over Justin Morneau. Lets break down the numbers... on the season Tex is batting .281 on the season with 21 homers, (most at the Yankees new wiffle ball stadium), and 63 rbi's... Morneau has just about the same in homers and rbi's with 21 homers and 69 rbi's, but he is also hitting for average, currently he has a .313 average. Now lets go to 2nd... Reigning MVP Dustin Pedroia beat out Aaron Hill to start at 2nd base. This has to be one of the biggest snubs this year. All we have to do is simply look at the numbers. Pedroia is not having a bad season at all batting .301 with 4 homers and 38 rbi's, however Aaron Hill is having a career year with a .298 average, 20 homers and 59 rbi's. Pedroia's numbers don't even come close to Hill's, but look at the markets... Pedroia plays for the Red Sox while Hill plays for small market Toronto, fans unfortunately will never look at a ballet objectively and it's a major issue. Lastly Josh Hamilton's big performance in the home run derby last season obviously was the reasoning behind his All-Star appearance this year. Hamilton who has been hurt for a portion of the season is batting .256, with just 6 homers and 24 rbi's. Torii Hunter is the worthy candidate here... He is batting .305 with 17 homers and 65 rbi's, there is absolutely no reason for Hamilton to be in ahead of him. The only other issue I see is possibly the perennial All-Star Jeter... Jason Bartlett of the Rays is batting .356 on the season and has arguably had a better season then Jeter, it's not a terrible pick though.

Pitchers
Pos Player B/T
P Andrew Bailey, OAK R/R
P Josh Beckett, BOS R/R
P Mark Buehrle, CWS L/L
P Brian Fuentes, LAA L/L
P Zack Greinke, KC R/R
P Roy Halladay, TOR R/R
P Felix Hernandez, SEA R/R
P Edwin Jackson, DET R/R
P Joe Nathan, MIN R/R
P Jonathan Papelbon, BOS R/R
P Mariano Rivera, NYY R/R
P Justin Verlander, DET R/R
P Tim Wakefield, BOS R/R
This is a stacked roster.... Wakefield is the only weak spot. However, after 17 seasons and no All-Star appearances the knuckle baller is a well deserving candidate. Kevin Millwood would of been a bit more deserving then Wakefield or Jered Weaver who is 9-3 with a 3.15 era and 95 k's.

Reserves
Pos Player B/T
C Victor Martinez, CLE S/R
1B Justin Morneau, MIN L/R
1B Kevin Youkilis, BOS R/R
2B Aaron Hill, TOR R/R
SS Jason Bartlett, TB R/R
3B Brandon Inge, DET¹ R/R
3B Michael Young, TEX R/R
OF Carl Crawford, TB L/L
OF Curtis Granderson, DET L/R
OF Torii Hunter, LAA R/R
OF Adam Jones, BAL R/R
OF Ben Zobrist, TB S/R
I agree with every poistion here...


When it comes down to it, my opinion is the fans should not be able to vote. The only reason I say this is because the game really does count for something. Having home field advantage for the World Series is a huge deal!!! Game 7 at home could mean everything if it's a tight series. So in my opinion only non-biased, objective people should be voting. This would be coaches, players and experts.