AJ holds slim lead in AL all star voting!!!

[Outshined_One]

Next year, I'm doing a "Sabotage the Vote!" campaign on every NL board I post on.

 

Basically, I'm going to try convincing everyone to vote for a guy in the AL who plays a non-superstar position like 2B and has no right whatsoever being in the game. I'm talking about some one like Damian Jackson.

 

If it succeeds, I think it'll get the message across.

[TruffleShuffle]

I love the guy on page 1 of that Sox thread who tells everyone to vote for Chris Young too, because he's most deserving. Yeah, you should vote for the most deserving NL player, but don't worry about stuffing the ballot box for possibly the least deserving AL player. That's A-OK.

[CubsBullsBears]

I hope the Hawk shuts up now after his bitching in 2004 about 8 Yankees going to the mid-summer classic.

[daske17]

I hope the Hawk shuts up now after his bitching in 2004 about 8 Yankees going to the mid-summer classic.

 

I doubt it. Everyone else is wrong but the White Sox when it comes to pretty much anything baseball-related.

 

And when did Hawk have the right to appropriate Andre Dawson's nickname? Dawson won an MVP for a last place team. Hawk Harrelson is best known for firing Tony Larussa.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I hope the Hawk shuts up now after his bitching in 2004 about 8 Yankees going to the mid-summer classic.

 

I doubt it. Everyone else is wrong but the White Sox when it comes to pretty much anything baseball-related.

 

And when did Hawk have the right to appropriate Andre Dawson's nickname? Dawson won an MVP for a last place team. Hawk Harrelson is best known for firing Tony Larussa

 

And trading away a young Bobby Bonilla for nothing.

[South Side]

Does anyone know how it is determined who makes the final ballot? Obviously Hafner and Liriano should have been on it, but I'm not so sure Pierzynski should have even been there in the first place.

 

From what I read, the final ballot is selected by MLB from the pool of players who received the most votes on the player's ballots, but did not make the team.

 

Statistically, AJP is the second best starting offensive catcher in the AL, by any measure, and is having a better season than the fan's choice. He was also on the 2002 AL AS team, selected by Joe Torre, during a lesser season than he is having now.

 

I agree Hafner and Liriano should be on the ballot, but why the assumption that Liriano should be on the team?

 

Liriano wasn't even a starting pitcher until seven weeks ago, and so far has only started against three teams in his own league- Seattle, Baltimore and LA Angels, all of which are at the bottom of the AL in offense. Throw in his NL starts, and he's only pitched against one team with an above average offense.

 

I agree he will probably be an All Star in the future, but why not let him actually pitch around the league once or twice to prove it first?

[Ding Dong Johnson]

9-1, 1.99 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 4.7 K/BB, 546 OPSA

 

^^^ Against ML teams. Who cares if he didn't pitch against X or Y?

[BigSlick]

Does anyone know how it is determined who makes the final ballot? Obviously Hafner and Liriano should have been on it, but I'm not so sure Pierzynski should have even been there in the first place.

 

From what I read, the final ballot is selected by MLB from the pool of players who received the most votes on the player's ballots, but did not make the team.

 

Statistically, AJP is the second best starting offensive catcher in the AL, by any measure, and is having a better season than the fan's choice. He was also on the 2002 AL AS team, selected by Joe Torre, during a lesser season than he is having now.

 

I agree Hafner and Liriano should be on the ballot, but why the assumption that Liriano should be on the team?

 

Liriano wasn't even a starting pitcher until seven weeks ago, and so far has only started against three teams in his own league- Seattle, Baltimore and LA Angels, all of which are at the bottom of the AL in offense. Throw in his NL starts, and he's only pitched against one team with an above average offense.

 

I agree he will probably be an All Star in the future, but why not let him actually pitch around the league once or twice to prove it first?

 

I wish our pitchers could do that well against middling NL offenses.

[RationalSoxFan]

Does anyone know how it is determined who makes the final ballot? Obviously Hafner and Liriano should have been on it, but I'm not so sure Pierzynski should have even been there in the first place.

 

From what I read, the final ballot is selected by MLB from the pool of players who received the most votes on the player's ballots, but did not make the team.

 

Statistically, AJP is the second best starting offensive catcher in the AL, by any measure, and is having a better season than the fan's choice. He was also on the 2002 AL AS team, selected by Joe Torre, during a lesser season than he is having now.

 

I agree Hafner and Liriano should be on the ballot, but why the assumption that Liriano should be on the team?

 

Liriano wasn't even a starting pitcher until seven weeks ago, and so far has only started against three teams in his own league- Seattle, Baltimore and LA Angels, all of which are at the bottom of the AL in offense. Throw in his NL starts, and he's only pitched against one team with an above average offense.

 

I agree he will probably be an All Star in the future, but why not let him actually pitch around the league once or twice to prove it first?

 

Have you followed baseball AT ALL outside of Chicago? Liriano is a freak and has been putting up stats at every level. Who cares if he started out in the pen? He's still the best pitcher in baseball.

 

FWIW, I voted for Hafner. Once.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Does anyone know how it is determined who makes the final ballot? Obviously Hafner and Liriano should have been on it, but I'm not so sure Pierzynski should have even been there in the first place.

 

From what I read, the final ballot is selected by MLB from the pool of players who received the most votes on the player's ballots, but did not make the team.

 

Statistically, AJP is the second best starting offensive catcher in the AL, by any measure, and is having a better season than the fan's choice. He was also on the 2002 AL AS team, selected by Joe Torre, during a lesser season than he is having now.

 

I agree Hafner and Liriano should be on the ballot, but why the assumption that Liriano should be on the team?

 

Liriano wasn't even a starting pitcher until seven weeks ago, and so far has only started against three teams in his own league- Seattle, Baltimore and LA Angels, all of which are at the bottom of the AL in offense. Throw in his NL starts, and he's only pitched against one team with an above average offense.

 

I agree he will probably be an All Star in the future, but why not let him actually pitch around the league once or twice to prove it first?

 

Have you followed baseball AT ALL outside of Chicago? Liriano is a freak and has been putting up stats at every level. Who cares if he started out in the pen? He's still the best pitcher in baseball.

 

FWIW, I voted for Hafner. Once.

 

With a confession like that, they're going to take away your WhiteSoxInteractive posting privledges. Didn't you hear the call to the Sox Army? ;)

[South Side]

9-1, 1.99 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 4.7 K/BB, 546 OPSA

 

^^^ Against ML teams. Who cares if he didn't pitch against X or Y?

 

If you're comparing his stats to other major league pitchers, it absolutely matters that he never had to start against Chicago, NY, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit or Toronto. Its a huge advantage. And every team he faces hasn't seen him yet, which gives him a huge advantage.

 

Note that the only team he started against twice, Seattle, beat him the second time they saw him. He allowed 9 baserunners in 6 innings (and three runs), striking out only three.

 

I'm not saying Liriano won't be a great pitcher, its quite likely. I'm just saying he should at least prove he can pitch well against the premier teams over a period of time greater than seven weeks. He has not done so yet.

 

The history books are full of pitchers who achieve greatness over a seven week period. Most aren't All Stars.

[South Side]

 

Have you followed baseball AT ALL outside of Chicago? Liriano is a freak and has been putting up stats at every level. Who cares if he started out in the pen? He's still the best pitcher in baseball.

 

FWIW, I voted for Hafner. Once.

 

We're talking about a Major League All Star game here, not the Futures Game. With only nine starts under his belt, he hasn't proven anything yet. He still has the next twenty ASG's ahead of him.

 

BTW, would you have voted for Hafner if he had only been on Cleveland's starting lineup for seven weeks? Don't think so. (Although your Hafner vote certainly makes sense, I can't argue against it).

 

The All Star Game isn't about potential.

[RationalSoxFan]

Considering the game now "matters", it does matter that the best players play, regardless of how they were used by their team.

 

The All Star Game isn't about potential.

You're right, it's about having the best performing players from each league play in the game. I love Mark, but he has had a mediocre year by his standards and Liriano/Verlander/Schilling/Mussina should have made it past him.

[South Side]

Considering the game now "matters", it does matter that the best players play, regardless of how they were used by their team.

 

The All Star Game isn't about potential.

You're right, it's about having the best performing players from each league play in the game. I love Mark, but he has had a mediocre year by his standards and Liriano/Verlander/Schilling/Mussina should have made it past him.

 

Definitely agree that Schilling or Mussina should have been on the team before MB.

 

I think you can somewhat blame 2002 for that one. Schilling is starting on Sunday, and Mussina has been semi injured (I think his next start was scheduled for Sunday also, but may not happen). Both would be limited to one inning. Buehrle is starting tonight, and could easily go six or seven if the game went extra innings. Of course, Ozzie could ask Boston to skip Schilling on Sunday, but for some reason I don't think that would fly....

 

Detroit has also been concerned about how many innings Verlander has pitched, and even scratched his last start (which would have been Sunday also).

 

I also agree that the best performing players should be there. But I don't think that putting a rookie with very limited experience (and NONE in any type of pressure situation) helps the league win. And if you increase the sample size by including his four starts last September (a couple of them against good teams) his stats don't even warrant it (14 ER in 22.2 innings last Sept). Players should earn the honor on the field, not based on media projections.

[CubsBullsBears]

I hope the Hawk shuts up now after his bitching in 2004 about 8 Yankees going to the mid-summer classic.

 

I doubt it. Everyone else is wrong but the White Sox when it comes to pretty much anything baseball-related.

Thank you my friend. This is why the White Sox organization and their fans are rude, dumb, and obnoxious, and why I want to punch them in the face.

[daske17]

Thank you my friend. This is why the White Sox organization and their fans are rude, dumb, and obnoxious, and why I want to punch them in the face.

 

Childish and petty? Yes, but I like it too.

[RationalSoxFan]

Hawk is the epitome of a gutless, spineless, tool. If you ever want to know what's going on in Reinsdorf's head, listen to Hawk. He pretty much tips J.R.'s hand on a lot of personnel moves.

[SouthSideRyan]

Hawk is the epitome of a gutless, spineless, tool. If you ever want to know what's going on in Reinsdorf's head, listen to Hawk. He pretty much tips J.R.'s hand on a lot of personnel moves.

 

But where would he play??

 

And Liriano would have to be as bad as Rusch over his next 20 innings to just EQUAL Contreras's numbers in the first half. (Not saying Contreras shouldn't be an all start, just that Liriano definitely should as well.

 

And wasn't addressing that last part to you RSF, just quoted you to put in the Hawk-ism.

[RationalSoxFan]

Hawk was the one who questioned where Griffey would play last year? His reasoning for Carl Everett and his sub .325 OBP in the lineup instead of Griffey was due to Carl's "clutchness".

[KaiserCesar]

Does anyone know how it is determined who makes the final ballot? Obviously Hafner and Liriano should have been on it, but I'm not so sure Pierzynski should have even been there in the first place.

 

From what I read, the final ballot is selected by MLB from the pool of players who received the most votes on the player's ballots, but did not make the team.

 

Statistically, AJP is the second best starting offensive catcher in the AL, by any measure, and is having a better season than the fan's choice. He was also on the 2002 AL AS team, selected by Joe Torre, during a lesser season than he is having now.

 

I agree Hafner and Liriano should be on the ballot, but why the assumption that Liriano should be on the team?

 

Liriano wasn't even a starting pitcher until seven weeks ago, and so far has only started against three teams in his own league- Seattle, Baltimore and LA Angels, all of which are at the bottom of the AL in offense. Throw in his NL starts, and he's only pitched against one team with an above average offense.

 

I agree he will probably be an All Star in the future, but why not let him actually pitch around the league once or twice to prove it first?

 

Umm, I beg to differ

 

Your AL Catchers offensively

 

Mauer (aka God) .388/.458/.550

Pudge .304/.330/.448

 

Victor Martinez .313/.379/.484

Posada .281/.390/.471

AJ .324/.368/452

Ramon Hernandez .271/.332/.488

Johjima .291/.342/.466

[WrigleyField 22]

I don't agree with AJ being in the all star game, but I can't blame the fans for making a push for it.

 

Didn't we have a thread asking people to pledge their votes as soon as all star voting began. So many people were throwing 25 votes or more a day at players who they hadn't had time to evaluate whether or not their season was all star worthy.

[South Side]

FWIW, Liriano is now officially an All Star.

 

Contreras bailed after throwing 120 pitches on Sunday, Guillen named Liriano as his replacement.

[SouthSideRyan]

My favorite part of the 2 idiots calling that marthon on Sunday was that Guillen didn't pick Schilling because he was slated to pitch on Sunday. They said that it's so tough to pick and all star team and nobody looks at stuff like that, and what Ozzie did was go through all the starters on Sunday, and wouldn't take any of them. WHILE CONTRERAS WAS IN THE [expletive] GAME. Don't get me wrong Contreras deserved it more than Schilling, but call a spade a spade, don't be intentionally ignorant.

[spiffie]

Ozzie didn't pick Contreras. The players voted for him, along with Kazmir, Papelbon, Rivera, Rogers, Halladay, Ryan, and Santana. Ozzie selected Buehrle, Jenks, Zito, and Redman.

[RationalSoxFan]

As cool as it is that Liriano was named, there's no way Ozzie will pitch him (sad, but true).