EVIL~! alkeiper

Since this is a popular area of discussion, I thought I'd like to throw out some of my ideas for improving the All-Star game and the process around it. I would have done this in the commissioner thread but it's not really integral to the health of the sport. Still, it is fun and enlivens debate. 1. 25 man rosters It's 2003. The National League leads the American League 6-4. Brendan Donnelly pitches to Preston Wilson? Nothing harms an All-Star game more than legitimate stars leaving mid-game so we can see the third-best players at each position bat against the best middle relievers the game has to offer. Each manager should manage his roster like a real game. Nine starters, six reserves, ten pitchers. Ideally eight of those pitchers should be starters. Closers look better because they didn't have to start. Play the best guys all game unless they're older, or there is a strategic advantage to the move. 2. End the Representation Rule This is really 1a. If you're going to limit the rosters, you have to do this. If we still have 32 man rosters though, I would keep it. 3. The manager picks the reserves As you might know, many reserves are currently selected by MLB players. The way this works is that players receive All-Star ballots like the fans do. The players fill out the ballots and return them. If the players' selection differs from the fans', that selection makes the squad. If the selections are different, the second highest vote-getter amongst the players makes it. This is illogical. This has nothing to do with the players' ability to make intelligent decisions. Rather, the idea is to place decision making in the hands of a single entity who can then exercise flexibility as needed. The current process is too rigid. 4. Divide outfield voting Pick three outfielders. This can lead to a scenario where you have three left fielders starting the game. Center field is a more demanding defensive position than the corners. A right fielder requires a better arm than a left fielder. The ballot should reflect this. 5. Allow fans to choose a starting pitcher Why not? The nature of the voting wouldn't give you as good a choice as the manager's (because the fans start voting in mid-April), but you would likely get a respectable pitcher, probably the previous year's Cy Young award winner. The most deserving pitcher would still make the squad. If he comes in the third instead of the first, I could live with that. 6. Apply the Designated Hitter at all games It's an exhibition. The pitcher bats maybe 1% of the time as it is. This would end the problems every other year of trying to vote American League DH's among first basemen. 7. Establish an Innings limit Again, it's an exhibition. If you establish beforehand that a game will last twelve innings and no more, fans would not get ups in arms as they would for a sudden end. The rule would allow one to three extra innings (10 might be a better limit and is common for Spring Training exhibitions), and would allow managers to better manage their pitching staffs. 8. The game doesn't count Currently the game decides home field advantage. Yet it is still played like an exhibition. If you really needed to win a game, you would hang your closer for two innings, never sit your starters, etc. It runs into several conflicts of interest and more importantly, the fans have not responded with increased enthusiasm. It's time to put the idea to rest. 9. Shorten the Home Run Derby Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa made the Home Run Derby an event. The problem is that the Derby has gone from entertainment to a three and a half hour endurance contest. Not for the players, but for the viewers. Subject the fans to the Derby and then the game, and you're asking them to commit seven hours to baseball programming over two consecutive nights. Your hardcore fan will do it, but that is too much for the casual fan. Give the players five outs a round instead of ten. 10. Cut back on Commercialism I can live with outfield advertisements. But the entire evening should not be an infomercial for Century 21 and Mastercard.

Eventually. First he must clear waivers. Any team that wants to keep him under the same conditions the Yankees had (must stay on the 25 man roster all year) may do so. If he passes waivers, then the Baltimore Orioles may take him back for a minimal sum, I believe $25,000. Phelps isn't a prospect so it is quite possible that the O's may just pass.

I have a great deal of respect for Placido Polanco. Second base is wide open though and given the choices Roberts has the highest OBP, 23 steals in 27 attempts, and a track record. Mags I'll address next. I've noted before that part of the problem with blaming fans for the voting is the time frame of the balloting. How can you criticize a fan voting in May when he has no way of knowing that Magglio Ordonez would hit .500 in June? (On a related note, holy !#%&!) Vlad's the established talent though and he's having a career year in his own right. At some point last month Vlad was the front-runner for MVP. If the established player is close, I give him the edge. In extreme cases though, such as Andruw Jones, I'll go with the hotter talent. Bonds leads in OPS and OBP. The only close player is Matt Holliday and after that it's Adam Dunn, who nobody loves.

My current All-Star selections National League C: Russell Martin 1B: Albert Pujols 2B: Chase Utley SS: Jose Reyes 3B: Miguel Cabrera LF: Barry Bonds CF: Carlos Beltran RF: Ken Griffey DH: Prince Fielder SP: Jake Peavy American League C: Joe Mauer 1B: Justin Morneau 2B: Brian Roberts SS: Derek Jeter 3B: Alex Rodriguez LF: Manny Ramirez CF: Grady Sizemore RF: Vladimir Guerrero DH: David Ortiz SP: Johan Santana

It bounced off like 30 pairs of hands before a guy finally corralled it. Matt Holliday is the hidden secret of the NL. Matt Holliday's ironically cursed playing in Coors Field. No one seems willing to buy his performance in that ballpark, legitimate or not.

His .297 OBP would indicate a bail-and-wail approach.

I think 66 years more than exceeds the statute of limitations.

Dr. Strangelove at #39? Blasphemy!

Raging Bull fourth? Wow. That makes Citizen Kane, Casablanca and Dr. Strangelove the top three. No complaints there regardless of the order.

Barrett's OPS+ from each of the past three seasons: 105, 113, 121. It is rare to get that kind of production from a catcher. Free agent or not, the Cubs should have been able to at least get a decent prospect for him. A half season of underachieving does not suggest that he's cooked as a player. I just don't feel Barrett is a particularly good player. He hits, but does little else to help his team. And again, he was becoming a problem to the point where the Cubs HAD to trade him. That's a difficult position to deal with. In addition, teams have been loathe to give up talent in return for talent lately. Here's a question for the forum. If you root for a non-Cubs team, would you want Barrett? If so, what would you trade in return?

Noted. Since we have our answer, no need to further pile on Dama.

Article on espn.com states Rangers owner Tom Hicks "suspects" Juan Gonzalez used steroids. What irresponsible journalism.

Michael Barrett is underachieving at the plate this year, is not particularly good on defense, was a clubhouse disruption and is a free agent after the season. This was clearly an addition by subtraction trade for the Cubs, and I would say good riddance. The Cubs didn't need to get talent back to come out ahead.

Is new content next week or in two?

Is Kane out with an injury at this point? If not, the top face pretty much falls to Matt Hardy.

Caught a foul ball bare handed in the announcers' booth.

Gary Matthews Sr. had the web gem of the night.

Jose Mesa?! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOO.

Nothing, since they blew up the car a day or two before. Actually, it did rain on the way to the show. That's what I meant; how would they portray "Vince just went outside & blew up" if he walked out to a dry limousine and it was pouring rain that night? Wouldn't matter. The only people who would've noticed are the 10,000 that attended the live show. If having the Times Leader write that the explosion occured the night before didn't ruin the angle, neither would some inconvenient weather patterns.

I would not oppose this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq54jhaHdC Rocket 2057.

This is the one objection I have to the fan voting format. Bad choices I can excuse because you get that no matter what group you let choose the players. But there really needs to be separate distinctions between left, center and right fielders.

Nothing, since they blew up the car a day or two before. Actually, it did rain on the way to the show.

That's obviously true but I thought the All-Star game was about rewarding players having the best seasons to this point. Pujols struggled out the gate and Prince is putting up great numbers. It's not. It's about producing an exhibition featuring the game's greatest players. You determine that by looking at their recent body of work, but you don't limit that to two or three months because small samples will distort who the best players are. As for this season, Pujols leads Fielder right now in win shares, 15 to 14. Pujols comes out ahead because he can field and he's hitting extremely well in clutch situations. Fielder's the starter in an All-Star game because he was better in May of 2007? That's ridiculous.

Oy. I like Prince Fielder, but this is one of those situations where a guy's having a hot couple of months. Fielder is not better than Albert Pujols.