Royal All-Star 2008
by Stat Ninja on Jun 17, 2008 1:50 PM EDT
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PrintEvery year, the Royals send at least one representative to the All-Star Game, even if nobody particularly deserves to be there. Is this the year that the Royals have a positional player who is worthy of hitting and fielding in the ASG again? Who will or should be this year's Mark Redman or Ken Harvey? Will our guy even play? It's only June, and the suspense is already killing some of us.
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Jose Guillen? I would argue he has the best shot out of any of these guys besides Soria.
by I need more Esteban on Jun 17, 2008 1:55 PM EDT reply actions
Greinke, Soria, Guillen and DeJesus all deserve serious consideration
Soria has been the best player on the team, but they often don’t put any/many closers on All Star teams. Greinke has been mostly ace-like. Guillen and DeJesus have hit very well. DeJesus has been the best hitter-for-position on the team this year by more than a little.
I hate the All-Star game. It’s such a joke. I haven’t watched one in at least 5 years, and I won’t be watching this one.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
What would make it better?
I’ve thought that interleague dilutes the excitement. Maybe if they stopped the “every team has to have one player thing,” that would help, too.
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 17, 2008 2:33 PM EDT up reply actions
How to make it better
All All-Star games are just exhibition games, so it is going to be inherently meaningless. So the first and most important thing is not to artificially try to give the game meaning—like having it determine home field advantage in the World Series. Neither the players nor the managers treat it like a real game, and yet the outcome has meaning. That is beyond ludicrous.
All that’s really left is making sure that the players selected are actually the most deserving. So, I would take the voting completely out of the hands of the fans. Fan voting basically means you’re selecting the most popular players. It isn’t a meritocracy; it is a popularity contest. It’s a joke. Using a combination of votes from players, managers, coaches, front office staff and sportswriters would certainly be imperfect, but it would be better.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Jun 17, 2008 2:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Voting
Maybe have one write-in for fans of each team? That wouldn’t make it “better” as a game, but the fans could still be involved. I bet that would really get people into it, as well, if some “fan favorite” player didn’t make it in, especially from a team that didn’t get any all-stars at all.
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 17, 2008 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm kinda with NYRoyal
In that I’ve never much cared for the All-Star Game. I think they should strip it entirely of meaning. Keep the fan voting. Let players wear backwards caps. Have em fool around. Play four outfielders. Maybe allow a few celebrities to play in it. Okay, maybe that would piss off the purists too much. But I do think they should loosen it up, make it a real exhibition game, and allow the rules to be loosened so that we can see things we rarely see in a real game.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
I do kind of like that
You can make it very fan-friendly and let the fans pick everything, but then everyone should stop acting like being an All-Star is a big deal. The game is just a fan-friendly exhibition. It isn’t about the best players or anything like that. It’s just a way to get the most popular players (who play in large markets) to all play around together for a few days.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Jun 17, 2008 3:44 PM EDT up reply actions
They need to change the every team gets a player rule.
While they think they’re doing fans a service, it ends up being embarassing when guys like Redman and Harvey represent. The rule was implemented when there were what? 16 teams…its almost as antiquated as…pitchers batting.
Nobody will celebrate harder when the Royals make the playoffs!!
Guillen
I probably should have put him on there for HR lovers, but I was mostly looking at stats and thinking about fan favorite trends (Aviles would be the closest to Harvey or Redman). With an OBP of only .310, Guillen would be just another Royal who went to the ASG with average or worse performance.
Jose Guillen
guy is pacing for a great year 59 2b, 26 HR and 125 RBI’s those are All Star Worthy Numbers.
Billy at worst will be Sean Casey jr.
Guillen
Right now, Josh Hamilton, Grady Sizemore, Carlos Quentin, Manny Ramirez, JD Drew, and Marcus Thames are all on pace for more (or much more) HR than Guillen. Cust, Dye, Markakis, and Luke Scott also have hit 11 apiece. Throw in the fact that Vlad, Magglio, Ichiro, and Damon are better hitters and it’s hard to imagine that Guillen will have seemed like he deserved to be there a year or more from now.
The pitchers, on the other hand, always have a bit more credibility since the managers choose them. Greinke and Soria have fewer peers for a position which allows more selections, and their ours.
by Stat Ninja on Jun 17, 2008 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I don't like your logic.
Not at all.
Blown Save
by BlownSave on Jun 18, 2008 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Greinke
would be my choice. Has been more consistently good than Guillen, pitched more than Soria.
A mind without purpose will walk in dark places.
A Performance for the Ages by All-Star Mark Redman
A Performance for the Ages by All-Star Mark Redman
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
just kidding...
I’m holding on to those suckers.
Nobody will celebrate harder when the Royals make the playoffs!!
It'll be Soria
Although Greinke and Guillen deserve some thought. Unfortunately, teams in the cellar of their division tend to get many players picked for their all-star squads, unless that team happens to be the Yankees. Even when the Royals went into the ASB in 2003 leading the division, they got a whopping two players selected—Sweeney and MacDougal.
Also with Retro and NYRoyal in that I’ve never much cared for the All-Star game.
second sentence meant to say:
Unfortunately for us, teams….tend not to get many players picked.
Fans need to be weighted less
It ends up being a Yankee/Red Sox lovefest just because of the size of their fanbase.
Proposed: 1/3 fan, 1/3 player, 1/3 manager vote
No meaning – just fun. Oh – and how about the team with the best record actually gets homefield. Crazy idea, I know.
Recent vote totals
Showed 7 current leaders from Boston or NY for the AL (Varitek, Youkilis, Pedroia, Jeter, A-Rod, ManRam, Ortiz), with Abreu and Damon at 5th and 6th in outfield voting (Ichiro, Vlad, and Josh Hamilton alone stand between the all-YankeeSox All-Star lineup).
Unreleated, but not: the front page on MLB.com has the breathtaking story that Joba Chamberlain is trying for 100 pitches today (he’s losing 1-0, but hey, who cares, HE’S THROWING 100 PITCHES TODAY!!!!!).
I don’t know who to hate about this, but whoever it is/they are, I have a lotta hate for them right now.
Sometimes you just gotta roll the potato.
by CentralChamps2009 on Jun 19, 2008 2:52 PM EDT up reply actions
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