MVN - Most Valuable Network

Who’s going to the All-Star Game?

Okay.  There is very little we can take out of that weekend series against the Twins- the fact that we held them scoreless in 21 out of 24 innings isn’t really enough.  So, instead, let’s look a head a bit.  Particularly, the All-Star Game.

Yes, as of today, we are exactly three weeks from the start of the All-Star Break, and I’m sure that, after the way this team has been playing, we’re all looking forward to a little bit of a reprieve.  Not everyone’s going to get the time off, though- we’ll be sending at least one representative to the game.  Now, currently the only D-back who even mentioned on the latest NL voting results is Justin Upton, and he’s 12th in voting for outfielders, about half a million votes behind Ken Griffey, Jr., for the third spot in the outfield.  So, barring anything surprising, our representative(s) will be selected by the manager.  So, who’s it going to be?

Well, first off, there’s a question of how many we’ll see.  Sure, we’re division leaders, for the moment, but it’s not like we’re playing like it.  I strongly suspect that the NL West won’t have more than six or seven players between all five teams, and I am pretty much assuming that we’ll only have one representative- we might pull two, but I’d be pretty surprised at that.

So, who gets picked?  The obvious choice, and one I think we’ll see, is Brandon Webb.  He’s the league leader in wins, he’s got a respectable ERA, and he’s pretty much our premiere player right now.  But, is he the guy we want out there?  Personally, I’d say not really.  Webb was incredible to start the season, but he’s hit a very distinct slump lately.  In June, he’s posted a 6.04 ERA and a BAA of .298- that’s just not pretty, and not necessarily the kind of numbers we want to send as our All-Star representative.  I wouldn’t be terribly upset it Webb got his third straight All-Star appearance, but I’d be a little happier if, instead, he got a few extra days off to relax and rest his arm.

So, who would we send instead?  Well, two names come to mind for me.

First, Dan Haren.  Haren pitched a beautiful game against the Red Sox today, going 7 scoreless innings, only allowing two hits and a walk, and picking up the win.  For the month of June, that gives him an ERA of 1.59, a WHIP of 0.74, and a record of 3-0.  His numbers on the season are pretty good, too- his win-loss record isn’t impressive, but he’s got the best WHIP among qualified pitchers in the National League, and his ERA is actually better than Webb’s, after Webb’s past few ugly starts.

Meanwhile, if we look away from the pitching mound?  Mark Reynolds may lead our team in many categories at the plate- slugging percentage, home runs, RBIs, stolen base- but he’s also second in the National League in strike-outs, and is only batting .250 on the season.  Not particularly impressive, and it’s not like his defense is so impressive that it makes up for his frequent all-or-nothing appearances at the plate.  So, who would be likely candidates otherwise?  Two names come to mind for me.

First, the one I think more likely to make an appearance, Orlando Hudson.  Hudson’s one of our best contributors this season- .820 OPS, he’s got 17 doubles, and though his defense isn’t as good as it’s been in previous seasons, he’s still pretty well known for it.  Besides, aren’t most All-Star appearances about how you did last season?

But, if it was up to me, you know who I’d pick?  Conor Jackson.  He’s pretty much been our most solid player at the plate, particularly lately- coming into today’s game, he’s batting 20 for 59 in the month of June.  He leads the team in batting average and slugging percentage, his defense is about as solid as anyone else on the roster, and- though this’ll never be considered by the people picking- I really appreciate the way he put the team first by playing games in left field when they needed it.  I think he deserves some credit, and though he’s no Albert Pujols, he would be a good choice for backup at first base on the NL All-Star team.

So, who’s it going to be?  Well, obviously, that’s up to Bud Black.  I think it’s likely that Webb will get the pick, though I wouldn’t be too surprised if Haren got the nod- he pitched for the AL in last year’s game.  Hudson or Reynolds would be a maybe, but I’m resigned the the idea that CoJack on the All-Star roster is probably something that won’t happen this year.  Too bad, though, because I think he deserves it. If you haven’t already made your 25 votes for the All-Star game, you’ve got until July 1st to do it.

If you’re planning to make a trip to the game yourself, you probably should be on the phone to your travel agent right now- or six months ago. If you haven’t, though, you’ve got one last, outside chance. If you listen to the games on the radio a lot, as I do, you’ve heard the ads for the State Farm Call-Your-Shot contest. If you haven’t, the short version is that the winner gets a trip for four to the All Star game and the Home Run Derby, hotel stay, some spending money, tickets to a Broadway show- no word if Damn Yankees is playing- and a chance to win a Chevy Tahoe hybrid at the Derby. A handful of runners-up will also get gift cards to the MLB store- if you win those, you may want to see if there’s a pillow you can buy so you have something handy to muffle your screams the next 84 times we’re reminded that “this time, it counts.” But, if you want to enter, your last day is Tuesday, the 24th, so get to it. It’d be great to see someone out there in D-backs gear during the Home Run Derby.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 10:08 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.