Now that the "All-Star fan voting" is complete, and the full team rosters have been announced, I would like to add my own thoughts to the rosters and the All-Star Game in general. First off, I want to mention the fan voting again. I have to admit that in years past I've been overly critical of fan voting since some of the selections end up being fitting. However, the same popularity contest issues come up every year. This is due, I believe, to both fan biases and different opinions about what the All-Star Game should really be. The fan bias part is obvious; the teams with the largest markets and TV exposure and hype (If the fans could vote on the pitchers, any doubt Joba Chamberlain is starting for the AL?) will garner the most votes. This always leads to players with mediocre or sub-par seasons receiving way too many votes (Jason Varitek, Kaz Matsui, and Ken Griffey Jr. come to mind). The other issue, while not as significant, is what people think selection to the All-Star rosters really means. Some people think of it as a showcase for players they like, others treat it as a lifetime acheivement award or at least a culmination of the previous few seasons' results. I personally think the All-Star Game should reward players' achievements so far that season until the voting closes. This season, someone like a Nate McLouth or Ryan Ludwick deserves a spot on the team over proven players like Griffey Jr. I do want to clarify that I'm not trying to belittle Griffey's accomplishments throughout his career, including his 600th home run this year. He's one of the greatest players we've seen in the last 25 years, and I firmly believe that he would be considered one of the all-time greats in Major League history if not for the multitude of injuries suffered in Cincinnati (and I don't think many people would argue with me there). However, those feats should not be included in the current All-Star Game. Plus, everyone knows Griffey's accomplishments and talents, we certainly don't need an All-Star selection to tell us that. I do want to include one caveat about my last statement; I will take into consideration past performances in the instance of a personal tie-breaker. For example, if I consider Adrian Gonzalez and Albert Pujols to be equally deserving cantidates for the team, I would take Pujols due to him proving that he's the better overall player. However, that is all the influence I think a player's history should have in their selection to the All-Star team. Now, onto the rosters. I'll list the actual rosters first (Starters then reserves), then include my own version. For each position, I'll include 10 possible players (20 for the outfield) comprised of the actual players on the roster, the top five vote-getters, and other players who are leading in various stat categories (RBIs, runs, average, OPS). I will also put the rank out of the 10 or 20 players I selected as possibilities. Note that this is only the position players and not the entire 31 man roster. *+AMERICAN LEAGUE+* *ACTUAL STARTERS:* C - Joe Mauer (MIN) - #1 on my list 1B - Kevin Youkilis (BOS) - #1 on my list 2B - Dustin Pedroia (BOS) - #2 on my list SS - Derek Jeter (NYY) - #2 on my list 3B - Alex Rodriguez (NYY) - #1 on my list OF - Josh Hamilton (TEX) - #1 on my list OF - Manny Ramirez (BOS) - #7 on my list OF - Ichiro Suzuki (SEA) - #16 on my list DH - David Ortiz (BOS - Injured) - #7 on my list *MY STARTERS:* C - Joe Mauer (MIN) 1B - Kevin Youkilis (BOS) 2B - Ian Kinsler (TEX) SS - Michael Young (TEX) 3B - Alex Rodriguez (NYY) OF - Josh Hamilton (TEX) OF - J.D. Drew (BOS) OF - Carlos Quentin (CWS) DH - Milton Bradley (TEX) *ACTUAL RESERVES:* C - Dioner Navarro (TB) - #3 on my list C - Jason Varitek (BOS) - #9 on my list 1B - Justin Morneau (MIN) - #2 on my list 2B - Ian Kinsler (TEX) - #1 on my list SS - Michael Young (TEX) - #1 on my list 3B - Joe Crede (CWS) - #5 on my list 3B - Carlos Guillen (DET) - #4 on my list OF - J.D. Drew (BOS) - #2 on my list OF - Carlos Quentin (CWS) - #3 on my list OF - Grady Sizemore (CLE) - #6 on my list DH - Milton Bradley (TEX) - #1 on my list *MY RESERVES:* C - A.J. Pierzynski (CWS) C - Dioner Navarro (TB) 1B - Justin Morneau (MIN) 2B - Dustin Pedroia (BOS) SS - Derek Jeter (NYY) 3B - Evan Longoria (TB) 3B - Mike Lowell (BOS) OF - Nick Markakis (BAL) OF - Jermaine Dye (CWS) OF - Grady Sizemore (CLE) DH - Aubrey Huff (BAL) *COMMENTS:* My issues with the All-Star team have mostly come up right away with the American League catcher spot. However, it's a bit different than normal as the fans got the voting right with Mauer. However, Varitek should not have been the second place vote-getter. This wouldn't bother me as much, except for some inexplicible reason, Varitek was put on the All-Star roster as a reserve. I can understand that most of the players wouldn't be clamoring for A.J. Pierzynski to be on the roster, but Varitek over Ivan Rodriguez? (Who has been way better than I thought) When you've got a player who is only in the top five in two categories (#2 in HR, #5 in doubles) among AL catchers, he's not an All-Star. As for first base, the top three vote getters were actually my top three as well. While Paul Konerko doesn't deserve to be anywhere near the All-Star Game (10th on my list) getting the top three players right is nice to see. Second base was good for the top two spots, though Kinsler has easily been the better player so far this year. With the next two vote getters, Robinson Cano was my #10 second baseman and Placido Polanco was #7, but Brian Roberts was #3 on my list, so the voting overall wasn't horrible. I do think Cano will end up the season with much better relative numbers than now, but he's not even close to an All-Star at this point. Shortstop was a bit of a tough choice, mainly looking at the backup spot. Michael Young has been the best shortstop in the AL this year, but the second place person was a tough choice. Derek Jeter, Jhonny Peralta, and Orlando Cabrera would all have been decent choices here (Only Peralta was not in the top five for voting, too) but in the end, I couldn't get past Peralta's .299 OBP. Third Base = Alex Rodriguez. It never seems to change; A-Rod always puts together great seasons. Well, great regular seasons at that. The reserve for this spot is a bit tougher. While Miguel Cabrera was the #4 vote-getter at third base, he has actually only played 14 games at third and 73 at first, so I'm considering him more of a first baseman here. If he was at third, he may have been one of the reserves, but instead Evan Longoria and Mike Lowell get the nod. Wow, the outfield had a ton of good choices. Obviously, Josh Hamilton was an easy selection and it's nice to see the fans realize that as well. In all honesty, Manny and even Ichiro were not poor choices as well, but there were players that were more deserving. It's amazing how different J.D. Drew is this year as opposed to last season, and Carlos Quentin is putting up much better numbers than most people would realize. Jermaine Dye missed out on the final vote, but at least Evan Longoria was a deserving candidate as well. Nick Markakis is in Baltimore, so he had no chance of people realizing how good he's been this year, and I don't mind the choice of Grady Sizemore over him for the actual roster by the players and coaches. If it wasn't for all the (deserved) attention to Josh Hamilton this year, people would realize that Milton Bradley's numbers are unbelievably good. Who leads the American League in slugging? Bradley. Who leads the AL in OBP? Bradley. Yet the most press he's gotten so far this year is from "wanting to introduce himself" to Royals TV announcer Ryan Lefebvre. Rightfully so, after David Ortiz's injury forced him out of the All-Star Game, Bradley became the starting designated hitter. As for the the reserve DH, I don't know if the ballot didn't include him or what, but Aubrey Huff wasn't in the top 5 voting-wise, yet Huff had better numbers than guys like Ortiz, Hideki Matsui (Who has been injured for a bit), and Jim Thome. In fact, Huff has more doubles, home runs, and RBIs than Bradley, which is saying quite a lot this year. With the American League this year, the fans did a nice job overall with their voting. They got the obvious guys starting (Rodriguez, Hamilton) and when missing the best choice (Kinsler, Young) their choices were understandable. Even the picks of Manny Ramirez and Ichiro Suzuki were defensible, since both are having good if not great seasons (Though not by either players' standards).