In that case, a good starting point is the pitching.
There’s generally 3 names people are talking about as starters.
Zach Wheeler would be included but he’s scheduled to start Sunday before the break.
So keeping him out leaves us with 3 completely different choices.
- I want to give the ball to Chris Sale because he’s the most deserving over his career.
All Star game starts are special and I’m inclined to lean to Sale in his 14th season.
Especially given its his 1st healthy season in 5-6 years and many considered him long gone.
- The same could be said for Reynaldo Lopez’s career as a starter.
Nobody except the Braves and maybe Reynaldo himself could have anticipated this career rebound.
It’s been a remarkable turnaround even if Statcast thinks it’s fugazi.
That should dominate the statistics discussion but is it enough to overcome the national storyline of Paul Skenes?
- Skenes has been nothing short of sensational in his first 10 starts.
That makes sense over the last decade+ but how in MLB history has that not happened sooner?
Small sample size but nonetheless a real testament to Skenes’s immediate impact.
The numbers are even more alarming.
- At the same time, if your grandma had balls she would be your grandpa.
There’s a 1st ballot hall of famer that’s rebounded to the glory days.
We’ve got a legendary career comeback from Reynaldo Lopez that’s shocked the baseball world.
In other words, they’re all winners so congratulations on a great 1st half.
Some other observations on the NL All Star roster:
- The Phillies are awesome.
Simple but true and important to remember this time of year.
John Middleton paid for superstars and he’s being rewarded on a consistent basis with major success for fans.
In a world of chaos, that gives me the right amount of hope.
Reserves:
At 30,000 feet - I’ve neverlovedthe All Star designation.
It carries so much weight historically but never accounts for a full season.
I concede this is a small inconvenience but an inconvenience to me regardless.
- Pete Alonso should not be an all star this year.
Even more alarming is that Francisco Lindor got passed in his favor, allegedly.
I don’t know other than Christian Walker from the Diamondbacks got fuckin hosed on behalf of Pete Alonso.
Going one step further, there’s no comparison this season to the other 1B all stars.
This is a perfect example of the All Star Game bias.
I don’t know if the same could be said for Luis Arraez for Brice Turang.
There are angry Brewers fans despite already having two starters in Yelich and William.
In this case, Turang is clearly the better player through the first half of the season.
And absent from the comparison is defense where Turang leads the NL with a 1.7 dWAR.
- I would rather call Turang a snub without having to include Arraez in the conversation.
I don’t know if that’s possible as they play the same position.
Anyone with a brain knows he’s one of the best pure hitters in the world.
How do we not include him in a showcase of the game’s best talent?
- And now an argument for the All Star bias.
Are we rewarding guys who’ve had good 1st halves?
Or are we showcasing the league’s talent?
- Heliot Ramos makes the All Star game after spending the first month of the season in the minors.
He’s a top 100 prospect with a lot of experience in Futures Games (3 appearances).
He gets a nod over Giants' catcher Patrick Bailey which is surprising because Bailey is awesome.
But so is Heliot Ramos and that shouldn’t be ignored.
He’s got a monster bat and should be a significant problem for a long time.
Most of these guys flew under the radar drastically at some point.
Most of these guys were acquired reasonably and prudently before ascending to All Star caliber.
So again congratulations to those guys.
That’s why I think the winning team should get a say in the TV schedule for playoffs.
Losing league can play the day games in the Wild Card and Divisional round.
Winning league gets the night games and the bigger tv audience.
I’m open to better suggestions.
like don’t take it personally.
