04/20/24
July 07, 2015
MLB All-Star Rosters (and "Final Vote") announced:
Only four Royals made the squad, averting the doomsday scenario of an "all-Royals" squad from earlier voting.
From the "One team's trash is another team's treasure" department...
2015 All-Stars Who Have Been Released Or Let Go For Nothing Earlier In Their Careers
1. Jose Bautista (by the Pirates in 2003, the Orioles in 2004, and the Rays in 2004)
2. Darren O'Day (by the Angels in 2008, then by the Mets in 2009, and then again by the Rangers in 2011)
3. Stephen Vogt (by the Rays in 2013)
4. J.D. Martinez (by the Astros in 2014)
(from Baseball Think Factory)
posted by grum@work at 09:40 AM on July 07, 2015
The fact that Brock Holt made the squad as a reserve, but his MUCH more talented teammate Mookie Betts didn't is definitely a mistake.
posted by grum@work at 09:42 AM on July 07, 2015
Final note:
I wonder how crazy the odds would have been at the start of the year that Mark Teixeira would be at the All-Star game, but Clayton Kershaw might not make it.
posted by grum@work at 09:44 AM on July 07, 2015
The fact that Brock Holt made the squad as a reserve, but his MUCH more talented teammate Mookie Betts didn't is definitely a mistake.
It's Yost being Yost - favouring something utterly silly in a game (position flexibility) where the rosters are 34 players deep and guys might go a few innings max. With the exception of his 6 starts at SS, it is very possible to find 2-3 players at every position Holt plays with better numbers across the board than him. Betts is one, and hate him or tolerate him, if you're going to have a guy as the 34th man on the roster, why not .902 points worth of OPS in Alex Rodriguez as a late game pinch hitter?
posted by dfleming at 01:59 PM on July 07, 2015
In general, I think the all-star games are starting to show the cracks in what the internet is a good tool for. It took the final day of the year for Jose Altuve to pass Omar Infante who's barely above replacement because a rush was on for Kansas City players regardless of their numbers. We can go back a couple of years to Rory Fitzpatrick nearly started an NHL all-star game because some people voted it that way.
We're now seeing a mix of the true stars of the game and whatever jokes or clever initiatives spread like wildfire on the net and/or can be technically manipulated. Which is fine if you don't care about the game itself and find clever stuff amusing, but I guess for a fledgling part of sport, these kinds of cracks don't help build worth into the game itself.
posted by dfleming at 02:10 PM on July 07, 2015
If you want to make it about fan voting, then go ahead an do it. Just don't saddle the game with the silliness of "This time it counts!" for the home field advantage in the World Series.
Either it's a silly exhibition for the fans, or it's serious business. It can't be both.
posted by grum@work at 03:46 PM on July 07, 2015
Alex Rodriguez as a late game pinch hitter
Fielder and Cruz are definitely more deserving, and it's hard to justify a THIRD DH on the roster, but I was REALLY hoping that he'd go on a tear and force their hand.
posted by grum@work at 04:06 PM on July 07, 2015
Cain and Gordon are perfectly acceptable choices.
Perez is fine if you over-value his endurance and remember him from the playoff run last year, and decide to penalize Vogt for his defense. It doesn't explain overlooking Martin, however. That said, they both made the squad as reserves, so no real harm.
Escobar is pretty hard to defend, but the AL shortstop position is pretty weak (historically) and I can understand if you might overlook Iglesias and Bogaerts. Since Iglesias made it as a reserve, and Bogaerts is in the "final vote", it still might turn out okay.