With the All-Star break just over a week away, it’s time to look at how the fans and American League/Yankees manager Joe Girardi did at choosing the AL’s best. The lineup is below, starters (chosen by the fans) are in bold, followed by reserves (chosen by Girardi).
Catchers: Joe Mauer, John Buck, Victor Martinez
The fans voted for Mauer, but Buck is the most deserving AL catcher this year. He leads all catchers in RBI and is 2nd among catchers in home runs. Speaking of home runs, the Angels’ Mike Napoli leads all catchers and might have been a better choice than Boston’s Victor Martinez, who is on the disabled list right now.
First Basemen: Justin Morneau, Miguel Cabrera
Can’t argue with either of these choices. Morneau leads baseball in average and Cabrera is 2nd in RBI. But, it would have been tough to argue against the inclusion of Paul Konerko, whose had one of the best season’s in baseball so far, with 20 home runs and 57 RBI .
Second Basemen: Robinson Cano, Dustin Pedroia, Ian Kinsler, Ty Wigginton
While the fans got it right with Robinson Cano, who has absolutely been baseball’s best second basemen, Joe Girardi’s choice to include Ian Kinsler is an odd one. The Texas 2B spent a significant portion of the first half injured, and took a while to start heating up after he returned from the disabled list.
Third Basemen: Evan Longoria, Adrian Beltre, Alex Rodriguez
It was a bit of a lame lot to choose from this year at third base, but both the fans and Girardi got it right. These three are tied for the lead among AL third basemen in home runs, and are the top three in RBI.
Shortstop: Derek Jeter, Elvis Andrus
Although the fans voted him in, this season DJ has been the American League’s third best shortstop, behind Andrus and Alex Gonzalez. Sorry Yankee fans.
Outfield: Josh Hamilton, Ichiro Suzuki, Carl Crawford, Jose Bautista, Torii Hunter, Vernon Wells
It’s hard to argue with any of these choices. But it would have been nice to see Alex Rios get selected — perhaps instead of putting Kinsler in as a fourth 2b.
DH: Vladimir Guerrero, David Ortiz
The fans got it right, and Girardi chose the second best in Ortiz.
Pitchers: Girardi chose 13 pitchers and we won’t discuss all of them, but perhaps the oddest of his All-Star choices was relief pitcher Matt Thornton as the White Sox’s lone representative. Forget the fact that Paul Konerko wasn’t chosen, and you still have a tough case for Thornton. He’s had a pretty good season — low ERA (2.86) and WHIP (1.01) — but his 10 holds and 5 saves (and two blown saves) don’t show nearly as many high-pressure outings as you’d expect to see from an All-Star relief pitcher.
NOTE: Make sure to check back every week for The Yankees, Unobstructed, BNN's Yankees opinion column.
Monday, July 5, 2010
The Yankees, Unobstructed — July 5
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
All-Star Pregame Festivities: Youth Rally for Better Jobs
Bronx youth rallied outside of Yankee Stadium this afternoon, just hours before the All-Star Game was scheduled to start, calling for more and better jobs and emphasizing the stark contrast between the billion dollar new Yankee Stadium and the daily lives of mostly poor Bronxites.
More than 20 youth from the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC)’s Sistas and Brothas United advocacy arm were joined by speakers from the Urban Justice Center, the Retailers Union and the Fordham Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Media outlets and local politicians have been saying the “Bronx is Booming” over the past year, in build up to tonight’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. Indeed, there is significantly less crime and more development than 31 years ago, when the Yankees last hosted the Midsummer Classic. Borough President Adolfo Carrion, Jr. released a short report to media outlets today emphasizing these changes.
But the resurgence, which includes the Yankees’ controversial new billion-dollar stadium, has not translated to living wage jobs or improved public education, according to a new report [PDF] published by the Urban Justice Center and the NWBCCC.
“We want jobs and need them,” said Stephanie Ventura, an 18-year-old from Fordham. “A lot of 14 and 15-year-olds need to help their parents in the house and pay the rent.”
The Bronx and the All-Star Game
It's All-Star Game Day today and we expect to periodically post throughout the day about various ways the Bronx is getting the cold shoulder from Major League Baseball and the Yankees.
And, speaking of the All-Star Game, here's a notice about a press conference later today where the Urban Justice Center and the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition will release a report about how the so-called Bronx Boom is leaving its residents behind.
Study:
WHAT: Before the first pitch gets thrown at the MLB All-Star Game, the Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) and the
WHO:
Community Development Project of the Urban
Sistas & Brothas United
WHEN: Tuesday, July 15, 2008
12:00 Noon
WHERE:
[Adjacent to Yankee Stadium]
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
"Bronx is Burning" Comment Left Unupdated
Juan Gonzalez takes a look at how little love the Bronx is getting, despite being the home of the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium on July 15. He reminds of us of Howard Cosell's famous words at the 1977 World Series: "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is burning." The least Major League Baseball could do, borough leaders say, is hold one significant All-Star week event in the resurgent borough. But they're getting the cold shoulder. Bill Aguado of the Bronx Council on the Arts says a group of Bronx nonprofit leaders wrote to MLB a year ago asking them to help the world see the new Bronx. All they got was a nasty reply ordering them to cease and desist using the term "All-Star," because it's trademarked.
