For starters it’s Lee and Sheets
-
- July
- 14
Michael Kay is the master of ceremonies for this event. The managers (Hurdle and Francona) are here along with the two pitchers. They also have the honorary presidents of the two leagues, Jackie Autry and Bill Giles.
AMERICAN LEAGUE LINEUP
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Derek Jeter SS
Josh Hamilton CF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Manny Ramirez LF
Milton Bradley DH
Kevin Youkilis 1B
Joe Mauer C
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Cliff Lee RHP
NATIONAL LEAGUE LINEUP
Hanley Ramirez SS
Chase Utley 2B
Lance Berkman 1B
Albert Pujols DH
Chipper Jones 3B
Matt Holliday RF
Ryan Braun LF
Kosuke Fukudome CF
Geovany Soto C
Ben Sheets RHP
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Peter Abraham
could kay’s head get any bigger? we’ve got an entire week to see.
Sheets and Lee? I guess you really can’t go wrong but I was thinking it should be Halladay and Volquez or Lincecum.
Lincecum pitched yesterday. Volquez on Saturday. That may have taken them out of the picture as far as starting goes.
Lee seems the deserving guy for the AL, though Halladay has been great.
I don’t think it’s cool that managers purposefully pitch their All Star pitchers on Saturday or Sunday hoping to take them out of consideration to pitch. Who knows—-if their team is in the pennant race ,winning this game could mean a Game 7 at home in the World Series if they get that far.
I really hope Cashman is burning up the phone lines in an effort to try to change the make-up of this team. I need something to happen that will renew my sense of hope.
i think in terms of who deserves it, its lincecum and halladay.
Any idea if ARod will change his mind and participate tonight in the HR Derby? I’m sure Selig would allow him in and up the competition to 9 players. Can you imagine the roar of the crowd if he came out as a surprise? The crowd would go NUTS
Wow. I didn’t know Francona owned a suit and tie. I think this is the first time in about 5 years that a member of the Red Sox has shown up in public not looking like a bum.
a rod is not playing
What do you mean A-Rod is not playing?
Two good lineups there… though Dustin Rat Pedroia weakens the bottom of the lineup. Kinsler is more deserving.
Any idea if ARod will change his mind and participate tonight in the HR Derby? I’m sure Selig would allow him in and up the competition to 9 players. Can you imagine the roar of the crowd if he came out as a surprise? The crowd would go NUTS
A la Michael Jordan coming to the field in a spaceship in SpaceJam?
I wouldn’t bet on it. I get the feeling that A-Rod just doesn’t want to participate, which is fine. I bet his absence has more to do with his fear of not living up to the expectations that would be put on him in the derby and less of the ol’ “I don’t want it to affect my swing” adage.
Alex isn’t doing the HR derby, well to be honest he doesn’t fair well in it because he doesn’t have an uppercut swing, weird how w/ a straight swing driving the ball in live games w/ RISP is an issue w/ him. That’s why I said he has the knack to go fishing on offspeed pitches and the league knows it.
I kind of disagree that an uppercut swing is necessary. Anyone whose ever watched batting practice no that Alex’s normal swing could totally get it done.
Wow that NL lineup is loaded. They have the AL beat at pretty much every position except for CF and maybe 3B. And 3B is closer than you might think, check out what Chipper has done the last couple of years. If Hurdle actually kept this lineup in for the entire game, the NL would most likely win.
Current 2008 ERAs of the current 5 starters for each team:
Yankees Red Sox Rays
1 2.62 2.65 3.04
2 3.61 3.38 3.83
3 3.96 3.60 3.93
4 4.03 3.94 3.96
5 4.97 5.70 4.58
Youkilis’s name really does not look like it belongs in this lineup.
Pedroia’s doesn’t either.
Soto #9 hitter, lol.
Wow, NL team IS stacked.
stop whining yankee fans! Youkilis & Pedroia are all stars! period!
I kind of disagree that an uppercut swing is necessary. Anyone whose ever watched batting practice no that Alex’s normal swing could totally get it done.
Chris even Albert Pujols had to change his swing for the competition, this isn’t really BP, it’s a competition in which you have to loft the ball and get alot of backspin so an uppercut swing is used more times than not in this comp.
Fukudome is the only non-scary bat in there.
Too bad the AL is forced to use a shortstop. Not one allstar worthy player at that position this year.
any word on Ortiz’ replacement yet? (on the roster not in the line-up)
Youkilis has earned the spot, sure, but Ian KInsler should unquestionably be the starter at 2B. The AL lineup would look a lot better with him in there.
Yeah Fred Corleone it’s kind of crazy how SS in the AL has gone to crap.
Fredo Corleone
youre right . jeter is no all star this season. he is all time double play star
http://homerderby.com/
Peter,
I know you can answer this question. What time do the pre-game festivities begin tomorrow at The Stadium? Lineups, Hall of Famers, Anthems, etc…
“stop whining yankee fans! Youkilis & Pedroia are all stars!”
I call BS. Pedroia, yes, I will give him credit. Not Youkilis. Sorry, I cannot do it. If anyone would take Youkilis over Morneau please sound off and make your case now. And remember that whining is not a recorded statistic in baseball, so no edge for Youk there.
When is Hughes back? If it is mid-August, then I think the present starters (maybe with a bit of help from the minors) will be okay for the 2nd half.
I don’t have a problem with trading older players for younger players, as long as there is no drop off in production. This team seems to need a spark, and sometimes new blood can do that.
I don’t think Kennedy will help this year, but Hughes could be the key IF our offense returns to second half ‘07 form.
I think Youk’s defense is good enough to at least make it debatable between him and Morneau. But there is no way in hell that Pedroia deserves it over Kinsler. And Young should probably be the starting SS over Jeter. And really Ihciro shouldn’t be starting either.
This is why the AL lineup looks so weak compared to the NL. The fans voted in many guys who haven’t played the best so far in 2008.
“Not Youkilis. Sorry, I cannot do it. If anyone would take Youkilis over Morneau please sound off and make your case now.”
Not a real wide gap. Morneau is at .321, 14 homers, 68 RBI, 55 runs. Youkilis is at .314, 15 homers, 65 RBI and 56 runs. OBP’s are similar. Youkilis has an edge in slugging and is probably the better glove. Six of one, half dozen of the other to me.
* My bad. Youkilis has 63 RBI rather than 65.
Someone else - That HR Derby drinking game is great. The short version is enough to kill a man lol
At least the fans didn’t vote for Tony Pena Jr.
Well, I lost that argument, and rightfully so. I just really do not like Youkilis.
Michael Kay MC? What is that Blowhard Sterling gonna do to fix his broken ego?
I have to say the events of the weekend very much moved me so today I made a donation in honor of Bobby Murcer to the Baseball Assistance team.
Bobby was chairman of this group and for those interested here is the link with donation form ,information etc etc
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/community/bat.jsp
It doesn’t matter to me who’s starting over who, but I would think Kevin Youkilis is a legitimate all-star.
I’ve never liked the discrepancy between the popular-vote lineup and the “who’s got the hot hand this half-season” pitchers. As good as Cliff Lee has done, he was vanished to AAA as recently as what, a year or two ago? I want a Roy Halladay, or someone who is a legit great pitcher, starting those first innings. I’ve felt that way since I saw Jack F’n Armstrong start for the NL about 15 years ago.
DadinIowa said:
July 14th, 2008 at 11:54 am
“What happened to SJ44? Is he okay? I miss his analysis.”
Seconded, what happend to him?? Did the trolls and haters finally get to him?
sj44 was a troll
The thing I hate about Youkilis is that you can’t boo him without people thinking you are cheering for him. I may have to bring a sign tomorrow night to clarify that I am booing him just like I will be booing all the Red Sox players.
That said, I may hate Pedroia more than I hate Youkilis.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/07/yankees-unlikel.html
Story on mlb trade rumors. says yankees wont have sabathia in ‘09. i think its somewhat bs, but still interesting
“Too bad the AL is forced to use a shortstop. Not one allstar worthy player at that position this year.”
Funny how things have changed. Remember a few years ago the AL had 5 deserving All-Star short stops. Currently, nobody stands out.
Too bad Dice-K couldn’t start this game and try to set the All-Star Game record for most consecutive walks. I agree with the overall anti-Youkilis and Pedroia starting sentiment, but they both definitely deserve to at least be on the team. It looks less like New England’s filthy chowder-stained hands are all over the All Star Game if Morneau or Kinsler are starting–then you just have Manny and one of the two whiny twins. But oh well, we’ll get to hear about how great the franchise is and how gritty and scrappy those two ugly idiots are.
Alex isn’t doing the HR derby, well to be honest he doesn’t fair well in it because he doesn’t have an uppercut swing, weird how w/ a straight swing driving the ball in live games w/ RISP is an issue w/ him. That’s why I said he has the knack to go fishing on offspeed pitches and the league knows it.
Not having an uppercut swing doesn’t automatically take you out of the running..
Chris N…
I concur with your sentiments. Keep up the good work.
“you can’t boo him without people thinking you are cheering for him”
Ha, I know, sucks doesn’t it? I definitely dislike Youkilis more. Pedroia reminds me a lot of Derek Jeter in the fact that he seems to have intangibles, and I always see him coming through in the clutch. Of course, we will never be able to say that he has dated 6 of Maxim’s top 100 hottest girls like Jeter. Though, we will probably find out some day that his mom still walks him to the park while he is carrying a power rangers lunch box.
Youkilis just angers me so much. He just constantly seems like he is overcompensating and I do not but that tough guy act for one second.
“Youkilis & Pedroia are all stars! period!”
Not in my mind.
anyone catch reggie jackson anti-semitic remarks this weekend?
http://deadspin.com/5024871/clearly-hes-not-called-mr-october-because-of-sukkot
How is Ryan Howard not in this allstar game the guy leads the league in Homeruns and RBI’s, he definetly deserves to be there. I mean wouldnt it be awesome watching him in the derby launching balls 20 rows deep in upper deck? Has someone ever led 2 of the 3 triple crown stats and not made the game?
This might be the first time in a long time when the NL looked more dangerous than the AL.
“anyone catch reggie jackson anti-semitic remarks this weekend?”
Talk about trying to make something out of nothing.
The NL Starting lineup is much better than the AL. Maybe they will actually win one for once.
“This might be the first time in a long time when the NL looked more dangerous than the AL.”
That’s only because Youkilis and Pedroia are starting. And Varitek is in the mix.
I see Matt Holliday is playing RF…
Gee, Matt, how would you like to play RF in Yankee Stadium for the rest of the year and beyond?
Youk deserves the all-star bid. Pedroia shouldn’t be the starter but he’s having a great season. Manny shouldn’t be there, neither should Ichiro. Jeter doesn’t deserve to start either but no other AL SS deserves it over him.
The NL on the other hand is freaking stacked. All of those guys deserve their spot except maybe Fukudome.
What if it said “Mr. October then explained that the artist was driving a hard bargain and said he asked the man if he was [Kevin Youkifag] “because he’s always working me.
Seems to me Terry Francona is due some credit for batting Jeter 2nd, when he could easily have put Pedroia or Pukalis there. And A-Rod 4th, although A-Rod deserves that spot.
Matt,
Howard isn’t there because he’s hitting .234 with a .324 OBP. There are 7 firstbasemen with a higher OPS in the national league. Who should be taken out of the game to put Howard in?
Russell- is that because Youk is jewish? I dont get it?
“Gee, Matt, how would you like to play RF in Yankee Stadium for the rest of the year and beyond?”
Matt’s reply:
“might be nice, but I don’t think I’d make any difference this season, and I’d hate to see you guys give up all those prospects for me!”
The piece on mlbtraderumors.com is ridiculous. I expect the team to shoot a bit higher than Ryan Dempster and Derek Lowe…..unless we’ve learned nothing from Wright and Pavano.
I’d take Derek Lowe, he’s a solid pitcher
I hope to see SJ back soon as well. There are some very good loyal posters on here but, if there’s anyone with the insight to make wading through the garbage that gets thrown on here worth it, it’s SJ.
Doris - Yes
Howard isn’t there because he’s hitting .234 with a .324 OBP. There are 7 firstbasemen with a higher OPS in the national league. Who should be taken out of the game to put Howard in?
Despite being a leader in HR and RBI
oh yeh RISP .328/.441/.629
I agree how he’s not in the HR derby or All Star Game befuddles me.
what happened to SJ? You guys know SJ is really Sweeni Murti, right?
CC will go where the money and the years are…
AL or NL is irrelevant.
He’s too smart to be Sweeni
That NL line up does look a little scary.
kudos to Francona for batting Jeter second and Alex fourth.
That NL line up scares me for the first time in some time. Is Chipper really playing tomorrow ?
Does any true Yankee fan care about any of this over-hyped exhibition?
What I want to know first and foremost,
1) When do Matsui and Damon return? Will they be healthy?
2) Is Cashman making a deal or not?
3) Can this team win at least another 40 games?
Otherwise, I won’t be able to turn on the TV througout the entire month of October.
“Story on mlb trade rumors. says yankees wont have sabathia in ‘09. i think its somewhat bs, but still interesting”
His preference for the west coast is old news. Question is does preference for the left coast exceed his preference for money? We’ll see. Yanks will have to overpay to get him and probably do a contract Cashman doesn’t to do (read: 6 years, $20M+ per).
gayle I am tryin to decide between BAT and the american cancer society.
It’s in our Stadium and some of us like the All Star game so yeh some of us do care. And we know (#1,2,3) KS we’re just taking a break here since there isn’t any news right now.
If you think Howard should be on the all-star team, tell me who he should replace. Berkman, Pujols, Gonzalez? All 3 deserve it more than he does. Go look at the OPS Leaders for 1B in the NL. There are 7 guys above him.
Patrick it doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve to be there. If anything the depth in the NL talent got better there.
“Does any true Yankee fan care about any of this over-hyped exhibition?”
Not this one. I’ll barely watch.
“Does any true Yankee fan care about any of this over-hyped exhibition? ”
hey, it’ll be on tv on a weeknight, and it’s baseball. if this were a weekend game, i probably would only check the score on Monday.
Go Non-Sox!
Didn’t Howard start the season very slow? maybe he was just so behind in the polls by the time he was doing well. I think that played a HUGE role in giambi not making it…
any true Yankee fan care about any of this over-hyped exhibition?
Not really crazy about it, but it’s something to watch and it’s taking place @ the stadium.
So I have some more interest in the ASG festivities this year than I usually do.
So Brandon why are you so befuddled that he isn’t on the team then? He is having a good season but his peers at 1B are having better seasons.
I hate the sox with a passion, but there is no argument that Youk is the deserving starter. It actually goes Giambi then Mourneau after him if you include offense and defense.
taken from replacementlevel
Player Tm Lg Pos pBRAA RSAA Total
Youkilis, Kevin* BOS AL 1B 16 5 22
Giambi, Jason NYA AL 1B 19 -2 17
Morneau, Justin* MIN AL 1B 12 1 12
Cabrera, Miguel DET AL 1B 8 3 10
Casey, Sean BOS AL 1B 4 0 4
Bankston, Wes OAK AL 1B 2 1 3
Aybar, Willy TB AL 1B 0 2 3
Millar, Kevin BAL AL 1B 2 0 2
Kotchman, Casey LAA AL 1B 0 2 2
Overbay, Lyle TOR AL 1B 1 1 2
Catalanotto, Frank TEX AL 1B 1 0 1
Pena, Carlos TB AL 1B 3 -2 0
Clark, Howie MIN AL 1B 0 0 0
Botts, Jason TEX AL 1B -1 0 -1
Aubrey, Michael CLE AL 1B -1 0 -1
Davis, Chris TEX AL 1B 1 -2 -2
Shelton, Chris TEX AL 1B -3 0 -3
Betemit, Wilson NYA AL 1B -3 -1 -4
Duncan, Shelley NYA AL 1B -4 1 -4
Barton, Daric OAK AL 1B -11 6 -5
Cairo, Miguel SEA AL 1B -6 0 -6
Konerko, Paul CHA AL 1B -6 -1 -7
Broussard, Ben TEX AL 1B -9 -1 -10
Sexson, Richie SEA AL 1B -7 -5 -11
Garko, Ryan CLE AL 1B -9 -3 -12
Gload, Ross KC AL 1B -10 -3 -13
pBRAA: Position-adjusted batting runs above average using linear weights
RSAA: Defensive runs saved above average
Youkilis deserves that starting spot. Him and Morneau are basically neck and neck in terms of offense. However, Youk’s defense is spectacular (set a MLB record for most consecutive chances w/o an error by 1B). He has also been solid at 3B for several games and even played in the outfield. He may not be the most clutch player, but he definitely one of the most consistent.
Pedroia also deserves to start, for the same reasons. Consistent hitter (been very hot recently), very hard to strike out, and great defense.
I see Youkilis as a player who is easy to dislike because he’s not a member of your team, but if somehow he becomes part of the team, you love the guy. I’m not saying Youkilis will ever be a Yankee, Im just sayin’.