Nomar Garciaparra was a fine choice, but the American League fan vote is more of a joke than ever. First, let me say that this isn’t a huge deal in the big scheme of things, but it does, however, underscore how little the average fan pays attention. Or maybe popularity just overrides common sense.
The White Sox ran a campaign called “Punch A.J.” – I guess if you can’t do it personally, then punching him figuratively is second best. Anyway, the public relations ploy remarkably and inexplicably worked. While carrying three catchers isn’t so absurd in an All-Star game, the selection itself is still preposterous. Maybe the fans wanted to get a White Sox player in there; after all, that makes seven of them now.
Pierzynski is hitting a solid .325 on the year, with a .823 OPS. Travis Hafner, meanwhile, has an 1.113 OPS; he also has 18 more homers and a measly 41 more RBI than Pierzynski. I’m still convinced this is an elaborate joke of some kind. It’s too bad the Tribe are having such a down season, as it would have been great to see a legitimate MVP candidate not make the All-Star team. If you refuse to pick “Pronk” because he is a designated hitter, fine, I have another option for you.
Francisco Liriano has, plain and simply, been baseball’s best pitcher so far. His overall numbers speak for themselves – 9-1, 1.99 ERA, 94 Ks in 81 1/3 innings. Since he entered the rotation in May, he has a statline that requires a microscope to view – 1.61 ERA and 0.85 WHIP. Maybe it will take a Cy Young award to get people’s attention. The National League squad just got that much closer to their first victory in a decade.
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