2009 MLB Midsummer Classic Preview

2009 MLB All-Star Game Preview – Midsummer Classic

You can’t tell the players without a program – even when they’re All-Stars.

The rosters for Tuesday’s MLB Midsummer Classic keep changing at the 11th hour. The latest move over the weekend had Boston Red Sox 2B and reigning American League MVP Dustin Pedroia deciding to stay in Boston to be with his pregnant wife Kelli, who was hospitalized last week after showing signs of labor earlier than expected. Pedroia is being replaced by Tampa Bay Rays 1B Carlos Pena, the AL leader in home runs with 24.

Pena’s invitation to the MLB All-Star Game in St. Louis means AL manager Joe Maddon has the opportunity to put his entire starting Tampa Bay infield on the diamond at the same time if he so desires.

Here were the rosters for both teams as we went to press.

American League

Starters

C Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
1B Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
2B Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox (unavailable)
SS Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
3B Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
OF Jason Bay, Boston Red Sox
OF Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners
OF Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

Reserves

C Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians
1B Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins
1B Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays
1B Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox
2B Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays
SS Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay Rays
3B Brandon Inge, Detroit Tigers
3B Michael Young, Texas Rangers
OF Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays
OF Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers
OF Curtis Granderson, Detroit Tigers
OF Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels (unavailable)
OF Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
OF Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay Rays

Pitchers

Andrew Bailey, Oakland Athletics
Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox
Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox
Brian Fuentes, Los Angeles Angels
Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals
Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
Edwin Jackson, Detroit Tigers
Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins
Jonathan Papelbon, Boston Red Sox
Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
Tim Wakefield, Boston Red Sox

National League

Starters

C Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
1B Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
2B Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
SS Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
3B David Wright, New York Mets
OF Carlos Beltran, New York Mets (unavailable)
OF Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
OF Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies

Reserves

C Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
1B Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
1B Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres
1B Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
2B Orlando Hudson, Los Angeles Dodgers
2B Freddy Sanchez, Pittsburgh Pirates
SS Miguel Tejada, Houston Astros
3B Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals
OF Brad Hawpe, Colorado Rockies
OF Hunter Pence, Houston Astros
OF Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks
OF Shane Victorino, Philadelphia Phillies
OF Jayson Werth, Philadelphia Phillies

Pitchers

Heath Bell, San Diego Padres
Chad Billingsley, Los Angeles Dodgers
Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers (unavailable)
Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants (unavailable)
Francisco Cordero, Cincinnati Reds
Zach Duke, Pittsburgh Pirates
Ryan Franklin, St. Louis Cardinals
Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks
Trevor Hoffman, Milwaukee Brewers
Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins
Ted Lilly, Chicago Cubs
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
Jason Marquis, Colorado Rockies
Francisco Rodriguez, New York Mets
Johan Santana, New York Mets

The changes to the NL roster won’t help their cause as they try to win the All-Star Game for the first time since 1996. It’s been 36 years now since the AL adopted Rule 6.10, the infamous designated hitter rule. All those years of having to throw to “real” hitters appear to have conditioned the pitchers in the junior circuit to be stronger than their NL brethren – although it won’t show up if you look only at the ERA leaders from both leagues:

Leaders

ERA
AL: Zack Greinke, Kansas City 2.12
NL: Dan Haren, Arizona 2.01

WHIP
AL: Edwin Jackson, Detroit 1.06
NL: Dan Haren, Arizona 0.81

Home Runs
AL: Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay 24
NL: Albert Pujols, St. Louis 32

OPS
AL: Joe Mauer, Minnesota 1.069
NL: Albert Pujols, St. Louis 1.179

Stolen Bases
AL: Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay 44
NL: Michael Bourn, Houston 32

The outstanding season that Albert Pujols is enjoying skews the hitting numbers toward the NL. But the roster for the senior circuit is missing one key player: Manny Ramirez of the Los Angeles Dodgers (1.156 OPS). Ramirez served a 50-game suspension for violating the MLB drug policy; he still came in seventh among NL outfielders with 1.7 million votes, according to the last results made available at CBS Sports.

Manny isn’t the only familiar face missing from the NL squad this year. There are no Cubs hitters, including two-time All-Star Aramis Ramirez (.892 OPS), who missed nearly two months with a shoulder injury. Houston’s Lance Berkman (.927 OPS), Atlanta’s Chipper Jones (.887 OPS) and Florida’s Dan Uggla (.776 OPS, down from .874 last year) are nowhere to be found.

The final nail in the coffin for the NL’s All-Star chances may have been driven in by the voters themselves. This is the eighth year the final roster spot for both leagues was decided by Internet and text message voting, and Philadelphia’s popular OF Shane Victorino was given the nod over San Francisco 3B Pablo Sandoval, enjoying a remarkable season in his first full year in the majors. Let’s compare:

Victorino: .839 OPS, 6 HR, 1 FRAR
Sandoval: .969 OPS, 15 HR, 17 FRAR

Sandoval got 145 at-bats in last year, more than the limit of 130 to still be considered a rookie this year. Too bad, because it’s been a thin year for rookies – arguably the best of the bunch so far is Baltimore Orioles starter Brad Bergesen (3.54 ERA, 1.20 WHIP), who is anonymous to just about everyone even after pitching eight quality starts in his last nine games. He’d be a better All-Star choice than many of the pitchers on the NL squad, but it would be hard to find a place for him on the AL team even if people knew he existed. They’re that damn good.

Bettor Up – Bodog’s Baseball Parlay Leaderboard Contest

You know baseball betting like Bodog knows MLB odds.

Baseball parlays pay big. Step up to the plate with Bodog’s Baseball Parlay Leaderboard Contest!!!