Alfonso Soriano has been a blunder in the field, at the plate and
on the base paths in 2009. Why is he fourth in All Star votes?
(AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Updated National League All Star voting was released today. The next update will be on July 5th and it will be the final rosters. Well, final in baseball is relative. I am sure a few players will pull out last minute and the real final rosters will not be finalized until sometime Tuesday July 14th.
Fans of Brad Hawpe and the Colorado Rockies have until mid-night Eastern Time on Thursday to make this right. Vote!
Vote 22 more times because that is what they allow.
Here are the current top 15 vote getters in the NL for the outfield, in order based on number of votes: Raul Ibanez, Ryan Braun, Carlos Beltran, Alfonso Soriano, Shane Victorino, Mike Cameron, Manny Ramirez, Rick Ankiel, Jayson Werth, Corey Hart, Ryan Ludwick, Adam Dunn, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Justin Upton.
See a few names on that list from my top NL West youngsters list? Part 1 and Part 2.
How wrong are the fans getting it? Actually the fans are probably doing their job as shown by the number of players from the Brewers and Phillies on the list. The fans are backing their players and sending tons of votes to the voting box for counting. However the best players surely are not represented, including our own Brad Hawpe.
Let me tear this list apart like Dusty Baker does a pitching staff. Let me narrow it down to three starters.
First we can toss out Manny Ramirez. He will be off of his suspension in time for the game but can we really have a known cheater be an All Star?
Second out is Carlos Beltran and Raul Ibanez because they are hurt. I am not sure when they will be back but I am guessing if they come back in time they would sit anyway.
Then we can get rid of all the players with an average under .250 and an OPS less than .807 as numbers that horrid should earn a demotion to AAA, not an All Star appearance. That means Alfonso Soriano (.235/.733), Mike Cameron (.243/.806), Rick Ankiel (.237/.700), Corey Hart (.246/.738) and Ryan Ludwick (.231/.728) are all Out. It is laughable that these guys are even on any list that has the words “All” and “Star” associated with it. The fans who are voting for them should be banned from all major league ballparks for one full year.
Next we can get rid of the other two Phillies on the list: Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth. While Victorino has 12 stolen bases that is not even in the top five in the NL among outfielders and he is average at best in all other categories. Werth is at least hitting home runs but his OPS is still only .859. Both are players benefiting from playing in a market that is voting and voting a lot.
This list says something about the marketing folks of the Phillies and Brewers...and it also says something about the baseball IQ of their fans.
This leaves us with Ryan Braun, Adam Dunn, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Justin Upton and we still need to make room for Hawpe.
I toss Ethier out next as he is an average outfielder without ManRam in the lineup. He is only batting .261 with a OPS of .838. Certainly better than the group above who can barely hit over the Mendoza line but still not good enough.
While Kemp is having a fine year with a .311 average and .862 OPS he is still trailing Hawpe in both. He is out.
Looking strictly at OPS between Braun (.990), Dunn (.914), Upton (.978) and Hawpe (.998) – Dunn is the low man and has to go. Dunn is having a very good season and has his usual high on-base percentage and is on pace for his usual 40 home runs, but he is not quite good enough this year.
We have our final three and they should be the starting three in the outfield for the NL on July 14th: Ryan Braun in left, Justin Upton in center and Brad Hawpe in right. Might be a little rough defensively but they are the best hitters this year.
Dunn, Hunter Pence and Kemp should be on the bench for the NL.
Speaking of Pence, there are a few outfielders who are being snubbed other than Hawpe. Pence, Carlos Lee and maybe even Aaron Rowand should be getting some love. Definitely before guys like Soriano, Cameron, Hart, Ludwick and Ankiel.
I can only hope that the top three remain the same (Ibanez, Braun and Beltran) and Charlie Manual will make the right choice after Ibanez and Beltran bow out and he picks Hawpe to start. If I see Soriano on the roster I will be upset – and I am a Cubs fan! Seeing players on the All Star team that get in on name recognition or past performance bothers me as much as when Brittany Spears is in the news (has she really done anything relevant in the past five years?).
I will be holding my breath until July 5th in hopes that Hawpe gets the recognition he deserves. If I am still alive I will rejoice.
- Hawpe wore the Golden Sombrero yesterday, still better than Ludwick
- Hawpe had a good day vesus the Angels
- My family was in town and thought Hawpe pronounced his name "Hop-ee"
- My first call for Hawpe in the All Star game
Comments
As a Brewers fan, thanks for questioning my baseball IQ. A couple things I don't think you took into consideration. Hawpe is a hack when it comes to his glove, something Cameron dominates with,not to mention he's got the catch of the year so far. In addition, I highly recommend checking out your colleague John Buchel's takedown of your article over at the Milwaukee Brewers Examiner.
Now this is not to say Hawpe isn't having an excellent season, he is. I love him on my fantasy team. Fact is though, he'll be on as the token Rocky. So stop whining about who is ahead in the voting, and start getting your boys to vote.
My basis for the IQ comment was basically cemented in Buchel's final statement in his rebuttal "Last year, Mike Cameron was suspended for 25 games for allegedly cheating. So was Manny Ramírez, for 50 games. Guess what? I'd rather see either of them start instead of Brad Hawpe. That guy sucks."
I can understand voting for your team, but there has to be a line. Voting for a guy who can barely hit above .240 and has an OPS higher than only some middle infielders over a guy with an OPS higher than 95% of baseball is ludacris. Voting for Fielder over Pujols is understandable, while crazy. At least Fielder is good.
Cameron over Hawpe is just plain stupid. It is. Then again, so is fan voting.
Ever take into account the fact that Hawpe plays half his games at a hitters' paradise? In addition, OPS is not the sole measuring stick. There's also defense and baserunning. Plus, there are other hitting stats (like wOBA) and all-around stats (Wins Above Replacement) that could be taken into account. For example, the top ten in WAR are Kemp, Upton, Braun, Ibanez, Beltran, Cameron, Pence, Werth, Rasmus, and Rowand. Hawpe is 14th.
On the other hand, the fact that Cameron may have "the catch of the year so far" is completely irrelevant.
Anyhow, yes, the fan voting is silly, but this article offers some pretty shallow analysis.
Hawpe has one good HALF in the past 3 years (similar to Corey Hart last year), and now this article?
ahahahhaah
No one uses WAR except fantasy geeks (like myself). I already stated he is a rock on defense but since when does anyone factor in defense into All Star selections? Never.
And "AHAHHHH" yes, one good first half. Last time I checked players in the All Star game are voted on the current year, not their career. Since 2009 is only half way over, what else should we use to evaluate who is worthy for the 2009 All Star game?
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