MLB: All-Snub All-Star starting lineup

July 6, 6:48 PMMLB ExaminerTony DeMarco

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The advent of the players/managers/coaches vote has corrected many of the wrongs about selecting All-Star teams, but inevitably, there are injustices on selection Sunday.

Some are the by-product of the simple fact that no matter how large you expand the roster, there always will be a handful of equally deserving players who don't get named. But that's not the only reason...

First base: We'll start with the biggest omission in either league -- Detroit's Miguel Cabrera. He spent time atop the league batting average leaders for awhile until Ichiro Suzuki went wild, and still has a top-10 slugging percentage for a first-place team that otherwise has had some offensive problems. The NL went with four first basemen at a stacked position; the AL should have done the same.

Second base: Ian Kinsler still has a shot as part of the last-man fan voting (which truly is nothing more than a popularity contest, and therefore, unfair.) But Dustin Pedroia shouldn't be starting in front of Kinsler. You could make cases for backup Aaron Hill and Ben Zobrist starting instead of Kinsler, but not Pedroia. And Kinsler may get left off entirely as a result.

Shortstop: No blatant omissions here, with Jose Reyes hurt and Jimmy Rollins struggling. But Marco Scutaro may have been the Jays' first-half MVP, and Cristian Guzman is slapping his way to another .300-plus season.

Third base: Very simply, Scott Rolen is having a better year than Michael Young. And last-man vote candidate Pablo Sandoval should be on the NL roster already (instead of maybe Ryan Howard?), giving the NL more versatility as a 1B/3B/third catcher. 

Outfield: Shin-Soo Choo started hitting in the World Baseball Classic this spring, and hasn't stopped. Adam Lind is the best young hitter nobody knows, but got hurt by the no-DH-in-the-NL-park rule. Johnny Damon and Matt Kemp had an excellent first halves.

Catcher: Blame this one on the new rule change that will allow catchers to come back in the game if an injury to another catcher occurs. That limited rosters to two catchers apiece -- and maybe cost Jorge Posada or Kurt Suzuki and Bengie Molina.  

Starting pitchers: Yovani Gallardo's ERA was more than a run lower than Jason Marquis', but he had two fewer wins. Kevin Millwood and Javier Vazquez had deserving first halves as well.

Relievers: Huston Street has been one of the big keys to the Rockies' recent surge, but how could you have two Rockies' pitchers on an All-Star team? That just won't happen. Trevor Hoffman went a long time in the first half without allowing an earned run.

 Two different views from ESPN.com