All Star -- NL Version

OK, so I have to take a moment to say how much I am enjoying the Roger Clemens' disaster film happening in New York. It's like Towering Inferno, only entertaining. Sure I have (I think) the appropriate admiration for Clemens the pitcher -- I think he's one of the three best in baseball history.

As an aside: I recently had someone hand me an enveloope with statistical analysis that he says conclusively proves that Christy Mathewson was better than Clemens. As anyone who reads this blog knows, I'm all about statistics. But I'm not sure you could statistically prove that Christy Mathewson pitching 300-plus innings every year in a segregated league, day games, with a dead ball was better than Roger Clemens throwing seven innings most nights against worldwide competition and into a strike zone smaller than the newest MP3 players. I'm not sure you could prove the opposite either.

ANYWAY, though I respect Clemens, I cannot stand him, as is the right of any red-blooded American baseball fan who does not currently have Clemens either (A)on his/her favorite team or (B) on his/her fantasy baseball team. I had this vision when he signed the big contract that he would suddenly and irrevocably suck, leaving the Yankees in a death spiral that would snap George Steinbrenner back to his 1970s, fire-everybody-I-won't-take-this-anymore former glory. I didn't dare believe it really could happen, though.

Well, folks, it's all coming true. Clemens blows. The Yankees are under .500 and a million games behind the Red Sox. Steinbrenner releases a statement every so often saying he won't take this much longer. Milk and honey flow in the streets. It's raining Smarties. OK, sure, it probably won't last. But for a moment, it's all there: Clemens is giving up hits. He's giving up homers. His ERA is 5.32. Yesterday, he pitched six innings against Baltimore and, get this, he didn't strike out ANYBODY. Nobody. Zero. You know the last time Clemens went at least six innings and didn't strike out anybody? Go ahead. Take a guess.

It was 1987. Twenty years ago. Reagan was in office. Paris Hilton was 6. Here's the really odd thing -- odder even than me using Paris Hilton as a reference point.

In 24 years of pitching -- almost 700 starts -- Clemens only had two games (before Wednesday) when he threw six or more innings but didn't strike out anybody. But they happened three weeks apart in 1987.

On July 1, 1987 -- so almost exactly 20 years ago -- he threw a complete game against Baltimore, allowed six hits, two runs and did not strike out a soul. That was a weird Orioles lineup by the way -- it had the two Hall of Famers (Murray and Ripken) along with several minor stars who you never think about when you think about the Orioles (Ray Knight, Fred Lynn, Terry Kennedy, Rick Burleson, Lee Lacy). I dunno, I just thought it was a weird lineup.

Twenty days later, only July 21, 1987, Clemens threw a five-hit shutout against California and, again, did not strike out anybody. Isn't that weird. It had never happpened before, and it would not happen again for 20 years. My theory is this: Clemens was still quite young then and even though he was coming off his dominant 1986 season, he had not been pitching all that great (he was 6-6 with a 3.66 ERA when he threw that shutout), so I wonder if that month he went through a stage where he was trying to "pitch" rather than overpower hitters. Whatever the reason, he snapped back to life -- starting with that Orioles victory he finished the year 12-2 with a 2.03 ERA.

In any case, 20 years later, Baltimore again, Clemens went six innings without a strikeout. Now there's no mystery how it happened -- he's old (though he still has more strikeouts than innings pitched this year, which is amazing). Of course, he's Roger Clemens so he could still go on a crazy streak, win 10 in a row, pitch the Yankees back into contention, and end this fun dream. But it's fun right now.

OK, time for the NL All-Star Ballot. I have received a few emails from people who disagreed with my AL All-Star Ballot, and I appreciate that, I suppose that is the point of all this, but I do want to say that I'm not really analyzing who BELONGS in the All-Star Game. I'm just picking the guys I want to see. I don't want to vote Big Papi or Travis Hafner as first basemen because they're not a first baseman. I like watching Placido Polanco play, so I punched the chad for him. I get a kick out of seeing Ichiro, so I voted for him.

I touched on this in the last blog ... I think there are four ways to vote for an All-Star team:
1. Vote for the players who are having the best first halves.
2. Vote for your hometown heroes.
3. Vote for the players you think are the best, regardless of the first half that they are having.
4. Vote for the players you like watching the most.

I'd say most writers/broadcasters/critics think the only correct way to vote is option No. 1. Their point is you MUST vote for the player who is having the best year or you are un-American and unworthy of the car key you used to punch your ballot.

I disagree -- I think it's fine if you want to vote for the guy having the best first half. But I also think it's fine if you're a Bucs fan or Rangers fan or whatever and you vote for your hometown favorites. It's more than fine. I think it's fine voting for the player you think is better even if he's having a lousy first half. I think it's fine if you vote for the guy you like watching. I don't think any of the latter three options is any less viable, less intelligent or less patriotic.

In other words: There are no wrong answer. Except, maybe, Jason Kendall.

First base: Prince Fielder. I would have definitely voted for Todd Helton if he had even given me the slightest hope of hitting .400. But he's down to .321 now, and I'm more focused on Ichiro and Magglio and their chances to hit .400. Fielder is having a great year, and I like watching him play. But I will predict now that Ryan Howard will end up with more homers and Albert Pujols will have a higher OPS at year's end.

Second base: Chase Utley. Slam dunk. Quick question about Craig Biggio -- should he just retire as soon as he gets 3,000 hits? He's been such a fabulous player, but it's clear he's no longer effective. He has a 73 OPS+ this year, which isn't significantly worse than his 83 OPS+ last year. This is always one of the tough questions in sports: How do you say good bye? Maybe Biggio plays it out as a backup the rest of the year. Or myaybe Houston keeps giving him at-bats, and he keeps looking bad until the season ends. I don't know. There's no good answer.

Most seasons with .400 OBP, 20 homers, 20 steals:
1. Barry Bonds, 9
2. Bobby Abreu, 6
3. Joe Morgan, 4
4. Willie Mays 3
(tie) Rickey Henderson, 3
(tie) Craig Biggio, 3
(tie) Jeff Bagwell, 3

Shortstop: Jose Reyes. You could certainly argue for J.J. Hardy, with his 18 homers and solid play. Edgar Renteria is having a terrific first half. But how can you not want to have the excitement of Reyes in the All-Star Game?

Third base: Miguel Cabrera. It's a virtual tie for me between him and Wright -- if I was a manager I would rather have Wright. But just for fun, I think I like watching Cabrera even more. You never know when he's going to mash four homers in a game. ... Have you noticed how much Cabrera looks like Manny Ramirez at the plate? I was stunned by the similarities in body type, composure, and general hitting ability. This guy's a masher. I love watching him hit.

Outfield: Ken Griffey Jr., Matt Holiday and Carlos Beltran.

It's really kind of neat to see Griffey having a career renaissance; it's a bit like seeing Travolta come out of his coma to make "Pulp Fiction." Let's hope Griffey doesn't end up years from now dressing up like a woman.

Holiday is, I realize, the latest Coors Creation -- he's hitting .404 at Coors field and .297 on the road. But he's fun to watch hit. And he's also fun to watch field in that "strike up the Bad News Bears theme music" sort of way.

Beltran is not having a good first half (after a terrific start) but I still have an emotional attachment to him, and I love watching him play. Barry Bonds has the amazing OPS, the ridiculous on-base percentage, he's still the most feared hitter in the National League based on his 28 intentional walks. He probably deserves to start in the All-Star Game, if you buy into that whole "deserving" notion. But the fans generally don't want to see him. And personally, I would just rather watch Beltran play. It's also worth pointing out that since May 9, Bonds is hitting .264 with four homers and a .418 slugging percentage. He walked a bunch in that stretch (including an absurd 17 intentional walks) but who wants to watch that?

Catcher: Russell Martin.

Best 17th round picks in amateur draft history:
1. Orel Hershiser
2. Kenny Lofton
3. Brian Giles
4. Jermaine Dye
5. B.J. Ryan
6. Russell Martin
7. Kent Hrbek
8. Joe Sambito

Others of note: Vern Ruhle; Eric Hinske; Rich Harden; Bud Black; Glendon Rusch.

ONE LAST THING, that I think is too small to put in a separate blog but worth mentioning. I asked Bill James who had the better swing, Kevin Costner or Robert Redford. He chose Costner. "Redford looked like he was swinging a wagon tongue," Bill wrote.