My All Star Ballot

Right -- so I'm sure you're sitting there thinking -- Wonder who Chris is voting for on his All Star Ballot. Right, biggest question I get each summer. (if you can't pick up on the sarcasm....)

So, without further ado, my AL picks are:

• 1B - Miguel Cabrera -- Tough call between Miggy, Morneau and Konerko for me. Probably wouldn't notice Paulie if I didn't live in Chicago. Picked Miggy because he had more RBI and HR than Morneau
• 2B - Robinson Cano -- No contest for me here. Cano has been crushing the ball, and he's underrated on defense.
• SS - Derek Jeter -- I have to be honest....I voted Jeter because he's my favorite player. He's having a typical year by his standards, but really would have voted Jeter unless he was having an awful year.
• 3B - Evan Longoria -- His New Era cap commercial almost killed it. But he's got great all around numbers, and gave him the nod over Beltre because of the steals.
• C - Joe Mauer -- Really, a popularity pick. Mauer's having a decent, but not great season. No one else jumps up and gets your attention though, so voting for the name.
• DH - Vlad Guerrero -- Raise your hand if you thought he was all but done. I don't care if its the Texas affecet -- he's having a great year.
• OF - Carl Crawford, Jose Bautista, Torii Hunter -- I think Crawford may be the best all around outfielder in the game. He can beat you so many ways. Bautista has come out of nowhere and is having a great year. Probably a player or two more deserving than Hunter (Hamilton, Wells, etc), but always liked Torii and felt like the home town team needed someone in the starting lineup.

NL:

• 1B - Adrian Gonzalez -- I almost always check Pujols off and don't think twice. But looking at stats, AG is right there with big Albert, and the Padres have been a pleasant surprise. Tie-breaker with to Gonzalez because he's a West Coast guy and its a West Coast All Star site.
• 2B - Martin Prado -- I could make an argument for Brandon Phillips, Rickie Weeks and Kelly Johnson. Went Prado because the Braves are playing great right now, and this guy just seems to be the classic unheralded guy that is getting it done.
• SS - Hanley Ramirez -- Really, really, really wanted to vote for someone else here because of his display after getting benched for dogging it. He deserved the benching, but the stats didn't give me a good enough reason to vote for someone else.
• 3B - Scott Rolen -- Ok, a little bit of a vote with the heart here. Rolen's bounced back nicely after returning the NL, and no one else was so much better across the board. Wright, McGehee, Freese, Zimmerman were all considered.
• C - Yadier Molina -- Ok, I'll be accused of voting for the guy on my favorite team, but ignored the stats and went with the guy that calls a great game and shuts down the running game. Average aside, he's not terrible on offense, either.
• OF - Ryan Braun, Andre Ethier, Carlos Gonzalez -- Ethier's tailed off after returning from injury, but still has great numbers. Braun is as consistent as they come, and honestly, you need the big bat if you hope to beat the AL. Gonzalez is a bit of a surprise, but as I was comparing stats, noticed his numbers match up favorably with Braun. I thought that earned a vote. I really wanted to vote for Jason Heyward here, but his recent slump makes it a tough sell.

So there you go. I really hope the NL wins this year -- I'm more a fan of the NL style of game than the AL, plus it is getting boring seeing the AL win every year.