MLB Should Copy the NHL

I have no idea how many people out there are Hockey fans, I myself follow hockey at a minimal level, but I was intrigued when I read this. This year, the NHL tried something a little different and used a fantasy-type system in selecting the rosters for the annual All-Star game. I haven't heard of another major sport attempting this and it definitely got me thinking.

The NHL, along with the NFL and NBA seem to get it. Their all-star games are, at their base, talent showcases. The outcome of the game is essentially meaningless and both sides are more interested in obtaining bragging rights than anything else. After a few debacles, the MLB decided a few years back to make their All-Star game count for something, namely home-field advantage in the World Series. This isn't new news, obviously, and the merits of this system have been debated from both sides. Those in favor of it say that it adds some intrigue to the game and suggest that the players play harder because the outcome of that game may determine if their team or league gets an advantage in the World Series. Those against it argue that a mid-season, one-game event shouldn't hold that much importance, particularly when every team is allowed a representative, including teams who are essentially out of the playoff picture come mid-July. I tend to be torn, I like that the game has some extra intrigue, but I also see the other side; I find it ridiculous that a one-game "series" determines has such weighty outcome. In other words, I'd be in favor of a change to something else, namely something that keeps the intrigue but reduces the influence of that one game on other parts of the baseball season.

Enter...All-Star Fantasy Draft. Selection systems would remain the same, the fan voting and coaches/players selections, I wouldn't change any of that. The two captains would consist of the highest vote getter the AL against the highest vote getter in the NL...and an all-out fantasy draft would ensue. Do away with the game determining anything, let end-of-season record determine home-field advantage for the World Series.

Seriously, how cool would that be? They could hold the draft right before the Homerun Derby (or after, doesn't matter) which would give the respective managers a day to set their lineups and determine their starting pitchers. Imagine, Pujols and Mauer on the field at the same time,...or a Jeter/Utley SS/2B duo, it would lead to combinations of players that we would never otherwise have a chance to see. That alone would add the intrigue for true baseball fans.

I'm sure there are some logistics that would need to be worked out, but I think the NHL might be on to something here. It's a really interesting idea and it's application to MLB is obvious and exciting. So, Mr. Selig, what do you think, I think it would be a lot of fun!

Thoughts on the All-Star Game

Well, well, well. The NL finally manages an all-star game win. What does it mean? Pretty much nothing considering that the World Series has not gone past 6 games for the past 8 years. In fact, in the past 30 years, the World Series has gone to 7 games only 8 times (27%). For those of you who don't like that the All-Star game actually means something, just wait for the outrage after the first time that it decides where a 7th game of a World Series is held.

Anyway, I disgress.

Was anybody else put off by that staged "meeting of the all-stars" in the middle of the field? At first I was thinking, "this is a cool gesture by major league baseball to have the baseball all-stars go and shake the hands of the People's All-Stars", but then it turned into this awkward mash-up and I was left with a sour taste in my mouth. The best camera shot was Ichiro and Matt Thornton just standing there not knowing what to do, seemingly suppressing laughter at the absurdity of the whole thing.

I did enjoy that the players actually seemed to care about the game, particularly the members of the National League squad. Ryan Braun made an excellent diving catch (where'd he learn to play defense?) and Marlon Byrd almost made a diving catch and made an excellent play on David Ortiz from the outfield. I'm not sure you want your all-star diving around if you're the Brewers, but hey, it seemed important to the players and that's what I like to see. Afterall, what's the point of mid-season exhibition game?

More than once I heard someone from the ESPN crew comment that "player x has had a rough start to this season." Should anybody who's had a rough start to the year be on the all-star team? Omar Infante, Yadier Molina, some of the selections just don't make sense. Biggest snub of the year? Adam Dunn.

I loved seeing the bevy of excellent pitchers in the game. I'm not generally a fan of low-scoring games, but almost every pitcher besides Hughes and Thornton showed why they deserved to be All-Stars. Overall, I thought that the Angels did a good job hosting. The fans in Anaheim need to straighten up, I understand you may not like the Yankees, but give the guys a break, they just had to deaths in the "family" in the past week. Show some love!

The Halfway Point and All-Star Musings

We just passed the half-way point of the season this July 4th weekend and after 82 games, our beloved Twins are 44-38, good for 2nd place in the AL Central, 1/2 a game behind the Tigers. Some might say that this is the low-point of the season so far considering that the Twins just lost the division lead yesterday and they also lost 3 out of 4 against the Rays over the weekend, including two blown leads by the bullpen. I guess I take solace in knowing that this team is still in it and towards the end of this month, have a nice easy schedule for a couple of weeks (Indians, Orioles, Royals, Mariners). As Gleeman covered on both his blog and on Hardball Talk, there have been some rumors swirling around that the Twins are shopping around prospects for Cliff Lee in hopes of adding him to their rotation. I agree with Gleeman though, I really hope that the package that is being reported is not real, because that would be too much to give away. Don't get me wrong, Cliff Lee would be a fantastic addition to the rotation and I would be ecstatic about that, but bringing on one guy to make a run at the championship is not worth leveraging the future.

Now some All-Star game thoughts. I was very happy to see that Joe Mauer lead the way in all-star votes. That could probably be attributed to the glut of media coverage that his signing received early in the season, but is nevertheless cool. The M&M boys are both starters for the AL squad with Morneau starting at 1st base. I thought maybe Jon Rauch or Francisco Liriano deserved all-star nods, but it's not shocking that they were not selected. Delmon Young is on the short-list of the last spot, if you want to vote for him, visit HERE.

 Looking at the list of all-stars, there are some glaring omissions and some selections that defy reason. Here's one of the worst.

Pitcher A:  (7-7)    3.69ERA    1.28WHIP    57Ks    39BBs
Pitcher B:  (6-5)    3.01ERA    1.14WHIP    122Ks  40BBs

If I asked you which player was selected to the all-star game, you would say laugh and say that there is an obvious difference and select player B. Player A is Fausto Carmona and Player B is Felix Hernandez and Player A is going to the All-Star game while Hernandez is left out. I know every team has to have a player representative in the game, but why not give the selection to Shin Soo Choo, who is actually deserving but is injured, so that you can fulfill that requirement. Instead you've added a player who does not deserve the honor and someone like King Felix, who finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting last year (btw), gets no recognition.

Player A:  .318/.418/.599    56Rs    59RBI    21HRs    169OPS+ (league leading)    173TB
Player B:  .302/.333/.367    23Rs    22RBI     1HR       90OPS+                               62TB

Player A is Joey Votto, Player B is Omar Infante, the ladder was chosen to play in the All-Star game... as Jeff Passan wrote for Yahoo Sports, this has to be one of the WORST all-star selections of all-time. You can't even blame this one on the "every team has to have a player" rule. This is just a terrible selection and I feel as though baseball ought to rectify this situation by saying, "ok, we didn't realize how blind Charlie Manuel was, we're changing his selection." I mean, this one is such a no-brainer, it's almost infuriating. Joey Votto is so overwhelming deserving of an all-star appearance, how he was not chosen is beyond my understanding. His numbers are ridic, he's on a 1st place team, he has an insane on-base streak going, the dude's having a monster year. Fortunately he's on the ballot for the final spot on the NL team, and he should win.

Looking at the rest of the selections, they look pretty good. You have a lot of usual suspects in Lincecum, Sabathia, Jeter, Rodriguez, Pujols, and Han-Ram. There is some new flavor in David Price, Neftali Feliz, Elvis Andrus, Jason Heyward, and Ubaldo Jimenez. I'm looking forward to the game and I'm a fan of the fact that it means something. I know that opinion isn't popular, but I like that the players and managers still have to care about the game itself. Couple of other thoughts:

* The entire starting lineup for the AL is made up of players from 5 teams (2 each from MN, TX, NY, TB) and Ichiro.
* "If he is able to play, Heyward would be the first non-Japanese rookie outfielder to start an All-Star Game since Minnesota's Tony Oliva in 1964." I read that on MLB.com, I have to say, that's a very odd-sounding stat. Do Japanese rookies not count?
* The Yankees and Cardinals are the only two teams with 2 starting pitchers in the All-Star game...I have to disagree with the selection of Phil Hughes though...again, where is the love for Felix Hernandez??
* This is A-Rod's 13th All-Star appearance, Derek Jeter's 11th, Ichiro's 10th, Vladimir Guerrero's 9th, Pujols 9th, Halladay's 7th, Scott Rolen's and David Ortiz' 6th, and Miguel Cabrera's 5th.