June 21, 200520 yr 1B and SS seems to be the only competition left. Final push could shake up NL All-Stars Positions unchanged, but margins narrow With only nine days remaining until the polls close, some of the races for starting spots on the National League All-Star team remain too close to call. The current NL leaders remained unchanged from last week, with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers accounting for seven of the eight potential starters for the July 12 All-Star Game at Comerica Park in Detroit: first baseman Albert Pujols, third baseman Scott Rolen and center fielder Jim Edmonds of the Cardinals; outfielder Carlos Beltran and catcher Mike Piazza of the Mets; and shortstop Cesar Izturis and second baseman Jeff Kent of the Dodgers. Phillies outfielder Bobby Abreu leads the race for the third outfield spot. Though the leaders are the same as last week, some of their margins are relatively small -- which means the battles at a few positions could go right down to the wire. At the corners, two NL Central rivals -- the Cardinals and the Cubs -- are going at it mano a mano. Pujols, who leads all National Leaguers with 1,283,047 votes, is fighting off a challenge from Derrek Lee of the Chicago Cubs at first base. Lee trailed by nearly 315,000 votes two weeks ago, but he has whittled the deficit to 165,413. Since June 6, Lee has doubled his vote total and has outpolled Pujols by more than 400,000 votes. Across the diamond, Rolen boosted his advantage over Aramis Ramirez of the Cubs to roughly 280,000. The shortstop battle is still up for grabs. Izturis, who took over the lead last week in his bid to make the All-Star team for the first time, leads David Eckstein of the Cardinals by only 65,457 votes. Nomar Garciaparra of the Cubs is not far behind in third place. Meanwhile, Kent padded his lead at second base and now enjoys a whopping 440,000-vote advantage over Mark Grudzielanek of St. Louis. Piazza, bidding for a 12th All-Star appearance and what would be an 11th starting nod at catcher, maintained a commanding lead over Paul Lo Duca of the Marlins and Michael Barrett of the Cubs. Piazza has 908,968 votes, boosting his career total to 24,290,194. He is the all-time leading vote-getter among catchers and surpassed Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith (24,266,021) for fifth place. The man who has received more All-Star votes than any player in history, Ken Griffey Jr. of Cincinnati, passed the 38 million career vote plateau but remains in fifth in the current balloting behind Miguel Cabrera of the Marlins. Fans can cast their votes up to 25 times with the Ameriquest All-Star Online Ballot, which is available exclusively at MLB.com and all 30 club sites. Ballots are still being punched at some Major League ballparks. Online balloting ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on June 30. From July 3-6, fans will once again be able to participate in the Ameriquest All-Star Final Vote, which determines the final position player for each League's 32-man roster. Results as of June 20: 1st Base Player Name Team Total Votes 1. Pujols, A. Cardinals 1,283,047 2. Lee, D. Cubs 1,117,634 3. Mientkiewicz, D. Mets 325,286 4. Choi, H. Dodgers 237,043 5. Bagwell, J. Astros 230,083 2nd Base Player Name Team Total Votes 1. Kent, J. Dodgers 1,015,097 2. Grudzielanek, M. Cardinals 573,618 3. Biggio, C. Astros 487,040 4. Walker, T. Cubs 424,829 5. Giles, M. Braves 349,333 Shortstop Player Name Team Total Votes 1. Izturis, C. Dodgers 677,260 2. Eckstein, D. Cardinals 611,803 3. Garciaparra, N. Cubs 522,519 4. Barmes, C. Rockies 427,711 5. Furcal, R. Braves 383,300 3rd Base Player Name Team Total Votes 1. Rolen, S. Cardinals 941,631 2. Ramirez, A. Cubs 659,533 3. Glaus, T. Diamondbacks 559,587 4. Jones, C. Braves 540,984 5. Wright, D. Mets 394,873 Catcher Player Name Team Total Votes 1. Piazza, M. Mets 908,968 2. Lo Duca, P. Marlins 622,476 3. Barrett, M. Cubs 501,249 4. Hernandez, R. Padres 469,054 5. Molina, Y. Cardinals 429,577 Outfield Player Name Team Total Votes 1. Beltran, C. Mets 1,047,531 2. Edmonds, J. Cardinals 972,720 3. Abreu, B. Phillies 965,805 4. Cabrera, M. Marlins 677,345 5. Griffey Jr., K. Reds 625,219 6. Walker, L. Cardinals 526,668 7. Bradley, M. Dodgers 501,846 8. Burrell, P. Phillies 442,911 9. Floyd, C. Mets 437,946 10. Jones, A. Braves 427,040 11. Drew, J. Dodgers 412,971 12. Patterson, C. Cubs 398,277 13. Burnitz, J. Cubs 376,751 14. Sanders, R. Cardinals 349,823 15. Lee, C. Brewers 334,218
June 21, 200520 yr Miguel Cabrera really does deserve to be in there over Beltran. Ramon Hernandez should be the starting catcher. I still feel Barmes should win at SS and then have the backup start the game for him.
June 21, 200520 yr QUOTE(Jake @ Jun 21, 2005 -> 03:14 PM) I want Griffey to get back into the top 3 of outfield voting Even though Miguel Cabrera is more worthy right. People want to see Griffey because he used to be one of the best in the game and is just now showing some of that great offense he had in the 90's. The guy can't play defense anymore and doesn't compare to Cabrera numbers wise. HR: Tie RBI: Griffey by 1 Runs: Cabrera by 9 AVG: Cabrera by 60 points OBP: Cabrera by 44 points OPS: Cabrera by 112 points The All-Star game has become a farce.
June 22, 200520 yr QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jun 21, 2005 -> 04:40 PM) Even though Miguel Cabrera is more worthy right. People want to see Griffey because he used to be one of the best in the game and is just now showing some of that great offense he had in the 90's. The guy can't play defense anymore and doesn't compare to Cabrera numbers wise. HR: Tie RBI: Griffey by 1 Runs: Cabrera by 9 AVG: Cabrera by 60 points OBP: Cabrera by 44 points OPS: Cabrera by 112 points The All-Star game has become a farce. Griffey's lost a step, but he's not a defensive liability by any means. He'd be better off as a corner OF'er than in CF though.
June 22, 200520 yr QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jun 21, 2005 -> 04:40 PM) Even though Miguel Cabrera is more worthy right. People want to see Griffey because he used to be one of the best in the game and is just now showing some of that great offense he had in the 90's. The guy can't play defense anymore and doesn't compare to Cabrera numbers wise. HR: Tie RBI: Griffey by 1 Runs: Cabrera by 9 AVG: Cabrera by 60 points OBP: Cabrera by 44 points OPS: Cabrera by 112 points The All-Star game has become a farce. I don't understand how anyone in their right mind would vote Griffey over Cabrera. (unless you're a huge Griff fan) But still... Miguel deserves to start.
June 22, 200520 yr QUOTE(rangercal @ Jun 22, 2005 -> 06:08 AM) I don't understand how anyone in their right mind would vote Griffey over Cabrera. (unless you're a huge Griff fan) But still... Miguel deserves to start. not as many people know cabrera as well as they do griffey as you already know, i wouldnt vote for a guy ive never seen play
June 22, 200520 yr 1B is getting close in that ballot, but the runner-up will certainly be the starting DH in the ASG.
June 22, 200520 yr QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Jun 22, 2005 -> 10:31 AM) 1B is getting close in that ballot, but the runner-up will certainly be the starting DH in the ASG. completely forgot about that, guess ill vote for the guy behind lee, since i havent voted yet
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