A.L. All-Stars 5, N.L. All-Stars 4

[KC Royals Nation]

2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
Date: July 10, 2007
Venue: AT&T Park
City: San Francisco, California
Managers:
American League - Jim Leyland (DET)
National League - Tony LaRussa (STL)
Television: - FOX, Joe Buck, Tim McCarver, Ken Rosenthal (on-field reporter)

The 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be the 78th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The game will be held on July 10, 2007 at AT&T Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants of the NL. It will mark the third game held in San Francisco (but the fourth overall in the Bay Area, with Oakland hosting once) and the second straight held in an NL ballpark. As per the 2006 Collective Bargaining Agreement, the league that wins the game will receive home advantage in the 2007 World Series.

As with each All-Star Game since 1970, the 8 starting position players (with no designated hitter due to playing in an NL stadium) of each league will be elected by fan balloting. The remaining players will be selected by a players' vote, each league's team manager, and a second fan balloting to add one more player to each roster. In all, 32 players will be selected to each league's team, not including players who decline to play due to injuries or personal reasons.

The Giants were awarded the game on February 9, 2005. The game marks the first time since 1953 that one league will host consecutive All-Star Games, after Pittsburgh hosted the game in 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

The game will be the fifth straight All-Star Game to decide home-field advantage in the World Series. The AL enters the game on a ten-game unbeaten streak (nine wins, with one tie in 2002). The NL is looking for their first win since the 1996 game in Philadelphia.

Elected by the fans, balloting for the 2007 All-Star Game began on April 27 and continued through June 28. The top vote getters at each position (top three outfielders) are the starting lineups for their respective leagues. The results were announced on July 1.

[gilgameche]

I'm putting the odds of less then 5% that Meche pitches in the game

[dejesus9]

I really hope he pitches... Redman never played last year, I wanna see one of our guys play.

[KC Royals Nation]

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Starters for the 2007 All-Star Game announced
Record 18.5 million ballots cast; Alex Rodriguez finishes as overall leading votegetter; Griffey, Jr. tops National League; Three Tigers, three Mets elected to start

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr. have finished as their League's leading vote-getters in Major League Baseball fan balloting, which drew a record 18.5 million ballots, and will be among the starters at the 78th All-Star Game, to be played on Tuesday, July 10th at San Francisco's AT&T Park. The starters were announced along with the rest of the All-Star rosters on The 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Selection Show presented by Chevrolet on TBS.

Rodriguez, now an 11-time American League All-Star who has been fan-elected 10 times, finished as baseball's overall balloting leader with 3,890,515 votes, marking the first time in his career that he has garnered the highest total. Griffey, who totaled 2,986,818 votes to lead the National League, has now earned 13 fan elections, accounting for each of his All-Star appearances. "Junior" has been Major League Baseball's top votegetter in All-Star balloting five times (1994, 1996-1999) and has finished first in his League in All-Star votes eight times (others: 1991, 1993, 2007). Griffey has now accumulated 44,397,033 votes since the start of his Major League career in 1989, the most of any player in the history of fan balloting.

Three members of the Detroit Tigers will start in Jim Leyland's American League lineup, the most fan-elected starters for the franchise since Lance Parrish, Lou Whitaker and Chet Lemon started in the 1984 Midsummer Classic. Catcher Ivan Rodriguez (2,343,425), whose 14 All-Star appearances are tied for most among active players, has set a new record for catchers by being elected for the 12th time, breaking the mark he shared with Mike Piazza. Outfielder Magglio Ordoñez (2,715,389), who joined the A.L.'s leading outfielders in the final stages of balloting, finished second in voting at his position and will start for the first time in his six career All- Star appearances. Second baseman Placido Polanco (2,317,713), a 10-year Major League veteran, will make his Midsummer Classic debut.

Polanco's double-play partner in San Francisco will be Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who finished second in the A.L. with 3,199,571 votes and will start in the All-Star Game for the third time in his career. Rounding out the American League infield will be Boston Red Sox first baseman David Ortiz, who drew 2,857,848 votes.

The American League's leading outfielder was Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero, an eight-time All-Star who will start for the fourth consecutive year and for the fifth time in his career. Guerrero's 3,151,387 votes trailed only New York teammates Rodriguez and Jeter. Ichiro Suzuki (2,341,409) of the Mariners has earned another trip to the Midsummer Classic, the seventh in his seven-year Major League career. Ichiro has now been elected by fans to be a starter six times. The Seattle All-Star edged Boston's Manny Ramirez (2,153,242) in fan balloting, marking the first time since 1998 that Ramirez did not finish among the A.L.'s three leading outfielders.

Griffey will be a part of a veteran National League outfield, joined by Carlos Beltran (2,511,242) of the New York Mets and Barry Bonds (2,325,391) of the hometown San Francisco Giants. Bonds overtook Alfonso Soriano (2,202,513) of the Chicago Cubs in the final phase of balloting. For the second straight year, Beltran will start in the Midsummer Classic alongside Mets teammates Jose Reyes (2,213,606) and David Wright (2,302,836). Like Reyes and Wright, Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley (2,112,142) has been elected by fans for a second consecutive year.

Newcomers to Tony La Russa's National League All-Star squad who will start will be Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder, whose 2,706,020 votes trailed only Griffey among N.L. players, and Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin (2,039,130). Both Fielder and Martin are in their second full Major League season.

Detroit Tigers outfielder Curtis Granderson collected the most write-in votes of any player in Major League Baseball with 376,033. Cincinnati Reds outfielder Josh Hamilton led all National League players in write-in votes with 151,245.

Forty-six of the remaining 48 slots were determined by a combination of the results of the Player Ballot and the choices by the two All-Star managers, Leyland and La Russa. Fans will have the opportunity to select the final position player for each League's 32-man roster at MLB.com. The Monster 2007 All-Star Final Vote will provide fans the opportunity to cast their votes from a list of five players from each League over a four-day period. For the third year, fans will also be able to vote for their Final Vote selections on their mobile phone. Both winners of the Monster 2007 All-Star Final Vote will be announced after the voting has concluded on Thursday, July 5th. Fans once again will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet at the 78th All-Star Game via the Monster 2007 All-Star Game MVP Vote on MLB.com.

The Major League Baseball All-Star Balloting Program is the largest balloting program in professional sports. Throughout the balloting period, 21 million ballots were distributed at the 30 Major League ballparks and an additional 1.7 million ballots were distributed to 95 Minor League Baseball Clubs that were in-season during the balloting period.

Pepsi, Frito-Lay and, for the first time, Quaker - all divisions of PepsiCo Inc. - distributed 12 million Major League Baseball All-Star ballots exclusively at more than 3,400 Wal-Mart stores, where balloting began on May 13th and concluded on June 17th across the United States. Pepsi has been the title sponsor of the U.S. retail All- Star balloting program since 1997.

For the fifth consecutive year, the outcome of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game will have an impact on postseason play, as the winning League in this year's All-Star Game will have home-field advantage in the 2007 World Series. The 2007 All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and televised around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8:00 p.m. (EDT). ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage. XM will provide satellite radio play-by-play coverage of the XM All-Star Futures Game in addition to its other live coverage from San Francisco. MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage of all festivities surrounding the 78th All-Star Game.

[KC Royals Nation]

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Best of veterans, youngsters at Classic
Mix of MLB's seasoned pros, bright new stars to be on display
By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- This year's All-Star teams, now set to represent the National and American Leagues in the annual Midsummer Classic at AT&T Park in San Francisco on July 10, offer the best and the brightest of Major League Baseball's veteran players and its talented younger set.

From Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds to Prince Fielder, David Wright and Russell Martin, it's the best of the old and the new.

Rodriguez, the third baseman who is having a career season for the Yankees, was by far the top overall vote-getter with 3,890,515.

"It's refreshing and great to see, and very humbling for be to be the No. 1 vote-getter in all of Major League Baseball," Rodriguez said. "To me, that's always been one of my goals. As a kid, I never missed an All-Star Game; it's such a fun game. I really enjoy it. Right now, it has tremendous ramifications with [the winning league getting] home-field advantage in the World Series, and it's something that's a tremendous privilege receiving these votes."

Griffey, the oft-injured 37-year-old Reds right fielder, paced the NL at 2,986,818 and has been voted in for all 13 of his All-Star appearances.

""It's always special from the fans," said Griffey, who's just 15 homers shy of becoming the sixth player in MLB history to reach the 600 plateau. "They're here every day, day in and day out. For them to pick me is a great honor."

Bonds, nearing 43 years old and having a historic year as the left fielder of the Giants, concluded action on Sunday with 750 homers, just five behind Hank Aaron's all-time MLB mark of 755, and will be starting for the NL in his home park. He overtook Alfonzo Soriano of the Cubs in the late balloting to snare the third and final starting NL outfield spot by 122,878 votes.

For his part, Bonds was almost speechless after his team's 13-0 home victory over the Diamondbacks.

"I'm at a loss for words right now," he said after reaching base 10 of the 13 times he hit in the three-game series. "I'm surprised. I thought I played good enough to make the team, but not as a starter. I'm having a big old party Monday [before the game]. It'll be fun. I just can't say thanks enough to the fans here in San Francisco."

In a record vote, 18.5 million ballots were cast, with 11.8 million fans voting online via MLB.com -- three million recorded in the final 48 hours before the polls closed at 11:59 p.m. ET this past Thursday.

It's the 11th appearance for Rodriguez, the 14th for Bonds and the 13th for Griffey. It's the first appearances each for Fielder and Martin, the Brewers' first baseman and Dodgers' catcher, respectively, and the second for Wright, the Mets' third baseman.

"I don't think it was a goal, but it's the results of hard work," said Fielder, who will be the first member of the Brewers to start at first base since Cecil Cooper did it for the AL in 1982. "I knew that if I worked hard, hopefully one day I would be able to do it."

The starting eight voted to the NL squad is far younger than its AL counterparts: Joining Griffey and Bonds in the outfield is Carlos Beltran, the center fielder for the Mets, who had three players voted to the team. Around the horn is Fielder at first, Chase Utley of the Phillies at second, Jose Reyes of the Mets at shortstop and Wright at third. Martin, in just his second season, is behind the plate.

Overall, four Mets made the team, including reliever Billy Wagner.

"I'll be very proud to wear a New York Mets uniform in the All-Star game again," said Wright, who's starting at third base for the second consecutive season. "I'm thankful our fans have given us the chance to represent the club in San Francisco. It will be great to have this kind of representation for a great event. And I'll be really happy to look to my left and see Jose there this year. I know now disappointed he was last year when he couldn't play."

Over in the AL, the defending league champion Tigers placed three starters on the team and the Yankees had two. Shortstop Derek Jeter joined Rodriguez on the left side of the infield and is making his eighth start. Around the diamond, David Ortiz of the Red Sox is at first base and Placido Polanco of the Tigers is at second. The outfield is made up of old standbys Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners and Vladimir Guerrero of the Angels, with Magglio Ordonez of the Tigers making his first start in his 12th big-league season. Ivan Rodriguez of the Tigers is behind the plate, making his 14th appearance, with 12 starts.

For Polanco, it will be his first All-Star appearance, coming in his 11th season.

NL manager Tony La Russa of the defending World Series champion Cardinals has only one of his players -- Albert Pujols -- on the team, while AL manager Jim Leyland of the Tigers has five (Rodriguez, Ordonez, Polanco, Justin Verlander and Carlos Guillen).

"I feel great because I did not make one Tigers selection," Leyland said. "I did not have to. Not that I wouldn't have, but I didn't have to. They were voted by the fans or the players. Every Tigers player that's on this team was an automatic guy. It had nothing to do with me picking my own players. That couldn't have been better for me."

The Red Sox have five players on the team, with Ortiz being joined by third baseman Mike Lowell, outfielder Manny Ramirez, starter Josh Beckett and closer Jonathan Papelbon.

After the fans made their decisions, the players and managers filled out the rest of the teams.

For the NL, the pitching staff includes Jake Peavy and Trevor Hoffman (the all-time saves leader) from the Padres, Ben Sheets and Francisco Cordero from the NL Central-leading Brewers, Brad Penny and Takashi Saito from the Dodgers, John Smoltz from the Braves, Jose Valverde from the Diamondbacks, Wagner from the Mets, Brian Fuentes from the Rockies and Cole Hamels from the Phillies.

Rounding out the rest of the team are catcher Brian McCann of the Braves; first basemen Pujols of the Cardinals, Dmitri Young of the Nationals and Derrek Lee of the Cubs; second basemen Freddy Sanchez of the Pirates and Orlando Hudson of the D-backs; shortstop J.J. Hardy of the Brewers; third baseman Miguel Cabrera of the Marlins; and outfielders Soriano of the Cubs, Carlos Lee of the Astros, Matt Holliday of the Rockies and Aaron Rowand of the Phillies.

Over in the AL, the pitching staff includes Verlander of the Tigers, Beckett and Papelbon of the Red Sox, John Lackey and Francisco Rodriguez of the Angels, Dan Haren of the A's, Bobby Jenks of the White Sox, Gil Meche of the Royals, J.J. Putz of the Mariners, C.C. Sabathia of the Indians and Johan Santana of the Twins.

Rounding out the rest of the team are catchers Jorge Posada of the Yankees and Victor Martinez of the Indians; first baseman Justin Morneau of the Twins; second baseman Brian Roberts of the Orioles; shortstops Guillen and Michael Young of the Rangers (the MVP of last year's All-Star Game at Pittsburgh); Lowell of the Red Sox, and outfielders Carl Crawford of the Devil Rays, Torii Hunter of the Twins, Ramirez of the Red Sox, Alex Rios of the Blue Jays and Grady Sizemore of the Indians.

"It's exciting to go and be a member of this American League team," said Beckett, who has an 11-2 record and could well be the AL starter. "It's an exciting time. It's a big deal and I am really excited. It is going to be fun and I am looking forward to it."

Each team will also add one additional player, elected by fans at MLB.com. Now in its sixth year, the Monster.com 2007 All-Star Final Vote gives baseball fans around the world the opportunity to select the final player on each All-Star team. Balloting began immediately following Sunday's Major League All-Star Selection Show presented by Chevrolet, and continues until 6 p.m. ET on Thursday. The winners will be announced on MLB.com shortly thereafter.

In the NL, the Final Vote candidates are all pitchers: Roy Oswalt of the Astros, Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs, Chris Young of the Padres, Tom Gorzelanny of the Pirates and Brandon Webb of the Diamondbacks. Likewise over in the AL, it's all hurlers: Jeremy Bonderman of the Tigers, Kelvim Escobar of the Angels, Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays, Hideki Okajima of the Red Sox and Pat Neshek of the Twins.

There are two ways for fans to vote for the 2007 All-Star Final Vote -- online now at MLB.com, or on-the-go from their cell phones. Fans also can text the word "VOTE" to 36197 to have the All-Star Final Vote candidates sent to your phone. To vote for a specific player, simply reply with your choice. Whether celebrating the Fourth of July or Canada Day, fans will have the freedom to vote from wherever they are. Standard rate text messaging fees apply -- please check with your mobile carrier for details. Fans can get the mobile ballot now. In Canada, fans should text the word "VOTE" to 88555.

The fun doesn't end there, however. Fans, having already decided the starters and final player on each team, once again will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet via the Monster 2007 All-Star Game MVP Vote on MLB.com.

The 78th Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and televised around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage. XM will provide satellite radio play-by-play coverage of the XM All-Star Futures Game.

[KC Royals Nation]

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Monster All-Star Final Vote is under way
Vote early and often for the last man on the All-Star roster
By Mark Newman / MLB.com

The sixth annual Monster All-Star Final Vote is under way now until 6 p.m. ET on Thursday exclusively at MLB.com, and the only certainty is that you are going to choose pitchers and you are going to smash another balloting record.

Let the campaigning and the voting fireworks begin.

Managers Tony La Russa of the National League and Jim Leyland of the American League have gone with pitchers-only in presenting fans with their five nominees per league to decide the 32nd and final rosters spots for the 78th All-Star Game on July 10 at AT&T Park in San Francisco. A pitcher-only ballot happened only once before, when you chose Houston's Roy Oswalt from NL candidates in 2005.

Oswalt is back on this NL ballot and bidding to be the first two-time Final Vote winner, joined by Tom Gorzelanny of the Pirates, Brandon Webb of the Diamondbacks, Chris Young of the Padres and Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs.

The AL nominees include Jeremy Bonderman of the Tigers, Kelvim Escobar of the Angels, Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays, Pat Neshek of the Twins and Hideki Okajima of the Red Sox.

Choose one per league, and choose wisely. Just think what kind of work these Major League hurlers have put in, from offseason workouts to Spring Training exhibitions to the regular season marathon. There is no All-Star Game like Major League Baseball's traditional Midsummer Classic, and their fate for this honor now lies in your hands.

The Monster All-Star Final Vote follows another record run of balloting by fans to determine the starting lineups, which were just announced with the rest of the rosters in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game Selection Show presented by Chevrolet. A record 11.8 million ballots were cast at MLB.com during the voting period, including 3 million ballots over the final 48 hours before voting for starters ended last Thursday night. Trends forecast the probability of another record this week, typical with the Final Vote process. Last year, a record 18.6 million overall votes were cast at MLB.com over 94 hours as you selected first baseman Nomar Garciaparra of the Dodgers and catcher A.J. Pierzynski of the White Sox as the 32nd men at Pittsburgh.

For the third year in a row, there will be two ways for fans to vote for the Monster All-Star Final Vote -- online at MLB.com or from their mobile phones. Fans in the U.S. can simply text the word 'VOTE' to 36197 and be instantly registered to receive Final Vote ballots, and fans in Canada can do the same to 88555.

Expect to see a lot of creative grassroots campaigning by the clubs and fans involved, and it won't matter that there is a big Fourth of July holiday in America during the voting period. If anything, this has become a part of that tradition, especially with the mobile vote. The winners will be announced on MLB.com shortly after the voting ends. Vote as often as you wish, and now take a closer look at your candidates:

National League

Tom Gorzelanny, LHP, Pirates
He improved to 8-4 and lowered his ERA to 3.05 -- eighth-best in the NL -- by beating Washington on Saturday night. Then he said of his All-Star chances, "If I go, it's exciting and I'd love it. But if not, [it is] a nice little three-day [vacation]. It'd sure be an honor, and I'd love to go and represent the Pirates. Either way, I can go and have fun or stay at home and have fun. It's a win-win situation for me." At about this time last year, Gorzelanny (pronounced "gore-zah-LAWN-ee") was selected to the USA team for the Futures Game at the All-Star week in Pittsburgh, but he was called up by the Pirates. So he is in position to leap from that selection one year to All-Star the next.

Roy Oswalt, RHP, Astros
The Astros' bulldog already has proven himself in the Monster All-Star Final Vote. It was the 2005 all-pitcher ballot in the NL, and Oswalt led at the halfway mark and then held on to finish with 2,652,549 votes, beating out second-place finisher Trevor Hoffman of the Padres. That season, Oswalt was putting together his second consecutive 20-win season, and this time he is 7-5 with a 3.42 ERA. La Russa knows what Oswalt can do as well as anyone, so it's not surprising to see this choice on your ballot. After all, La Russa also managed that 2005 All-Star Game. But will Oswalt be the first two-time Final Vote winner?

Brandon Webb, RHP, Diamondbacks
Although he had some rocky outings in the first two months, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner just finished an outstanding June in which he went 4-2 with a 1.76 ERA. Last Wednesday, he held the Dodgers scoreless over seven innings without his best stuff in a key NL West victory, improving his overall numbers to 8-5 with a 3.05 ERA. "That's kind of what your No. 1 pitcher is supposed to do," Webb said. "Stop the bleeding and go out there and give your team a good chance to win."

Chris Young, RHP, Padres
The big guy whom Padres teammates call "Cy" is 8-3, hasn't lost since May 12, has held opponents' scoreless in four of his last six outings, and ranks right behind Padres teammate and All-Star Jake Peavy with a 2.14 ERA. Now it remains to be seen if Young can do what he could not do at this time last year, when he among the also-rans behind Garciaparra that included Bobby Abreu of the Phillies, Chris Capuano of the Brewers and Billy Wagner of the Mets.

"It would have been a great honor to go," a mildly disappointed Young said after learning that his fate is back in fans' hands. "But I'm not going to get wrapped up in all that. I want to give our team the best chance to win a championship. That's how I'll evaluate my year. ... That's all I can control."

Oh, one more thing: If you want to vote in Young just to see if he can get along with June 16 boxing opponent Derrek Lee of the Cubs, then consider a different motive. Because this was Lee's reaction upon hearing the news that Young is a Final Vote candidate: "I'm surprised he didn't make the team. I think he's having a great year."

Carlos Zambrano, RHP, Cubs
Zambrano is the first Cub in the Final Vote since 2004, when Aramis Ramirez finished second to Hideki Matsui of the Yankees. "I guess he's just got to go out there and pitch good and show the people he deserves to be an All-Star," Ramirez said of his teammate. "Hopefully, he can do that."

He has made a good case so far. Zambrano came five outs away from a no-hitter in that same June 16 game against San Diego, when he helped separate Young and Lee, and the amazing thing was that he went the distance and actually lost that game by giving up the solo homer to Russell Branyan in the ninth. It was the only loss against four victories in the last five outings for Zambrano, who is red-hot and now 9-6 with a 4.20 ERA by moving his fastball in both directions, cutting and sinking it whenever he wants.

American League

Jeremy Bonderman, RHP, Tigers
Although he had luxurious run support along the way, that was a memorable winning streak Bonderman put together for the reigning AL champs. Until Texas stopped him on June 25, he had won his last eight outings and had not lost since last Sept. 10 at Minnesota, a span of 17 regular-season starts without a loss. It was the longest unbeaten streak for a Tigers pitcher since Bobo Newsom went 18 starts without a loss in 1940. "You can't expect the kid to win every time out," Leyland said after that one. But can you expect fans to let Leyland manage Bonderman on July 10?

Kelvim Escobar, RHP, Angels
His ERA ballooned to 3.32 after a poor outing Friday at Baltimore, but all signs still point to a career year for the veteran from Venezuela. He is 9-3, needing just five victories to match his best total set with Toronto in 1999. On June 12 at Cincinnati, Escobar struck out 14 in just six innings, and his highlight probably was a complete game shutout of Cleveland on May 10, when he whiffed nine and walked none.

"Making an All-Star team, being there with all the best players, that's always been a goal of mine," Escobar said. "I really hope I make it. It would be a great honor."

Roy Halladay, RHP, Blue Jays
This marks the first time that a Toronto player has been nominated, leaving Seattle, Texas, Cincinnati and Kansas City as the only franchises not included yet. "Doc" was bidding for a 5-0 personal month of June, but lost on Saturday at Seattle in a quality start, leaving him with a 9-3 record and 4.27 ERA. He has been selected to every All-Star Game since 2002 except for 2004, when bothered much of the season by shoulder problems.

"Doc, I figured he'd be a shoo-in," Toronto manager John Gibbons said of his ace, who declined to comment on this nomination. "He's sitting on nine wins and he missed three weeks after appendix surgery. You figure that's about four starts, and he probably would've won at least two of them. He'd be sitting on 11 wins."

Pat Neshek, RHP, Twins
Last year, the Twins and their fans mounted a huge campaign for Francisco Liriano, who was edged by Pierzynski in the Final Vote yet was added to the roster due to another player's injury. Can they push Neshek into his first Midsummer Classic? His WHIP is even better than Okajima's -- 0.71, not far off his 0.78 WHIP as a rookie last year. Neshek had a couple of hiccups in Twins victories last week, surrendering eighth-inning homers to Miguel Cabrera of the Marlins and Pudge Rodriguez of the Tigers, but for the most part he is money.

One thing's for sure: Neshek is going to campaign for himself. This could be really interesting, because he already knows the modern system, with his own popular blog at www.patneshek.com, which he used to successfully drive votes in his Triple-A International League All-Star bid. Technology is increasingly a key in the Final Vote. "He's got a lot of support on the Internet," said teammate Justin Morneau, an AL reserve selection. "He might be tough to beat."

Hideki Okajima, LHP, Red Sox
His first pitch in the Majors was put over the wall, and the turnaround happened right after that. Okajima has been clutch in the Sox bullpen all season, a force alongside Jonathan Papelbon. What were the odds entering the season that Boston would have a pitcher from Japan win the AL Rookie of the Month award and his name would not be Daisuke Matsuzaka? Okajima has a gaudy 0.82 WHIP, 13 holds, four saves, and a .163 opponents-against average. Just ask the Yanks what this guy has meant.

"I appreciate all the Red Sox fans and fans in Japan for their support," Okajima said. "I hope everyone keeps supporting me and cheering for me. If I am selected into the All-Star Game, it will be a great honor to participate."

Ten nominees. Ten pitchers. This sixth Monster All-Star Final Vote no doubt will be remembered as the Year of the Pitcher.

"Bonderman was the seventh pitcher [on the players ballot after Johan Santana] as a starter and Halladay was the eighth," Leyland said in explaining the AL pitching frenzy. "So I got Bonderman and Halladay on the final five list, and I got Escobar on there because I think he deserves to be on there. I picked two relievers."

La Russa now has chosen 10 pitchers for 10 nominees, counting 2005 and this week. He did emphasize that he wanted a guy like Freddy Sanchez of Pittsburgh on his bench because of "versatility," and thus presumably not putting Sanchez's fate in the hands of fans. But beyond that, La Russa shed little light on the all-pitcher logic, saying, "I'll tell you how it went. We pretty much went down the player list."

A few notes about the nominees:

• It marks the first time in six years that no White Sox player has been nominated. That club provided the last two AL winners in the Final Vote, outfielder Scott Podsednik in 2005 and Pierzynski last year.

• With no White Sox candidates around, could Boston become the first team to have three winners? Outfielder Johnny Damon (2002) and catcher Jason Varitek (2003) started things off nicely for the Red Sox.

• Hey, Venezuela: Are you ready to possibly vote in the first-ever all-Venezuelan Final Vote combination of Kelvin Escobar of the Angels and Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs? Bobby Abreu, another Venezuelan native, made it for the Phillies in the 2004 Final Vote.

It's time for the annual fun, because there's nothing like the Monster All-Star Final Vote. It is the ultimate "final say" for fans. The fun won't end with the Final Vote, either. Once again, fans will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet at the 78th All-Star Game via the Monster 2007 All-Star Game MVP Vote on MLB.com.

The 78th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which will determine home-field advantage in the 2007 World Series, will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and televised around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage. XM will provide satellite radio play-by-play coverage of the XM Satellite Radio All-Star Futures Game in addition to its other live coverage from San Francisco. MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage of all festivities surrounding the All-Star Game.

[KC Royals Nation]

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Fans' votes show increased attention
2007 All-Stars based on this year rather than career

The people have spoken, in great numbers, and with significant perspective.

The voting for the 2007 All-Star Game indicates, more than anything else, that the fans have been paying attention. They have spotted, in most cases, the rising stars, the new impact players of this season, and they have supported those stars with their votes, replacing established names, household names.

That is good. Selection to the All-Star team is supposed to be based on what a player is doing this season, not on the reputation that his career carries.

There are two constants to the All-Star voting. One is that there are always more deserving players than there are spots on the All-Star team.

As Jim Leyland, manager of the Detroit Tigers and manager of this year's American League All-Star team puts it: "It's a slam dunk that somebody who belongs on the team is going to get left off."

The other constant is that the selections always provoke arguments, because of that surplus of deserving talent and that shortage of available roster spots. The disappointment for worthy players is real, but the debate is a reflection of a healthy concern.

"Every year, there's going to disappointment and there's going to be excitement," says Ron Gardenhire, manager of the Minnesota Twins. "And right after they make the announcements, the debates start. There are going to be arguments for everybody and there's really no way to argue against it. There are going to be guys, it happens every year, there are going to be guys who don't make it who probably deserve to be All-Stars. But you can't take them all."

Too true. Let's review some of the notable choices, and some of the debatable omissions, starting with the National League, because it's the Senior Circuit and because it has become, in the Midsummer Classic, the Underdog League.

At first base, the fans' selection of Milwaukee's Prince Fielder over the usual Albert Pujols of the Cardinals, perfectly illustrates the notion of the voters spotting the current trend. Pujols may have been the best all-around hitter of the last six seasons. But Fielder is having the better year.

It's the same thing at catcher, where the Dodgers' Russell Martin won over more recognizable names. But Martin's season deserves more acclaim than that of any other NL catcher.

The voting at shortstop, where the Mets' Jose Reyes and the Brewers' J.J. Hardy were one-two, indicates the same phenomenon. These are the two NL shortstops having the best seasons. They're young, but they're genuine All-Stars.

The one area of most potential controversy in voting occurs when this trend was not followed. In the outfield, the electorate made Ken Griffey Jr. the NL's highest vote-getter. That was a fitting tribute to a worthy career. The other two spots went to Barry Bonds and Carlos Beltran. It could easily be argued that Colorado's Matt Holiday is having a better season than any other NL outfielder. And the Cubs' Alfonso Soriano is deserving as well. Both Holiday and Soriano made the team as reserves.

The selection of Bonds indicates that the Giants' "Vote Bonds" campaign was a big success. And it also might say that voters were willing to overlook the steroid allegations, and give a nod to the weight of Bonds' career, thus allowing him to start the All-Star Game in his home park. A sentimental vote for Barry Bonds? What a concept.

In the American League, making Alex Rodriguez the leading vote-getter in the entire balloting was perfectly understandable, given the overwhelming season he is putting together.

At second base, the Tigers' Placido Polanco is not the biggest name, but again, he's having the biggest season.

In the outfield, another Tiger, Magglio Ordonez, got the nod from the voters over names with more star power. But Ordonez is having a terrific season. If you had to vote for the AL MVP at this moment, he and A-Rod would be the leading candidates.

Now, who got shorted in this process? Even cyberspace would become crowded with full extent this debate. Pick your own favorite players left off these rosters and let the griping begin. But let's take one slice of the argument and say that who got shorted can be summed up in three words -- the Minnesota Twins.

Justin Morneau could have been the starter at first base over Boston's David Ortiz, particularly since Ortiz doesn't actually play first base that much. Part of this is the result of the quirky situation that occurs when the All-Star Game is played in a National League city and the designated hitters arbitrarily are turned into first basemen. Hey, Boston's own Kevin Youkilis, the actual Red Sox first baseman, also got the short end of this situation. Morneau was the 2006 AL MVP, but at least he has a spot on the All-Star team.

Not so for Joe Mauer, the only catcher ever to win an AL batting title, and a superior defender to boot. He missed time due to injury and that undoubtedly made him a less attractive candidate for voters looking at the raw numbers. But he is an All-Star, whether he is on this roster or not. And Minnesota's second baseman, Luis Castillo, remains a truly valuable all-around talent and he also remains, it appears, under-appreciated. The Twins will still have Morneau, Johan Santana and Torii Hunter on the squad, so it's not as though they've been ignored. They've been slighted, but not ignored.

But what we're looking at here, in general, is an election with really reasonable results. Between the fans' voting, and the players' voting this was a reasonable, workable show of democracy. There were, as usual, more deserving players than roster spots. That's difficult to swallow for the players to deserved to make these All-Star teams, but didn't, but this beats the alternative of an All-Star Game without enough talent to fill out the two squads. And at the end of the process, the vast majority of All-Star positions went to players who fully deserved the honor and the recognition.

[KC Royals Nation]

mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070705&content_id=2069109&vkey=allstar2007&fext=.jsp

Young, Okajima win Final Vote
Fans select pair to final roster spots on All-Star squads
By Mark Newman / MLB.com

Chris Young of the Padres and Hideki Okajima of the Red Sox are your selections in the sixth annual Monster All-Star Final Vote, which will be remembered for unique grassroots campaigns, close races, a record 23 million votes over four days and constant attention on 10 extraordinary Major League pitchers.
Balloting closed at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday at MLB.com with roughly a million votes an hour down the stretch, and your collective vote means that those two pitchers are the 32nd and final men on their respective league's rosters for the 78th All-Star Game on July 10 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Young will head up the coast with fellow Padres All-Stars and chief campaigners Jake Peavy and Trevor Hoffman, after leading wire-to-wire and helping himself with seven scoreless innings on Wednesday night. The 6-foot-10 right-hander broke Nomar Garciaparra's 2006 Final Vote record with more than 4.5 million votes and finished ahead of Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs, Roy Oswalt of the Astros, Brandon Webb of the Diamondbacks and Tom Gorzelanny of the Pirates.

"Obviously I've never been before, so I don't know what the best way to get in is, but I'm thrilled to go," Young said in the PETCO Park interview room immediately after being told he is an All-Star. "It's a great honor. I'm just shocked to be considered among the greatest players in the game. I'm happy to go to represent myself, the organization and my teammates."

Okajima finished with more than 4.4 million votes to close this one out ahead of Jeremy Bonderman of the Tigers, Pat Neshek of the Twins, Kelvim Escobar of the Angels and Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays. Boston thus becomes the first team to win the Final Vote three times, following victories by outfielder Johnny Damon in 2002 and catcher Jason Varitek in 2003.

Okajima joins a Red Sox All-Star contingent that includes David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon. Anyone last spring would have been hard-pressed to imagine that a Red Sox pitcher just acquired from Japan would be an All-Star and his name would not be Daisuke Matsuzaka, a 10-game winner.

Nearly a million of the total votes were cast on mobile phones, another key emerging characteristic of the Final Vote. Fans who were away from their computers during the holiday portion of the voting period were able to vote from anywhere there was signal strength, and many fans voted at ballparks wherever there was a candidate whose home team was prompting them on the giant scoreboard.

Once again, Final Vote winners unquestionably benefited from being at home during the voting period. It definitely helps to have a captive audience, as it did the previous two years for A.J. Pierzynski and Scott Podsednik of the White Sox. It was the same last year for Nomar Garciaparra of the Dodgers and for Oswalt in 2005.

The 2007 Final Vote will be remembered as the Year of the Pitcher. All-Star managers Tony La Russa of the NL and Jim Leyland of the AL presented the nominees to fans during last Sunday's Major League Baseball All-Star Game Selection Show presented by Chevrolet, giving you only pitchers to consider. The only previous time that a ballot was pitchers-only was in 2005, when La Russa also did that for an NL list.

"The Final Vote is the perfect example of how these managers are thinking and putting together their rosters for a game they need to win," FOX play-by-play man Joe Buck said during the final hours of balloting. "They want guys in this game who are used to doing their jobs. Whether it's an Okajima or a Neshek or anybody in those categories, they want specialists to try and help them win the game. I know that was La Russa's justification for (Philadelphia outfielder Aaron) Rowand. He wanted someone who could roam that big outfield in the late innings, he was thinking about defense. In years past, that was never part of the equation. It may hurt some guys. It may cost some a spot. But these managers are told to manage to win, no more ties, and because of that, they're creating their rosters accordingly."


And you just determined which two extra players they will be working with on Tuesday.

Although Oswalt did not become the first two-time winner of the Final Vote, he will make it to his third All-Star Game, anyway. With about four hours remaining in the Final Vote, Major League Baseball announced he will replace Braves right-hander John Smoltz on the NL club. Smoltz, an eight-time All-Star, is unable to participate and will not attend All-Star festivities. Because Smoltz was elected via the Player Ballot, his replacement was chosen by going to the player who received the next highest amount of votes after the five original Player Ballot choices. Oswalt (7-5, 3.52 ERA, 128 innings, 89 strikeouts), ranked sixth among NL starting pitchers with 118 votes via the Player Ballot.

What would have happened had Oswalt made a late surge and also been selected via the Final Vote? Presumably the next-highest finisher on that Player Ballot would have been added, although it is a moot point now. Don't be surprised if any other also-rans in the Final Vote wind up in San Francisco, either. Roster adjustments are common in the week prior to each Midsummer Classic. Last year, for example, Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano finished second in the Final Vote to White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, yet was then added to the AL roster due to sudden unavailability of an existing All-Star.

For Webb, it was a second unsuccessful Final Vote bid in as many tries. He was an also-ran in the 2005 all-pitcher grouping as well, and this time he was beaten despite being a reigning NL Cy Young Award winner and despite having one of the most memorable campaign events staged on his behalf: "Vote for Brandon Webb Day" on the Fourth of July in his native Ashland, Ky., and surrounding region.

Campaigning took on a decidedly different look this week, and most notable was its ever-increasing reliance on technology. Neshek became the first Final Vote candidate to use a personal space on the Internet as his rallying base, with an official MLBlog and his longstanding Web site at PatNeshek.com.

Users far beyond the Metrodome were creating and posting their own YouTube videos, which the sidearming righty encouraged and catalogued. He implored his fans to pull an all-nighter going into the final day of voting, and although he finished third, his vote total was remarkable and in no small part due to this viral campaigning. It is likely to be a recipe for future Final Vote candidates -- or at least it certainly should be as online voters relate more and more to this way of life.

Neshek was not exactly thinking about this race with less than two hours remaining, though. He was on the mound at Yankee Stadium, trying to keep the score tied at 5 in the eighth inning. And then came Hideki Matsui's titanic two-run homer, and the Twins lost, 7-6.

Here is one thing that is absolutely certain: A ton of baseball fans know a lot more about Pat Neshek than they did before the Final Vote. And here's what makes it even more fun: He knows a lot more of you. Like "Spokesman Ethan" -- the creator of one of the homemade videos, who now, at long last, can stop submitting votes for Neshek and get some things done around the house.

Okajima's closest challenger was Bonderman, who he passed for the lead after the first day of balloting. They each had some creative marketing campaigns going on their behalf. There was that "Bondo '07" ad campaign for the Tigers' young right-hander, who has been practically unbeatable in the first half. Bonderman made the first loud statement by any Final Vote contestant with his eight scoreless innings against the Twins on Sunday night, improving to 9-1. But anyone who watched the Red Sox was almost constantly aware of Okajima's candidacy, and the Japanese lettering behind home plate told his fans back home to vote for him. Which they obviously did.

Red Sox Nation and a high-tech Japan constituency were too much for four others to overcome. And allowing just four earned runs in 41 innings of relief made any campaigning very justifiable; the guy has been nearly untouchable, with an 0.78 WHIP entering Thursday.

Young seemed to be constantly surrounded throughout the Final Vote by questions about why he needed this support in the first place. Even Zambrano, his closest challenger, repeatedly noted during the Final Vote that Young should have been selected last Sunday. Ultimately, it didn't matter much. Baseball fans spoke on his behalf.

Young, who had been on the 2006 NL Final Vote ballot that was won by Garciaparra, said he did not vote for himself. "Last year, I voted a little bit, but this year I didn't want to get wrapped up in it," he said. "I had a game to start last night, and the best way to help the San Diego Padres win our division is to take care of my starts, and I didn't want to get wrapped up in it."

Young is 8-3 and is tied with All-Star Brad Penny of the Dodgers for the Major League lead with a 2.00 ERA entering Thursday's action. He pitched seven scoreless innings in a no-decision on Wednesday. This week, fans at PETCO Park have watched a video in which Peavy and Hoffman told fans why they must vote for their teammate. And Padres fans did that constantly, using computers set up around the ballpark.

The Monster All-Star Final Vote program has seen more than 80 million votes cast since its inception in 2002, including a record 18.6 million last year when fans chose Pierzynski and Garciaparra. Previous winners of the Monster All-Star Final Vote include: Podsednik (AL, 2005); Oswalt (NL, 2005); Matsui (AL, 2004); Bobby Abreu (NL, 2004); Varitek (AL, 2003); Geoff Jenkins (NL, 2003); Damon (AL, 2002); and Andruw Jones (NL, 2002).

It has been an incredible record run of online All-Star balloting at MLB.com for fans everywhere, and now you can rest up a bit but prepare for another big opportunity. Once again, fans will have the chance to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet at the 78th All-Star Game via the Monster 2007 All-Star Game MVP Vote on MLB.com.

The 78th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which will determine home-field advantage in the 2007 World Series, will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and televised around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage of all festivities surrounding the All-Star Game. XM will provide satellite radio play-by-play coverage of the XM All-Star Futures Game as well as the State Farm Home Run Derby and Midsummer Classic.

[KC Royals Nation]

Roster changes:

Roy Oswalt will replace an injured John Smoltz on the National League side.

[KC Royals Nation]

Here is the All Star Game Coverage Page, from MLB.com.

mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2007/index.jsp

[dejesus9]

Is there someplace you can see how many votes everybody got??

[KC Royals Nation]

I'll make another "category exception" for the All-Star Game, since it is such a significant topic for people, and does at least involve one Royal.

[KC Royals Nation]

OK, I'll move this post down. Here is the roster, as of Sunday, July 8.

Here are the rosters for the American League and the National League.

AMERICAN LEAGUE:



Starters:

C - Ivan Rodriguez (Detroit Tigers)
1B - David Ortiz (Boston Red Sox)
2B - Placido Polanco (Detroit Tigers)
3B - Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees)
SS - Derek Jeter (New York Yankees)
OF - Vladimir Guerrero (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
OF - Magglio Ordonez (Detroit Tigers)
OF - Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle Mariners)

Pitchers:

SP - Josh Beckett (Boston Red Sox)
SP - Dan Haren (Oakland Athletics)
SP - John Lackey (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
SP - Gil Meche (Kansas City Royals)
SP - C.C. Sabathia (Cleveland Indians)
SP - Johan Santana (Minnesota Twins)
SP - Justin Verlander (Detroit Tigers)
RP - Bobby Jenks (Chicago White Sox)
#RP - Hideki Okajima (Boston Red Sox)
RP - Jonathan Papelbon (Boston Red Sox)
RP - J.J. Putz (Seattle Mariners)
RP - Francisco Rodriguez (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)

Reserves:

C - Victor Martinez (Cleveland Indians)
C - Jorge Posada (New York Yankees)
1B - Justin Morneau (Minnesota Twins)
2B - Brian Roberts (Baltimore Orioles)
3B - Mike Lowell (Boston Red Sox)
SS - Carlos Guillen (Detroit Tigers)
SS - Michael Young (Texas Rangers)
OF - Carl Crawford (Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
OF - Torii Hunter (Minnesota Twins)
OF - Manny Ramirez (Boston Red Sox)
OF - Alex Rios (Toronto Blue Jays)
OF - Grady Sizemore (Cleveland Indians)

NATIONAL LEAGUE:



Starters:

C - Russell Martin (Los Angeles Dodgers)
1B - Prince Fielder (Milwaukee Brewers)
2B - Chase Utley (Philadelphia Phillies)
3B - David Wright (New York Mets)
SS - Jose Reyes (New York Mets)
OF - Carlos Beltran (New York Mets)
OF - Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants)
OF - Ken Griffey, Jr. (Cincinnati Reds)

Pitchers:

SP - Cole Hamels (Philadelphia Phillies)
SP - Jake Peavy (San Diego Padres)
SP - Brad Penny (Los Angeles Dodgers)
SP - Ben Sheets (Milwaukee Brewers)
*SP - John Smoltz (Atlanta Braves)
^SP - Roy Oswalt (Houston Astros)
^SP - Brandon Webb (Arizona Diamondbacks)
#SP - Chris Young (San Diego Padres)
RP - Francisco Cordero (Milwaukee Brewers)
*RP - Brian Fuentes (Colorado Rockies)
RP - Trevor Hoffman (San Diego Padres)
RP - Takashi Saito (Los Angeles Dodgers)
RP - Jose Valverde (Arizona Diamondbacks)
RP - Billy Wagner (New York Mets)

Reserves:

C - Brian McCann (Atlanta Braves)
1B - Derrek Lee (Chicago Cubs)
1B - Albert Pujols (St. Louis Cardinals)
1B - Dmitri Young (Washington Nationals)
2B - Orlando Hudson (Arizona Diamondbacks)
2B - Freddy Sanchez (Pittsburgh Pirates)
3B - Miguel Cabrera (Florida Marlins)
SS - J.J. Hardy (Milwaukee Brewers)
OF - Matt Holliday (Colorado Rockies)
OF - Carlos Lee (Houston Astros)
OF - Aaron Rowand (Philadelphia Phillies)
OF - Alfonso Soriano (Chicago Cubs)

# - Final Player Selected In Each League
* - Injured (Will Not Participate)
^ - Named As Replacement To Injured Player

[gilgameche]

I have an idea why not do a P2C for the All Star Game?

[KC Royals Nation]

Great idea, alexgordon07roy! I'll name the All-Star pick to click after the game on Tuesday, and post the game results, just like I do in any game thread. Pick one All-Star in each league as your "pick to click", and then choose which team will win.

If you select a pitcher, remember that pitchers typically only throw 1-2 innings, making a P2C selection difficult for them, unless the lineup completely fails to produce.

My predictions:

National League over American League, 9-6

A.L. P2C - Vladimir Guerrero
N.L. P2C - Ken Griffey, Jr. (All-Star MVP)