Halfway to All-Star Break: AL Squad

Granted we've had quite a small sample from which to name an all-star team thus far (of course, the NBA uses about this many games and the NFL only uses 16), but it's still fun to speculate.

I figured I'd do the AL team first, to give a break to the non-Cubs fans from Cubs (obviously there will be quite a few Cubs on the NL team).

All-Star teams have a starter and backup per position with four more subs. The pitching staff contains 11 dudes.

I also have to have at least one player from each team.

Catcher

Joe Mauer's power and speed are apparently a thing of the past, but he's hitting .331 and getting on base at a .411 clip. Pierzynski has been raking a bit, but I refuse. Victor Martinez is hitting .333, but he's suffering through a power outage and he's not near the defensive catcher some of the others are. I guess you've got Pudge, but the Tigers are playing terribly and he's supposedly a clubhouse leader. That has to count for something. This is a really thin position in this league. The next best options are Gerald Laird or part-timer Dioner Navarro (.386 with almost a .900 OPS in only 75 at-bats).

1B

Youk is near 1.000 in OPS, after just garnering the AL player-of-the-week. Eight bombs and 30 RBIs, too. Remember when he wasn't going to be a power hitter? Casey Kotchman was the same, and he's got six homers and 24 RBI to go with his .308 average. Morneau is doing what he does (.302-7-32). Carlos Pena has good power numbers, but he's only hitting .212 and has struck out more than 1/3 of his at-bats (50 out of 146). That's about it, in another shallow position.

2B

Jose Lopez and Dustin Pedroia are both very solid defensively and sport similar offensive numbers. If a choice has to be made it would be Pedroia b/c his team is tons better. Ian Kinsler has left last year's early power surge in '07, but that could be a good omen for a strong second half. Still, he's checking in with good numbers (.298-3-19 ... 30 R, 11 SB). Of the usual suspects: Roberts, Polanco, and Hill are a bit down, while Cano has been awful. Howie Kendrick would be a shoe-in by this point if he wasn't hurt all the time.

SS

NL has all the really good ones. Best bets here are Jeter (.302 but no power) and uhhhh. Seriously, here: Michael Young, Bobby Crosby, Erick Aybar, Yuny Betancourt, Edgar Renteria, Jhonny Peralta. This must be why they don't play the All-Star game yet. Someone's gotta breakout and do something.

3B

As I'm filtering through these numbers I'm realizing all the offense is in the NL. This is ridiculous. Joe Crede is viable (.270-7-25 along with stellar D). Others to consider at this point would be Adrian Beltre, Alex Gordon, Carlos Guillen/Miguel Cabrera. I'll tell you what, though: Scott Rolen has been playing really well since returning from injury and there's no reason to keep ARod out of the lineup. He's coming back from injury next week. Screw the mediocrity.

OF

I'll just tell you right now, I'm starting Josh Hamilton. Carlos Quentin is absolutely mashing right now (AL leading 10 bombs with 34 RBI and a near 1.000 OPS). Magglio and Manny are having similarly good seasons. Raul Ibanez's team sucks, but he's hitting well (.298-7-28). Carl Crawford and Grady Sizemore are having similarly lower-than-expected batting average type seasons, but are still doing what they do atop their respective orders. Same for Ichiro, actully. Godzilla isn't driving in runs like he used to, but that could be for lack of chances. He's .314-5-18. Jermaine Dye is similar with .293-6-15. You have to consider Emil Brown b/c of his 33 RBI. Torii Hunter and Nick Markakis should be on the radar, but they seem more like "outside looking in" guys. Same for BJ Upton.

DH

Big Papi started terribly, but he has no real competition as a straight DH. I'm going to pick my backup DH from everyone.

SP

At least part of this should be easy. Cliff Lee is on pace for the single best pitching season in the history of baseball. He's only allowed 4 ER, 32 hits, and 4 BB in over 53 innings to go with his 6-0 record. Ervin Santana is 6-0, 2.63 with a 45/10 K/BB. Duck's boy Wang is 6-1, 2.90 with his only loss coming to Lee. Zack Greinke is 4-1, 1.93. Shaun Marcum is 4-2, 2.22 with 49/16. James Shields is 4-3, 3.05 with 45/14. I'm throwing out Sonny b/c his ERA is over 5.00, but I'm sure short-sighted people would see his 5-1 record and drool. Speaking of which, Livan Hernandez is 6-1, but he'll never make my team. Dice-K on the other hand, is an interesting case. He's 6-0 with a 2.45 ERA, but he's walked 30 guys in only 47.7 innings to go with his 40 Ks. Beckett's not good enough yet. Vicente Padilla has decent enough numbers, but he's giving up so many hits it won't last. Joe Saunders only has 24 Ks, but he's 6-1 with a 2.48 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Javy Vazquez has to be considered with that sparkling 58/12 ratio. His 3.53 ERA and 4-3 record are a bit pedestrian, though. Fausto Carmona is 4-1, 2.40. Gavin Floyd has been looking well in the early going, but he's walked more than he's Kd and that has to be an automatic DQ. Aaron Laffey has a late case, but he's only had four starts. Justin Duchscherer is in a similar situation with five starts. Finally, we've got Roy Halladay sitting there 4-5. This is a good example of how wins and losses don't determine the worth of a starting pitcher at times. He's sporting a 3.49 ERA (again, see Sonny #s) and a 55/10 K/BB with four complete games.

RP

The Best Ever is back to his old ways this year. KRod is doing his usual routine (16 of 17 on saves), as is Papelbon. How about George Sherrill? He's got 15 saves for the O's. Joakim Soria has been the only one more untouchable than Rivera, however. He's 10 for 10 with zero earned runs and a 18/1 K/BB. BJ Ryan and Troy Percival are making nice bounce-backs, albeit under quite different circumstances. Okajima is stellar again from setup at 0.98 with 16/4. I don't really think there are any other setup men worth mention but Joba, and you have to be better than 2.60 with 20/7 from that role to make an all-star team.

STARTING LINEUP

1. Derek Jeter, SS
   
2. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
3. ARod, 3B
4. David Ortiz, DH
   
5. Manny Ramirez, LF
6. Josh Hamilton, CF
7. Carlos Quentin, RF
8. Joe Mauer, C
9. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
   

Starting on the hill: Cliff Lee
Closing duties: Mariano Rivera

Backups:
C- Victor Martinez
1B- Justin Morneau, Casey Kotchman
2B- Jose Lopez, Ian Kinsler
SS- Michael Young
3B- Scott Rolen, Joe Crede
OF-Emil Brown, Magglio Ordonez, Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, Hideki Matsui

The rest of the pitching staff: Ervin Santana, Chein Ming-Wang, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Shaun Marcum, James Shields, Zack Greinke, Joakim Soria, Francisco Rodriguez, and George Sherrill.

Major snubs: Saunders, Halladay, and Carmona. This league has been all pitching thus far. These three easily belong over Kotchman, Kinsler, and Crede.

Other than that, I don't think there's much argument. I'm sure you guys will let me know...