| 06 July 2009
Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jason Bay, Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon and Tim Wakefield were all named to the All Star team this weekend. Pedroia managed to beat out Ian Kinsler for the starting job at second base, but Youk fell to Mark Teixeira in the final hours and was handed a reserve spot. Josh Beckett will get two starts this week to make his case as the starter for the AL, but Roy Halladay and Zack Grienke will also be in the mix. And Tim Wakefield made the squad in his 17th season a a pro.
Red Sox Moster think that the Sox probably shouldn't have a league leading six All Stars... and makes a compelling argument, especially at second base.
Dustin Pedroia
Yes, our reigning American League MVP was voted a starter in the 2009 All-Star Game. But should he have made the team at all?A quick look shows that Pedroia has compiled solid numbers in the first half of 2009, with a .290 batting average, a .368 on-base percentage, a .761 OBP, three home runs, 36 RBI and 14 stolen bases. However, his overall production trails Ian Kinsler's (.256/.333, but with 19 home runs, 51 RBI, an OPS of .833 and 16 stolen bases), Robinson Cano's (.303/.335, but with 13 home runs, 43 RBI and an OPS of .821) and Brian Roberts' (.278/.344, but with eight home runs, 40 RBI, an OPS of .788 and 17 stolen bases).
I understand fans vote in the starters, but it's pretty clear that Pedroia wouldn't have a snowball's chance in Hank Steinbrenner's office of making this team without the overwhelming popularity he has developed in the last two years -- especially when acknowledging that a spot had to be set aside for All-Star reserve Aaron Hill (.299/.339 with 19 home runs, 57 RBI and an OPS of .841). Not surprisingly, Kinsler was named as one of five players competing for the last All-Star spot.
Here's my two cents: Kinsler has way more pop than Pedey, but he hit .243 in May, .245 in June and is 0 for 17 in July. Pedroia is hitting .290 with a team leading 59 run scored. Aaron Hill should be startsing at 2B and if anybody got snubbed it's Cano - and I 'm fine with Yankees getting snubbed.
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There is another topic I'd like to address here... the trade deadline. We discussed this last week and had a few comments trickle in - one if which caught my eye.
GBH - i think the position that everyone is missing is a left-hander in the bullpen. the only one in boston now is okie. the sox have hunter jones and javy lopez in pawtucket but i think they would like to add a more reliable southpaw for the stretch run and maybe into the playoffs. if okie ever got injured this would be a MAJOR whole in the team, so i think they'll look into this.
I'm not sure when or why the need for a lefty specialist became such a concern in baseball, but I don't agree with it. Okie is holding lefties to a .152 BAA and has 18 strikeouts and 4 wlks through 66 at-bats... and if he did get hurt or started to struggle, Ramon Ramirez is perfectly capable of getting lefties out: .169 BAA, 8 SO, 10 BB, 59 AB.
I guess what I'm trying to say is the Sox don't need to trade away a nice prospect just to have more options in the pen for left-handed hitters. That said, here's one guy I wouldn't mind looking into - Matt Thorton of the Chicago White Sox.
Thorton has been the go to southpaw for the Chi Sox thanks to a .118 BAA and a 24/4 K/BB ratio against lefties. He's also 4-2 wth a .276 ERA and 12 holds on the season.
If you guys have other ideas, jot 'em down in the comments section and we'll discuss.
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