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  • June 12, 2008 11:14 AM ET

2008 American League All-Star Starting Roster

Cheezhead (132-99-6) vs Moondizzle Hates Umbrellas (48-38-14)
2
Votes
9
Votes
2
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9
Votes


We're going to give our lists in Box 1 and argue in Turns 2 and 3.

C-Joe Mauer
1B-Justin Morneau
2B-Ian Kinsler
SS-Michael Young
3B-Alex Rodriguez
OF-Josh Hamilton
OF-Johnny Damon
OF-Carlos Quentin
DH-David Ortiz

P-Cliff Lee
P-Daisuke Matsuzaka
P-Scott Kazmir
P-Joe Saunders
P-Ervin Santana
RP-Jonathan Papelbon
RP-Mariano Rivera
CL-Francisco Rodriguez


C- Joe Mauer
1B - Justin Morneau
2B- Ian Kinsler
SS-Michael Young
3B - ARod
OF-Josh Hamilton
OF-Carlos Quentin
OF-Manny Ramirez*
DH-Jason Giambi*

P-Cliff Lee
P-Dice-K
P-Shaun Marcum*
P-Scott Kazmir
P-Ervin Santana

RP-Papelbon
RP-Francisco Rodriguez
CL-Mariano Rivera*

* marks my differences. I have 4.

Johnny Damon vs. Manny Ramirez
David Ortiz vs Jason Giambi
Joe Saunders vs. Shaun Marcum
Francisco Rodriguez vs Mariano Rivera (switched spots).


Forfeited Turn


Ok I'm busy at work and would love to forfeit the turn, but for the sake of throwdowns in general, I'll continue.

Damon vs. Manny

Damon is hitting .320 with 6 HR and 31 RBI. He has 11 stolen bases - nice turnaround. But batting average won't sell me, especially when hitting in that lineup. Several others are just as worthy, such as Matsui and Bradley. But I'm going with Manny. And heres why:

He's hitting .302 with 15 home runs and 48 RBI. Yes - those are middle of the order numbers, compared with Damon. But while he trails in doubles, he has scored more runs and his OPS is solid at .944. Manny has had to carry the Sox more so than in recent years, with Ortiz struggling. Even if Manny is Manny, this perennial all-star belongs in the outfield at Yankee Stadium. And their fielding? Haha. Lets call them even.

Ortiz vs. Giambi.

Ortiz is hitting an un-Papi like .252. 13 HR and 43 RBI, along with 53 hits and 36 runs. Giambi has 15 HR and 37 RBI, hitting .263. Less at-bats contributes to the tiny disparity in hits & runs. Giambi has been a force of late. Earlier injuries are gone. Ortiz, injured or not, is not Ortiz of years past. He's been struggling. More to follow.


Johnny Damon vs. Manny Ramirez is hard to decide on. If you started the throwdown I'm sure you would've had a problem with it, too. It all depends on how you look at it. Damon is doing better in the contact section--batting average, getting on base, doubles, and triples. Ramirez is doing better in the power section--homeruns, RBI, slugging percentage, that kind of stuff. It all depends on how you look at it. Should you reward the guy that is getting on base more and setting up chances for his teammates, or should you give it to the guy that is swinging for the fences and driving in more runs instead of setting up the runs? I guess that's up to the voters.

Ortiz vs. Giambi. First off, you're okay with the pick, but Giambi wasn't a thought for me because on mlb.com he wasn't listed as a DH in the sortable player stats. Anyway, remember Ortiz was slumping at the beginning of the year. He has really turned around.Giambi and Papi are almost alike it stats, so again, it is a very hard pick.Giambi is going yard more, but Ortiz drove in more runs. They both bat almost the same. Again, this one's up to the voters.

I'm out of space but I think I won the other two differences in stats.


Ok let me get this done quickly. I'm running out of time.

Saunders v Marcum

Saunders is 9-3 with a 3.32 ERA, and 43 strikeouts. No doubt he is having a good season. But he plays on a far superior team than Marcum does. Marcum, on the other hand, is 5-3 while leading the league with a 2.43 ERA. He has 80 strikeouts, 37 more than Saunders. That ERA is third best in baseball amongst starting pitchers, according to ESPN.com. He still only has 3 losses, and the 5 wins can be explained playing for those Blue Jays. He also doesn't have an all-star reliever (cant say closer, as I'm arguing against it) behind him.

K-Rod vs. Mo

Could he set the saves record? Sure. Maybe. He has 27 saves and thats fine and dandy, but who else would a manager want in any game, even the all-star game, to come in to close the 9th? The answer is Rivera. Despite having 9 less saves, Mo's ERA is 0.87. That is almost 1 and a quarter less than K-Rod. He has more strikeouts and you would have to more than double his WHIP to get K-Rod's. The extra saves are directly related to the team's success.

That was quick. Would have liked to elaborate.

Comments (22) Add A Comment

June 12, 2008  11:24 AM ET
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I only have 3 differences. Not sure if I want to go through with this. Is it worth it?

June 12, 2008  11:26 AM ET
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Actually 4 differences. Thoughts?

June 12, 2008  11:49 AM ET
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i agree mo should def be closing and giambi over ortiz damon vs manny is tough being a yankee fan and the type of yr damon is having but mannys numbers are just way too good btw mo is 17 for 17 in save opportunities with a .9 era but 0 runs given up in a save situation

June 12, 2008  12:24 PM ET
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Hopefully the voting waits until after our arguments on the 4 discrepancies get posted.

June 12, 2008  01:29 PM ET
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The guy is a jerk but Milton Bradley should be the DH over both Ortiz and Giambi.
You CAN NOT start Damon over Ramirez, period.

I won't argue too much between KRod and Mariano, there is a case to be made for either.

June 12, 2008  01:55 PM ET
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The reason I did not input Bradley over Giambi is because while Giambi has played first base alot, he is considered and has been considered a DH. Bradley doesnt fit there.

June 12, 2008  02:33 PM ET
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You probably won't see half of these guys starting or even on the team with the fans voting....75% of the team will be Yankees and Red Sox!!! This is why there has to be a different way to vote. I like both of your lineups though...I think you got it right!!!

June 12, 2008  02:42 PM ET
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I'd love to throw Bradley in there. Just had to say it. He's deserving.

Anyway, the voting in baseball is a mess. It's true. There will be plenty of popular players getting there when someone is more deserving. Ichiro will be the starting center fielder, if the last 5 or 6 years is an indication.

June 12, 2008  03:06 PM ET
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Thats one ugly avatar there moondrizzle.

June 12, 2008  05:47 PM ET
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Thanks.


Yea so um I guess this will be resuming tonight. Its happy hour time. I'll get to it before I crash into bed.

June 12, 2008  06:04 PM ET
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Wait to go, voting before the arguments.

June 12, 2008  08:43 PM ET
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Haha well Cheezhead technically you were the first person to vote...which in effect will get other people going. I always wait til the end, or close to it.

June 13, 2008  09:47 AM ET
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So uh, Cheezhead, you came on last night at 6pm and didn't post an argument. And 2 hours remain here. Lets get this going. These TD's are the worst.

June 13, 2008  02:29 PM ET
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Hey, I'm really sorry about not making it for my 2nd argument. I was going to find stats and compare them with my guys and the differences. I got started, but stuff came up and I couldn't finish it. I was basically busy all day.

Sorry about that.

June 13, 2008  02:38 PM ET
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Good throwdown, Dizzle. Too bad I couldn't do all three arguments. It would have been better.

June 13, 2008  02:46 PM ET
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Its all good.

June 14, 2008  02:07 PM ET
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Yo, I gotta give it to you on the Mo pick. I copied and pasted this from a throwdown that I was in with a guy that forfeited because he left, so I wanted a challenge. I now have a throwdown saying that Mo is better. I guess you have this throwdown in the bag.

Dang I wish you missed that last argument.

June 14, 2008  02:10 PM ET
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Sorry Cheez, gotta go with Moondizzle on this one.

June 14, 2008  03:05 PM ET
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Haha I got it in with a few minutes remaining Cheez.

Its too bad you missed the turn. If it had been an accident I would have forfeited my own out of respect for it.

 
June 14, 2008  08:47 PM ET
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Its too bad you missed the turn. If it had been an accident I would have forfeited my own out of respect for it.
Moondizzle's House... | 06/14/08, 03:05 PM

Well it kind of was an accident...

:-D

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