MLB All-Star game has lost its luster

By Michael Rushton

Despite my young age, I like to consider myself a baseball traditionalist. I hate expansion, interleague play and Bud Selig. And now, more than ever, I loathe the All-Star Game.

There are so many problems with the Mid-Summer Classic, I don't know where to begin. For starters, Major League Baseball announced again this year that the winner of the All-Star clash will hold home-field advantage in the World Series.

This is a bigger joke than Charlie Manual's early-season lineup cards. Explain to me why the results of an exhibition game should directly impact the culmination of the regular season?
I'm sure Miguel Cabrera will be giving his all so the Mets or Cardinals will have an extra home game in October.

But the biggest problem with MLB's star-studded affair is how the rosters are compiled. Again, I dub myself a traditionalist but fan voting has got to go.

Let's start in the American League, where if voting ended this past Monday, six of the eight staring positions would be filled by either a Yankee or RedSox. I'll give Boston fans David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez while Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have made cases to start but come on, Robinson Cano and Jason Varitek?

To make matters worse, in three of the position categories, Boston and New York players are 1-2 in voting while Johnny Damon holds down fourth place in outfield votes as well and is looking to squeak into the lineup card.

As of Tuesday night, Varitek was batting .250 with seven home runs and 36 RBI, yet leads all AL catchers in votes. Joe Mauer, batting a blistering .389 with five home runs and 37 RBI for Minnesota, trails Varitek by over 320,000 votes and is third overall for catchers.

Why? Because the Red Sox and Yankees draw large crowds which equal more in-stadium votes while ignorant, less knowledgeable fans across the nation vote by name only. That's why Vernon Wells and his 20 homers sits fifth among outfielders.

And its just as bad in the National League where the hosting Pirates have gone on a ballot-stuffing campaign. Pittsburgh's Jason Bay has jumped into the lead among outfielders, but don't get me wrong, at least he deserves it.

But find someone with the testicular fortitude to tell me shortstop Jack Wilson, second baseman Jose Castillo and first baseman Sean Casey deserve to be among the top three in their respective positions in voting.

And as a Philadelphia fan, Casey irks me the most. He holds a .290 average with three homers in 36 freaking games. 36! Yet, he has gathered in 675,477 votes. Meanwhile, Ryan Howard (cue AC/DC's "Thunderstrike") has clubbed 25 home runs with 66 runs batted in and a .286 average through 73 games. In a crime I dub bigger than anything that ever landed someone in kangaroo court, Howard is not even in the top five.

Take away the fan vote, leave it strictly up to coaches, players and management, and prevent such wrongdoing. And while we are at it, lets see how expansion has ruined the game as well.

Growing up, I always thought it to be cool that at least one of my boys of summer would be on the All-Star roster. Even as John Kruk solely represented Philly in 1991, I tuned in just to see him take hacks at some of the best pitchers in the game.

But now, the game is hindered by the fact that each of the 30 (!) teams has to be represented. Do the Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs or San Francisco Giants deserve representation this year? Probably not, but they will get it. It's time to throw that old rule out the window if the league insists on keeping 30 teams while trying to make the exhibition showing mean something.

So I propose that every ballot that is handed out should come with an instruction manual on how to vote. Among the steps to be included:

1) Remember, you are voting on a season, not a career. If Carlos Lee has 30 home runs before the All-Star break, he should receive more votes than Jim Edmonds.

2) If a player has missed significant time in the first half of the season and is not named Albert Pujols, he should not be receiving votes.

3) If you can't name the starting lineup, the starting rotation and all the teams in your squad's division, put the ballot down and walk away.

One thing the fans are doing right; Barry Bonds is ninth in outfield voting. Maybe there's hope after all.

No word on how write-in candidate HGH is doing by the way.

-You can reach Michael Rushton at rushpac@msn.com


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