On Saturday, MLB Network will unveil the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Teams for this year's game, taking place on July 16 at Citi Field. Since fan balloting is always skewed toward either home city favorites or perennial stars getting in on reputation more than current performance, it isn't an exact science by any stretch.
That having been said, I will prove that I am not a mark for the Mets and present whom I feel should be playing in this year's game.
American League:
1st base: Chris Davis, Baltimore. Davis is having a career year. Yes, he's also been a DH of late, but how do you deny the man who is leading the majors in homers?
Alternates: Albert Pujols, Los Angeles; Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto; Prince Fielder, Detroit.
2nd base: Robinson Cano, Yankees. Cano also will captain Team AL in the Home Run Derby for the 2nd straight year, and has been the only consistent source of offense for the injury-plagued Yanks.
Alternates: Dustin Pedroia, Boston; Jose Altuve, Houston.
3rd base: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit. Enough said.
Alternates: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay; Manny Machado, Baltimore; Adrian Beltre, Texas.
Shortstop: J. J. Hardy, Baltimore. A default pick, since the glamour boys in the league (Derek Jeter, Jose Reyes) missed most or all of the first half.
Alternates: Erick Aybar, Los Angeles; Jed Lowrie, Oakland.
Catcher: Joe Mauer, Minnesota. End of story.
Alternates: Jason Castro, Houston; Carlos Santana, Cleveland.
Outfield: Mike Trout, Los Angeles; Jose Bautista, Toronto; Ichiro Suzuki, Yankees; Adam Jones, Baltimore; Desmond Jennings, Tampa Bay; Austin Jackson, Detroit.
Pitchers: Max Scherzer, Detroit (likely starter); Chris Sale, Chicago; Felix Hernandez, Seattle; Hiroki Kuroda & Mariano Rivera, Yankees; Yu Darvish & Joe Nathan, Texas; James Shields, Kansas City; Glen Perkins, Minnesota.
National League:
1st base: Joey Votto, Cincinnati. He's a better all around player than, say, Ryan Howard, for example. If he was in a bigger market, more people would know who he is.
Alternates: Anthony Rizzo, Chicago; Ryan Howard, Philadelphia.
2nd base: Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati. See Votto.
Alternates: Daniel Murphy, Mets; Chase Utley, Philadelphia.
Shortstop: Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta. He hit the ground running playing for his native Netherlands in the WBC, and hasn't stopped.
Alternates: Ian Desmond, Washington; Troy Tulowitzski, Colorado.
3rd base: David Wright, Mets. Like Cano, he's a captain in the Home Run Derby, but there is question as to whether or not he'll actually compete after his near miss a few years back.
Alternates: Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco; David Freese, St. Louis.
Catcher: Buster Posey, San Francisco. Were he not injured in '11, the Giants would be going probably for their 4th World Series title in a row, so they say.
Alternates: Yadier Molina, St. Louis; Russell Martin, Pittsburgh.
Outfield: Dominic Brown, Philadelphia; Andrew McCutcheon, Pittsburgh; Carlos Beltran, St. Louis; Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles; Marlon Byrd, Mets; Justin Upton, Atlanta.
Pitchers: Jordan Zimmermann, Washington; Adam Wainwright, St. Louis; Jason Grilli, Pittsburgh; Matt Harvey, Mets; Cliff Lee, Philadelphia; Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles; Patrick Corbin, Arizona; Steve Cishek, Miami; Huston Street, San Diego.
Of course, I could be wrong.
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