Ok, ok so who is the all-star from this group?

[Thunder]

I've voted for Xander about 800 times today. No joke.

[SCM33]

But with the fans voting logic and justice don't often prevail.

 

 

Yup. I think Uehara was deserving.......Xander was......but everyone else, no way.

 

Brock Holt, while it has been a great story, and I enjoy watching him play...reminds me of the years when the Sox sent Scott Cooper to the AS game twice. Brock Holt making the all star game is like Steve Lyons making the all star game.

[a700hitter]

Yup. I think Uehara was deserving.......Xander was......but everyone else, no way.

 

Brock Holt, while it has been a great story, and I enjoy watching him play...reminds me of the years when the Sox sent Scott Cooper to the AS game twice. Brock Holt making the all star game is like Steve Lyons making the all star game.

I like Brock. He can play anywhere on the field and do it very well, but it speaks volumes about our roster that our utility guy is our representative at the All Star Game.

[Spitball]

Bogaerts reminds me so much of HOF shortstop Barry Larkin.

 

[sk7326]

I like Brock. He can play anywhere on the field and do it very well, but it speaks volumes about our roster that our utility guy is our representative at the All Star Game.

 

says nore about the al roster. there were 3 or 4 better choices from the Sox roster but Holt is not a bad choice

[SoxnCycles]

says nore about the al roster. there were 3 or 4 better choices from the Sox roster but Holt is not a bad choice

 

About all it says about the Sox is that our best player is injured.

[sk7326]

About all it says about the Sox is that our best player is injured.

 

Roster crunches at most of the positions Sox had contenders ... 2B, SS, CF, SP, RP ... and Buchholz' start and pedestrian W/L obscure how well he has pitched generally

[a700hitter]

says nore about the al roster. there were 3 or 4 better choices from the Sox roster but Holt is not a bad choice

I disagree. Throughout the years, the Red Sox have had players who were undeniably All Star starters. This season we don't have that. Your explanation is a rationalization. None of our stars have played well enough to merit being an All Star starter. Yes, some have played well enough to merit being named as reserves (including Buchholz), but none have played well enough that leaving them off would have been a snub. Our utility guy being our representative speaks volumes that our everyday players are not doing very well.

[sk7326]

I disagree. Throughout the years, the Red Sox have had players who were undeniably All Star starters. This season we don't have that. Your explanation is a rationalization. None of our stars have played well enough to merit being an All Star starter. Yes, some have played well enough to merit being named as reserves (including Buchholz), but none have played well enough that leaving them off would have been a snub. Our utility guy being our representative speaks volumes that our everyday players are not doing very well.

 

Our SS has been the best performer in the AL to date and our CF has been about as good anybody in the AL that doesn't share a name with that of a fish.

[a700hitter]

Our SS has been the best performer in the AL to date and our CF has been about as good anybody in the AL that doesn't share a name with that of a fish.

Yes, they are good players and they would have been deserving reserves, but neither has performed at the level of can't miss All Star starters.

[Dojji]

Bogaerts and Buchholz to me. I like holt, but his kind of super utility style is exactly what the All Star Game is not there to highlight. THe All Star Game is about the best players at their position in the league, which kind of leaves Holt out because he's a do-everything guy.

 

Thing is what Brock does is so unique that the All Star Game just can't accomodate him. What do you do with a guy who can play regularly at SS, 3B, 2B, RF, LF, CF, and 1B and hit well enough to justify playing in any or all of those positions, when the most the All Star Game can give a position player is 2-3 innings in a game? It's just not a way to showcase Brock's style of talent.

 

Guys like Holt are valuable to fans, but it's because of his unique versatility. He's exactly the kind of guy you have to be paying attention to appreciate and one of those rare players that can easily start in a number of positions but far more valuable off the bench where he can keep his proficiency with all of them, the exact opposite of prototypical all star. I'm very glad we have him but the ASG is just not set up to showcase a guy like that. It's the job of diehard fans to get the word out and make sure a guy like Holt gets the love he deserves.

 

I really hope if the team is out of it by the end of the year year that they decide to let Brockstar pitch an inning and catch an inning, just for the lols.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Dojji

[sk7326]

Yes, they are good players and they would have been deserving reserves, but neither has performed at the level of can't miss All Star starters.

 

I agree that the top performing SS in the league would have been a deserving runner up SS.

[sk7326]

Bogaerts and Buchholz to me. I like holt, but his kind of super utility style is exactly what the All Star Game is not there to highlight. THe All Star Game is about the best players at their position in the league, which kind of leaves Holt out because he's a do-everything guy.

 

Guys like Holt are valuable to fans, but he's exactly the kind of guy you have to be paying attention to appreciate. I'm very glad we have him but the ASG is just not set up to showcase a guy like that. It's the job of diehard fans who know how much talent it takes to do what he does at so many different positions to make sure a guy like Holt gets the love he deserves.

 

I really hope if the team is out of it by the end of the year year that they decide to let Brockstar pitch an inning and catch an inning, just for the lols.

 

It is tricky. That said Holt has been one of the top 20 or so players in the AL to date via whichever WAR flavor you like. It's not a great choice - but not a stupid one either.

 

Considering position depth - Bogaerts was a better choice, Buchholz was very much arguable and given how many relievers managers are taking into the game, Uehara was better than at least two of the guys who actually made the team. (Tazawa too, frankly)

[a700hitter]

I agree that the top performing SS in the league would have been a deserving runner up SS.

It is a shallow field at SS this year. No one is having a big time year. If anyone got overlooked from our team, it was Bogaerts. That being said, Iglesias went as the starter. He is the better defender, and XB's bat isn't big enough to warrant him making the team as a back up. The point that I was making is that we always had stars that performed like stars who people wanted to see play. XB is a star in the making, not a star yet. He's very good, but not the kind of player yet that people tune into the All Star game to see. He just isn't. This team has old stars (Ortiz and Pedroia), not performing like a stars currently, and other guys emerging but not yet stars. I am used to Red Sox rosters full of stars that the fans wanted to see. I am not in a pissing contest about whether XB is a good player or anyone else. Yes, he is a good player. He is not an All Star yet. All Stars have 800 + OPSes or they field like Ozzie Smith. AL Shortstops suck this year, and no one cares who is in that spot.

[Bellhorn04]

It is a shallow field at SS this year. No one is having a big time year. If anyone got overlooked from our team, it was Bogaerts. That being said, Iglesias went as the starter. He is the better defender, and XB's bat isn't big enough to warrant him making the team as a back up. The point that I was making is that we always had stars that performed like stars who people wanted to see play. XB is a star in the making, not a star yet. He's very good, but not the kind of player yet that people tune into the All Star game to see. He just isn't. This team has old stars (Ortiz and Pedroia), not performing like a stars currently, and other guys emerging but not yet stars. I am used to Red Sox rosters full of stars that the fans wanted to see. I am not in a pissing contest about whether XB is a good player or anyone else. Yes, he is a good player. He is not an All Star yet. All Stars have 800 + OPSes or they field like Ozzie Smith. AL Shortstops suck this year, and no one cares who is in that spot.

 

Bogaerts has Old School Stats that stack up very well against All-Star shortstops over the years. A .304 BA, 41 RBI, only 5 errors. Those are outstanding Old School numbers for a SS.

[Thunder]

Looks like Bogaerts isn't going to make it. He was still in last as of this morning.

[a700hitter]

Bogaerts has Old School Stats that stack up very well against All-Star shortstops over the years. A .304 BA, 41 RBI, only 5 errors. Those are outstanding Old School numbers for a SS.

1970's? And until ARod, Nomar, Jeter, and Ripken started playing SS no one cared who played SS. People go to see the thumpers not the fielders.

 

Again, I am not saying that XB is not deserving. I am saying that we have no marquee hitters and that is why Holt is going to the game. I am used to the Red Sox having marquee hitters and that has been the history of the Red Sox. Our representative usually has more than 2 home runs. That is the point that I am making-- not that XB is not good enough.

Edited July 10, 2015 by a700hitter

[sk7326]

1970's? And until ARod, Nomar, Jeter, and Ripken started playing SS no one cared who played SS. People go to see the thumpers not the fielders.

 

Again, I am not saying that XB is not deserving. I am saying that we have no marquee hitters and that is why Holt is going to the game. I am used to the Red Sox having marquee hitters and that has been the history of the Red Sox. Our representative usually has more than 2 home runs. That is the point that I am making-- not that XB is not good enough.

 

if fans are not interested in seeing the stars of the near future as well as today, then you're doing the all-star game wrong. Bogaerts as an all-star fits whatever definition of the All Star game you want - a reward for the first half OR a marketing of the game's best young and old.

[a700hitter]

if fans are not interested in seeing the stars of the near future as well as today, then you're doing the all-star game wrong. Bogaerts as an all-star fits whatever definition of the All Star game you want - a reward for the first half OR a marketing of the game's best young and old.

homers sell. That's what people want to see. When it comes to pitchers they want to see guys with put away stuff, not sinkerballers. That's just the way it is. Power hitters make the big bucks and so do power pitchers. Again, I didn't say that he wasn't deserving of being on the team. I never said that. He's a middle infielder without much thump. The Red Sox have a history of sending big hitters to the game. When XB gets up to bat, the fans will take a bathroom break. But feel free to tell me that he is good and deserving of making the team even though I have agreed with that numerous times -- that he and his 3 homers deserved to make the squad.

[User Name]

Talk about rationalizing.

[Kimmi]

if fans are not interested in seeing the stars of the near future as well as today, then you're doing the all-star game wrong. Bogaerts as an all-star fits whatever definition of the All Star game you want - a reward for the first half OR a marketing of the game's best young and old.

 

Bogaerts should be there.

 

As long as the fans are voting, they will be doing the ASG "wrong". They are not going to vote for the true All Stars, they are going to vote for their Fan Favorites. I don't think even the managers, coaches, and players would get it completely right.

 

They need the saber guys voting.

[sk7326]

Bogaerts should be there.

 

As long as the fans are voting, they will be doing the ASG "wrong". They are not going to vote for the true All Stars, they are going to vote for their Fan Favorites. I don't think even the managers, coaches, and players would get it completely right.

 

They need the saber guys voting.

 

Listen, fans voting are fine. It's a game for the public. But I absolutely believe that business considerations should matter in choosing teams - not as a primary criteria but part of the soup.

[Spudboy]

I don't believe that fan voting is "fine".

 

Long ago the fans were able to vote at the ball park on IBM cards. Now the fans are encouraged to vote as many times as they wish to vote via the internet. Just a a dumb process for a game that should be meaningless.

[a700hitter]

Who is arguing that bogaerts shouldn't be going. I m not getting this phantom debate. Was he snubbed!? Yes, but every year there are snubs, and this isn't the biggest one.

[Bellhorn04]

I don't believe that fan voting is "fine".

 

Long ago the fans were able to vote at the ball park on IBM cards. Now the fans are encouraged to vote as many times as they wish to vote via the internet. Just a a dumb process for a game that should be meaningless.

 

Fan voting is OK with me. But fan voting + game decides HFA for WS = ludicrous fiasco.

[Bellhorn04]

Who is arguing that bogaerts shouldn't be going. I m not getting this phantom debate. Was he snubbed!? Yes, but every year there are snubs, and this isn't the biggest one.

 

Hey, phantom debates are a big part of how we roll here.

 

In truth I couldn't care less about Bogaerts not making it.

[Palodios]

I'm not upset about Xander being left out.

 

But Kershaw? Really? You're leaving out Clayton friggen Kershaw?

[Kimmi]

Who is arguing that bogaerts shouldn't be going. I m not getting this phantom debate. Was he snubbed!? Yes, but every year there are snubs, and this isn't the biggest one.

 

There is no phantom debate. I think he deserved to go, but I'm not heartbroken that he's not. Personally, I prefer that all Red Sox players take the few days off and get ready for the second half.

[Kimmi]

Listen, fans voting are fine. It's a game for the public. But I absolutely believe that business considerations should matter in choosing teams - not as a primary criteria but part of the soup.

 

I have no problem with the fans voting, per se. However, as long as the fans are voting, it is not truly an "All Star" game, but more like a "Fans' Choice" game. The biggest issue that I have with the fans voting is that the game determines home field advantage in the WS. That is just ludicrous, as Bellhorn already stated.

[cp176]

Who is arguing that bogaerts shouldn't be going. I m not getting this phantom debate. Was he snubbed!? Yes, but every year there are snubs, and this isn't the biggest one.

 

Your point is well taken here. I know that I don't have to tell you that I would guess that there isn't a lot of real thought going into anyone 's posts here unless they can be turned inflammatory. I agree with you - Bogaerts is an all-star but I can understand why he isn't going to the game.