by John Scanan
All-Star snubs are as common as Villanueva articles without facts and this year is no different. On the NL side, there are 4 glaring omissions.
First off, we’ll go local with Matt Kemp. Kemp has been the best CF not named Beltran in the NL this season both offensively and defensively. He has an OPS of .822 and is on pace to hit over 20 HR and steal 40 bases. He numbers would most likely be better if Joe Torre didn’t inexplicably bat him 8th most of the time this season. Looking at the current NL roster, Hunter Pence is the only one who can pass as a CF, especially since Carlos Beltran won’t be able to play despite being selected. If Kemp doesn’t win the final vote, then expect Kemp to be selected to replace Beltran anyway.
Mark Reynolds of Arizona is having a remarkable year at 3B, with an OPS of .922 while slugging 24 HR and driving in 61 runs. On top of that, he has stolen 13 bases while showing improved defense at third. Yes, he strikes out a lot, but his numbers more than support the whiffs. He gets blocked by mandatory Washington National pick Ryan Zimmerman.
Pablo Sandoval of the Giants is having a great year at 3B, 1B, C, DH…or wherever Frisco puts him. His OPS is an astounding .954 and he has 12 HR and 44 RBI. He shouldn’t just be an All-Star, he should be an MVP candidate for how he has kept the Giant offense afloat and made them NL Wild Card contenders.
On the pitching side, Yovani Gallardo of Milwaukee has been All-Star worthy. Derailed by injuries last season, Gallardo has stepped up and been the ace the Brew Crew needed. He has an excellent ERA of 2.75 and a nice WHIP of 1.2. He has struck out more batters than innings pitched and the league is batting a minuscule .193 against him. For some reason, he was bypassed in favor of Jason Marquis (who has a lot of wins, but still stinks).
For the AL, Brandon Inge deserves to be in St. Louis for the festivities. With 19 HR and 54 RBI to go with an OPS of .874, Inge was edged out by Michael Young of Texas for a reserve spot.
Jered Weaver was also left off for no good reason. Well, the reason was because someone thought it’d be a good idea to make the All-Star game a Tim Wakefield Appreciation production. In any case, Weaver has a very good 1.127 WHIP to go with his 3.10 ERA. He’s averaging 7 Ks per 9 innings and allowing less than 1 homer per 9 as well. But hey, it’s more important to recognize Wakefield, who has an ERA of 4.30, a WHIP if 1.35 and an anemic 4.5 Ks per 9 innings. He has 10 wins, though, so he must be good.
Quick Scans wastes precious bandwidth every Monday-Thursday at midvalleysports.com
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