Podsednik edges Jeter in All-Star voting

[MaineDem]

NEW YORK --Speedy outfielder Scott Podsednik of the Chicago White Sox and Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt earned the final spots on the All-Star teams in Internet fan voting completed Wednesday.

n a surprise finish, the unheralded Podsednik edged popular Yankees captain Derek Jeter for the 32nd roster spot on the American League squad. With Podsednik's teammates campaigning for him, the major league leader in stolen bases also beat out Minnesota center fielder Torii Hunter, New York outfielder Hideki Matsui and Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2005/07/06/podsednik_edges_jeter_in_all_star_voting/

Awwwwwww

[JackDragna]

1. Go White Sox!

Wow. Another All-star. This will be a season to remember, even if we pull our inevitable face-plant maneuver in the playoffs.

[DaveinMD]

2. what a joke

Posednik isn't even close to being an all star. I believe his ops is below 700.

[dad]

3. You must not play fantasy baseball

Pods has lapped the field in SB. I think the fantasy voters put him in there! True, in real life Jeter is the pick.

[DaveinMD]

4. don't have time for that

I do watch baseball and know what makes a good player. Guys with a sub 700 ops aren't valuable.

[nyhuskyfan]

6. He's the leadoff hitter for the best team in baseball...

If the White Sox were an ordinary team, I'd agree with you. However, I remember a quaint day when a team's W-L record was more definitive than an OPS figure.

[rinsd]

7. He's 50th in runs scored.

And the Sox are an ordinary team. They'll shit the bed at some point like they have time and again.

Its simply a travesty that Jeter is not in the game.

I'll let Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy who absolutely hates the Yankees take it from here

The Doctor J Award for "Guy who should always be in the All-Star Game no matter what kind of season he's having."

"Look, you know I hate the Yankees. It's well-documented. But you can't have an All-Star Game without Jeter. You just can't. The NBA mentality should come into play here -- make sure your most visible stars are there on All-Star Weekend no matter how well they're playing. I always love when people get all holier-than-thou about picking an All-Star team, like anyone's going to remember in five years that Jose Guillen got shafted. Who cares?

The following guys should make the team every year unless they're trapped under something: Tejada, Guerrero, Manny, Jeter, A-Rod, Big Papi, Rivera, Clemens, Pedro, Ichiro, Schilling, Big Unit and Pujols. Those are the 13 biggest stars in baseball. You can't have the All-Star Game without any of them. Every December, we could even form a committee to determine if anyone from the Top 13 should lose their spot because they went Piazza on us, leaving us no choice but to take them off the list. And maybe next December, we could add a couple of guys who made The Leap -- like Mark Teixeira, Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.

Of course, we have a better chance of dividing the Gaza Strip than coming up with a fool-proof All-Star selection method. Every time it seems like they're headed in the right direction, something happens like "Shea Hillenbrand over Derek Jeter" and it completely undermines the whole process. So why not protect the stars who absolutely have to be in the game? Do you really think the NBA would ever knock KG out of the 2006 All-Star Game, or the NFL would ever stand in Peyton Manning's way when he was gunning for yet another Pro Bowl MVP? Come on. "


http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/050708

[DaveinMD]

9. I submit

that the guys hitting home runs and pitching lights out have more to do with that. Clay Bellinger was on three Yankees championship teams. He still sucked.

[rinsd]

18. Hey no dissing the mighty Clay...

...if not for him and unrecognized superstar Luis Sojo, the Yanks don't win anything ;-)

[rinsd]

5. Yeah roto players are salivating over his .278 BA

Or his 17 RBIs and 0 HRs.

Depending on the roto-league, his SBs(which are indeed impressive) may be a wash when compared with his SOs.

[JohnKleeb]

10. Wow

that few RBIs? That is sad. Anyhow, I am gonna give my opinion here and say of Jeter and Poscendik, I think Jeter should be on the team, I believe Jeter's hitting 300 with 10 home runs and like around 60 RBIs. Not sure how many steals he has but I think hes the better player of the two this year easily, the only edge Poscendik has is in stolen bases to my knowledge.

[DaveinMD]

11. Jeter

is the better player this year and every year. And Kleeb you are smart enough to know that the counting stats are overated. Obp and slugging are much more valuable tools to evaluate players.

[JohnKleeb]

15. I hate the Yankees but I think Jeter is the better player

Poscendik only got that spot because hes got the most stolen bases in the majors, his average is nothing impressive, he has no power, and his OBP isnt that good either, one could argue in his favor that Ron Carew had no power either, but Carew I believe had a good OBP and he was a great hitter for average too.

[DaveinMD]

16. Rod Carew

has a 393 career obp playing in an era that was much more favorable to pitchers. He slugged a career 429. A good ball player who hit a lot of doubles.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/carewro01.shtml

[JohnKleeb]

21. Yep, pretty impressive 328 average in a career

that was in the pitcher's best era post ruth.

[rinsd]

17. Jeter has scored 20 more runs than him as well...

...I could see someone making the case for Posednik as the leadoff guy for the team with the best record until I checked his runs scored. He's like 50th in the majors.

[JohnKleeb]

22. Yeah totally but hes only stolen the most bases

[rinsd]

23. That's what makes it so crazy...

...you would assume the guy is in scoring position that much more often.

[JohnKleeb]

24. Yeah you would

He would be incredible if he could get on often.

[Jersey Devil]

19. Jeter actually has about 40 RBI

He is at 300 plus a couple with 10-11 HR but he is the leadoff batter and could not be expected to have big RBI numbers. Personally I am happy there are not that many Yanks on the allstars so they can get some rest for a change.

[JohnKleeb]

20. Oh sorry about that

but in all honesty, I think Jeter is the more all star worthy of the two.

[bigwillq]

8. Jeter should've made it

:(

[HuckleB]

12. I'll tell you this much. Brewers fans are rolling their eyes.

Podsednik an all-star? LOL! The Brewers got a bargain in dropping him on the Sox for Carlos Lee. And the reason they could get away with such a trade? Ozzie Guillen is obsessed with stolen bases. There is more talent in Chicago than a lot of people are willing to give credit, but Podsednik is not among the stars there, and Guillen's managing is likely to be the ultimate downfall for the Sox.

And let's not just obsess on Jeter. Podsednik over Torii Hunter?

Anyone would-be general managers out there who could choose between Podsednik and Hunter as their center fielder who would actually choose Podsednik?

[DaveinMD]

13. of the players on that final list

Matsui is having the best season.

[HuckleB]

14. You're right.

I was just comparing the center fielders, but Matsui only adds to the bizarre nature of the choice of Podsednik.