As Gary Grund reported on Thursday here at Hot Foot, the Philadelphia Phillies acquired right-hander Joe Blanton from the Oakland A’s for three prospects, two of which were in the Phillies’ top five prospects.

Last offseason, while others were wondering aloud why A’s general manager Billy Beane was launching into a fire sale by trading away team stars Nick Swisher and Danny Haren, I added that Blanton would probably soon be added to the list. I then couldn’t believe that Blanton survived the offseason as a member of the Oakland Athletics. In an offseason where pitching was a premium, Blanton’s stock was high. He had finished the last season with a 14-10 record and a 3.95 ERA. Why not sell high on Blanton?

As it turns out, I figure I was half right. Pitching was at a premium during the last offseason, but there were plenty of pitching superstars on the market that overshadowed Blanton, including Haren, Johan Santana, and Erik Bedard. Beane wanted to cash in his chips on Haren and hang on to Blanton and Rich Harden until the trade deadline and the next pitching market.

Holding on to Harden really worked. Harden turned in a healthy first half with impressive numbers (5-1, 2.34 ERA in 12 starts). This raised his stock for the Cubs’ trade. However, Blanton’s pedestrian 2008 had to have lowered his trade value. He’s 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. What could Beane have gotten if he forced a deal with the Reds, whom he was negotiating with for Blanton last offseason? The Reds are a team that debuted a lot of quality talent this season; who knows who would Cincinnati have included? Regardless, Beane still got two top five prospects from the Phillies’ organization, a team desperate for pitching.

When you look at Blanton’s basic stats over his four full seasons, he’s inconsistent with bad seasons in 2006 and 2008 (thus far) and good seasons in 2005 and 2007. He went 12-12 with a 3.53 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 2005 and 16-12 with a 4.82 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 2006. The other numbers are above. Chances are, Blanton’s sixteen wins in 2006 were a byproduct of being on one of Beane’s most successful teams to date.

Blanton’s having this inconsistency in a true pitcher’s park. Even Blanton’s good seasons in 2005 and 2007 aren’t mindblowingly impressive, especially considering Blanton’s 2007 had an ERA just a tick below 4. That’s what made him in such prime position for a trade. That sub-4.00 ERA looks good, but a true eye could tell there’s elements of fool’s gold in it. Here’s a stat that makes that 2007 really frightening — Blanton went 7-5 with a 2.69 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and a .227 BAA in 15 starts at home. Pretty good, right? On the road, he went 7-5 with a 5.11 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and .304 BAA. Wow. Those are just some tremendously scary splits for anybody with this pitcher.

Grant it, these numbers could be an aberration. His home/road ERA split is just about a run in 2006 and 2008. In 2005, his ERA at home is actually only about 0.40 lower. But man, after seeing those 2007 splits, I am even more surprised that Blanton lasted the offseason.

The Phillies are acquiring Blanton in his worst season yet. While Blanton is better than say, Adam Eaton, the national media seems to treat Blanton and his talent like he’s at least a No. 2 pitcher. Particularly, because he’s been either the No. 2 starter for the Athletics or around the spot for so long with Oakland. Like with Dontrelle Willis and the Marlins, the national media could be in for a wake-up call.

Another problem with the national perception is the idea that whenever a pitcher goes from the American League to the National League, their statistics will improve. This simply isn’t the case in some instances. For example, if Jake Peavy was traded to Boston, his statistics would suffer a bit. Not because he’s moving to the American League but because he’s moving from a pitcher’s park to a hitter’s park. A better gauge for future performance is ballpark. Blanton is moving from the pitcher’s park of Oakland to that bandbox in Philadelphia. Poor performance from Blanton wouldn’t be surprising, and neither would the Athletics ultimately winning this trade.

While Bobby Abreu seemed to have trouble with power in the second half of 2005 and David Wright likewise in the second half of 2006, that’s no reason to make it a rule that the Home Run Derby ruins swings. That doesn’t even mean Abreu and Wright were affected by it.

The most home runs Abreu has ever hit in a season was 31 in 2001. In 1999, 2002, and 2003, Abreu’s home run total was 20. Yet, going into the 2005 Home Run Derby, Abreu’s home run total was 18. He then only had six home runs in the second half of that season, finishing with a “disappointing” 24. People speculated that perhaps the Derby had ruined his swing. But Abreu had never had a season where he had say, ten more home runs than the 24 he finished with in 2005. So why were these expectations even there?

Looking at Abreu’s 2005, his worst power month wasn’t even in his second half. It was April. He had one home run in April. How did he get the 18 he had at the All-Star break? He had a red-hot May where he finished with 11 home runs and 30 RBIs, a monthly total he never even came close to in any other months.

With Wright, since he was so young in 2006, perhaps people thought he was developing into a 40 HR-type. He still could, after all, he hit 30 HR in 2007 and is on pace for at least 30 more this season. However, he finished his “disappointing” 2006 with just one home run shy of his 2005 total. Wright went into the 2006 Home Run Derby with 20 homers and only had six in the second half. Not surprisingly, Wright is another guy who had a red-hot month to inflate his numbers. He had 10 homers and 29 RBIs in the month of June. These numbers far surpassed every other month Wright had. And Wright continued to get on base in the second half, only dipping below a .350 OBP in August.

By the way, Wright didn’t even win the 2006 Home Run Derby. Ryan Howard did. He went into the 2006 Home Run Derby with 28 homers and had a second half with 30 homers, cultimating in his 2006 NL MVP win. That Derby really ruined his swing.

The 2007 Home Run Derby winner Vladimir Guerrero went into the contest last year with 14 home runs and hit 13 roundtrippers in the second half, thus finally silencing the debate. The 2007 runner-up Alex Rios did go in with 17 homers and finish with 24, but again, he’s a young guy that has never had those kind of power numbers. This season, he only has four in 89 games.

So if the powerhouse known as Josh Hamilton wows the crowd at Yankee Stadium on Monday or Evan Longoria has his national coming-out party, there’s no reason to expect their imminent and immediate downfall. To suggest that players are dumb enough to go through the rest of the season with a home run uppercut is naive. These guys constantly make adjustments, and this friendly contest isn’t a cancer to them.

Back on June 13, I took interleague play to task, and now its time to verbally abuse another one of beloved MLB commissioner Bud Selig’s glorious inventions.

What’s the point of making this All-Star Game count? Was it truly a reaction to that tie in 2002 in Milwaukee? Just how exactly does that makes sense? The reason that game ended in a tie was because the managers were subbing out players to get them into the game, not because there was nothing on the line. Heck, both teams scored seven runs in a spirited contest that unfortunately only lasted ten innings. Even with the new “this one counts”  rule, managers still sub out players to attempt to get everybody in. Frankly, the managers should always do this. What’s the point of having a rule which states every team needs a representative if they aren’t guaranteed to get into the game? Lowering the bloated roster count to the traditional 25 or at least closer to 25 would make it easier to get players in, but that’s not going to happen.

So to what purpose does “this one counts” serve? Is it supposed to raise ratings? Does this rule even matter to baseball fans? Have you or anyone you know decided to watch the Major League Baseball All-Star Game because it had an impact on the World Series? Baseball Almanac has a record of All-Star Game ratings, and the ratings actually steadily declined after the implementation of the 2002 rule. The 2006 All-Star Game, featuring many players from the New York market and the first All-Star Game of several new stars, finally brought back many viewers. I’m not convinced that the “this one counts” rule has anything to do with the ratings.

Does the “this one counts” rule bring the game back to earlier decades when the game really meant something to both leagues? Does it make the game more competitive? Not necessarily. The National League still hasn’t won an All-Star Game since 1996. Grant it, MLB has been lucky to have the last two All-Star Games be really entertaining and go down to the wire. This isn’t really a result of any change in gameplay, though. The new rule really only serves to make managers and teammates feel pressure about letting the league down, but there’s no immediate backlash because the World Series opponents aren’t decided until October. By then, everybody has virtually forgotten about how the All-Star Game ended.

“This One Counts” is only truly convincing to the mainstream personalities, such as ESPN talking heads, who eat up the illusion of the stipulation carrying a lot of weight. It hasn’t meant anything yet, as each World Series since 2003 has went a maximum of six games. Three of them have ended in sweeps. Wait until a series goes to seven games, and we are reminded that it was Cristian Guzman who struck out to end the game.

One could argue that the old way of deciding who got Game 7 in the World Series wasn’t masterful, either. It was just blind luck. The leagues similarly alternated each year. Yet, who can argue against blind luck? Players and pundits would just have to throw their hands up in the air and ask themselves, “What are you going to do?” Making the All-Star Game count identifies a scapegoat, whether that be Selig or the National League’s overall inferiority. Ultimately, it has no effect on preventing ties, raising ratings, or changing how the game is played, so why does it exist?

Not knowing how Mets’ pitching coach Dan Warthen has exactly worked differently with the Mets’ pitchers, it seems that, on the whole, Mets’ pitching has produced strong results in the wake of the change. There was no obvious reason for the firing of Rick Peterson, but perhaps, in the long run, Warthen will produce positive results out of some Mets’ pitchers who have struggled.

SNY and Mets fans alike have praised the recent performance of Michael Pelfrey. Admittedly, when the performance is succinctly summed up as “he’s won his last five starts,” his recent performance sounds more than adequate. Since Warthen was guiding Pelfrey during four of those starts, it seems reasonable that he should get some credit. Not to be overtly negative, but new expectations around Pelfrey should be tempered just a little.

There’s no arguing that Pelfrey’s last two starts have been optimum. In both starts, he pitched seven solid innings. Against the Cardinals on July 3, Pelfrey gave up one run on six hits and two walks. On July 8 against the Giants, Pelfrey had an even better start, giving up no runs on three hits and zero walks.

However, the previous three starts weren’t quite as good. He battled against the Yankees on June 27, giving up a lot of baserunners — eight hits and four walks in five innings. While he didn’t give up any earned runs against the Rockies on June 22, he had five walks, a season high, in that game. Pelfrey also struggled mightily in the seventh inning of his win on June 16 against the Angels. Pedro Feliciano ended up allowing two inherited runners to score, ballooning Pelfrey’s line to six earned runs after six innings that night.

Long story short, Pelfrey’s two “battling” starts look to serve as the bridge to his recent dominance, but not all five of the wins in his streak were dominant starts. Therefore, raising expectations exponentially might be a bit unfair to Pelfrey just yet, potentially setting him up for future failure.

Similarly, Oliver Perez was another Met starter who had been struggling at the end of Peterson’s tenure. In his first two starts under Warthen, against the Angels and Mariners, Perez continued to struggle, giving up nine earned runs in 14 innings. However, his last three starts have translated to just two earned runs in 19 innings.

But while Perez pitched well early on Friday, a Met fan cannot be completely satisfied with his last performance. He gave up six walks, the second-highest total he has this season. (His highest total was eight at Colorado on May 23. Gary Cohen said on Friday’s telecast that the Rockies’ lineup was a team that did well against Perez. Perhaps the team is specifically more patient with him.) Regardless, Perez walked the bases loaded in the 6th inning on Friday and then gave up a walk and a single in the 7th inning. While Perez got out of it himself in the 6th, Aaron Heilman really bailed him out in a big jam in the 7th.

Speaking of Heilman, he’s another man who has become more successful as of late. During Friday’s telecast, Ron Darling said Heilman was using his slider more during the last month and a half, as well as locating his pitches down more. The reliever has been excellent over the last month and a half, a period mostly under new coach Warthen.

Another pitcher who may be benefitting from the change is Duaner Sanchez, though his reaction to the change has largely not been speculated upon. Since the managerial changes on June 17, Sanchez has only allowed one earned run. This could be credited not only to new Warthen philosophies but also Jerry Manuel’s decision to finally define bullpen roles. Perhaps, the stability of always knowing he has the eighth inning has steadied Sanchez. Since June 10, he’s lowered his ERA from 5.26 to 3.57.

The only Met pitcher who has visibly taken a downturn since Warthen came on has been John Maine. While Maine still “limits the damage,” three earned runs given up in his last three starts, he has pitched even less innings than usual. The Cardinals just kept hitting Maine early on June 30. He gave up seven hits in just four innings and afterwards complained of lack of movement on his pitches. Maine gave up five walks, amidst eight strikeouts, against the Giants on July 10. This caused him to not be able to go five innings for the second time in his last three starts. Since these problems are the same as before Warthen came on and since Maine had struggles in the second half of the season last year, it would suggest that the pitching coach change might not be it. One shouldn’t completely shut the door on the possibility, though.

What has been said most often of Warthen during his early tenure with the Mets, both by Met pitchers and commentators, is that he allows the pitchers to do “what brought them to The Show.” Peterson supposedly tried to mold pitchers to his vision, whereas Warthen is the type to “accentuate the positives.” This certainly seems like a more positive approach on the whole. Then again, I could swear that Peterson’s philosophy of molding pitchers was held as a positive during the initial success of Perez.

After reading Sports Full Circle’s Jon Alba give his take on the top ten worst sportscasters of all-time, I began to wonder who the top ten worst MLB announcers today would be. Since I have the MLB.TV subscription service, I’ve been “blessed” with the opportunity to hear virtually every MLB announcer of every team. Therefore, here’s a list of some sportscasters that cause a groan and make me watch the baseball game while listening to music. I guess it’s understandable. Not every team can have a legendary voice like Vin Scully (Dodgers) or a fun, dedicated play-by-play team like Daron Sutton and Mark Grace (Diamondbacks).

10. Thom Brenneman (Reds; FOX): I actually liked Thom when he was the play-by-play voice of the Arizona Diamondbacks and when he was more often featured on FOX Saturday Baseball. Now that he announces games for his hometown Cincinnati Reds, though, his favoritism has come out. Amidst all the Reds’ struggles, he also increasingly sounds like a bitter man. He routinely criticizes the Reds more harshly than any play-by-play voice I’ve ever heard criticize the home team. He also is quick to unleash on opponents. It leads to a depressing listening experience.

9. Rich Waltz (Marlins): Another PBP announcer guilty of showing favoritism to the point of being a homer. I understand that local announcers can show favoritism, but his shrill voice yelling “BALL GAME!” at the end of a Marlins win or “HIS NAME IS DAN UGGLA!” after a Dan Uggla homer is never welcome. Okay, that’s kind of a cheap criticism, but man, those are annoying.

(more…)

After looking at the list of reserves for the American League and National League released on Sunday, one question comes to mind. It’s a topic that SNY’s Gary Cohen discussed at last year’s All-Star break: the player vote. Just when do these players vote for the reserves? Is it May or early June? If so, why isn’t it pushed back to a more practical time frame like the first days of July?

In an MLB.com article that announced the reserves, it describes the players’ ballot as existing since 2003, with the players picking most of the reserves and pitchers. This is particularly important, because it only leaves the managers with a few, precious picks to make sure some teams have a representative. This is why NL manager Clint Hurdle chose the Washington Nationals’ Cristian Guzman.

Hold on a minute. The Detroit Tigers’ official Web site produced an article on June 29. It said the players’ ballot was “due soon,” making it seem like they came in at various times, perhaps through a large period. Even more telling, the article said the player vote only “plays a role” in determining reserves and pitchers. So many other articles say the players simply “choose” these guys, but their vote only “plays a role”?

In another article, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review mused that Pirates outfielder Nate McLouth’s inclusion in the Midsummer Classic would be up to Hurdle “with input from the players’ ballot.” Just how much is the players’ ballot a factor? Do the managers simply “edit” the player votes to what they feel is the best? Are the “manager selections” players that got virtually no votes from the players’ ballot?

The answer is quite simple. When the players vote, they don’t know who the fans will vote in. Therefore, if the players and fans actually agree, the manager must look farther and farther down the player rankings to find a reserve. According to The New York Times, players and fans agreed on American League starting catcher Joe Mauer, which gave AL manager Terry Francona free rein to name Jason Varitek to the team as a reserve selection from the players, albeit it with his own selection of the Tampa Bay Rays’ Dioner Navarro.

Perhaps, then, had Francona not been the manager, Varitek might not have been a “player selection.” No matter who’s fault it was — the players, the manager, the fans for making him the No. 2 AL catcher vote-getter — Varitek should not be at the All-Star game. He’s the biggest joke pick of the selections, sporting a .219 batting average with seven home runs and 27 runs batted-in. What makes the grievance worse is the fact that Boston already has six other selections.

This leads to another problem. The Cubs absolutely dominate the National League team. They have seven selections, though Alfonso Soriano most likely won’t play. No other NL team has more than two. So, why name Aramis Ramirez as a reserve? David Wright, a player with slightly better statistics, is on a team with one selection, so why not name him?

A selection that makes it seem like the players cast their votes sooner rather than later is that of Brandon Webb. At the end of April, Webb was a sparkling 6-0 with a 1.98 ERA. He’d end up 9-0 before he suffered his first loss in mid-May. However, in his last five starts, he’d had a few rough outings, raising his ERA to 3.43. He still has twelve wins, but his ERA is nearly a half run higher than Johan Santana, who also has more strikeouts. Webb’s case is virtually the same as Colorado’s Aaron Cook.

No one is going to agree with all the All-Star Game selections, especially those as jaded as the hometown club’s fans. Mets fans had to get over John Maine’s snub in 2007, and, unless Wright pulls out the National League Final Vote, Mets fans will have to accept a 2008 All-Star team with only one Met: closer Billy Wagner.

This means the Mets’ players will get much-needed rest over the three-day All-Star break, and that’s good. In the end, it’s probably better for them all to have rest than to see representatives on the national stage. But there’s this gnawing urge for fans to get more of their team’s players on the All-Star team. It’s like only getting the mandatory one representative, like so many Kansas City Royals teams have done, is a small shot to the fan base’s pride. But again, after the All-Star break, it all means a whole lot of nothing.

Also, is the Final Vote really unlimited? That’s even worse than the “25 votes per e-mail address” rule.

Not sure if this has happened before, but a report on The New York Post’s Web site has leaked the starting lineups for both leagues in the upcoming Major League Baseball All-Star Game, as well as both starting pitchers.

With TBS’ All-Star Selection Show set to air on Sunday afternoon, this, no doubt, angers that network, as well as Major League Baseball. While it is decidedly anti-climactic to see the choices already in print prematurely, none of the choices are that surprising. In fact, all the choices were the current leaders reported during the last MLB.com updates.

The deserving Matt Holliday will have to be named to the National League All-Star team by NL manager Clint Hurdle, among a few other fan missteps.

In the same game that John Maine left after suffering an arm cramp, Ryan Church took an early exit, due to dizziness, reported SNY during Saturday’s game. The dizziness may be a symptom of Church’s concussion syndrome. Marlon Anderson came in the game to replace Church in the 8th.

It was obvious that something was up, because as the Phillies’ announcers mentioned, Anderson is hardly a late-inning defensive upgrade over Church. Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious, but it’s a real shame that Church’s 2008 season has to constantly be in this flux because of the team’s ill treatment of his condition.

In what was a bit of a shock in the baseball world, MLB.com, among other sources, reported Friday that the Atlanta Braves optioned right fielder Jeff Francoeur to its Double-A Mississippi affiliate. The Braves look for the 24-year-old outfielder to get some time in the minors before a return after the All-Star break.

Francoeur is batting just .234, his lowest mark since March 31. He is on pace for his lowest production totals in a full season, after putting together back-to-back 100 RBI seasons in 2006 and 2007.

Francoeur’s lack of patience was always a knock on the young slugger. While he has improved his walk totals since his 2005 and 2006 free-swinging days, he remains at a low total. His previous seasons have all ended with an OBP below .350 and now he sports one below .300. It only raises and lowers corresponding to his batting average, which has plummeted this season. This hitting approach is dangerous for a young player, who creates an increased chance of slumping.

The move didn’t come out of nowhere. There was another article on MLB.com on Wednesday, saying the Braves were speculating sending Francoeur down. Two contributing factors could have played in the decision. The Phillies tried the same approach with starter Brett Myers on Tuesday. The Braves may have taken a cue from their bold decision.

Perhaps more prominently, the Braves might have feared the backlash of such a move with the team’s fanbase, who may align more strongly with Francoeur since he is a local product. However, as The Associated Press mentions, the Braves crowd booed even the beloved Francoeur after his performance Thursday. Carroll Rogers of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the big issue is not the reaction of the fanbase but the reaction of Francoeur, the target of boos from the hometown crowd and now the temporary newest member of the Mississippi Braves.

He chose Double-A Mississippi over Triple-A Richmond partly because of the better facilities, which is a bit of a knock on the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate. According to the MLB.com article, he also knows Mississippi manager Philip Wellman. Ironically enough, Francoeur has never played at Triple-A Richmond, as he was promoted directly from Mississippi in July 2005.

In his first at-bat as a Mississippi Brave on Friday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that he was robbed of a home run. The situation reads very similar to that of Carlos Delgado’s non-homer call against the Yankees earlier this season.

Blogs like Metstradamus and Mets Merized Online linked to a report from the New York Daily News‘ Adam Rubin that is absolutely hilarious. When asked about Triple-A slugger Valentino Pascucci, Rubin said Mets manager Jerry Manuel has no idea who he is.

Pascucci is batting .293 with 16 homers and 42 RBI in 62 games with the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs this season. He’s hitting .373 against lefties and .263 against righties. He hit .284 with 34 HR and 98 RBI in 132 games in the Pacific Coast League last season. Statistically, the man can mash.

While Omar Minaya is really in charge of these things, it’s still funny that fans could know more about a minor league player than Manuel. This is, no doubt, bad news for SNY’s Ted Berg, who has expressed his adoration for Pascucci nearly per column in his “Flushing Fussing” feature on SNY.tv. He wrote a very interesting, in-depth piece on him back on June 1. I’m sure Manuel’s comments will come up in a later article.

I’ll begin this with a disclaimer. I understand how annoying those Monday morning QB-types are who constantly second-guess moves made by the manager. I understand that Duaner Sanchez was not to be used last night, and manager Jerry Manuel had already spent Joe Smith, Aaron Heilman, and Pedro Feliciano in his bullpen. He didn’t have much left to use.

However, Manuel had two better options to use rather than Carlos Muniz in the 9th. Scott Schoeneweis didn’t pitch on Tuesday, so he was fresh. Billy Wagner pitched on Tuesday but didn’t on Monday, so he was also fresh.

Manuel seems to have chosen Muniz because he’s a righty, and the 9th had two right-handed batters (Albert Pujols and Troy Glaus) sandwiched between a left-handed batter (Rick Ankiel). Ryan Ludwick, another right-handed batter, would come up if any of them got on. One cannot fault Manuel for playing the matchups, as many managers do. But in this case, when it’s the heart of the Cardinals order against the last man in your bullpen, Muniz, who had struggled a bit since his recent call-up, I wouldn’t make that move.

The entire Cardinals lineup is predominantly right-handed, and the Mets have a bullpen with three lefties. Sometimes you just have to ignore match-ups. After all, it was the left-handed Chris Duncan that homered off Feliciano in the 8th.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about the move is it’s really a move for the 12th when the Mets fictitiously have a lead and Wagner can close the road game. Using Wagner in the 9th to keep the game at a tie is a move to keep the Mets in the ballgame, period. Hold off on Muniz until its the 12th inning, and the game is still at a deadlock. Schoeneweis and Wagner have already been spent, and Muniz, a reliever capable of going a bit long, is the last line of defense before having to use a starter. Don’t use him in the 9th against the heart of the Cardinals’ order.

When interleague play started back up around three weeks ago, I posted my argument against interleague here at Hot Foot, and I still feel much the same way. However, a Jayson Stark column at ESPN.com provides an interesting look at interleague play, not only this year but in years past, and how it corresponds to success in October.

What Stark and ESPN found was that teams don’t simply do poorly in interleague play, brush off the dust, and do well against their own league foes. Only about one-fifth of playoff teams in the interleague era have had losing interleague records, Stark said, and almost half of that twenty was just one game under .500 in interleague. Going further, only two World Series winners have had losing interleague marks.

Stark (and a scout Stark talked to) bring up the point that interleague play is the one time all year when every other team in your league can gain ground on you because nobody is playing each other. (Well, except for the two teams that have to play each other because the leagues are unbalanced, but more on that in a moment.)

This logic makes complete sense. This all makes the following good news to Mets fans:

Most significantly, no team made it to October after having as rough a time in interleague play as the 3-8 records the Phillies and Dodgers have. (Worst interleague record ever by a playoff team: 4-11, by the ‘97 Astros, in the first year of interleague play.)

More good news for Mets fans is this is a bad National League, as the American League dominated interleague play again. Just by looking at the National League records fall over the last month, a fan could make such an observation. A few American League teams that had been terrible (like the Tigers and Royals) began to make some headway. Meanwhile, the NL East slowly began to sink to join the NL West in the category of “pitiful.” By the way, as of this writing, the Diamondbacks are at exactly .500 and they hold a 2.5 game stranglehold on the wild, wild West. Man, it wasn’t so long ago that the Diamondbacks were held up as one of the premier teams in the league.

Stark backs me up, however, on Major League Baseball’s commitment to a laughably inconsistent and unequal schedule.

The NL Central was supposed to be matched up against the AL East this year, right? But somehow, the Yankees and Red Sox had just two common opponents (Houston and Cincinnati).

So the Yankees’ other 12 interleague games were against the Pirates, Padres and Mets (currently a combined 20 games under .500), but the Red Sox got stuck with the Phillies, Cardinals, Diamondbacks and Brewers (currently a combined 27 games over .500). And neither of them played the Cubs. Huh? If this AL East race ever tightens, think you’ll hear any decibel-ized howling out of the New England portion of the old fan base?

Now, grant it, there’s no way Major League Baseball could have known these teams would have these records, but at the very least, each AL East team should play a similar schedule. These discrepancies are just way off-base, and if its the Yankees standing atop the East come October, Red Sox fans have a right to complain without being ridiculed as whiners. Something needs to be done.

It’s nearly time for the All-Star Game and all the festivities that entails. With balloting ending on Wednesday and the All-Star Selection Show Sunday on TBS, the All-Star starting rosters are all but decided. MLB.com provides NL updates and AL updates.

In the NL, only the shortstop and last outfield positions are uncertain. Since the game’s at an American League park, an extra outfielder could just become the designated hitter. With the AL, there’s a few races within 200,000 and 300,000 votes (first base, second base, catcher), but the only really close race is for the last outfield spot.

Now, one might think. Well, it seems as if the voting mass has become more enlightened. Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins is actually leading the shortstop popular vote! I respectfully disagree. I personally think that the voters will gravitate around the player name bandied around from the previous months. Many named Ramirez not only the best NL East shortstop but also the best player in the National League.

Ramirez is one of the best offensive players in the game, but it’s not like he’s so off-the-board great that nobody bears any comparison. Jose Reyes is having a quality season, so why isn’t he even challenging for the position? Reyes barely even registers on the NL shortstop leaderboard, placing fifth behind Ramirez, Miguel Tejada (who has very similar stats to Reyes except Reyes has way more steals), Ryan Theriot (who only has a good average), and Jimmy Rollins (a man whose injury-shortened season has produced a mere .264 average and just six homers).

It’s all about perception. The Mets are terribly mediocre this season, so none of their individual players could possibly have All-Star years. Theriot is on the Cubs, the best team in the NL, so surely he must be better than Reyes. Rollins was the MVP last year, so 2008 performance be damned, let’s vote for him.

Being a silly person who takes these things seriously, the Ken Griffey Jr. pity vote irks me. He’s batting .234 with nine homers, and he’s sure to keep at least one more deserving 2008 NL outfielder out of the mix. Despite the Rockies having an apparent national coming-out party last October, Matt Holliday will probably be that guy that manager Clint Hurdle has to appoint because he wasn’t voted in. Holliday is batting .333 with a .415 OBP, impressive even in a league with Chipper Jones. Unfortunately, those real statistics aren’t enough to combat the tremendous Cubs’ bandwagon voting that has taken over the National League polls like the Mets’ voting did in 2006. Carlos Lee’s clubbing bat will also have to be appointed if he’s to play in the Midsummer Classic.

At least the NL voting is somewhat close. The AL starters are sickening. It seems like the team has been the same for years; the names change, but the uniforms don’t. With the exception of catcher, where Joe Mauer is trying to fend off Jason Varitek in the voting, every infield position is manned by a player from New York or Boston. By the way, Mauer (batting .323) and Varitek (batting .225) aren’t even close statistically! At least Josh Hamilton has accumulated over 2,000,000 votes, as it finally seems his inspiring story has been told enough for his popularity to rise. It’s still sickening, though, to see Robinson Cano have a year like he’s having and still amass over 1,000,000 votes because he’s a Yankee.

Should we take the voting out of the fans’ hands? Not to sound like Ebenezer Scrooge, but yes. They make too many mistakes too often, and since the managers have to correct their errors, it has led to their being too many positions on the All-Star team, thus watering down the achievement.

Just some of the aspects of how All-Star voting works are baffling. Obviously, the big markets have the advantage, like viewers don’t see enough of New York, Boston, and Chicago on ESPN every week. For some reason, you get all these votes. I honestly don’t know why. I guess, if you vote more, that makes you more devoted? And who knows why All-Star voting is opened so early, just so you can vote for one guy in May and see them go into a big slump by July. At least “The Final Vote” combats some of this, educating the ballotstuffers on five guys they overlooked who are better than Derek Jeter this season.

One of the main problems for the Mets this season has been the fact that the Mets’ bench players (or as Gary Cohen so affectionately calls them, “The Irregulars,”) have gotten a little too regular.

This is not exactly a new problem, considering the Mets’ outfield was also decimated in 2007. Moises Alou was missing in action from May 13 through July 26 that year and only played in 87 games. Before Alou was injured, Lastings Milledge was hurt in the minors, and he didn’t return until July 12. Endy Chavez lost nearly three months of his season after a base-running injury on June 6 in a forgettable game against the Phillies. A young, not-yet-ready Carlos Gomez started in their stead until July 12 when he too was injured, shelving him for two full months. Even Shawn Green had a short D.L. stint from May 29 - June 11.

This year, though, Alou has only played a mind-boggling 15 games, putting him on pace for a much lower total. Alou is also on his third disabled list trip of this season as the Mets hit the halfway mark. Angel Pagan was impressive in spring training and April, but he hasn’t seen action since May 12. Ryan Church finally returned today and hopefully he is handled with kids’ gloves. No whammies.

This has led to a plethora of players getting the opportunity at starting for the Mets in left field and right field this season. One could argue that many of them should not be starting a major league baseball game in 2008.

Distancing himself from the likes of Brady Clark, Abraham Nunez, and Gustavo Molina, Fernando Tatis actually made a contribution for the Mets in 2008. He’s tailed off since his start, but he is at least maintaining statistics good for a bench player. The key phrase in that sentence is bench player. It’s time for Tatis to stop getting starts and start being solely a right-handed bat off the bench. These 1-for-4 and 1-for-5 days aren’t helping much.

One of the strategies that Jerry Manuel said he’d employ as manager is to use the No. 2 hole to get guys going. I guess one of the main guys he meant when he said that was Marlon Anderson. Anderson has gotten two starts at the spot under Manuel and went 1-for-6. For some reason, Anderson is one of the guys the Mets view as a potential No. 2 hitter on some days. He’s 1-for-14 when in the No. 2 hole at an atrocious .071 clip. Currently, Anderson is batting .198 as just another left-handed bat on the Mets. As such, he probably shouldn’t even be on the team, let alone getting the occasional start.

Trot Nixon today added his name to the long list of Mets’ outfield injuries over the past two years. When the Mets traded for him, the move was mildly praised as everyone mused, “Intangibles! Nixon’s got ‘em!” Hopefully, he’s leading the team in grit and determination because he’s not leading the team in anything else. Admittedly, it’s a small sample size, but since the Mets acquired him on June 15, he’s batted .171. His lone saving grace was a solo shot he hit against the Rockies during a blowout. Oh, and he had a decent first game against Texas. Considering Nixon is a guy who is limited to outfield play, unlike some of the others, it’s probably best to cut the cord on this project.

The Andy Phillips move just doesn’t make sense for the Mets. For the Yankees, Phillips was known as a light-hitting defensive alternative, and outside of a half year with the Yankees in 2007, his stats match up with that. He did bat over .300 this season for the Reds’ Triple-A Louisville, but when called up to Cincinnati, he batted .143 in 21 at-bats. Since that Carlos Delgado platoon is never going to happen with anybody and since other guys can play first base, the Phillips move is puzzling.

With Church back, right field is hopefully taken care of. As far as left field goes, just starting Chavez every day isn’t such a bad idea. He hardly ever gets at-bats versus lefties, but what’s funny is he’s actually batting for a higher average. That’s obviously skewed, but Chavez’s average against lefties from 2005-2007 is actually .328 in 128 at-bats. Chavez is hitting about as well as any of “the irregulars,” and he’s certainly the best defensive outfielder of the bunch. Why not just start him in left field for the time being?

Strangely enough, the same thing is happening to Damion Easley this season. He’s batting .215 in 93 at-bats against righties and .333 in 42 at-bats against lefties. Like Chavez, Easley is hitting about as well as any of the “irregulars.” In a perfect world, he could be used as a utility infielder, starting whenever someone in the infield is out. Unfortunately, Luis Castillo has been too injured for that.

Going into the season, the Mets’ outfield looked like a strength, actually. Pagan was slated as a hot-hitting No. 4 outfielder, and Chavez was actually the Mets’ No. 5. Who knew all these guys would end up getting time?