My all-star ballot

[KPFC Sports Dept.]

Things are kinda slow down in the non-UNT sports board, so here is my all-star teams and why. Feel free to comment and/or post your own.

American League:

1B: Mark Teixeira, this guy is gonna be real good.

2B: Alfonso Soriano, power and speed, 40-40 potential like this from 2nd is rare.

SS: Michael Young, he might be the best player in all of baseball so far this year.

3B: Hank Blalock, A-Rod is the best, but he will get plenty of votes.

C: Ivan Rodriguez, my Ranger fest stops finally, well, kinda.

OF: Kevin Mench, I was hard on him in the past and he proved me wrong.

OF: Carlos Beltran, 40-40 threat, can do it all, next Barry Bonds?

OF: Carl Crawford, native Texan is blazing fast and amazing athlete.

National League:

1B: Todd Helton, he hits away from Coors too, this guy can rake.

2B: Jose Vidro, best 2B in the NL, but plays in Siberia, I mean Montreal.

SS: Jack Wilson, I wanted to go with Renteria, but Wilson deserves some love.

3B: Mike Lowell, I'm not a big Rolen fan, and Lowell is only other all-star caliber 3B.

C: Chad Moeller, Piazza sucks on D, and what the heck, Moeller hit for the cycle.

OF: Barry Bonds, duh.

OF: Miguel Cabrera, will play in many of these midsummer classics.

OF: Juan Pierre, my favorite non-Ranger. Leadoff speed burner with no power, gotta love em.

You can vote at mlb.com, voting is sponsored by AmeriQuest, proud namesake of the home of the Texas Rangers!

[Greenblood94]

Things are kinda slow down in the non-UNT sports board, so here is my all-star teams and why.  Feel free to comment and/or post your own.

American League:

1B: Mark Teixeira, this guy is gonna be real good.

2B: Alfonso Soriano, power and speed, 40-40 potential like this from 2nd is rare.

SS: Michael Young, he might be the best player in all of baseball so far this year.

3B: Hank Blalock, A-Rod is the best, but he will get plenty of votes.

C: Ivan Rodriguez, my Ranger fest stops finally, well, kinda.

OF: Kevin Mench, I was hard on him in the past and he proved me wrong.

OF: Carlos Beltran, 40-40 threat, can do it all, next Barry Bonds?

OF: Carl Crawford, native Texan is blazing fast and amazing athlete.

National League:

1B: Todd Helton, he hits away from Coors too, this guy can rake.

2B: Jose Vidro, best 2B in the NL, but plays in Siberia, I mean Montreal.

SS: Jack Wilson, I wanted to go with Renteria, but Wilson deserves some love.

3B: Mike Lowell, I'm not a big Rolen fan, and Lowell is only other all-star caliber 3B.

C: Chad Moeller, Piazza sucks on D, and what the heck, Moeller hit for the cycle.

OF: Barry Bonds, duh.

OF: Miguel Cabrera, will play in many of these midsummer classics.

OF: Juan Pierre, my favorite non-Ranger. Leadoff speed burner with no power, gotta love em.

You can vote at mlb.com, voting is sponsored by AmeriQuest, proud namesake of the home of the Texas Rangers!  

It's not too hard to figure out who your favorite team is, huh? Here's a different take on the All-Star squad:

AL

1st base: Mike Sweeney, KC Royals - Teixeira is hitting a paltry .197. That's below the Mendoza line. I agree he's gonna be good, but there are 11 other guys listed who have better batting averages and RBI totals than "Tex". Welcome to reality.

2nd base: Alfonso Soriano, Rangers - can't really argue with this one, in all honesty. Other candidates have higher BAs (actually only three), but no one else has Soriano's combo of numbers.

Shortstop: Michael Young, Rangers - Miguel Tejada comes close, and has the better reputation (read: veteran) which will probably give him the upper hand, but from a pure numbers standpoint, it's Young.

3rd base: Troy Glaus, Anaheim Angels - Blalock has numbers that can compete with Glaus, no doubt about it. Unfortunately, A-Rod locked up this selection when he slid over to pacify Derek Jeter. Nothing short of a Jeter-like slump will keep Alex from winning the Hot Corner sweepstakes.

Catcher: Ivan Rodriguez, Detroit Tigers - Pudge gets the nod over Javy Lopez, who's putting up career numbers in Baltimore these days. Jorge Posada will get consideration also since he's a Yankee, but his numbers, at least right now, are a step below the first two.

Outfielders: Carlos Beltran, KC Royals, Magglio Ordonez, Chisox, and Manny Ramirez, Bosox - There are nine guys hitting over or just below .300 with at least 6 HRs and 21 RBIs who could deserve consideration. Mench has the average, but his power numbers are way down compared to the others. I took the leaders in each of the three mentioned catagories, but clear cases can be made for Vlad Guerrero, Rondell White, Matt Lawton, Jacque Jones, Jose Guillen and Jermaine Dye. This is always the toughest position to pick.

NL

1st base: Sean Casey, Cincinnati Reds - Casey's hitting almost 50 points better than Helton, and has better RBI numbers than him, too. Jeff Bagwell and Jim Thome are in the running, as well.

2nd base: Marcus Giles, Atlanta Braves - Giles has the same or better numbers than Vidro across the board, especially steals. Mark Loretta should receive some consideration, too.

Shortstop: Jack Wilson, Pittsburgh Pirates - There's Wilson, then Renteria, and then everyone else.

3rd base: Adrian Beltre, LA Dodgers - A .381 average with other numbers comparable to Lowell, Rolen and company screams for consideration.

Catcher: Charles Johnson, Colorado Rockies - If you don't want to go with Piazza, then CJ has the numbers that warrant the nod. Piazza's rep will get him in, though.

Outfielders: Barry Bonds, SF Giants, Miguel Cabrera, Florida Marlins, Craig Biggio, Houston Astros - Bonds is a no-brainer, Cabrera's doing great, and Biggio is one for the home folks. Others in contention are Adam Dunn, Moises Alou (despite his preparation tactics ), Danny Bautista and Marquis Grissom.

Just for the record, I consider myself more of an Astros fan than Rangers fan, and prefer the NL to the AL.

[UNTLifer]

Never understood the infatuation with Piazza as a catcher. He is proof that offense will get the media's attention every time. His defense is below awful.

[KPFC Sports Dept.]

Wow, another vote for Jack Wilson. He has always played good defense and now he is hitting a little bit. I would be suprised if it kept up for a prolonged amount of time, but I like it that he is getting a little love. Renteria will win the fan's vote easily though, I would guess.