The fans got it half right. The only problem is, the half they got wrong is so pathetically wrong that it almost completely erases the correct part. For the All-Star Game Final Vote, the fans voted in Dodger firstbaseman Nomar Garciaparra for the National League and White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski for the American League. I’m thoroughly happy with Nomar winning the NL vote as he was my vote. Garciaparra outlasted Milwaukee pitcher Chris Capuano, Philadelphia outfielder Bobby Abreu, New York Mets pitcher Billy Wagner and San Diego pitcher Chris Young to earn his trip to the game. He is leading the National League with a .359 batting average and also has a .426 on-base and .582 slugging in 64 games, two more than he played all of last year.
Fans that voted for Nomar (or even Capuano and Abreu) and either Travis Hafner, Francisco Liriano or Justin Verlander, you’re excused. The rest of you: SIT DOWN! It is an aboslute travesty that Pierzynski pulled this vote off and you clowns are at fault. I can’t even get my head around it. Were you guys dropped on your heads as kids, in the past month, yesterday???? The cause seems to be a ridiculous campaign called “Punch A.J.” that fueled a bevy of ballot stuffing leading to his victory, because it certainly was any level of merit. He is so completely outclassed by Hafner, Liriano and Verlander in terms of statistics warranting an All-Star berth that it’s not even funny. The fifth candidate, Ramon Hernandez, was more deserving as well. You try to give the fans a chance to fix Ozzie Guillen‘s egregious errors and they compound his stupidity by selecting yet another one of HIS players!!! As if I needed any more reasons to hate Guillen (though I’m sure he’ll keep them pumping out faster than USWeekly can produce photographs of Paris Hilton being a dumb skank). Please keep in mind that this has nothing to do with any feelings of Pierzynski as a person. He has a negative reputation in some places, but I’m not taking any of that into account here. This rant is based strictly on the fact that Hafner, Liriano and Verlander will have three straight off-days next week when they should be in Pittsburgh and Pierzynski . I guess AJ stands for “a joke.”
Baseball By Paul 