Matt Kemp SHOULD be an All Star…
If you saw any part of tonight’s game at Milwaukee, particularly the 10th inning, you would have seen an All Star in action…
…at least in my book, he’s an All Star…
After hitting a grand slam in the top of the 10th to extend the Dodgers’ lead to 12-6, Kemp came up with an unbelievable catch in the bottom of the 10th to end the game…an over the shoulder, Willie Mays style catch on a drive by Jason Kendall…
How big was that play?…men on 1st and 3rd, 2 out…if Kendall gets a double on that play, perhaps both runners score and we’re looking at a 12-10 game with Jonathan Broxton struggling on the mound…instead, Kemp ends the game and ends the threat…Dodgers win!
I can accept the addition of Shane Victorino to the NL All Star squad…the fans voted and those in Philadelphia seem to have nothing better to do than sit in front of their computers and vote…I bet we’ll see a spike in carpal tunnel problems in Philadelphia in the coming months and years…
What I cannot accept is the replacement of injured outfielder, Carlos Beltran of the Mets, by Jayson Werth of the Phillies…granted, Charlie Manuel sees Werth play everyday and knows his talent, but how can a guy who wasn’t even part of the “final vote” by the fans be allowed to go to the All Star game ahead of a guy who Major League Baseball thought was good enough in the first place and could have gone if the fans voted him in?
I wonder who Charlie Manuel would have picked to replace Carlos Beltran had Matt Kemp won the Final Vote…Victorino or Werth?
Oh, and of course, Philadelphia now has 5 guys on the All Star team and the Dodgers, with the best record in the majors, has just 3…go figure…
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I agree with your main premise, Matt Kemp belongs. If for no other reason than he’s been the best defensive OF in the league so far (quite amazing considering how he played OF before this season. But his offensive numbers are also comparable to anyone not named Albert. Certainly he’s been the Dodgers best player this year, though perhaps Ethier has been the clutch guy. One thing that should be mentioned is that Werth is also a very good defensively player. Victorino is one of my favorite players, but he really just doesn’t stack up to the other ASs, and I vote with my head, not my heart. For that matter, both Pierre and Manny Ramirez have put up numbers to match Victorino, splitting a single position. It is curious that Victorino (one of the highest vote getters in the first round) was on the ballot instead of Werth; perhaps so Manual could work both into the roster knowing about beltran in advance? Sandoval doesn’t do much on defense wherever they try to hide him, and could be a one half wonder once pitchers figure out that he’s never seen a pitch he doesn’t like, but it must be admitted that he too makes more sense than several of the original bench picks and injury replacements. The NL wasn’t short on pitchers, which is I think where this gets really dirty. With Kemp waiting for a deserved roster spot, and Broxton removed from the game, why wasn’t Kemp at least added then? If not Kemp, isn’t Kershaw having a better year than Broxton’s replacement? I think Manuel at the least has some anger towards Dodgers, either about getting beat up by them this year or about something from the playoffs last year. Or, perhaps Manuel hates the west coast in general…just look at the roster and where all the near misses hail from.
I expect deserving guys not to make all-star games each season…part of the fun of it all. And I think popularity should play a roll. But this year has to leave a sour taste just by how it is all going down. When was the last time the best team in baseball at the AS break had 2 guys active for the AS game? It doesn’t seem to be a coincidence that the manager is the chief rival in the NL this year and that he’s gobbling up his own players (victorino and werth both play the game the right way, totally respect them, but the dodgers have four guys in the OF with comparable stats and couldn’t get one on the roster while the whole phillie roster made it?), while snuffing primarily the players from the two rival teams with the best records in the NL.
You have a great take on all this…like you, I know people get the All Star snub every year…this year, we get to talk about Dodgers getting snubbed!
I “loved” the way Justin Upton (and his 7 outfield errors this season) took his route to the fly ball in the 8th inning that resulted in a triple…if Kemp were there, he would have kept it to a double and perhaps changed the complexion of the game…
…but instead, we have to live with the loss in the All Star game and not have home field advantage if the Dodgers advance to the World Series…