BASEBALL
	5.9.05 Early All Star Vote Well, we are 30 games into the season and major league baseball is already allowing fans to vote for players for the all star game on their website.   Here, then, is a breakdown by position of who deserves to get your vote, based on their performance thus far in the season.  This will be updated regularly until the all star rosters are set. American League 1B - Mike Sweeney .339 8hr 28rbi 1sb This is a pretty tight race, with Richie Sexson and Mark Teixiera both also having 8 home runs, but neither of them have quite as many rbi, or a comparable batting average.  Paul Konerko actually has 9 home runs, but is only batting .198, while Justin Morneau may be the guy to watch in this race as he has a .429 average with 6 home runs and 20 rbi.  Sweeney gets the nod for the time being for superior numbers and a small bonus for putting up these numbers on such a horrible team. 2B - Brian Roberts .361 9hr 28rbi 12sb This is a no brainer.  Roberts has been on fire early in the year and it will be interesting to see if he can keep up the pace.  His performance so far is reminicent of another Baltimore leadoff hitter that had an unexpected power surge one season: Brady Anderson.  Also putting up good numbers early on is Alfonso Soriano who has hit .301 with 10 home runs 23 rbi and 5 steals.  I would expect Soriano to catch Roberts when he finally comes down to Earth (which should happen any second now... yup, any second... still waiting...) SS - Miguel Tejada .339 9hr 34rbi "Miggy" has no peers at short in the AL since A-Rod moved to third base.  He leads the league in rbi and is about as solid and reliable as a player can be.  A distant second would be Carlos Guillen who is hitting .387, but with very little production (2 home runs, 11 rbi). 3B - Alex Rodriguez .305 11hr 32rbi 3sb Speaking of A-Rod moving to third...  Even though the Yankees have struggled, A-Rod is putting up typical numbers.  If Eric Chavez wasn't such a bad first half player (batting close to the Mendoza line), A-Rod might have some good competition, as it is, Melvin Mora is probably in second place, with a .306 average and 7 dingers. C - Joe Mauer .356 4hr 12rbi 4sb I wasn't sure who I was going with here until I typed his name.  This is a close race, with Javy Lopez (.324 6hr 19rbi), Jason Varitek (.333 6hr 12rbi), Greg Zaun (.275 3hr 20rbi), and Ivan Rodriguez (.297 3hr 17rbi 1sb) all close.  I'm going with Mauer for the speed and average and because sometimes you've got to pick an underdog. DH - David Ortiz .281 9hr 23rbi I guess Dmitri Young is second with a .311 average 5 homers and 18rbi.  I don't really care though, it's the DH for crying out loud. OF - Vladimir Guerrero .322 7hr 22rbi 3sb     Gary Sheffield     .328 4hr 24rbi 4sb     Ichiro Suzuki       .331 2hr 11rbi 11sb Here's another really tight race, with Garrett Anderson (.295 3hr 24rbi) and Manny Ramirez (.250 7hr 27rbi) just missing.  I think Ichiro gets the nod over these two because of his superior average and defense (although Anderson is underrated in the outfield). National Leauge 1B - Derrek Lee .394 9hr 32rbi 6sb Derrek has probably been the NL MVP of the first 30 games of the season, hitting for average, power, and throwing in some steals as well.  He'd better keep it up, though, because Albert Pujols is having a typical Pujols season with a .331 average and 7hr 23rbi and 2sb.  Also, don't fall asleep on Lyle Overbay either (.352 6hr 21rbi). 2B - Jeff Kent .330 7hr 26rbi 2sb I have to admit that I thought Kent was over the hill, but he hasn't shown it so far this season.  Another elder statesman, Craig Biggio isn't too far behind (.331 3hr 15rbi 4sb). SS - Clint Barmes .404 5hr 18rbi 3sb If you don't play fantasy baseball or live in Colorado, you might wonder who the heck Clint Barmes is.  It won't take long for everyone to know if he keeps hitting like this (and in the Mile High city, anything is possible).  Felipo Lopez (.319 3hr 14rbi) and Omar Vizquel (.305 9sb) are way back in Barmes rearview mirror at this point. 3B - Troy Glaus .265 9hr 24rbi 3sb A lot of people thought the Glaus signing was stupid, but his production may change some minds (not mine, though).  Chipper Jones is hot on his trail, hitting .349 with 5hr and 19rbi. C - Jason Phillips .313 1hr 21rbi Ugh.  Somebody has to get picked, I guess and Phillips' 21 rbi are nice for this point in the season.  A big wad of mediocrity follows with Ramon Hernandez (.283 4hr 14rbi), Paul LoDuca (.337 1hr 14rbi), and Mike Piazza (.230 5hr 18rbi). OF - Cliff Floyd        .354 8hr 25rbi 3sb    Miguel Cabrera  .374 5hr 24rbi    Jose Guillen      .322 8hr 21rbi This is probably the closest race of all.  Luis Gonzalez could easily replace Guillen (I give Jose the nod because of superior defense) with his .328 5hr 22rbi 2sb performance so far.  Also, Milton Bradley (.322 7hr 18rbi 3sb) and Carlos Beltran (.310 6hr 23rbi 1sb) are close.  Pat Burrell also warrants mentioning with his .280 7hr 26rbi numbers, but he is fading very fast after a torrid first two weeks. Just for fun (since you can't vote for them), I thought I'd throw in some pitchers. In the NL there are 14 starters with era's under 3.00, which makes it tough to pick.  However, with three guys having era's under 2.00, I think they deserve the nod: Dontrelle Willis    6-0 1.07era 35k Roger Clemens   1-1 1.29era 44k Brett Myers       2-2 1.49era 54k (that's a 10.06 k per 9 inning rate) For closers, era again ruled: Brandon Lyon 11 saves 1.80era Chad Cordero  6 saves 0.63era Billy Wagner    7 saves 0.68era In the American League there are "only" 11 pitchers with era's under 3.00 (I blame the DH for the disparity), but the under 2.00 rule still helps: Kenny Rogers    2-2 1.80era 20k Rich Harden      2-2 1.94era 38k Jon Garland      6-0 2.42era 19k Johan Santana 5-1 2.88era 59k (this is a 10.62 k per 9 inning rate!) The closers are even better in the AL: Joe Nathan             9 saves  0.00era Dustin Hermanson    5 saves  0.00era (and 5 holds before being named closer) Miguel Batista          8 saves  1.88era
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