Remember, I don’t know maybe a week and a half ago when Mike Pelfrey was a lock for his first MLB All-Star Game? I even think I heard Gary Cohen mention it during Pelfrey’s last start before last night. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news friends, but he’s probably not going to be in Anaheim this year.
A couple of things to remember about the All-Star game.
-First, you must have a representative from every MLB team
-Second, the players, managers and coaches vote on 16 players who are not voted starters by the fans. This comes out to 8 pitchers, generally 5 starters and 3 relievers.
-Third, the manager “in consultation with the Commissioner and his coaches” will select the remaining 9 players, plus the DH in the NL.
-Fourth, the fans will vote on the 34th player based on a list of 5 players created by the Manager and the Commissioner’s office.
-Pitchers who start on the Sunday before the All-Star game will not be replaced on the roster, but still recognized as All-Stars.
A few things to remember about this year’s game that really has no impact on Pelfrey, but I thought they are worth mentioning.
The Manager can declare 1 position player available for re-entry into the game, only if all position players have been used. Also, the DH is used in all games now, no matter where they are played.
Back to Mike Pelfrey. Here’s the problem Charlie Manuel is going to have with the New York Mets. For a team that is currently in 2nd place, we sure don’t have any locks for the All-Star Roster. David Wright, Mike Pelfrey, and Francisco Rodriguez are probably the only three players who you could make a serious argument for. And in all 3 cases, there are better options.
Wright in my opinion has to be on the roster. Polanco is injured, and probably won’t make it so at worst Wright will make it as a replacement. I have to think Scott Rolen makes this roster based on his age and his amazing season he’s had so far.
Francisco Rodriguez in my opinion probably ranks 4th among likely All-Star selections behind Matt Capps (who else from WSH if not Strasburg?), Heath Bell and Brian Wilson.
Then you come to Pelfrey, the guy who most probably thought was an absolute shoe-in.
Well, in the words of Lee Corso. Not so fast my friend.
Let’s put aside the ridiculous argument that Stephen Strasburg should be in Anaheim. He looks great, but there is no reason to leave a worthy player off the roster just for a guy with 5 starts in his career.
Likely All-Star Starters:
Ubaldo Jiminez (COL): 14-1, 1.83 ERA, 1.08WHIP…Has to be the starter.
Adam Wainwright (STL): 11-5, 2.34 ERA, 1.03WHIP
Josh Johnson (FLA): 8-3, 1.83 ERA, 0.96WHIP (might start, depends on when Ubaldo’s last start was)
Roy Halladay (PHI): 9-7, 2.42 ERA, 1.11WHIP
Roy Oswalt (HOU): 5-10, 3.55 ERA, 1.13 WHIP (not really “better” than Pelfrey but who else are you taking from Houston?)
Matt Cain (SF): 6-7, 2.93 ERA, 1.14 WHIP
Chris Carpenter (STL): 9-1, 2.70 ERA, 1.15 WHIP
Tim Hudson (ATL): 8-3, 2.37 ERA, 1.17 WHIP
Mat Latos (SD): 8-4, 2.85 ERA, 1.00 WHIP
Yovani Gallardo (MIL): 8-3, 2.56 ERA, 1.23 WHIP
As of today, Mike Pelfrey is 10-2 with a 2.93 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.
That’s 10 NL Starters who in my opinion have had more worthy All-Star seasons than Mike Pelfrey, and normally an All-Star roster only consists 9 starting pitchers.
As far as I know, everybody on this list is healthy so I’m not sure who wouldn’t be able to make it to Anaheim. What’s crazy about this list is that it doesn’t include the defending NL Cy Young winner in Tim Lincecum. It also doesn’t include guys having amazing years like Carlos Silva, Clayton Richard, Jaime Garcia, and a guy like Ted Lilly (please come to NY Lilly.) It also assumes Manuel doesn’t buckle under the pressure of some to add Strasburg to the roster.
If somebody does back out, then maybe Big Pelf will get the call. However, if Wright or K-Rod do make the team, Pelfrey could unfortunately be left in New York.
So if you’re the manager, make an arguement that Pelfrey deserves to be an All-Star over any of the guy’s listed above.
