Phightins

Typical....Roy Halladay has come up twice with 2 outs, once with the bases loaded and once with 2 on. Can't catch a break.

Well, I should clarify. On an individual season-to-season basis, I find it irrelevant, because of all the other factors that go into whether a pitcher gets a win or loss (run support, poor defense, an umpire having an absurd strike zone, and all the hundreds of other less obvious factors). I do think that W-L is very relevant when looking at a career as a whole (after a 15 or 20 year career). I think the law of averages cancels out most of those factors I mentioned after a certain amount of time. But for one season, wins is not relevant.

Ubaldo Jimenez is great and very well deserving of 14 wins, so this is not an indictment of him, but W-L for a pitcher is hands down the most overrated, irrelevant, and overused statistic in sports. Really shows nothing in most cases.

Eh, I disagree. Latos is having a phenomenal year, but to say he is hands down one of the top 4 pitchers in the league this year is kind of a stretch. There are a bunch of dudes with similar (and arguably better) numbers. That BAA for Latos is absurd though, not denying that. Latos also gets a lot of aid from playing in Petco Park. His BAA is actually lower on the road, but across the board he is much more dominant at Petco. Kind of funny how most of the public discredits hitters for playing in "hitter-friendly" parks, but rarely do you see the same done for pitchers.

Kovalchuk back to Devils. 7 years $60 million. Still not confirmed but that is the word. So much for that $100 million, eh Ilya?

I agree. When there is a list of "snubs" 20 names long, that means that there weren't enough roster spots and no matter who was selected, there was going to be an absurd amount of [expletive]ing. And Fish, you will be happy to hear this. Word is that the reason Charlie Manuel did not take Mike Pelfrey was because he is pitching Sunday and would have needed to be replaced.

I will be there on Tuesday! Also at one or two of the games in the Reds series next weekend.

Well, as I mentioned earlier, there is no way it will be done away with. MLB likes having every TV market represented. But it would make life a hell of a lot easier for the managers when they are making their selections.

W-L is pretty irrelevant, especially for a guy on a [expletive]ty team. He isn't having THAT bad of a season. Not an all-star if he's on a team with more deserving guys, but I have seen way worse guys get in on that "every team must be accounted for" thing. But yes, that rule needs to be done away with...

Very. You couldn't tell by most of my posts from the past 2 weeks? Haha. If we sweep Atlanta this week I may regain some hope.

LOLHanley

Infante is awesome, don't get me wrong. I love players like that. But he is not an all-star.

This isn't a Howard vs. Votto thing, IMO. Ryan Howard has borderline-allstar worthy numbers, and since his team was in the World Series and his manager had a say in the roster, he gets to go. The real shame is that Votto does not make the roster, but Jason Heyward and Omar Infante do. Other blatant roster errors in the NL include Jose Reyes being Troy Tulowitzki's replacement instead of Rafael Furcal, who is having a far better season. Also, the two NL catchers should be Brian McCann and Miguel Olivo. Yadier Molina should not be going this year. For the record, I am a huge Yadier Molina fan and think that his defense and game-calling is allstar worthy in itself, but considering that Olivo has significantly better offensive numbers, he should be going since fans are not tuning in to see defense.

Ryan Howard not doing HR derby this year.

Welp, it is July 4th, and I think it is safe to say that the season rides on this series with the Braves. Tomorrow: Derek Lowe @ Roy Halladay Tuesday: Jair Jurrjens @ Cole Hamels Wednesday: Kris Medlen @ Jamie Moyer

It has been a joke for years, dude. People only realize this when their guys get snubbed, I guess. So many things wrong with the ASG, though. Eliminating the "every team needs to be represented" rule and the "utility player" rule would be good places to start. The latter will never happen though, the league wants to give the casual fans in every market a reason to tune in.

Jose Contreras has an ERA over 8 in his last 12 games. Ouch. Honestly Durbin and Madson being out might be a bigger deal than Utley and Polanco being out (well, maybe not, but it's closer than people are saying).

Frankly, what is happening with this team is unbelievable.

No. They need guys to accept invitations. Some guys don't like participating in the HR derby, so it depends on who wants to do it.

I know. But just based on pure numbers, he really isn't having an impressive year. At least compared to some of the guys he beat out for a roster spot.

I have had the same stance about the ASG all along, as you can see in my endless debates with Fish. It really should not count for anything, because it is a joke exhibition. If anyone doesn't deserve to be there, it is Jason Heyward.

Get over it. It happens almost every year. And FYI, what exactly would you define as the "nature of the ASG"? When has it ever been completely fair, or determined by performance? The answer is never. And if it will make you feel better, I will trade you Villaescusa .

I am not making excuses, I am giving you reasons. There are 3 of them. 1) That utility player rule. 2) The "every team must be represented" rule 3) Charlie having the ability to bring his own guys if he so desires. Happens every year.

Another thing people need to remember. There is a new rule this year requiring the managers to select one "utility" spot, which is why Omar Infante is on the team. You'd have to think Charlie probably takes Votto if he didn't have to take Infante. But to me, in 5 years, nobody is going to remember how a player (the non-starters) made the team, just that they were there. Joey Votto will be on this team.

No, because he is going to be on the team. Utley needs to be replaced, Heyward will probably need to be replaced, and there is that whole final vote thing. Votto will be on the roster. People only remember the starters, and Votto is not going to start either way.