Phillies' All-Star Voting Updates And Why Shane Victorino Will Be An All-Star

Time once again for an update on the National League all-star race.

As expected Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez have held on to the top spots for the second base and outfield positions. Utley did give up the overall lead for votes to St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols however.

Jimmy Rollins has slipped behind Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez by about 150,000 votes. I would expect Rollins to make a push, although an undeserved one, with next week's vote totals due to the recent home stand for the Phillies.

Ryan Howard is firmly in second place. Carlos Ruiz is in fifth for catchers and Pedro Feliz is fourth for third basemen. Jayson Werth is in ninth place for outfielders.

One player to keep a special eye on now is Shane Victorino. With the latest vote totals, Victorino is sitting in fifth place and, to use a college basketball term, is an at-large bid to make the all-star team. With Charlie Manuel making the final decisions, Victorino could be aided by his own manager. Today the news came out that New York Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran has been placed on the disabled list and could be out through the all star break. Beltran is in third in the ballot totals. Should Beltran be unavailable, Victorino's chances of making the all-star game could take a nice leap forward.

Of course each team must be represented so Victorino could find himself on the outside looking in. We shall see.