(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
"he's batting .252
what a god damn joke
the nl sends 4 1st basemen to the all star game...hilarious!
so now i suppose Pujols plays maybe 4 innings to get the other guys in there.
he needs to play all nine innings if the nl wants to win.
but no, lets give ryan "i cant even hit my weight" howard some pt
la-dee-frickin-da"
- PocketFives.com
When it was announced that Phillies manager Charlie Manuel had selected his own Ryan Howard as a reserve for the National League All Star team, some eyebrows were raised.
There is no question that the Phillies first baseman is a star in the league, but critics point to his numbers compared to other players that had a chance at the All Star game and will question the decision to bring four heavy-hitting first basemen to St. Louis.
Look, there is no question that Albert Pujols is the class of first basemen in the game today, so his high vote total is not to be questioned. But how can you say no to a player who received the second-most votes at his position?
The first thing we need to do is decide whether or not the All Star game is for the fans or not. With the hype in recent years about the game "now meaning something" (home field advantage in the World Series), the fact of the matter is that the All-Star game now should be more competitive and not specifically about pleasing the fans.
If competition is what you want, than the decision to bring Howard to St. Louis is a good one. Imagine if the All-Star game has the American League up by a run late in the game.
The National League has a runner in scoring position. Who would you rather see in a pinch-hit situation; Ryan Howard, who can pop one out of St. Louis on a regular basis after eating some home cooking, or some scrub from Pittsburgh who is only there to ensure that each team is represented?
If you are of the belief that the All-Star game is about the fans, then Howard makes even more sense. Pujols ran away with the fan vote for the starting lineup, but Howard received about 300,000 more votes than Prince Fielder and finished second in voting for first base.
Clearly, Howard is the fans' second choice for first base, so why not bring him along?
Yes, Howard may be going because Charlie Manuel likes him and wants to reward Howard for all he has done under Manuel, but this is not exactly like Manuel is going overboard here, like Joe Torre and Terry Francona have done in the past.
I would have questioned Manuel if any Phillies pitcher had been going, but Manuel gets it. He is there to win the ball game. Howard gives him a better chance.
All the naysayers can complain if they want. The fact of the matter is Howard going to the All-Star game makes sense on both sides of the coin.
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