Wait, what? Dustin Pedroia is not going to the All-Star game and Joe Maddon decides to fill the void with...Carlos Pena?

Miguel Cabrera has now been snubbed thrice for the 2009 All-Star Game:

1. He was snubbed when he wasn't originally chosen.

2. He was snubbed when he wasn't placed on the final man ballot.

3. He was snubbed when Joe Maddon put Carlos Pena on the roster over him.

Let's do a statistical comparison:

Player BAvg HR
 RBI
 OPS
Cabrera .321
 18 50 .927
Pena
 .230 24 58 .893


Miguel Cabrera is batting .091 points better than Carlos Pena. It's clear that Joe Maddon only chose Carlos Pena because of loyalty to his Rays. Pena is not a premier first baseman in the league, and Russell Branyan and Paul Konerko are also better than Carlos Pena.

But let's also look at defense. Cabrera is a much better fielder than Carlos Pena. Cabrera has made great defensive plays, and has only committed half (four) the amount of errors as Pena (eight).

The All-Star game keeps losing credibility, and this is just another blow. Why would Joe Maddon pick a first baseman to replace a second baseman. It makes no sense. The nod should have went to Ian Kinsler. And if he was going to choose a first baseman, it should have gone to Miguel Cabrera.