Come to Think of it...National League All-Star Ballot Flush With Stars

I just finished filling out one of the 25 ballots each person is allowed to complete for the MLB All-Star game on MLB.com.  And two things surprised me:

First, I only picked one Cubs player. Yep, just one. Geovany Soto.

Don't get me wrong, several Cubs are having terrific seasons. It's just that the National League as a whole is comprised of many players having exceptional seasons this year.  Much better than the American League.

Which brings me to my next surprise. That the NL players are individually having such better seasons than their AL counterparts. This surprises me because in past years it seemed all the brightest stars were in the junior circuit. That probably helps explain why they have such a hold on the outcome of the All-Star game in recent memory. Perhaps this is a sign of a new sheriff in town.

The interesting thing about my only picking one Cubs player is that the Cubs as a team are doing so well yet have only one player deserving of starting in the All-Star game. Not counting pitchers, that is. 

The Cubs lead the NL Central with a 26-16 record, second only to the D-Backs in all of baseball.  Yet it's not as if they are all having career years.  Good years, sure, but so are many other NL players.

Of all the candidates, Geo Soto is the only one I could give the starting nod to, if I'm being objective.  Soto hit his 8th homer, to go along with 30 RBI and a .328 batting average. Those stats lead all NL catchers, so he was the logical choice to represent the Cubs as a starter on the 2008 team.

Everywhere else I tried but could not find a single Cubs player more deserving than someone else. Since there is time, perhaps Soriano will amass enough numbers to warrant going, but not as of now. His climb has been too steep thus far to be impressive on the surface. Plus there's that little problem of his defense...

Anyway, let's go through the NL players quickly, noting that we are only about a quarter of the way through the season thus far. 

1B: Lance Berkman, Houston Astros. Who else? Yes, D-Lee is having a good season so far, but his numbers pale in comparison to the amazing Berkman who is having the season of a lifetime. 15-43-.381 anyone?  'Nuff said. In fact, he dwarfs even Albert Pujols who is having a typically stellar season himself.

2B: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies. President's Bush's favorite player is 14-30-.317, which are the best numbers of any second baseman, though the Marlin's powerful Dan Uggla wouldn't be a bad second choice.

3B: Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves. You kidding me? Larry is off to his best season ever, and we're talking about a probable hall of fame career, so that's saying something. The longtime Brave is quietly hitting .418 to along with 11 home runs. Amazing.

SS: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins. I'll go with H-Ram, though there are several others you could make an equally good case for. His .327 average to go along with 9 homers and 13 stolen bases place him just above Miguel Tejada (.343) and Rafael Furcal (.366).

C: Geo Soto, Chicago Cubs. Just give him the ROY award now.

OF: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers;  Nate McLouth, Pittsburgh Pirates; and Aaron Rowand, San Francisco Giants are my three outfielders. Honorable mention: Willingham, FLA; Ludwick, STL; Church, NYM.

Come to think of it, if you add in pitchers, the Cubs probably will have plenty of representation in the game this year. Carlos Marmol has a chance if they look at relievers other than closers. And Zambrano and Dempster can make good cases to be there as well, at least as it stands right now.

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