2012 All-Star Game: Tony La Russa Should Have Named R.A. Dickey Starting Pitcher

R.A. Dickey was a deserving choice by Tony La Russa to be the National League's starting pitcher at this year's MLB All-Star Game.

That should have been a tweet I sent out after La Russa named Dickey as his All-Star starter. Instead, I now have to write an entire article about why La Russa should have selected Dickey over Matt Cain, who he named his starter.

Now, let's get one thing straight here—Cain is no slouch, and if there was a pitcher other than Dickey who should have been selected, he would be it. Both have put up fantastic numbers this season.

Let's compare their resumes.

Player	W	L	CG	SHO	SO	ERA	WHIP
Matt Cain	9	3	2	2	118	2.62	0.96
R.A. Dickey	12	1	3	2	123	2.40	0.93

The numbers side with Dickey. What about the storylines each player has provided this season?

Cain did throw a perfect game against the Houston Astros in June, striking out 14 batters along the way in one of the greatest pitching performances in baseball history.

Not too shabby.

But everyone expects Cain to produce at All-Star levels. Dickey and his magical knuckleball have dominated this season, shocking everyone. For most of his career, he was the so-so pitcher whose last name young boys giggled when they heard.

Nobody saw a 12-1 mark with a 2.40 ERA and 123 strikeouts coming. Nobody saw back-to-back one-hitters coming, or a stretch of six starts between May and June that saw Dickey give up just two runs in 48.2 innings.

Let me repeat that, with italics to stress just how impressive it is: Two runs in 48.2 innings!

I understand why La Russa went with Cain, seeing as starting catcher Buster Posey isn't exactly familiar with knuckleballers. From Tyler Kepler of The New York Times: 

"

The variable, of course, is that Dickey throws a knuckleball, and the starting N.L. catcher—Buster Posey, Cain's teammate—has never caught a knuckleball pitcher.

"I know Dickey's going to pitch, and I'm very aware of the first half he's had," La Russa said, adding: "The one edge I thought made sense is we have Buster catching and Matt was equally legitimate as far as getting the honor, and then we're just going to play the game. I can't bet you that Dickey will come out second or fourth, I just know he's going to pitch in the first half of the game."

"

I understand the logic and I get that winning the game is the objective, but c'mon. Dickey has been one of the best stories of this baseball season—he should be starting. Posey could figure things out. Dickey has earned the right to start.

But life isn't fair. Bud Selig made an exhibition game count for home-field advantage in the World Series, Cain is a deserving choice as well and Dickey is still a funny last name.

In other words, what else is new?

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets dominate like the Williams sisters at Wimbledon.