Casting My MLB All-Star Ballot: Who Should the Chicago White Sox Send?

As the All-Star game draws near, I get the same feeling I do when I know I’m starting to get a cold. I know it’s approaching, and I want to stop it, but I can’t. Oh, and it also keeps me up at night.

For whatever reason the All-Star game has never appealed to me.

Do I like baseball? Yes.

Do I like baseball’s best players? As long as they’re not beating the Sox, sure.

Do I want to see them play against each other? Only if it’s not on at the same time as a rerun of House or Saved By the Bell.

Since I can’t stop the All-Star game, and the commissioner seems intent on expanding any semblance of importance it has, I decided to take a look at who the White Sox will be sending this year. After all, channel 50 shows House at 7:00pm but after that, it’s all Star Trek until 10:00pm. No thanks.

My gut reaction to the question of who the Sox will send was Alex Rios or Paul Konerko.

Rios has been the Sox most consistent hitter this season. To date, his line stands at 13 homers, 33 RBIs, 19 stolen bases as well as a .319 average. Not too bad for a guy that Toronto couldn’t wait to ship across the border.

Meanwhile, Paul Konerko has had a resurgence that might just land him in Anaheim, Boston, or any place that’s willing to give up a few youngsters for him. "Paully" has 17 homers and 47 runs driven in, his average is just under .300 and his OBP is just under .400. This from a guy who went .240, 22, 62 just two seasons ago.

On the mound there’s only one guy who has a case for being an All-Star, and that’s John Danks. Yes, the guy who turned down the same extension that Gavin Floyd snapped up quicker than a 15 year old girl snaps up a Twilight book. Danks has quietly put a 3.15 ERA to go along with six wins.

If you’re not sure how good a 3.15 ERA is, it’s only 0.04 worse than Tim Lincecum this season, and it’s ahead of guys like Felix Hernandez and Justin Verlander.

Unfortunately for Danks, he has five losses to go with those six wins, and we both know a 6-5 record won’t get you to the All-Star game unless you play on the east coast.

So when I log onto mlb.com and put my email address into the ballot form so they can spam me, I’ll be voting for Konerko and Rios. Not just because I’m a White Sox fan, but because they’ve played like All-Stars this season and they deserve to be on the team.

Now, back to watching House.