By Jon Weisman
Reflecting the strength of their 2014 seasons and independent of fan bias, Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig were unanimous choices for the National League All-Star rosters among five ESPN.com national baseball writers.
Puig was chosen as the starting outfielder by Jim Bowden and Jayson Stark, the starting designated hitter by Jerry Crasnick and David Schoenfield and a reserve outfielder by Buster Olney.
Kershaw was recommended as the NL’s starting pitcher by Olney and Schoenfeld, while the other three included him on the NL staff alongside Greinke. Josh Beckett was also an NL All-Star choice by Crasnick and Olney.
Four of the five chose Dee Gordon as a reserve second baseman, with only Crasnick omitting him. In addition, Bowden and Schoenfield had Hanley Ramirez as a backup shortstop.
Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com had Puig, Kershaw and Gordon, but not Greinke, Beckett or Ramirez.
As for the fan voting, it ends tonight at 8:59 p.m., with Puig looking to get a final push to ensure a spot in the NL starting lineup.
Don Bright
Have a feeling than Greinke will get left off because other teams need a rep, and just too many pitchers are having good/great years they must be on. In fact I could have seen Kershaw being left off until his last 3 games made him a no-brainer to be on. What other 2B even belongs on the team (too bad he won’t be the starter), let alone pick ahead of Gordon as a reserve? He must be on their. Puig will for sure go this, either as a fan voted starter or as a MLB picked reserve.
Hanley doesn’t deserve it, and Beckett would only go if they could take 20 pitchers.
leekfink
Kershaw should, of course, be a starter. Best pitcher in the National League for 3.5 years running. Best pitcher in the game. Best pitcher over the last year of baseball. Top 3-4 amongst National League pitchers during the first half of the season. (Others would say Cueto should start, but really Wainwright’s longer resume plus his success over the last year and during the first half is the only real competition for Kershaw).
Puig is a no-brainer, but must be in Right Field, not DH. Could you imagine not having the hope to see Yasiel Puig unchain one of his throws during the All-Star Game. Let’s face it–All-Star Games are meant for players like Yasiel Puig–taking extra bases, stealing, flipping bat, uncorking inhuman throws without giving a hoot about a cutoff man.
Dee Gordon should be the backup second baseman. Again–his speed is really made for the All-Star Game. The ideal time for him to enter the game is when one of the starters gets on first in the 5th inning.
Greinke should go, but might not because of Club representatives. But he might be an easy honoree, as it looks like he will pitch on the Sunday before the break, and the new rules make him ineligible to actually use in the game.
Kenley Jansen should probably be on the team, but the high ERA during the first half, and the shakiness early on of the whole bullpen put him on the bubble.
Hanley Ramirez is a legitimate shortstop candidate. Second-best OPS amongst NL Shortstops this season (behind Tulo), and when you remember the insane second half he had last year, that is a solid season.
Josh Beckett probably deserves to go, but probably won’t go, especially after the bad start. The W-L record does not look great (though it’s not his fault), and of course he has not pitched for a year. But a great first half.
And it would not be wrong to pick Hyun-Jin Ryu, who has been great for 1.5 years now. And he and Puig would have a lot of fun at the game.
Final Note–Don Mattingly should be a coach. He can be frustrating at times with some of the strategic calls (bunts, for instance), but he is almost never flat-out wrong. Plus, he has had to balance a lot of egos in juggling playing time, deal with injuries, outside distractions, and team performance not being what it should be at times. And for four seasons now, they have kept delivering for him, and this year (like last) they seem to be making a move, and he deserves credit for that. Next year, he should manage the NL team.
Jack Rosenberg
Mattingly as an all star coach? Realize it pretty much symbolic and not really much of a decision making position, but surely you’re joking.
oldbrooklynfan
I’m looking forward to see how it all ends up. Looks like we’ll see more than one Dodger perform this year. The main thing is, the NL wins it.