Purple Row: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Login-facebook
New Blog: Anonymous Eagle covering Marquette!

NL West represents well on NL All-Star roster

Despite having two of the worst teams in the National League, the NL West will be well represented in next Tuesday's All-Star Game in St. Louis.  Five (one-third) of the National League's teams placed just their one obligitory All-Star on the team, and none of those five teams came from the NL West.

Not bad for an oft ignored and chided division, sans Los Angeles, especially considering the fans voted in exactly zero NL West starters.  Note that Brad Hawpe could start if Raul Ibanez cannot play, and Ibanez isn't going to push it.  Justin Upton and to a lesser degree Hunter Pence will provide stiff competition for Brandon.

Eleven divisional players are guaranteed to be on the NL roster of 33 players - the NL East has 11 and the NL Central has 10 despite having an additional team.  The final roster slot will be voted on by the fans.  Vote here by Thursday at 2PM MDT.  None of the five possibilities are from the NL Central, and in fact, the majority of the choices come from your very own NL West.  Shane Victorino and Christian Guzman are east coast names with All-Star appearances under their belt already, so they are legitimate threats to give the NL East the most All-Stars with 12.

But if voters are paying attention, the 33rd NL All-Star really deserves to come from the NL West:

Name Team Avg HR RBI wOBA OPS+ WAR
Pablo Sandoval SF .333 12 44 .403 149 2.7
Mark Reynolds AZ .269 24 61 .394 134 2.4
Matt Kemp LA .305 10 44 .371 123 3.5
Shane Victorino PHI .300 5 35 .357 112 1.3
Cristian Guzman WAS .318 3 21 .328 101 0.9

My vote goes for Sandoval, though I wouldn't complain if Reynolds or Kemp got in.  Just PLEASE not Victorino or Guzman - and that's not an "NL West" bias.  Maybe if Kemp is selected, it will convince Joe Torre to quit batting him eighth.

Huston Street may slide in as an injury replacement, but in addition to Colorado's current All-Stars Brad Hawpe and Jason Marquis, the latter of which Erik Manning at FanGraphs protests as an All-Star (but no worries - he wanted Ubaldo Jimenez instead), here are the division's other nine guaranteed All-Stars:


Arizona:

W-L ERA WHIP K BB
2009 - Dan Haren 8-5 2.16 0.83 119 15

AVG OBP SLG
2009 - Justin Upton .300 .378 .540



Los Angeles:

W-L ERA WHIP K BB
2009 - Chad Billingsley 9-4 3.14 1.20 115 51

W-L ERA WHIP K BB
2009 - Jonathan Broxton 6-0 2.72 0.86 65 16

AVG OBP SLG
2009 - Orlando Hudson .287 .355 .416


San Diego:

W-L ERA WHIP K BB
2009 - Heath Bell 3-1 1.49 1.05 40 15

AVG OBP SLG
2009 - Adrian Gonzalez .263 .407 .562


San Francisco:

W-L ERA WHIP K BB
2009 - Tim Lincecum 9-2 2.23 1.05 141 30

W-L ERA WHIP K BB
2009 - Matt Cain 9-2 2.48 1.23 88 44

 

Other News:

Big move:  Scott Hairston was traded to Oakland for minor league pitchers Ryan Webb, Craig Italiano and a PTBNL.  Rejoice!  We won't have to face Hairston for several years, though it is now stange Hairston and Matt Holliday, both principal in this game, will be manning the same outfield.  However, as Ken Rosenthal suggests, this trade might actually open the door for Holliday to be traded.  Hairston was surprised and disappointed, Dave Cameron does not approve, and GasLampBall isn't happy.  San Diego's starting outfield is now Chase Headley, Tony Gwynn Jr and Kyle Blanks, with Will Venable as the chief backup.

Reality Check:  In losing three of four series, two to divisional foes, one would think the Rockies have lost considerable ground in the playoff race recrently.  Au contraire!  The Rox' 5-5 record in their past 10 is tied for best in the NL West; moreover, no team with a better record in the NL did any better than 5-5 over their past 10 games.

A full NL West Report after the jump.

Star-divide

NL West Report

Arizona (33-49, 5th, W2, 19 GB)

Last Week: 1-2 @ Reds, 2-1 @ Rockies.  The D-Backs are only 3-7 in their past 10, but two of those wins came in consecutive games against the Rox over the weekend.

This Week: 3 game home series vs Padres, 4 game home series vs Marlins

News: Arizona is making progress in negotiations with 1st rounder Bobby Borchering and hope to sign him this month.

Dan Haren will not be traded.  Good idea.

Arizona is scouting the Red Sox in hopes of finding a match for a Chad Tracy trade.

Yusmeiro Petit was activated in the only DL move of the week.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Eric Byrnes hand 06/26/2009
Chris Snyder lower-back 06/21/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Tom Gordon hamstring 05/04/2009
Conor Jackson pneumonia 05/12/2009
Brandon Webb shoulder 04/07/2009

Star-divide

Los Angeles (48-28, 1st, L2)

Last Week: 2-1 vs Rockies, 2-1 @ Padres. Los Angeles allowed thrice the runs in the San Diego series at Petco than their home series vs the Rockies but still pulled out a series win in both.  Go figure.

This Week: 3 game road series @ Mets, 3 game road series @ Brewers.  No one has less road losses than the Dodgers, so finishing on the road isn't a huge deal, but at least they are against contenders.

News:  Some dude with ridiculous hair started on Friday.  I guess it's a big deal.  He did not start yesterday due to sore legs, and is 1-7 with a solo home run since his return.

Buster Olney suggests a trade involving Javier Vazquez and Juan Pierre.  Such a trade would bolster the Dodgers' rotation and get a big contract off the bench.  Too good to be true for sure.

Perhaps a decent rotation bolstering move would be to just call up Jason Schmidt, who had another solid start in AAA last week.

Joe Beimel wants to go back to Los Angeles.  Really?  You mean you'd rather be on MLB's best team than the worst?

Shawn Estes is setting himself up for a forced retirement.  The lefty is sick of AAA and has "retired from the minor leagues" but wants desperately to pitch in the majors.  He has contacted every MLB team stressing he wants a major league job - the 36 year old was 3-4 with a 3.07 ERA (5.20 tRA) at AAA Albuquerque.

LHP Hong-Chih Kuo was moved to the 60-day DL, while Claudio Vargas was activated from it.  Eric Milton went back to the 15-day, while Blake DeWitt was recalled from AAA.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

15-Day

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Eric Milton back 06/28/2009
Will Ohman shoulder 05/28/2009
Jason Schmidt shoulder 03/30/2009
Xavier Paul knee 05/21/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Doug Mientkiewicz shoulder 04/17/2009
Hong-Chih Kuo elbow 04/30/2009

Star-divide

San Diego (35-46, 4th, L1, 16.5 GB)

Last Week: 1-3 vs Astros.  1-2 vs Dodgers.   Perhaps this is the beginning of the Padres' long awaited fade.  A 2-5 week at home is a poor way to set up for a 7 game divisional road trip before the All-Star Break, especially with that horrific 12-26 road record.  The Pads are just 6 runs behind Washington for the worst run differential in MLB.

This Week: 3 game road series @ Diamondbacks, 4 game road series @ Giants.

News:   Despite poor performance on the field and an abominable run differential, the Padres will extend Bud Black's contract.  I can't argue - to be within 11 games of .500 with that roster is more than commendable.  Former AZ manager Bob Melvin will take an "unspecified job" with San Diego.

Yahoo's Gordon Edes suggests Heath Bell will be the most desired relief pitcher for the deadline, not that this surprises anyone.  Bell is making just $1.25mil and has two years of arbitration left.  I would love to add Bell, but not at the expense it would require to outbid other teams for the dominant, cheap closer. 

Heath Bell

#21 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

6-3

240

R

R

Sep 29, 1977

W-L ERA WHIP K BB
2009 - Heath Bell 3-1 1.49 1.05 40 15

The sell-off isn't complete with Hairston or even Bell if he is traded.  Officials have made it clear that Kevin Kouzmanoff is available, and Seattle may be interested with Adrian Beltre out, though they will wait a couple weeks to pull the trigger.  The Padres appear to be open to trading every offensive weapon they have other than Adrian Gonzalzez.  They're about to run out.

There was such a buzz at Petco Park for Manny Ramirez' return Friday.  Literally.  A swarm of bees descended on Petco Park Thursday to delay the game.  Corey Brock has video interviews.

Henry Blanco was added to the 15-day DL Sunday with a hamstring injury.  Rookie catcher Jose Lobaton will takes his place, replacing Edwin Moreno on the 40-man.  Lobaton made his debut yesterday - AT SECOND BASE as a defensive replacement for injured David Eckstein.

San Diego Padres Injuries

Doubtful

Player Injury Type Injury Date
David Eckstein other-excused 07/06/2009

15-Day

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Jake Peavy ankle 06/09/2009
Luke Gregerson shoulder 06/08/2009
Chris Young shoulder 06/15/2009
Nick Hundley wrist 06/18/2009
Brian Giles knee 06/19/2009
Henry Blanco hamstring 07/05/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Mark Worrell elbow 03/27/2009
Cha Seung Baek forearm 03/30/2009
Shawn Hill elbow 04/26/2009
Cliff Floyd shoulder 06/18/2009

Star-divide

San Francisco (44-37, 2nd, L1, 7.5 GB)

Last Week: 2-2 @ Cardinals, 2-1 vs Astros. The Giants won the first two games in both series and now have the second best run differential in the NL.  It's getting harder and harder to write them off despite their joke offense.  In the past week, they've improved their playoff odds by 10% yet are still projected to finish with two less wins than Colorado.

This Week: 3 game home series vs Marlins, 4 game home series vs Padres.

News: Tim Lincecum has been dominant.  Too dominant.    Andrew Baggarly points out that the Giants cost themselves an additional arbitration year with the Cy Young Award winner when promoting him a month early in their non-contending 2007 season.  Since Lincecum will be up for a huge payday with his performance, an additional arbitration year could cost the Giants a lot of money...and perhaps Lincecum himself if they fall out of contention in the next few years. Lincecum beat out Aaron Cook and Jason Hammel for NL Pitcher of the month in June.  Frankly, he deserved it much more.

Tim Lincecum

#55 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

5-11

170

L

R

Jun 15, 1984

W-L ERA WHIP K BB
2009 - Tim Lincecum 9-2 2.23 1.05 141 30

Ryan Sadowski has had a very good start to his MLB career, and he has one perso to thank for getting him his break in the majors:  his mother.

The Giants are not interested in Jermaine Dye or Victor Martinez due to the necessity of including Madison Bumgarner in the trade package.  However, they are rumored to have discussions with Pittsburgh regarding Freddy Sanchez and Adam LaRoche.

Kevin Pichardo was added to the 15-day DL with a shoulder injury early last week after coming off his 50-game suspension for steroids.  Randy Johnson left his start yesterday with a strained shoulder and his MRI results are unknown. Pablo Sandoval is tore off the skin on his right knee while sliding into home plate Saturday and sat out Sunday's game with an additional bruise.  He is expected to play today..

San Francisco Giants Injuries

Questionable

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Pablo Sandoval knee 07/06/2009

Doubtful

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Randy Johnson shoulder 07/06/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Noah Lowry ribs 03/27/2009
Kelvin Pichardo shoulder 06/28/2009
Joe Martinez concussion 04/10/2009
Poll
Who gets your vote for All Star #33?
Kung Fu Panda (Sandoval)
89 votes
Special K (Reynolds)
28 votes
The Bison (Kemp)
21 votes
The Flying Hawaiian (Victorino)
6 votes
No nickname (Guzman)
6 votes

150 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  Comment 16 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

Without fail, the first comment is always a typo notification

although I swear I had fixed that in one draft somewhere…

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

by Andrew T. Fisher on Jul 6, 2009 12:52 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

I wouldn't have pointed it out if it weren't so funny.

Though I would have if it were a “loose” typo, but I know you’re never going to let that happen. :D

by WolfMarauder on Jul 6, 2009 12:56 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Speaking of grammar police...

… I think my “weren’t” should have been “wasn’t”.

by WolfMarauder on Jul 6, 2009 12:58 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Who is brandon

Chris Iannetta status: DOOM
Seth Smith status: FREE SETH SMITH
Matt Murton status: Prisoner Exchanged for CarGon
Mike McCoy status: FREE MIKE MCCOY

by Andrew Martin on Jul 6, 2009 12:58 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

Brad Hawpe's

twin who did good things in early 2007. Brad did bad things.

"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln

Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!

by Russ Oates on Jul 6, 2009 1:06 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'm curious to know the rationale behind voting for Guzman

If anyone has a compelling argument, I’d love to listen.

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

by Andrew T. Fisher on Jul 6, 2009 1:31 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

Okay, since you asked...

With this whole last person in thing we’ve already got an overly drawn out process, severely watered down rosters that should never have been expanded, farcical selections by pretty much all involved (from the fans who selected the starters to the manager who selected the bench to the players who selected the pitchers), a main event that symbolizes the worst aspects of professional sport, a pretend nobility that tries to mask the all tainting greed just beneath the surface.

Guzman seemed the perfect choice and something the exhibition seems to deserve…

Okay, so really I just didn’t want to vote for non-Rockies NL West players and shunned Victorino because his manager already made Ryan Howard an undeserving Philly, no need for two.

by Rox Girl on Jul 6, 2009 2:18 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

This is kind of my beef with the ASG

It’s getting overly complicated with the voting, etc. I talked about this with Scott and Ted on RockiesCast a couple of weeks back. The game needs to:

A. Not matter, and the fans can pick the starters, keep things going as they are in that regard
B. Matter, and the Manager picks his team

and I prefer option A about 52345 times more than option B because the ASG shouldn’t freaking matter for anything other than silliness such as this

It’s not even fun to watch anymore. Ok I take that back, it is, but it’s not like good fun, it’s like INTENSE FUN AND OH MY GOD I HATE YOU DAN UGGLA etc etc

It’s not a break anymore, it’s just…well, it just doesn’t seem fun.

Chris Iannetta status: DOOM
Seth Smith status: FREE SETH SMITH
Matt Murton status: Prisoner Exchanged for CarGon
Mike McCoy status: FREE MIKE MCCOY

by Andrew Martin on Jul 6, 2009 2:52 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

I agree with the intense kind of fun.

But for me, I think it would be like that even if it didn’t matter. Last year, for example—I was pretty sure the Rockies weren’t going to make it to the WS, so I didn’t care all that much who won home field. But I was really into the game, simply because I am an NL kind of girl and desperately wanted the NL to finally win again instead of the hated AL. Will be the same again this year.

I don’t know all the answers, but I actually appreciate that the players seem to take it more seriously now. I wouldn’t like it to go back to where the players leave the stadium after they’re taken out of the game, etc. But maybe there are better ways to keep them invested other than home field.

by holly96 on Jul 6, 2009 3:41 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

He would appear in the game with a LASIK ad on his jersey

Also, if he wins the fan vote, you could receive a coupon for LASIK surgery!

Free Seth Smith!

by FooMan on Jul 6, 2009 2:40 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Do we really want

Joe Torre to stop batting Kemp eighth?

by Tom (RFTN) on Jul 6, 2009 2:41 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

Haha, no we don't

I didn’t vote for Kemp, although he was my second choice.

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

by Andrew T. Fisher on Jul 6, 2009 4:00 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

NL West...

you seem surprised that the NL West has a third of the players. The NL West is the best division in the NL (composite 5 games over .500) and have only 1/3rd of the players. If anything, the division is under-represented.

by DenverBears on Jul 6, 2009 2:58 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

I'm surprised that it is reprsented as well as it is

Considering fans completely shunned NL West players for the starting lineup. The division had to cleanup with the bench and pitching staff to appear respectable, and it did. There’s not a single player from the NL West on that roster than anyone could argue with also…

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

by Andrew T. Fisher on Jul 6, 2009 4:00 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

MLBN showed a stat on QuickPitch this morning...

Top 5 teams by record since May 31st.

The Rockies obviously were at the top, but both the Giants and Dodgers also made the list. 3 of the best 5, all in this division.

Ignorance of the American League is a sign of good moral character.

by RdRnnr on Jul 7, 2009 9:57 AM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

Welcome to the SB Nation blog about the Colorado Rockies, established 28 April 2005.

Community Guidelines

Start posting about the Rockies »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Connect_with_facebook

Cbs_fantasy_baseball_promo

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Thinkimadetherightchoice_small
A Quick Investigation into the Aerodynamic Drag on Fly Balls at Coors

Recent FanPosts

Dsc00219_small
Purple Row Thank You Card
Fire2_small
The Prologue to the Season...Finally
Me3
Rockaholics Anonymous: Speak Rockaholic?
Small
The Moment You Knew...
Sleepy_jeff_small
Purple Row Fantasy Leagues 2010
Helton_small
Spring Training Questions
Newport_bridge_small
Take Your Pick
Helton_small
MLB 2K10
Small
Fans await opening day

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

Colorado Sports Blogs

Mile High Report (Denver Broncos)
Mile High Hockey (Colorado Avalanche)
Pickaxe and Roll (Denver Nuggets)
The Ralphie Report (CU Buffaloes)

Top 30 PuRPs

  1. Christian Friedrich, LHP
  2. Tyler Matzek, LHP
  3. Jhoulys Chacin, RHP
  4. Esmil Rogers, RHP
  5. Eric Young, Jr., 2B/CF
  6. Wilin Rosario, C
  7. Hector Gomez, SS
  8. Michael McKenry, C
  9. Rex Brothers, LHP
  10. Casey Weathers, RHP
  11. Chris Balcom-Miller, RHP
  12. Tim Wheeler, OF
  13. Charlie Blackmon, OF
  14. Samuel Deduno, RHP
  15. Nolan Arenado, 3B
  16. Brandon Hynick (traded to CWS), RHP
  17. Chris Nelson, SS/2B
  18. Juan Nicasio, RHP
  19. Cole Garner, OF
  20. Chaz Roe, RHP
  21. Kiel Roling, 1B
  22. Parker Frazier, RHP
  23. Delta Cleary, OF
  24. Darin Holcomb, 3B
  25. Shane Lindsay, RHP
  26. Matt Reynolds, LHP
  27. Mike Zuanich, OF
  28. Scott Robinson, OF
  29. Edgmer Escalona, RHP
  30. Ben Paulsen, 1B
updated 9/14/2009


Managers

Me_small Russ Oates

Rox_girl_small Rox Girl

Staff

Reynolds_small Silverblood

Seth_smith_0004_2_small Andrew Martin

Sleepy_jeff_small Jeff Aberle

Coorsfield3_small Bryan Kilpatrick

67880020--bled-slovenia_small Andrew T. Fisher

Rowbot Radio

Deep_forest_small WolfMarauder