Is it me or is the All-Star balloting ship seem to be righting itself somewhat?
Specifically, LA shortstop Cesar Izturis is now leading in the NL. He is a legitimate candidate. He’s hitting .304. And he’s not on the DL.
Ken Griffey Jr is no longer in the top 3 in NL outfielders, thank goodness. I have to give Junior credit where credit is due. He’s stayed healthy up until this point unlike previous years. But that’s not enough.
Mike Piazza, Carlos Beltran, and Tino Martinez are leading their respective positions for one reason… they play in New York. The case can be made for Piazza that his position is a weak one in the NL this year but surely there’s a better one. Barrett?? Hernandez??
Don’t count out Mark Teixeira out for catching Tino in the polls. He’s been gaining on him (rightly so, in my opinion) in the last few weeks.
Finally, the race for NL firstbaseman will be a closer race than previously thought. Both Albert Pujols and Derrek Lee are legit candidates but anyone who looks at the stats has to admit Lee is having a superior year. Lee is fighting lack of name recognition and a strong fan base in St Louis. The good news for Lee is that he is doing everything he can to rectify that first problem and more and more people are learning who Derrek Lee is and what he can do.