All-Star voting ends Friday this week and the rosters announced Sunday, so an annual tradition of publishing my all-star ballot will continue.  Also, one of the requirements to be eligible for the Baseball Bloggers Alliance is to participate in several different votes during the season, and the all-stars is one of those occasions, as is the post-season awards voting, Hall of Fame votings, etc.

Here are my ballots for each team:

National League

1B: Prince Fielder, MIL.  Better numbers than Pujols this year regardless of the injury.

2B: Rickie Weeks, MIL.  As tempting as it would be to select Danny Espinosa...

3B: Chase Headley, SD.  Best of a real weak class on the ballot.  Too bad Zim was hurt for so long.

SS: Jose Reyes, NYM.  He's making himself a lot of money heading into free agency.

C:   Brain McCann, ATL.  This spot isn't even close.

OF: Matt Kemp, LAD.  Dude's the best player in the league this season.

OF: Ryan Braun, MIL.  Another four-tool hitter.

OF: Lance Berkman, STL.  Resurrected his career in St. Louis.

American League

1B:  Adrian Gonzalez, BOS.  What's not to like about .360/.415/.611?

2B:  Robinson Cano, NYY.  Not MVP numbers like some predicted, but still the class of the group.

3B:  Alex Rodriguez, NYY.  Now I just feel dirty.

SS:  Jhonny Peralta, CLE.  Leads in average, homers and RBIs of anyone on the ballot.

C:   Alex Avila, DET.  A young, up-and-coming hitting star.

DH: David Ortiz, BOS.  Another monster year after folks thought he was washed up.

OF: Jose Bautista, TOR:  He just keeps mashing home runs.

OF: Curtis Granderson, NYY: His lefty swing plays perfect in new Yankee Stadium.

OF: Adam Jones, BAL.  Great well-rounded game, the offense complimenting his stellar defense.

So these are the players on the actual ballot that I'd vote for.  That's an entirely separate issue from how I think the two teams will ultimately will look.  For instance, there's no voting for pitchers, which has always struck me as strange. 

Anyway, below is my take on how these team will eventually be filled out, taking into consideration the rules that each team will be comprised of 33 players and one from each team in both leagues (the 34th spot is another fan vote).  For the starters, I will assume that the players that held the voting lead the last time totals were announced will hold onto that spot and be elected to the game.

NL Starters (8): Pujols (1B), Weeks (2B), Polanco (3B), Tulowitzki (SS), Braun (OF), Berkman (OF), Holliday (OF), McCann (C).

NL Reserves (12): Montero-C (ARI), Fielder-1B (MIL), Votto-1B (CIN), Sanchez-1B (FLA), Espinosa-2B (WAS), Headley-3B (SD), Reyes-SS (NYM), Castro-SS (CHC), Kemp-OF (LAD), J.Upton-OF (ARI), McCutchen-OF (PIT), Bourn-OF (HOU)

NL Pitchers (13): Halladay (PHI), Hamels (PHI), Kershaw (LAD), C.Lee (PHI), Kennedy (ARI), Chacin (COL), Jurrjens (ATL), Lincecum (SF). B.Wilson (SF), Hanrahan (PIT), Putz (ARI), Kimbrell (ATL), Venters (ATL)

The tough choices here were Sanchez at first base instead of Michael Morse from the Nats.  Went with Espinosa as the choice in a weaker field of second baseman.  I know there are a lot of Diamondbacks on the roster, but they all qualify and it's in their park.

AL Starters (9): Gonzalez-1B (BOS), Cano-2B (NYY), A. Rodriguez-3B (NYY), Jeter-SS (NYY), Bautista-OF (TOR), Granderson-OF (NYY), Hamilton-OF (TEX).

AL Reserves (11):  Avila-C (DET), Konerko-1B (CWS), M.Cabrera-1B (DET), Pedroia-2B (BOS), Peralta-3B (DET), A.Cabrera-SS (CLE), A.Jones-OF (BAL), M.Cabrera-OF (KC), N.Cruz-OF (TEX), Quentin-OF (CWS), Span-OF (MIN)

AL Pitchers (13):  Verlander (DET), J. Weaver (LAA), Sabathia (NYY), Shields (TB), F.Hernandez (SEA), Humber (CWS), Lester (BOS), Price (TB), Wilson (TEX), League (SEA), Rivera (NYY), C.Perez (CLE), Ziegler (OAK)

This was more difficult.  Oakland and Minnesota didn't have any traditional all-star caliber players this season, so I took Ziegler, a terrific bullpen guy form Oakland, and Span, a speedy outfielder the AL can use for pinch-running possibilities.

Feel free to shred me in the comments.

Matt Capps, the Washington Nationals representitive at the 2010 All-Star Game, was the winning pitcher for the N.L. in their first victory since 1996.

Here are some pictures of Capps' all-star experience, courtesy of Nats News Network Staff Writer Anthony Amobi.

Congratulations to Matt Capps, winning pitcher of the 2010 All-Star Game.

(Photo by Cheryl Nichols/Nats News Network)

Everyone else is weighing in on this, so I might as well generate a few cheap hits putting Stephen Strasburg's name into another post.

Do I think Strasburg is one of the top pitchers in the National League already?  Yes.  Yes, I do.

Do I think seven starts for the Washington Nationals is enough to qualify him to be named to the NL All-Star team this season?  No.  No, I don't.

While I think the selection criteria that fans, managers and the league uses to determine All-Stars is faulty as best, I can only go with my personal opinion.  I just don't think a player called up after Memorial Day should be rewarded with a trip to the All-Star Game, regardless of the success he's had in those few starts.  He just hasn't had enough appearances to quality.

Now, I don't feel as strongly as Mitch Williams, of the MLB Network: 

“I don’t care if two of his first four starts were no-hitters, there is no way you can put this kid on the All-Star team after five starts. As much as he is impressive, polished, young and exciting, the All-Star Game is based on the entire first half. It will do this kid a disservice and alienate other players against him if he makes the team. Pitchers will look at him and say, ‘He’s going to make the All-Star team when I’ve pitched 120 innings and have nine wins?’ If Strasburg makes the team, it hurts the credibility of the league.”

I know Williams' statement is full of hyperbole, and he probably doesn't feel that strongly about it either.  But MLB Network sent me the quotes, so at least he's putting it out there.

Hurting the "credibility of the league"?  What a joke.  Does Williams remember this game ended in a tie a few years back?  Does he realize this exhibition decides home field advantage for the World Freaking Series?!?

Back to the matter at hand...

It would be great theatre to see Strasburg face the best hitters in the American League.  And not wanting to place undue pressure on him (yeah, right), but it's a pretty good bet we'll see Strasburg in future games.  I just think it's premature to name him to the team after just seven starts.  And he's actually said as much when asked about it.

Of course, an appearance by Strasburg would generate interest, be polarizing, maybe even controversial -- which all would make for great television.  Which generates ad revenue.  Which lines Bud Selig's pockets a little deeper.  So if you look at just the bottom line, there's your excuse for the league office to name him to the squad.

And if crusty old Charlie Manuel actually thinks having Strasburg on the team could help him seal home field advantage for the dispicable Philies in the World Series, who am I to judge?

As for the Nats fan in me, I'm perfectly happy having Stras get 10 days or so rest in the middle of what must be an extremely tiring first half of a season. 

Think about it:  he's played on three different teams in three different leagues, made his major league debut, every minor league game he pitched was in front of national media; every big league start has been a circus.  He's even been on Letterman!  It's gotta be tiring, even if he doesn't really notice it with all the adrenaline he must be running on.

If it were me, I'd leave the kid home this year.

But if they take him, I'll certainly tune in.

First of all, it is April. The 2009 MLB All-Star Game voting opened on Wednesday, April 22.

Sure, 16 games is plenty of games to evaluate and pick all-stars. I don't think so! This is ridiculous. The voting opens earlier each year and the ballots end up having players that are starting in that position or even playing at all (i.e. Nick Johnson was listed as the starting 1B for the Nats in 2008 and, as we all know, Nick didn't play a single game in 2007 and Dmitri Young was starting at 1B in 2007 and beginning of 2008).

Teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs always rack up fan votes right out of the box. However, there are some teams that appear to be trying to "bribe" or reward fans to vote.

The Orioles are running a "Vote Orange Save Green" campaign offering a free ticket to a non-prime home game after the break if you select the Orioles as as your "favorite" or "other favorite" Club the maximum 25 times between Wed., April 22 and Thu., July 2 or $5 off one (1) regularly priced ticket if you simply do it once.

Are other teams offering rewards for voting? I have not seen any yet. What do you think about this? Right or wrong? If you think it is fine, why aren't the Nationals offering anything?

Having said all that, go out and Vote for the Nationals! Notice anything wrong with the pictures of OFs? Kearns or Willingham could be the victim of ballot made too soon.

NL: 27 out of 32.

The fans corrected their early voting mistakes by removing Ken Griffey from the starting line-up and voting Ryan Braun in there, so I'll take the bite by projecting Griffey to the starters. For the hitters, I missed on Guzman, Tejada and Hart, selecting Jose Reyes and Wright as reserves, although Wright was named as an injury replacement. I had Rauch as the Nats rep. Figures one of the mistakes I made was for the team I cover. I still believe Rauch is the better pick to represent the Nats.

For the NL pitchers, I missed on Cook, Zambrano and Wilson, selecting Johan Santana, Matt Capps (injured after I picked) and Rauch. I took Santana over Cook and said as much thinking they would go with the bigger name, but I was wrong.

AL: 25 out of 32.

They did a number on me for the reserve hitters. I should have known they couldn't hold an all-star game with Jason Varitek. Others I missed were Carlos Guillen, Drew, Sizemore and Longoria (fans' pick). I selected Roberts, Pierzynski, Crawford, Magglio and Jose Guillen. Ordonez went DL'd after I picked.

For the AL pitchers, I did pretty good. I missed on Kazmir and Nathan, taking Mussina and Padilla. Padilla was just a big mistake, and he got hurt too. Not sure what I saw in him. I still don't quite understand the Kazmir selection though. There are any one of a dozen AL pitchers with comparable -- or better -- numbers.

MLB All Star teams are announced July 6. Since I'm leaving for vacation July 1, I present to you now my All Star teams for 2008. Check back after the teams are announced and feel free to tell my how stupid I am. The starters I list are the leading vote-getters as of today. It's all I have to work with. I took 12 pitchers for each sqaud, and filled out the rest of the rosters as required: 32 players, at least one from each team. The Dodgers really made me work for their rep.

I get one extra in the AL since Big Papi won't be healthy enough to play.

Anyway, here we go...
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NL Starters: 1B Berkman (HOU), 2B Utley (PHI), 3B C.Jones (ATL), SS H.Ramirez (FLA), C Soto (CHC), OFs Soriano (CHC), Fukudome (CHC),
Griffey (CIN).

NL Reserves: 1B A.Gonzales (SD), 1B Pujols (STL), 2B Uggla (FLA), 3B Wright (NYM), 3B A.Ramirez (CHC), SS J.Reyes (NYM), C B. McCann (ATL), C R.Martin (LA), OFs Braun (MIL), Holliday (COL), McLouth (PIT), Ludwick (STL).

NL SPs: Volquez (CIN), Webb (ARI), Sheets (MIL), Haren (ARI), Lincecum (SF), Dempster (CHI), Santana (NYM).

NL RPs: Wood (CHI), Lidge (PHI), Capps (PIT), Wagner (NYM), Rauch (WAS).

Guys I hated leaving off NL: Bengie Molina, Carlos Lee, Mark Teixeira, Aaron Cook, Tim Hudson, Cole Hamels.
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AL Starters: 1B Youkilis (BOS), 2B Pedroia (BOS), 3B A.Rodriguez (NYY), SS Jeter (NYY), C Mauer (MIN), OFs M.Ramirez (BOS), Hamilton (TEX), Ichiro (SEA), DH Ortiz (BOS).

AL Reserves: 1B Morneau (MIN), 2B Kinsler (TEX), B.Roberts (BAL), 3B Crede (CHW), SS M.Young (TEX), C Navarro (TB), C Pierzynski (CHW), OFs Crawford (TB), Quentin (CHW), M.Ordonez (DET), Bradley (TEX), J. Guillen (KC).

AL SPs: C.Lee (CLE), Saunders (LAA), E.Santana (LAA), Halladay (TOR), Mussina (NYY), Duchscherer (OAK), Padilla (TEX)

AL RPs: F.Rodriguez (LAA), Sherrill (BAL), Papelbon (BOS), Rivera (NYY), Soria (KC).

Guys I hated leaving off AL: Grady Sizemore, JD Drew, Gavin Floyd, Zack Greinke, Bobby Jenks.

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Quick Comments: I ended up taking 3 catchers for both leagues. With 32-man rosters and with the game structured the way it is anymore, you really need to take three. Pierzynski is the weak link, but felt I needed the third in the AL. Martin was my LA rep, and I could have taken a fourth C with Molina in SF, but I don't see anyone taking 4 catchers.

AL 1B was weak this year. Even though Ortiz is hurt, I couldn't bring myself to take another DH in Giambi, although his numbers would qualify him. AL pitching is kinda soft too. I really tried hard not to take Padilla, but again, numbers warrant the selection.

Teams with one All Star: TOR, CLE, DET, SEA, OAK, WAS, HOU, SF, SD, LA, COL.

Most All Stars: CHC 6, BOS 5, TEX 5, NYY 4, NYM 4, LAA 3.