MLB All-Star Game 2012: Cain vs. Verlander

It’s pretty cool to dislike the All-Star Game, even if you’re a baseball nerd. I don’t know the exact percentages, but I’d guess the breakdown of interest among baseball nerds goes something like this:

01 percent - Really, really interested.

31 percent - Kind of interested! I mean, sort of. Maybe.

49 percent - Wait, there’s no baseball tomorrow either? Okay, okay, I’ll watch for a couple of minutes.

19 percent - lol nope

Right about now is high time for pickin’-on-baseball season. All of the other sports are over. Most Americans have to choose between baseball and the Tour de France for their sports fix, and the other option has “France” right in the title of the event! They don’t even try to hide it. As such, you’ll get a lot of people checking in with a sport they don’t like, remembering why they don’t like it, and then making fun of it without mercy. It’s adorable.

This dovetails nicely with the release of the All-Star Game television ratings, which are good fodder for baseball-mocking. The ratings have been declining for decades.

Where earlier we provided for you the American League starting lineup for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game, now we provide for you the National League starting lineup, because it wouldn’t make sense to have one without the other. This NL lineup was built by the voters and arranged by Tony La Russa, who isn’t even a manager anymore! I mean, he still manages things on a daily basis, like when he gets up and what he eats, but he doesn’t manage baseball. I’m surprised he even remembers how to make a lineup, but maybe he had help. After all, where there are All-Star Game managers, there are All-Star Game bench and base coaches. I bet La Russa had one of them other guys make this.

Carlos Gonzalez, DH

Melky Cabrera, CF

Ryan Braun, LF

Joey Votto, 1B

Carlos Beltran, RF

Buster Posey, C

Pablo Sandoval, 3B

Dan Uggla, 2B

Rafael Furcal, SS

It’s the day before the 2012 MLB All-Star Game, meaning it’s the day we find out all about the respective leagues’ starting lineups. I don’t think I need to tell you that what follows is absolutely inconsequential, completely insignificant, and if you take issue with anything in here and try to argue about it you are doing it wrong. You are doing sports wrong. This is an All-Star Game. This is a starting lineup for an All-Star Game. This is as newsworthy as somebody’s status update that gosh it sure is great to see the family after so many weeks, what a wonderful Saturday on the back patio! Here is the American League starting lineup, as built by the voters and as arranged by Ron Washington.

Derek Jeter, SS

Robinson Cano, 2B

Josh Hamilton, LF

Jose Bautista, RF

Prince Fielder, 1B

Adrian Beltre, 3B

David Ortiz, DH

Mike Napoli, C

Curtis Granderson, CF

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The players could have picked him. They didn’t.

The manager could have picked him. He didn’t.

Holliday is having a typically fantastic season, hitting .318/.397/.526 on the year with 14 home runs. He’s been unspeakably hot since the start of June, though, hitting .385/.457/.606.

But La Russa chose a player from the same team as the player who is giving up a spot. That makes sense from a fan perspective, even if you know that more than a few people are going to dwell on a) exactly which team that happens to be and b) the manager’s relation to said team.

The world found out about the 2012 MLB All-Star Game rosters on Sunday, and as always happens following those announcements, fans took to identifying worthy snubs. But it wasn’t only the fans who had some bones to pick with the selections -- Reds manager Dusty Baker didn’t understand why Tony La Russa left off both Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips. Cueto has a 2.26 ERA! Phillips has ... numbers that are all right! How dare that old man!

There have been explanations offered for La Russa’s decisions, including those offered by La Russa himself. Some have sounded more reasonable than others. Over at StLToday, Bernie Miklasz chooses to have some fun with the whole story. I wonder if Miklasz has gotten any feedback for this piece. I wonder if any people have opinions about it.

“I know the rule,” said La Russa, tersely.I don’t care what the context is! If that quote is in the article, it’s an interesting article. If you must know, though, the quote is regarding a new provision of the collective-bargaining agreement that specifically deals with pitchers who make a start the Sunday before the All-Star Game. La Russa said that Cueto’s schedule was a factor, even though technically it shouldn’t be.

MLB responded:

And that recent history is there to lead into a larger point. Because here are some pitchers who, in other years, would have had a decent chance to start the 2012 All-Star Game:

If you plug any of those pitchers into another year and make them a starter, the decision wouldn’t look that egregious. Heck, with Cueto, it would fit in seamlessly. But that’s a short list of the pitchers who didn’t even make the team. Not even invited. Cueto and Vogelsong’s ERAs are tied for fourth in the NL, behind a pitcher who is out for the season, and another one who missed three starts. I know you don’t care about pitcher wins, but Tony La Russa probably at least glances at them, and Bumgarner is tied for third in the league with ten wins. Greinke and Santana have name-brand recognition to go along with their excellent seasons.

and

Seems pretty straight-forward, right? If you’re going to start a game on the Sunday before the All-Star Game, the manager’s not going to choose you for the All-Star Game. So if you want to be chosen for the All-Star Game, figure out a way to not pitch on Sunday.

The All-Star Game Final Vote isn’t a bad idea. It’s almost like a checks-and-balances thing between the fans and the All-Star managers -- a separation of powers. It’s democracy in action. It’s something from a Schoolhouse Rock song.

But there are always a couple of hilarious candidates.

We already know who’s going to be starting in the 2012 MLB All-Star Game, but of course the game is about more than its starters. You could say that part of the game’s charm is how players are constantly being shuffled in and out. You could also say the opposite of that, but you could say that, and some people would agree with you.

The full National League roster has been set by Tony La Russa, MLB, players, managers, and coaches. Here are the available pitchers and reserves: