Not to get all homery or anything, but does it really make sense that both Jeremy Guthrie and Erik Bedard get left off the American League All-Star squad for the likes of Gil Meche of the Kansas City Royals?
Bedard works to a 6-4 record and leads the majors in strikeouts with a 3.36 ERA, while Guthrie, who took the hard-luck decision in yesterday’s 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, goes 4-2 with seven no-decisions, the second-best ERA and the second-lowest batting average against in the AL and neither can beat out Meche, who is only 5-6.
The culprit, of course, is the silly rule that every team must be represented at the All-Star Game, the winner of which gets home-field advantage in the World Series for the league team that captures the pennant. If Meche gives up the hit that gives the National League home field, the AL champion will be so pleased that he was there rather than Guthrie and Bedard, don’t you think?
Oh, and here’s a guess: Melvin Mora probably won’t try to tag up and score on a sacrifice fly to medium right field any time soon, especially if the right fielder is Vladimir Guerrero.
Oh, and here’s a guess: Melvin Mora probably won’t try to tag up and score on a sacrifice fly to medium right field any time soon, especially if the right fielder is Vladimir Guerrero.
For his career, Guerrero has exactly as many assists as errors (115), but he certainly channeled Dave Parker from the 1979 All-Star Game or Roberto Clemente from the 1971 World Series, with that throw in the bottom of the ninth yesterday to get Mora, despite the protestations of Jim Palmer and Rick Dempsey.