Inside Baseball
All-Star forecast: Red Sox starters booed in Bronx
Mike Harrington
Updated: 07/06/08 9:58 AM
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- Boston’s Kevin Youkilis figures to get the All-Star nod at first base.
The All-Star Game selection show is at 2 p. m. today on TBS and the first thing I want to see is how many Red Sox players are named to the American League starting lineup. That way, I’ll know how much booing I’ll hear during pregame introductions July 15 in Yankee Stadium. David Ortiz is going to be named the designated hitter but won’t be playing due to injury so should allow someone from the AL’s outfield glut into that spot.
There have been more than 214 million votes cast for the starters and I’ll admit I went online and checked out the ballot myself. Here’s a look at the checks made on one man’s tab:
American
Infield: Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox (first base); Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox (second base); Derek Jeter, Yankees (shortstop); Alex Rodriguez, Yankees (third base).
Youkilis will get the nod but shouldn’t Justin Morneau of the Twins really be in that spot? Those who accused me of overrating Jeter last week will call out again and there are candidates (like Michael Young and Orlando Cabrera) that could certainly go in his place. In another year, maybe I vote another way. But it’s Yankee Stadium, so why not? The Yankee vote will get A-Rod there but you certainly couldn’t go wrong with Mike Lowell or Evan Longoria either.
Outfield: I voted for Carlos Quentin (White Sox), Grady Sizemore (Indians) and Josh Hamilton (Rangers). I’m assuming J. D. Drew and Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox will both win the balloting and probably be joined by Ichiro Suzuki of Seattle.
Quentin and Hamilton are having MVP seasons. Drew is having a nice bounceback year and that grand slam in Game Six of the ALCS against Cleveland kick-started that momentum. Sizemore is a shock at 21 home runs and his great year is being wasted by the Tribe.
Some good players are going to get left out. I like the seasons being put up by Johnny Damon( Yankees), Nick Markakis (Orioles), Jermaine Dye (White Sox), Carl Crawford (Rays) and Milton Bradley (Rangers). They’re not all going.
Catcher: Jason Varitek (Red Sox) entered the weekend not even batting .230. So enough already about him. It should be Joe Mauer (Twins) with honorable mentions to Dioner Navarro (Rays) and A. J. Pierzynski (White Sox).
One other AL thought for Terry Francona: Instead of the deserving Cliff Lee or Joe Saunders, stem some anti-Red Sox sentiment in New York by starting Mariano Rivera for the AL. Pitchers are only going one inning anyway. Why not give Rivera the honor of the first pitch in Yankee Stadium’s last big hurrah?
National
Infield: Lance Berkman, Astros (first base); Chase Utley, Phillies (second base); Ryan Theriot, Cubs (shortstop); Chipper Jones, Braves (third base).
Tough to choose Berkman over Albert Pujols and it would be nice for Ryan Howard to hit at least .230. Tough to choose Utley over Florida’s Dan Uggla. How about Hanley Ramirez or Jose Reyes for Theriot? The New York vote better not get David Wright in over Jones.
Outfield: Matt Holliday (Rockies), Ryan Braun (Brewers) and Aaron Rowand (Giants). You can have Carlos Beltran. Hope ex-Bison Ryan Ludwick gets rewarded for his great season with the Cardinals.
Catcher: Russell Martin (Dodgers). But he’ll have capable backups in Geovany Soto (Cubs) and Brian McCann (Braves).
C. C. to Brew Crew?
The Brewers are a surprise leader in the C. C. Sabathia sweepstakes, partly because they have a lot of prospects that interest the Indians and partly because Ben Sheets is heading into a free agent year and they’re desperate to break a 26- year playoff drought.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, meanwhile, thinks the Indians will re-sign Sabathia. But that seemingly failing, the Mouth of Oz can’t understand why so many teams are sending scouts to look at the big lefty.
“They know what he’s going to bring,” Guillen said. “That’s spending money for a hotel, plane ticket. . . . If they traded to him to the National League, it would be nice. [Then] we don’t have to worry about him.”
Bucs thought of Herd
When I was in Pittsburgh recently, I asked Pirates GM Neal Huntington — the former Indians farm director — if he pondered looking into an affiliation with the Bisons next season before he signed a four-year renewal with Indianapolis through 2012.
Sure enough, Huntington admitted he thought long and hard about it.
“The people in Indianapolis have been a great partner with the Pirates since before I got here,” he said. “The ownership has been very supportive and has done a great job. I have nothing but respect for the Rich family in Buffalo and for [Bisons GM] Mike Buczkowski and everyone there. We understood they may be available but we felt like we had a terrific situation in Indianapolis too.
“And we also felt the risk of potentially getting left out of both Indy and Buffalo was too significant for us to take.”
A-Rod and C-Rod
I refuse to turn this space into the National Enquirer but I suppose I should recommend you search the online archives for the last few days from the New York Post or New York Daily News because Alex Rodriguez’s latest dalliances have become front-page news.
The roundup goes like this: A-Rod has been seen leaving Madonna’s Manhattan townhouse in the midnight hour — yes, I said Madonna — and has been seen with her for months. Madonna and her manager have been in A-Rod’s seats at Yankee Stadium. A-Rod’s wife, Cynthia (call her C-Rod), has gone to Paris to be comforted by rocker Lenny Kravitz. All reports are that C-Rod is looking to clean out A-Rod in divorce court. A-Rod, meanwhile, bolted out of the clubhouse after games all last week and hasn’t talked to anyone in the media.
Yeesh.
Some Yankee insiders think the frustration over the offense cited in Hank Steinbrenner’s rant and Joe Girardi’s team meeting Thursday and is partly related to A-Rod’s off-field issues. Enough gossip. Now back to baseball.
On Cabrera
A final word on the Asdrubal Cabrera incident Wednesday in Dunn Tire Park: Bisons manager Torey Lovullo and I don’t really agree on what exactly happened between Cabrera and umpire Jason Klein, and Indians GM Mark Shapiro called media reports “exaggerated” in a conference call Friday.
That’s going a little too far. I didn’t see a replay until the next day and after viewing one, I’ll admit Cabrera’s bat went more behind his head than over his head as I initially reported — and as several other sets of press box eyes concurred.
But first-base umpire Justin Vogel quickly came down the line because he saw a bat pretty high, and Cabrera certainly turned quickly and squared up face-to-face with the umpire.
You can’t obviously hear what’s said (Lovullo says Cabrera was saying he checked his swing) but hopefully Cabrera learns not to make quick, jarring movements at an umpire because they can easily be misconstrued.
