Bobby Abreu is solidly in 3rd place on the All-Star ballot among National League outfielders, and Pat Burrell is 8th, but beyond those 2, not another Phillies player is even in the top 5 at their position. C'mon Citizen's Banker's, start stuffing those ballot boxes, in-stadium voting ends this Friday. Abreu as the 3rd outfielder? He definitely should be first. We all know how he has carried the team, especially in early May when the Phillies desperately needed a hot bat, and just look at the statistical comparison of the top 3, along with Burrell.
Beltran .268 / 8HR / 33BI / 28R / 1SB
Edmonds .285 / 11HR / 39BI / 35R / 1SB
Abreu .324 / 16HR / 48BI / 50R / 17SB
Burrell .305 / 14HR / 55BI / 28R / 0SB
It's not that Abreu is just leading in every offensive category, he is blowing Beltran and Edmonds away, even Burrell is beating them out in every category, except for that 1 stolen base. With the playoff exposure Beltran got last year and landing in New York, no wonder he is leading the voting, but his numbers this year are paltry, Chase Utley is hitting better -- make that way better.
Speaking of Utley, where's the brotherly love for voting him in at Second. Yeah, Jeff Kent is having a monster year, and has all of those L.A. fans to vote him in, but after that it's Grudzielanek, Biggio, T. Walker, and M. Giles. All of these guys have underwhelming stats. Let's take a look at the Utley - Kent comparison, a popular topic throughout the year.
Kent .291 / 14HR / 53BI / 46R / 4SB
Utley .307 / 10HR / 33BI / 31R / 5SB
Kent has the advantage for sure, but keep in mind that Utley has 62 fewer at bats. Give Chase another 62 at bats and those stat lines will be nearly identical. Utley should at least be second in the balloting here. Maybe Torre will see the talent and select Utley anyway, that's if he doesn't put his own player (Grudzielanek) on the team first.
Then there is the matter of Jimmy Rollins. Yes, he had a slow start to the season, but there just aren't that many good hitting shortstops these days, and the top 5 is a joke. Barmes and Garciaparra are injured for an extensive period of time. Furcal is barely hitting over the Mendoza Line (.221 to be exact). Eckstein at least scores some runs. Izturis at least has the gold glove to support him at the number 1 position. Can't we get Jimmy into the top 3 at least?
All right Phanatics, get out to the ballot box and vote. It hasn't happened early, but can still happen often. Exercise your right to choose.
1 comment:
I agree with you completely, there should be more fan support for the other players. Part of the problem is that the Ushers don't give the ballots out. I was so aggrivated during one game I gave the ballots out to my section... and filled 12 out myself. If Utley continues to do well, he'll get his chance next year, but it looks as though he's not going to be going the the game this year.
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