2011 NHL All-Star Mock Draft

The NHL is making a twist on their All-Star game once again. This year's game hearkens back to schoolyard hockey (which I've never played, but I hear it's wild. You apparently just play hockey for an extended period of time). Two captains, along with two assistant captains per team, go back and forth selecting players until all 36 players have been assigned to a team. It's got the potential to be really fun TV, and I'm hopeful it pans out that way.

This year's teams set up as follows:

Team Staal
Captain - Eric Staal, C, Hurricanes
Assistant Captain - Ryan Kesler, C, Canucks
Assistant Captain - Mike Green, D, Capitals

Team Lidstrom
Captain - Nicklas Lidstrom, D, Red Wings
Assistant Captain - Patrick Kane, RW, Blackhawks
Assistant Captain - Martin St. Louis, RW, Lightning

So, naturally, my brother and I decided to conduct our own mock draft and see how the teams shake up. My brother took control of Team Staal, I took over for Team Lidstrom. We did a coin flip, and Team Staal won the flip, so they drafted first. Here are the results:

1. Team Staal - Steven Stamkos, C, Lightning
2. Team Lidstrom - Zdeno Chara, D, Bruins
3. Team Staal - Alex Ovechkin, LW, Capitals
4. Team Lidstrom - Henrik Sedin, C, Canucks
   
5. Team Staal - Daniel Sedin, LW, Canucks
   
6. Team Lidstrom - Brad Richards, C, Stars
   
7. Team Staal - Kris Letang, D, Penguins
   
8. Team Lidstrom - Corey Perry, RW, Ducks
   
9. Team Staal - Duncan Keith, D, Blackhawks
   
10. Team Lidstrom - Dustin Byfuglien, D, Thrashers
    
11. Team Staal - Rick Nash, RW, Blue Jackets
    
12. Team Lidstrom - Tim Thomas, G, Bruins
    
13. Team Staal - Shea Weber, D, Predators
    
14. Team Lidstrom - Henrik Lundqvist, G, Rangers
    
15. Team Staal - Marc-Andre Fleury, G, Penguins
    
16. Team Lidstrom - Jonathan Toews, C, Blackhawks
    
17. Team Staal - Cam Ward, G, Hurricanes
    
18. Team Lidstrom - Dan Boyle, D, Sharks
    
19. Team Staal - Jonas Hiller, G, Ducks
    
20. Team Lidstrom - Carey Price, G, Canadiens
    
21. Team Staal - Claude Giroux, RW, Flyers
    
22. Team Lidstrom - Matt Duchene, C, Avalanche
    
23. Team Staal - Anze Kopitar, C, Kings
    
24. Team Lidstrom - Danny Briere, RW, Flyers
    
25. Team Staal - Keith Yandle, D, Coyotes
    
26. Team Lidstrom - Brent Burns, D, Wild
    
27. Team Staal - Marc Staal, D, Rangers
    
28. Team Lidstrom - Loui Eriksson, LW, Stars
    
29. Team Staal - Patrick Sharp, LW, Blackhawks
    
30. Team Lidstrom - Erik Karlsson, D, Senators
    
31. Team Staal - Phil Kessel, RW, Maple Leafs
    
32. Team Lidstrom - Martin Havlat, RW, Wild
    
33. Team Staal - Patrick Elias, LW, Devils
    
34. Team Lidstrom - Paul Stasny, C, Avalanche
    
35. Team Staal - Jeff Skinner, C, Hurricanes
    
36. Team Lidstrom - David Backes, RW, Blues

Eddie and I will set up our lines and post them shortly. Here's hoping the real thing's spectacle plays out well on television.

Twi-Night Doubleheader - Week 13 (The 2010 Fantasy All-Star Teams)

Every year, we see the All-Star participants, and it's always fun to talk about who should've made the team, and who didn't deserve to be an All-Star. We don't always have an Omar Infante to talk about, but we always have something to talk about.

This year, for the first time ever (and hopefully, assuming my survival, the first of many times), I'll be creating what I believe to be the fantasy All-Star teams in each league. I'll name two players at each infield position, five outfielders, seven starting pitchers, and three relief pitchers, for a total of twenty-five players. It's smaller than the standard All-Star team, but we're fantasy owners; we don't pay attention to half of the players in baseball anyways.

Without further ado, the teams. Eligibility will be determined simply by position eligibility in Yahoo fantasy baseball.

American League

First Basemen

• Miguel Cabrera (.339, 61 R, 20 HR, 71 RBI, 2 SB)
• Justin Morneau (.344, 51 R, 17 HR, 55 RBI)

Second Basemen

• Robinson Cano (.342, 59 R, 16 HR, 55 RBI, 2 SB)
• Dustin Pedroia (.292, 52 R, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 8 SB)

Third Basemen

• Kevin Youkilis (.299, 66 R, 17 HR, 55 RBI, 2 SB)
• Evan Longoria (.296, 49 R, 12 HR, 60 RBI, 12 SB)

Shortstops

• Elvis Andrus (.290, 56 R, 0 HR, 25 RBI, 22 SB)
• Derek Jeter (.281, 55 R, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 9 SB)

Outfielders

• Josh Hamilton (.340, 55 R, 20 HR, 61 RBI, 6 SB)
• Carl Crawford (.320, 63 R, 7 HR, 42 RBI, 29 SB)
• Alex Rios (.299, 49 R, 13 HR, 45 RBI, 22 SB)
  
• Vladimir Guerrero (.328, 52 R, 18 HR, 70 RBI, 4 SB)
• Shin-Soo Choo (.286, 48 R, 13 HR, 43 RBI, 12 SB)

Starting Pitchers

• Jon Lester (10-3, 118 K, 2.76/1.10)
• Jered Weaver (8-3, 124 K, 2.82/1.06)
• Cliff Lee (8-3, 89 K, 2.34/0.95)
• David Price (11-4, 90 K, 2.42/1.20)
• Andy Pettitte (10-2, 78 K, 2.82/1.15)
• Felix Hernandez (6-5, 122 K, 3.01/1.14)
• Clay Buchholz (10-4, 64 K, 2.45/1.25)

Relief Pitchers

• Mariano Rivera (2-1, 19 SV, 32 K, 1.08/0.66)
• Rafael Soriano (2-0, 22 SV, 28 K, 1.42/0.76)
• Jose Valverde (1-1, 18 SV, 33 K, 1.00/0.81)

National League

First Basemen

• Joey Votto (.318, 56 R, 21 HR, 59 RBI, 7 SB)
• Albert Pujols (.305, 48 R, 20 HR, 60 RBI, 9 SB)
  

Second Basemen

• Brandon Phillips (.307, 64 R, 11 HR, 28 RBI, 10 SB)
• Martin Prado (.331, 57 R, 7 HR, 36 RBI, 4 SB)

Third Basemen

• David Wright (.317, 51 R, 14 HR, 64 RBI, 15 SB)
• Scott Rolen (.301, 43 R, 17 HR, 57 RBI)

Shortstops

• Hanley Ramirez (.297, 48 R, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 15 SB)
• Rafael Furcal (.335, 44 R, 5 HR, 30 RBI, 12 SB)

Outfielders

• Carlos Gonzalez (.295, 49 R, 14 HR, 52 RBI, 12 SB)
• Chris B. Young (.268, 46 R, 15 HR, 57 RBI, 16 SB)
• Ryan Braun (.291, 50 R, 11 HR, 51 RBI, 11 SB)
• Matt Kemp (.265, 56 R, 15 HR, 47 RBI, 11 SB)
• Corey Hart (.288, 42 R, 19 HR, 61 RBI, 4 SB)

Starting Pitchers

• Adam Wainwright (12-5, 123 K, 2.24/1.00)
• Ubaldo Jimenez (14-1, 107 K, 2.27/1.08)
• Josh Johnson (8-3, 115 K, 1.82/0.96)
• Roy Halladay (10-7, 119 K, 2.33/1.08)
• Mat Latos (9-4, 91 K, 2.62/0.96)
• Yovani Gallardo (8-4, 122 K, 2.58/1.26)
• Clayton Kershaw (8-4, 116 K, 3.02/1.23)

Relief Pitchers

• Billy Wagner (5-0, 17 SV, 52 K, 1.35/0.93)
• Heath Bell (4-0, 23 SV, 49 K, 1.72/1.34)
• Jonathan Broxton (3-0, 17 SV, 52 K, 2.02/1.07)

I Want To Vote For Pitchers

Why is it that Major League Baseball doesn't allow fans to vote for pitchers for the All-Star Game? I've asked myself this question for years, and I finally decided to look into the matter. I should preface this by saying that there's no amount of information I could find, no angle of reasoning I could uncover that would make me think that fans shouldn't be able to vote for pitchers. So this was just an exercise in discovering why other people suggest that only hitters are selected by fans.

But guess what? After looking around for a few days, running various web searches, asking fellow fans and students of the game of baseball, and just thinking about it myself, I haven't found one reason that fans should be allowed to vote for hitters but not pitchers. A couple of the ideas that went through my head before I dismissed them:

• People wouldn't have enough information to know enough about pitchers. The very notion of that is ridiculous; when you start allowing All-Star ballots to be cast in April, you lose any right to claim that anyone, pitcher or hitter, hasn't played enough to prove their merit. And things wouldn't have changed much in that time anyways; Zack Greinke and Johan Santana are still your starters.
• Pitchers are harder to evaluate than hitters. There might be a bit of truth to this, in that pitchers seem to rely a little more on luck than hitters do. But with the success of fantasy baseball, the general baseball-watching public is starting to understand the value of WHIP, and how it's a pretty solid representation of pitching quality. Wins and strikeouts should still matter, of course, but as long as you integrate WHIP, you should have a good representation of the best pitchers. And again, you'll get mostly the same pitchers, regardless of WHIP integration.
• With each team having one representative, you need as many roster spots left up to the manager as possible. Gobbledygook. While certainly the option of grabbing the closer from a last place team has become a somewhat standard method for ensuring full representation, it's by no means the only way to involve every team. Furthermore, you'd still have a plethora of bench spots (both hitters and pitchers) available to sprinkle members of each team. I imagine you'd vote for 2-3 starting pitchers and 1-2 relievers. That's hardly enough to ruin roster flexibility.

I haven't heard a single reason from anyone to suggest why pitchers ought not be voted for when it comes to the All-Star game, and so I'm going to do just that. I'm casting my ballot today for the three starters and two relievers from each league that I believe to be All-Stars. Selig and his friends can stick it.

AL Starting Pitchers

• Zack Greinke, Royals - Even with his recent underwhelming performance against the Blue Jays, his season numbers are astounding. He's 8-2 with a 1.55 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP, with 91 strikeouts in 87 innings. Moreover, on Kansas City, he's got to be that good to have any shot at a 15-win season. A well-deserved vote for the All-Star Game.
• Roy Halladay, Blue Jays - While the Blue Jays have slowed quite a bit since screaming out of the gate, Halladay continues to throw gem after gem. He's the majors' first ten game winner of the season, and another twenty win season seems very much within reach.
• Justin Verlander, Tigers - While his teammate Edwin Jackson has been similarly tremendous, Verlander has an absurd 97 Ks in 77 innings. That he's bounced back so nicely after giving up 17 runs over his first three starts is an even greater testament to how well he's pitching right now.

AL Relief Pitchers

• Frank Francisco, Rangers - Francisco didn't give up a run until his 18th game of the season, at which point he was 11/11 in save opportunities. A shoulder injury puts his status into question going forward, but for right now, he's one of my two RP picks for the All-Star Game.
• Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox - While I really do think Joe Nathan has pitched like an All-Star, he hasn't had the same opportunities he's had in the past. Papelbon, meanwhile, has been racking up saves like always, and although he's not as dominant as he's been historically, I don't have any trouble saying he's an All-Star.

NL Starting Pitchers

• Johan Santana, Mets - This is the Santana we all expected when he was traded to the National League. He's got 8 wins, sparkling averages, and over a strikeout an inning. Additionally, you know he's never going to look like a mistake after the fact.
• Johnny Cueto, Reds - A year after some of us invested our #1 waiver priority in him, Cueto is showing that he's able to transition from thrower to pitcher. His strikeout numbers have dropped, but he's become miles better at getting guys out, putting him in the top 5 in ERA and WHIP in the National League.
  
• Chad Billingsley, Dodgers - Eight wins and better than a strikeout per inning have made the Hundred Dollar Man (C-Bills, get it?) a valuable fantasy commodity. He also happens to be the best starter on the best team in baseball right now.

NL Relief Pitchers

• Jonathan Broxton, Dodgers - Even if you take out his SIX (!) wins, he's still crushing opponents and pitching like the closer we all figured he'd be. I guarantee you nobody in Los Angeles misses Takashi Saito.
• Francisco Rodriguez, Mets - Sometimes there are guys from whom the world is expected, and they end up actually meeting expectations. His ERA is bested by only Francisco and Hoffman, but he's got more saves and strikeouts than either of them. The Mets desperately needed to solidify their bullpen, and K-Rod is up to the challenge.
  

So there you have it, your pitching All-Stars. I'd be surprised if any of those ten guys didn't make the All-Star game (though Papelbon probably could get nudged out with a bad week). Agree? Disagree? Got a reason why we shouldn't vote for pitchers? Say so.

My NL All-Star Ballot

Here are my votes for the National League All-Star Team:

C - Bengie Molina, San Francisco Giants (.286, 8 HR, 30 RBI)
He's once again the most important hitter in a weak lineup, and he's up to the task. He has 11 more RBI than any other NL catcher.

1B - Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals (.326, 14 HR, 38 RBI, 6 SB)
There's no one I'd rather have on my team, fantasy or real life. The guy is a hitting machine.

2B - Orlando Hudson, Los Angeles Dodgers (.345, 3 HR, 27 RBI, 4 SB)
It's entirely possible that I'm picking Hudson just to stray from my everlasting allegiance to Chase Utley in all his glory, but Hudson has been a hell of a pickup by the Dodgers. Honorable mention to Rickie Weeks who was on his way to by far his best year before a wrist injury ended his season.

3B - Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals (.353, 10 HR, 32 RBI)
It's always nice to see a local player make good, and Zimmerman has really turned it up this year. How about Mark Reynolds, though? The new power-speed combo guy on the block has 12 HR and 10 SB, nice work.

SS - Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins (.325, 7 HR, 21 RBI, 7 SB)
Ho hum. Another .300+, 25-25 season looks to be in the works for Hanley. How is Freddie Sanchez doing, by the way? (That's a little keeper league inside joke for you.)

OF - Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies (.349, 15 HR, 40 RBI, 4 SB)
OF - Carlos Beltran, New York Mets (.370, 6 HR, 29 RBI, 7 SB)
OF - Adam Dunn, Washington Nationals (.280, 12 HR, 33 RBI)
I think a lot of us thought Ibanez would be a fine replacement for Pat Burrell, but none of us expected this. He's currently the #1 ranked player in Yahoo's fantasy baseball. Beltran read that I thought only batting average was a weak spot for him, and he's spent all season trying to prove me wrong. Dunn was a great pickup for the Nationals, even if they're on pace to lose like 250 games this year. He's even hitting above .270, not exactly a common achievement for him.

My AL All-Star Ballot

Here are my votes for the American League All-Star Team:

C - Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians (.400, 7 HR, 30 RBI)
I like Joe Mauer a lot, and at the end of the season, he'll probably have numbers about as good as Victor's. But I use my all star vote to select the guys who have produced at the highest level thus far this season, and Martinez is just doing fantastic.

1B - Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers (.381, 8 HR, 32 RBI)
Cabrera has cooled off considerably and is still hitting .381. That tells you how hot he started the season. A close second is Justin Morneau, but I took the 60 points of batting average over 4 HRs.

2B - Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays (.351, 11 HR, 35 RBI)
As much as it hurt me to not put Kinsler here (one of my fantasy studs...wait, not like that...), there's just no question that Aaron Hill is having a better first half. Everyone keeps waiting for him to slow down, but so far, he's maintained his torrid pace (and made me look foolish for trading him).

3B - Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays (.329, 11 HR, 46 RBI)
Michael Young in Texas is also having a great first half, but Longoria has more than double Young's RBI total. News flash: this kid can hit.

SS - Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay Rays (.376, 6 HR, 23 RBI, 12 SB)
All four of the statistics listed above lead AL shortstops. And the Rays got him and Garza for Delmon Young? Well played.

OF - Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles (.364, 9 HR, 27 RBI)
OF - Jason Bay, Boston Red Sox (.301, 13 HR, 44 RBI, 4 SB)
OF - Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays (.318, 1 HR, 19 RBI, 25 SB)
Johnny Damon is also having an outstanding first half, but I'll stick with my picks. I imagine that people will look at my Crawford pick and suggest that he's less deserving because 6 of his steals came in one game, but think about how ridiculous that sounds. A guy should be marked down because he had six steals in one game? Plus, that .318 batting average didn't hit itself. Adam Jones looks like the real deal, as both sides of the big Erik Bedard trade are looking brighter this season.