Daily Archives: June 30, 2005

With the All-Star voting closing tonight at 11:59pm and the Yanks enjoying an off-day following a rain out, I though I’d share my picks.

AL

1B – Mark Teixeira
2B – Brian Roberts
SS – Miguel Tejada
3B – Alex Rodriguez
C – Jason Varitek
OF – Vladimir Guerrero
CF – Hideki Matsui
OF – Gary Sheffield

NL

1B – Derek Lee
2B – Jeff Kent
SS – Bill Hall
3B – Aramis Ramirez
C – Paul Lo Duca
OF – Bobby Abreu
CF – Jason Bay
OF – Miguel Cabrera

There are two sides to picking an All-Star team. One is picking the players who have performed the best over the first three months of the current season. The other is choosing the biggest stars at each position. This is similar to the peak vs. career conversation that often arises when weighing a player’s Hall of Fame candidacy. Myself, I lean toward choosing the players who have performed best in the current season, the logic being that they have these things every year for a reason. Even Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have to earn an All-Star appearance in my book. Some would argue that a three-month period is not a large enough sample, that perhaps it would be better to reward the previous years’ performance, thus allowing things to even out over a full season. Me, I’d much rather see Norm Cash in 1961 than in 1962 and Brady Anderson in 1996 than 1997, thus I’ll continue to vote for the players having the best season and risk the odd fluke selection.

Those who disagree will likely take one look at the above list of names and get all bent out of shape over my choosing Milwaukee’s Bill Hall as the starting National League shortstop. To them I ask, would you prefer Felipe Lopez?

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Gary Sheffield spoke with reporters yesterday and made it crystal clear that he would make life exceedingly hard for any team the Yankees traded him to. According to Jack Curry in the New York Times:

“I would never sit out,” Sheffield said. “I would go play for them. It doesn’t mean I’m going to be happy playing there. And if I’m unhappy, you don’t want me on your team. It’s just that simple. I’ll make that known to anyone.”

…”If I’m not happy, you don’t want me on your team, period,” Sheffield said. “That’s just the way it goes. That’s life. I have to deal with what they dish out, they got to deal with what I dish out, period. That’s just the way it’s going to be.”

Joe Torre later told Sheffield that the Yanks have no desire to persue a deal with the Mets. “The Yankees would never just give up Gary Sheffield,” is how one American League executive phrased it to Curry. To hear a full audio clip of Sheff’s rant, head on over to Matt Cerrone’s outstanding Metsblog.com and peep the mp3. Personally, I think his spiel was amusing. I’ve enjoyed Sheffiled a lot since he’s been in the Bronx. He’s been a terrific player, and don’t blame him for not wanting to leave. Mike Vaccaro put it well in the Post today:

Sheffield is arrogant, he’s moody, he’s tempermental–but he’s smart as hell. You bet he wanted to kill this deal as quickly as he could.

You could also add that he’s a great player and a future Hall of Famer to boot. And in case you missed it, be sure and check out Jay Jaffe’s excellent three-part history of Sheff (one, two and three) over at The Futility Infielder.

Kicked to the Curb

The Post reports that the Yankees have released relievers Paul Quantrill and Mike Stanton. Both seemed like good guys, but neither was especially effective this year.

If Yankees general manager Brian Cashman can’t find takers for the two pitchers by tomorrow, he’ll have to designate them for assignment. Stanton has a no-trade clause, so he can dictate his destination. To have any chance of dealing either pitcher, the Yankees will likely have to pay what’s left of their salaries. Stanton, who makes $4 million this season, has a 1-2 record and 7.07 ERA, and Quantrill, who makes $3 million, is 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA.
(Newsday)

This move does not come as a surpise.