Late last week I attempted to assemble a superior 32-man All-Star Roster for the American League given the fans’ elected starting line-up and the requirement that every team be represented. With the All-Star game almost upon us, here’s my take on the National League:
First the starting line-up selected by the fans:
C – Mike Piazza
1B – Derrek Lee
2B – Jeff Kent
3B – Scott Rolen
SS – David Eckstein
OF – Bobby Abreu
OF – Jim Edmonds
OF – Carlos Beltran
Then the starters I voted for not included above:
C – Paul LoDuca
3B – Aramis Ramirez
SS – Bill Hall
OF – Jason Bay
OF – Miguel Cabrera
Then the two players I had the most difficulty eliminating to make my original picks:
3B – Morgan Ensberg
OF – Brian Giles
Next we’ll fill in players from the teams not yet represented:
Nationals: 1B – Nick Johnson
Braves: OF – Andruw Jones
Reds: OF – Adam Dunn
Diamondbacks: 3B – Troy Glaus
Giants: OF – Moises Alou
Rockies: RP – Brian Fuentes
Now, in addition to all of that, we need a starting DH as, unlike the American League, the fans were not able to vote for a National League Designated Hitter because there is no such thing. Albert Pujols is second in the NL in EQA and VORP but didn’t make it through any of the above methods. He’s our starting DH, one of our four third basemen or nine outfielders can be his back-up, giving us a minimum of two men at every offensive position except for second base. I’ll take Chase Utley there.
