All-Star Debate

Okay, so the MLB All-Stars have been announced and of course, there is always room for debate. So without further ado here we go...

NL Starters
ESPN expert picks & my pick

C - Russell Martin
1B - Prince Fielder
2B - Chase Utley
3B - David Wright - Miguel Cabrera Cabrera, it is a close race, but I give the nod to Cabrera who is the better hitter and so the Marlins will have representation
SS - Jose Reyes
OF - Ken Griffey, Jr.
OF - Carlos Beltran - Alfonso Soriano Beltran is great, but while he has been slumping, Soriano has been red hot
OF - Barry Bonds - Matt Holiday Holiday is possibly the best hitter in the NL

NL Reserves

C - Brian McCann - Johnny Estrada McCann is probably the better player, but he has struggle most of the season and Estrada has been one of the cogs in the Brew Crew machine
1B - Albert Pujols
1B - Dmitri Young I reluctantly give the nod to the resurgent Young because there aren't any other Nationals worth consideration because Chad Cordero started slow
1B - Derrick Lee SS Edgar Renteria Um, do you need 4 1st Basemen on an All-Star team? No. How Renteria got omitted from this squad is a mystery. Yes, it is a deep crop for NL shortstops, but Renteria has carried the Braves offense this year and plays pretty solid defense too. Probably the worst omission this year.
2B - Orlando Hudson Brandon Phillips Hudson has been a pleasant surprise for the D'Backs, but Phillips has put up some great numbers and been one of the few bright spots on a really bad team.
2B - Freddy Sanchez SS Hanley Ramirez This is tough because you have to put a Pirate on the squad, but Freddy has been quite pedestrian and Ramirez is yet another one of the emerging stars in MLB
3B - Miguel Cabrera David Wright
SS - JJ Hardy
OF - Alfonso Soriano Barry Bonds He is the best Giant, the game is in San Fran and he can hit
OF - Carlos Lee
OF - Aaron Rowand Eric Byrnes Rowand has had a great year, but if you are looking for underdog OFs that have turned it up a notch, I think you have to go with Byrnes who is a legit 5-tool man
OF - Matt Holiday Carlos Beltran

NL Pitchers

SP - Jake Peavy
SP - Brad Penny
SP - Cole Hamels Tom Gorzelanny Gorz gets on as the Pirates rep
SP - Ben Sheets Chris Young Great young pitcher has kept the Padres in it
SP - John Smoltz Sheets & Lowe are probably also good picks here, but Smoltz has been a bulldog as usual for the Braves
RP - Trevor Hoffman
RP - Billy Wagner
RP - Francisco Cordero
RP - Jose Valverde
RP - Takashi Saito
RP - Brian Fuentes SP John Maine Fuentes lost his job, why does he deserve a spot in the All-Stars?

AL Starters

C - Ivan Rodriguez Jorge Posada Granted Pudge is a much better defensive catcher, it's hard to deny the awesome season Posada has had so far.
1B - David Ortiz Justin Morneau Big Canada gets the nod in HRs, RBI and he actually plays his position
2B - Placido Polanco Brian Roberts
3B - Alex Rodriguez
SS - Derek Jeter Carlos Guillen The Captain is good, Guillen is a little better
OF - Vlad Guerrero Gary Sheffield Wow, I really wanted to go with Vlad, but Sheff is flat tearing it up and has remembered how to steal bases again.
OF - Magglio Ordonez
OF - Ichiro Suzuki

AL Reserves

C - Victor Martinez Plus you could play him at 1B
C - Ivan Rodriguez 1B/3B Kevin Youkilis It is hard to leave Pudge off the squad, but Youk has been wonderful and can play both corners
1B - Justin Morneau David Oritz
2B - Brian Roberts Placido Polanco No errors and he gets on base
3B - Mike Lowell
SS - Carlos Guillen Orlando Cabrera He has been everything that Jeter was supposed to be
SS - Michael Young This was where I was going to put Jeter, but then I realized that I had to have a Ranger- oops.
OF - Torii Hunter
OF - Grady Sizemore
OF - Carl Crawford
OF - Alex Rios
OF - Manny Ramirez SS Derek Jeter Whew, he made it (and beat one of the Red Sox to do it)

AL Pitchers

SP - Dan Haren
SP - Josh Beckett
SP - Justin Verlander
SP - John Lackey Jeremy Guthrie Lackey has been good and bested Guthrie today, but he also benefits from being on a much better team.
SP - Johann Santana
SP - CC Sabathia
SP - Gil Meche
RP - Jonathan Papelbon
RP - JJ Putz
RP - Francisco Rodriguez
RP - Bobby Jenks

I have to say that the AL pitchers matched the best out of any of the groupings are were much clearer-cut decisions.
What are your thougths?