HERE IS MY BALLOT, AND PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POST YOURS OR JUST GRIPE ABOUT MINE:
SOUTH DIVISION:
1B: Nate Espy, York
2B: Danny Garcia, Somerset
SS: Danny Gonzalez, Lancaster
3B: Jeff Nettles, Somerset
C: Ben Davis, Camden
OF: L.J. Biernbaum, Camden
OF: Mike Lockwood, Somerset
OF: Dwight Maness, Camden
DH: Matt Dryer, York
About the selections: Somerset's three selections are all no-brainers. Nettles is on pace for a league-record 54 home runs, he's tied with Lockwood for the league's RBI lead entering Wednesday's games and Garcia ranks atop the league in stolen bases and third in runs scored. ... The hardest choice is in the outfield where Lancaster's Jutt Hileman gets the short stick. Hileman is having a very good season for an underachieving team, but Camden is an overachieving first-place team because of Biernbaum and Maness. Biernbaum brings a 19-game hitting streak into Wednesday. ... This game usually features two very questionable all-stars at catcher, but Ben Davis is not that guy. The former major-leaguer is a big-time bat whose only issue is his struggles throwing out potential base stealers. ... Dryer got off to an unbelievable season and he and Espy are really the only threats in York's entire lineup. Any offensive numbers they have would be multiplied if they had any protection.
NORTH DIVISION
1B: Victor Rodriguez, Newark
2B: Junior Spivey, Bridgeport
SS: Nick Ortiz, Bridgeport
3B: Luis Figueroa, Bridgeport
C: Sandy Aracena, Road Warriors
OF: Kevin Haverbusch, Long Island
OF: Keith Reed, Newark
OF: Jason Bryan, Road Warriors
DH: Jay Caligiuri, Bridgeport
About the selections: This lineup has a negative chance of happening. The Ducks rule the league -- literally, as their owner is the league CEO -- and there is 0 chance of them having one starter. Look for Rose to sneak in ahead of V-Rod or Navarrete ahead of Spivey. Both of those choices would be acceptable. Rose is having a very good season and it is a crime that Naverrete is not a starter. Navarrete is listed as a 2B only and Spivey might be the best player in the league. If Navarrete was listed as an OF -- where he sometimes plays -- he would be the No. 1 choice. What would be unacceptable is seeing some of the Ducks' underachieving big names -- Edgardo Alfonzo, Carl Everett or Jose Offerman -- slip into the starting lineup. It's possible because the league wants to promote its big names and fans want to see big names, but there is always the possibility these guys won't want to waste their break at the game anyway. ... If you notice how many Bluefish I put on the team, you know who I think has the best team in the league. ... I'm a big Aracena guy (how have none of the other teams signed this guy?) and he might very well start, but Bryan has no chance of starting despite his worthy numbers.
Voter Beware: If you are new to the league, beware that the ballot you see -- the ballot I based my votes on -- is subject to change without notice. When the starters are announced, you might see a DH not listed as a DH on the ballot or Navarrete in the outfield. Some times these are very smart moves, some times they are very shady.
1 comment:
My ballot looked very similar to yours. I opted for Hileman over Maness in the South outfield. The numbers are very close, so I figured it would make more sense to pick the guy who could play in front of his home team fans.
I also opted for Lance Burkhart over Ben Davis at catcher. Burkhart's offensive numbers are pretty solid, and he's got decent skills behind the plate.
Davis has the offense, but I wasn't impressed at all with his ability to throw anyone out.
I would have loved to put Ray Navarrete in on the team in the outfield, but I just couldn't pick him over Junior Spivey at second base.
Of course, it's not as if these online votes really mean much... if the League bothered to release final vote totals, then I might believe they mattered.
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