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I Didn't Think it Was PossibleEvery year the Pirates make this marketing push to try and get their players elected to the all-star game. It's a futile effort, or so I thought. Pittsburgh isn't exactly internet savvy and they don't have the attendance to punch enough ballots to make dents in the vote count.I went to a game in St. Louis a few years ago and the ushers handed out stacks of all-star ballots as you walked into the stadium. With the new Busch being sold out I didn't think there was a chance that any less then five Cardinals would be elected to start the game. Other then competition from the Mets that's pretty much how the balloting was ending up. Until stadium voting ceased. Then with the internet only vote Bay started rising through the ranks. People started pushing for it more and more. And now he's leading the NL Outfielders. After thinking it was worthless the better part of the season, I went online and started doing my part. I was also reminded why I hate Major League Baseball. Funny, they can remember the eight little boxes I checked in both leagues and the full names of the people I wrote in but the can't seem to remember that I unchecked the box permitting them to send me free information about their services. Bastards. Anyway, in the long run, Bay starting doesn't mean anything, but it would be nice to have a vested interest in the game, other then wondering if my guy is going to get the chance to pinch hit or not. What's amazing to me is that Jose Castillo (-184,153) and Jack Wilson (-81,988) have legitimate shots at starting as well. And if their pace keeps up I think they'll get it. Which begs the question: Is that a good thing? Charlie has a post about it. He thinks that's a bad thing. I have to disagree. Although the PR brought on by having three players start the All-Star game is what management wants, it isn't necessarily what's best for them. And if there's one thing our coach, GM, and owner can do well, it's wanting want isn't best for them. It was my belief that one of the big drawbacks to playing in Pittsburgh is that there's no recognition for what you do, and that makes it tough to make it big in free agency and in endorsements. I think having starters in the all-star game will counter that a bit. And while it may distract people from covering the story of how bad the host team is, the worst team best ballpark has already been beaten to death, and I think the new question will be, how does a team with three starting all-stars suck so much? The answer to that question inferred by the fact that we voted in those three players, is that its not the fans fault and its not the players fault. So vote for Bay, vote for Jack, vote for Jose Castillo and Freddy Sanchez. Don't vote for the guys who aren't them but close in the standings (this is key: if you vote for Bay, Beltran, and Soriano in the NL you really haven't done anything). At that point only the coach, GM, and owner can get the blame, and isn't that exactly what we all want. posted by Rory at 4:37 PM | |
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This is a blog about the Pittsburgh Pirates. My vision: to write about the games at the games. Want to email me? Make it out to rory at bleache... you know the rest. |
