Jeter, Teixeira named All-Star starters; Rivera also named to team

Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira were named American League All-Star starters at their respective positions.  Teixeira was in a hotly-contested race with Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis.

Mariano Rivera was the only Yankee named to the pitching staff of the American League.  No Yankees were chosen as reserves.

The complete roster can be found here.

Jeter leads AL shortstops in All-Star voting

Major League Baseball released the American League leaders in All-Star voting for the first time this season today, and Derek Jeter (664,630) has a commanding lead among shortstops.

Jeter doesn’t have much competition in the “name” category, as Marco Scutaro (273,589) is in second.

In their respective positions, Mark Teixeira is third, Robinson Cano is fourth, Alex Rodriguez is third, Jorge Posada is fourth and Johnny Damon was the only Yankee in the top 15 of outfielders, coming in 11th.

I honestly don’t care about All-Star voting at all, but the fact that Justin Morneau is in fourth among first basemen is an absolute shame.  And I’m not just saying that because I despise Kevin Youkilis, who just so happens to be leading for that position.

Red Sox running loose at the Stadium

Jonathan Papelbon has been running their mouths at the Stadium today. While it's nice having the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium this year, it really is a shame that the Red Sox had to participate in the World Series last season. Something about Terry Francona using the home manager's office really irks me.

Anyway, onto Papelbon. He believes that he, not Mariano Rivera, deserves to be the last American League pitcher.

“If I was managing the team, I would close. … But I’m not managing the team,” he said today.

While Francona using the office does bother me, at least he is all class and realizes what pitching Rivera last would mean.

I hope Papelbon gets shelled when he pitches. Hey, the Yankees aren't going to get to the World Series anyway.

Support the 'Stache

According to Bryan Hoch, the Yankees are urging you to support the 'Stache, Jason Giambi, in the final vote contest for the All-Star Game.

Giambi will also autograph five balls and distribute them to people who voted for him.

"It's cool, definitely, to be a part of it and have the fans vote," Giambi said this week. "I had a bad first month, so if I was going to be on it, it was going to be close. That's the thing about playing on the All-Star team -- if you don't get voted in, there's a lot of guys who are having great years as well."

Evan Longoria is the early leader, according to Hoch, and the voting ends Thursday.

It'll be a lot of fun to watch Giambi in the Home Run Derby, but part of me also wants to see Longoria win the vote as well.

To vote, click here.

2008 All-Star Rosters

The 2008 All-Star Game will be held July 15 at Yankee Stadium.

Here are both leagues' rosters:

American League Starters

C: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
1B: Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox
2B: Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
3B: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
SS: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
OF: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
OF: Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox
OF: Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners
DH: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox (Injured)

American League Reserves

C: Jason Varitek, Boston Red Sox
C: Dioner Navarro, Tampa Bay Rays
1B: Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins
2B: Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers
3B: Joe Crede, Chicago White Sox
INF: Carlos Guillen, Detroit Tigers
SS: Michael Young, Texas Rangers
OF: Carlos Quentin, Chicago White Sox
OF: J.D. Drew Boston Red Sox
OF: Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians
OF: Milton Bradley, Texas Rangers

American League Pitchers

Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays
George Sherrill, Baltimore Orioles
Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
Jonathan Papelbon, Boston Red Sox
Justin Duchscherer, Oakland Athletics
Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins
Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals
Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians
Francisco Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Ervin Santana, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Joe Saunders, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

American League Final Vote Candidates

Jermaine Dye, Chicago White Sox
Jason Giambi, New York Yankees
Jose Guillen, Kansas City Royals
Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
Brian Roberts, Baltimore Orioles

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National League Starters

C: Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs
1B: Lance Berkman, Houston Astros
2B: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
3B: Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves
SS: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
OF: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
OF: Alfonso Soriano, Chicago Cubs
OF: Kosuke Fukudome, Chicago Cubs

National League Reserves

C: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
C: Russell Martin, Los Angeles Dodgers
1B: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
1B: Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres
2B: Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins
3B: Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs
SS: Cristian Guzman, Washington Nationals
SS: Miguel Tejada, Houston Astros
OF: Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies
OF: Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis Cardinals
OF: Nate McLouth, Pittsburgh Pirates

National League Pitchers

Aaron Cook, Colorado Rockies
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks
Ben Sheets, Milwaukee Brewers
Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs
Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks
Ryan Dempster, Chicago Cubs
Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants
Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds
Kerry Wood, Chicago Cubs
Brad Lidge, Philadelphia Phillies
Billy Wagner, New York Mets

National League Final Vote Candidates

Pat Burrell, Philadelphia Phillies
Corey Hart, Milwaukee Brewers
Carlos Lee, Houston Astros
Aaron Rowand, San Francisco Giants
David Wright, New York Mets

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Your thoughts?

My first thought is: why was Jason Varitek and his .661 OPS included as an American League reserve? What a joke. I hope he doesn't play.

I'm also disappointed that Mike Mussina wasn't selected. His 11 wins certainly was deserving of a spot.

All-Star selection

The 2008 All-Star selection show will be airing live on TBS at 2:00 p.m.

If you remember back to last year, ESPN released the rosters before TBS' broadcast, and Major League Baseball responded by taking away ESPN's credentials at the 2007 All-Star Game.

Hopefully something similar happens this year (though I'm sure ESPN has learned its lesson), because the Home Run Derby will be annoying enough with Michael Kay being the stadium announcer. We don't need Chris Berman and his endless "backs" as well.

I'll post the roster as it's released.

Rock the vote

Despite having one of the worst seasons of his career to date, Derek Jeter is the leading all American League players in votes with almost 1,900,000 votes.

Alex Rodriguez also has a comfortable lead in the third base voting.

The Red Sox have four players leading their respective positions - Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.

Justin Morneau and Ian Kinsler are gaining on Youkilis and Pedroia. Hopefully they'll overtake the Red Sox teammates, because Morneau and Kinsler are much more deserving.

Injury forces Ortiz out of All-Star promotion

The Yankees' brass can sleep soundly tonight knowing that David Ortiz will not get to "call his shot" at the Home Run Derby next month.

Instead of having Ortiz, two players will be selected to try to mimic this feat.

I honestly didn't care that Ortiz would have been doing this, and the Yankees looked bad by protesting this decision.

The alleged called shot didn't even take place at Yankee Stadium.

The most un-American thing I've ever seen

Deadspin was kind enough to post about Major League Baseball's team-oriented Statue of Liberty designs. While they're hideous, it makes sense considering the event will be held where the statue is located (sorry, New Jersey).

However, seeing a Boston Red Sox version of the Statue of Liberty made me want to move to France a little.

Best-laid All-Star plans

Major League Baseball released their All-Star Game plans this afternoon. Here's the highlight of the pregame ceremonies:

The largest group of Hall of Famers at a Major League event in history will gather before this summer's All-Star Game in Yankee Stadium, the league announced on Wednesday. More than 40 legends, including Hank Aaron, Yogi Berra, Bob Feller, Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson, Cal Ripken Jr. and Frank Robinson are slated to attend, and to be honored both during a pregame ceremony and the All-Star Game Red Carpet Parade presented by Chevy.

There will also be a parade through the streets of Manhattan, with mascots and Statue of Liberty replicas throughout the city.

Should be a fun couple of days in July.

2008 All-Star Game logo unveiled

As if there wasn't enough news today, the logo of the 2008 All-Star Game (shown below) to be held at Yankee Stadium was unveiled today.

The All-Star Game logo prominently features aspects paying homage to the stage upon which the game will be played. Yankee Stadium's historic and recognizable facade plays a headlining role, in addition to the Yankees' classic pinstripes (source).

2007 All-Star Rosters

The 2007 All-Star Game will be played on July 10 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

American League Starters

C - Ivan Rodriguez, Detroit Tigers
1B - David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
2B - Placido Polanco, Detroit Tigers
3B - Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
SS - Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
OF - Vladimir Guerrero, Los Angeles Angels
OF - Magglio Ordonez, Detroit Tigers
OF - Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners

American League Reserves

C - Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians
C - Jorge Posada, New York Yankees
1B - Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins
2B - Brian Roberts, Baltimore Orioles
3B - Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox
SS - Carlos Guillen, Detroit Tigers
SS - Michael Young, Texas Rangers
OF - Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
OF - Torii Hunter, Minnesota Twins
OF - Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox
OF - Alex Rios, Toronto Blue Jays
OF - Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians

American League Pitchers

Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox
Dan Haren, Oakland Athletics
Bobby Jenks, Chicago White Sox
John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels
Gil Meche, Kansas City Royals
Jonathan Papelbon, Boston Red Sox
J.J. Putz, Seattle Mariners
Francisco Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels
C.C. Sabathia, Cleveland Indians
Johan Santana, Minnesota Twins
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

American League Final Vote Candidates

Jeremy Bonderman, Detroit Tigers
Kelvim Escobar, Los Angeles Angels
Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
Pat Neshek, Minnesota Twins
Hideki Okajima, Boston Red Sox

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National League Starters

C - Russell Martin, Los Angeles Dodgers
1B - Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
2B - Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
3B - David Wright, New York Mets
SS - Jose Reyes, New York Mets
OF - Carlos Beltran, New York Mets
OF - Ken Griffey Jr., Cincinnati Reds
OF - Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants

National League Reserves

C - Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
1B - Derrek Lee, Chicago Cubs
1B - Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
1B - Dmitri Young, Washington Nationals
2B - Orlando Hudson, Arizona Diamondbacks
2B - Freddy Sanchez, Pittsburgh Pirates
3B - Miguel Cabrera, Florida Marlins
SS - J.J. Hardy, Milwaukee Brewers
OF - Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies
OF - Carlos Lee, Houston Astros
OF - Aaron Rowand, Philadelphia Phillies
OF - Alfonso Soriano, Chicago Cubs

National League Pitchers

Francisco Cordero, Milwaukee Brewers
Brian Fuentes, Colorado Rockies
Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies
Trevor Hoffman, San Diego Padres
Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres
Brad Penny, Los Angeles Dodgers
Takashi Saito, Los Angeles Dodgers
Ben Sheets, Milwaukee Brewers
John Smoltz, Atlanta Braves
Jose Valverde, Arizona Diamondbacks
Billy Wagner, New York Mets

National League Final Vote Candidates

Tom Gorzelanny, Pittsburgh Pirates
Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros
Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks
Chris Young, San Diego Padres
Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs

Vote or die

Two Yankees are leading their respective positions in the American League All-Star voting: Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Both have comfortable leads over the second place contenders. Rodriguez is also the leading vote-getter in the AL.

Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada are in second place in their respective positions. Placido Polanco of the Tigers is leading Cano, and Ivan Rodriguez, also of the Tigers, is leading Posada.

Johnny Damon is seventh in outfield voting, Bobby Abreu is ninth and Hideki Matsui is 11th.

Source: MLB.com