The Cardinals and All-Stars

So, I was upset with the lack of Cardinals and the majority of Cubs on the roster...and the lack of D-Rays at that...and decided to take a look at the Cardinals vs. the All-Stars.

Note: all stats are before Sunday's Cards-Cubs finale:

At Catcher, Molina is hitting over .300 while playing good defense...but just doesn't have the slugging to get noticed.

At 1st, Pujols is having another monster year and got noticed (at least by someone) and will be on the roster.

At 2nd, we have nothing of note.

At SS, we have nothing of note.

At 3b, Glaus doesn't compare to Jones at all.  However, is Aramis Ramirez really having that much better of a year than Glaus?  Glaus is a far superior 3rd baseman defensively, having a better zone rating, a better fielding percentage, and more double plays turned.  Ramirez has the slight edge in home runs 15 to 13.  Ramirez has the slight edge in RBI 57 to 54.  Ramirez is hitting .280/.379/.493 while Glaus is hitting .262/.354/.462.  They both have 20 doubles and Glaus has a triple while Ramirez has a steal.  Pretty even.  With the defense and knowledge of the AL pitchers, I would rather have Glaus for one game.

In the outfield, here are some numbers:

Player 1: .297/.360/.439 - 16 doubles, 4 triples, 6 homers, 31 rbi, 7 steals, 0 caught

Player 2: ..285/.391/.420 - 16 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers, 35 rbi, 8 steals, 3 caught

Which player would you rather have?  Well...I think you can go either way.  Player 1 is not an all-star, player 2 is.  Schumaker will rest at home, while Fukudome will not only play in NY, but START.

Player 3: .260/.340/.527 - 16 doubles, 2 triples, 18 homers, 45 rbi

Player 4: .279/.319/.532 - 21 doubles, 3 triples, 20 homers, 58 rbi

Player 4 has had 61 more at bats than player 3.  Player 3 plays a very good center field defensively, while Player 4 has played a very good left field this season.

Which player would you rather have?  Again, I think you could go either way, but given the difference between a center fielder and right fielder for the same production, I'll take a center fielder.  Ankiel (player 3) will sit at home, while Ryan Braun (player 4) will START.

The other starter in the outfield is Alphonso Soriano, who may play and may not...depending on if he is as healthy as he thinks he will be (or not.)

Soriano's stats:

.283/.332/.547  11 doubles, 0 triples, 15 hr, 40 rbi

Ludwick's stats: (yes, I know he's an all-star, but to finish the comparison)

.291/.368/.571  23 doubles, 2 triples, 16 homers, 57 rbi

Yes, Ludwick has 54 more at bats than Soriano, so the counting numbers are going to be a little higher, but I'll take a guy who gets on base .046 more and slugs .024 higher, thank you.

The other two all-stars, Holliday and McLouth, deserve a look as well.  Holliday has the best numbers of the bunch, so I'm not saying that the Cardinals OF should all start, but I'm just saying they could compared to the three that will start.  McLouth has very much cooled off as of late, but his numbers are still comparable to Ludwick's, minus some power, or Ankiel's, with a little better job getting on base and a little less slugging.

There's my look...I just had to get that off my chest.

Thanks for listening...er reading...or whatever.  :)