Hunter Pence, All-Star (For Reals!)
by Only_A_Lad on Jul 5, 2009 1:37 PM CDT
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The Astros won't have anyone starting this year's game in St. Louis, but Miguel Tejada and Hunter Pence will be on the bench.
Tejada's selection comes on the strength of a rebound season for him, and (despite his declining defense) Miggy is actually deserving of a spot this year. He's no longer the NL Batting Leader, but he leads the league in hits and doubles, and is currently batting .325/.365/.464. Hanley Ramirez will start for the National League.
I argued a while back that Pence deserved to start the NL's right field this year (of course, the NL doesn't have a starting right fielder, and Ryan Braun will probably try to handle the position for however long he stays in the game). Right now, Pence is in a massive slump, but he's still hitting .303/.373/.496, and his defense is as great as ever. The NL's outfield bench is made up entirely of right fielders, and he's joined there by Brad Hawpe and Justin Upton.
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ha
michaels has all 4 votes so far…
anyway theres a possibility that Bourn makes it bcz. he deserves it and beltran wot be there so there is no real CF there…
(Kemp, and Victorino are in the 1 more spot available vote tho) so if 1 of them win then bourn might not go…
about NL pitchers…guys like gallardo, wandy, vasquez shoulda went tho..
ALSO HAHA!!! CBUS ONLY HAVE 1 PERSON GOING!!!
by EveryHoustonTeamRox! on Jul 5, 2009 2:14 PM CDT reply actions
I voted for someone else….and my thought is Wandy Rodriguez. There just aren’t many LHP starters in the NL who are better than Wandy. The last I looked Johann Santana and Wandy were tied in ERA, and I think of them as the best LH starters this year…assuming you think that Zach Duke really isn’t as good as his ERA this year.
assuming you think that Zach Duke really isn’t as good as his ERA this year.
I agree with you, but couldn’t you say the same thing about Wandy?
Your friendly neighborhood Dream Shake mod.
oh, I see your point...but I disagree.
Duke was so bad he was sent back to start over in A ball in 2007; admittedly he probably had arm problems. Duke came back and posted a 5 – 14 W/L record in 2008. He hasn’t struck out many batters since his rookie year. I have to say that I’m not convinced that he is true 3.20 ERA pitcher; instead, I think he probably is a mediocre back of the rotation pitcher. Wandy’s performance this year is a progression which was highly predictable. His K rate has steadily improved from 06 to 08. Recall the Baseballanalysts.com pitcher rating before the season began which showed Oswalt and Wandy rated at almost the same level. My only point being that Wandy’s performance shouldn’t be a surprise.
I wonder if Pence ends up playing in CF?
Not ideal for him, since he isn’t a great CFer. But Beltran is injured, and of the remaining outfielders on the NL roster, Pence is the only one with CF experience. Now that CF gap could be solved, in one of two ways….Beltran’s replacement might be a CFer. Or in the “vote off” position, Kemp could well win, and he can play CF.
Berkman's got experience CG
vote for him. Besides, he deserves it more than Ryan Howard.
Your friendly neighborhood Dream Shake mod.
Would someone explain to me why Michaels has the most votes here?
"A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings." ~Earl Wilson
Matt Kemp deserved to go to the all star game over Hunter pence. Matt leads in almost all the categories PLUS plays center field. Matt kemp is the Definition of a 5 tool player!
Kemp is a good player, but I wouldn’t say he leads Pence in all categories:
OPS Pence .861 Kemp .841
Isolated Power (ISO) Pence .185 Kemp .172
OBP Pence .373 Kemp .367
SLG Pence .488 Kemp .475
uh, okay
Pence just leads in the categories that matter. You know, like how well he’s hit. The only categories that in which Kemp leads Pence are stolen bases, intentional walks, and getting HBP.
Kemp deserves an all-star selection, but not over Pence. Criticize some of the more ridiculous selections out there: Ryan Howard (why do we need a 4th 1B?), Orlando Hudson, or Yadier Molina.
Your friendly neighborhood Dream Shake mod.
PENCE has 33 RBIS
that is ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and its not like he leads all the categories by much.. its side by side and then kemp has much more stolen bases and RBIS
kemp has 11 more RBIS then hunter pence
AND KEMP PLAYS CENTER FIELD
RBIs area also a function of where the batter hits in the lineup...
Cooper has put Pence in the No. 7 batting order spot behind Geoff Blum for a large part of the year. The ridiculous thing about this post is that it’s not like the All Star balloting is about Pence vs. Kemp. In fact, the choice at this point (among outfielders) for the final spot is Shane Victorino vs. Kemp. So maybe he should go tell Phillies’ fans how he likes Kemp better than Victorino.
By the way, I used stats which had not been updated for yesterday’s game. Pence’s stats would slightly higher now.
Haha
I love LA fans.
RBIs is a nearly-meaningless stat. The Dodgers have a much better offense than the Astros. I’ll give you SB, but after that you’d be scraping the bottom of the barrel for ways that Kemp is better than Pence, apart from maybe D (where Pence has been good at RF and Kemp, from what I’ve seen, has been terrific at CF).
Remember to retire Fin's number, Mark.
Kemp is a great player
that’s been said. He’s about as good at the plate as Pence and he plays a more premium position. That has not been argued.
What are you trying to do here? Pence got the player vote. Kemp didn’t. Go argue with Phillies, Giants, D-Backs, and Nationals fans.
by littlevisigoth on Jul 6, 2009 4:58 PM CDT up reply actions
why do you group corner outfielders together?
LF is the least demanding defensive position and shouldn’t be grouped with RFers any more than CFers.
Pence is a top three RFer.
So Kemp is a top 3 CFer. So they are both top 3 at their position.
The way you seem obsessed with comparing Pence and Kemp irritates me enough to make me vote for Sandoval, as the SF fan asks below.
Astros Fans
Help us Giants fan vote in Pablo Sandoval for the last spot on the NL roster. We will send you Christmas card next year.
The San Francisco Giants: Where old men go to die.
Sorry dude
but I’m voting for an outfielder. With Ibanez and Beltran not likely to play that means we only have ONE reserve outfielder in the NL.
"I am from one of the top 15 cities in the world. Buffalo, New York." - TrentEdwardsHoF2018
no
that means Kemp and Victorino will likely take their places
they are not gonna keep them on the All-Star roster if they are not going to play
The San Francisco Giants: Where old men go to die.
by GrahamCrakalaka on Jul 6, 2009 6:06 PM CDT up reply actions
guys
listen to this SF fan…Sandoval SHUD BE STARTING FOR THE NL AT NL…he shud def. be there over howard…vote sandoval (look at his stats) DISGUSTING!!! HIS OPS IS ridiculous…
vote sandoval, then kemp or victorino will replace Beltran…sandoval won’t get to replace beltran no matter what so vote him in…he deserves it the most!
by EveryHoustonTeamRox! on Jul 7, 2009 4:37 PM CDT up reply actions
Lance, A NO BRAINER?
If Berkman were playing in LA, NY or Chicago he would undoubtedly be an All-Star every year. There are not many players in all of baseball that I would rather have wearing an Astros uniform. Would Derek Jeter be an All Star every year if he were playing in Houston? Not hardly. Every year players are chosen because of the recognition they get from the BIG media affiliates.
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