Michael Morse finished fourth among the five candidates for the final spot on the National League's All-Star roster.The Nationals first baseman came in behind winner Shane Victorino of the Phillies, runner-up Andre Ethier of the Dodgers and Todd Helton of the Rockies. Diamondbacks pitcher Ian Kennedy finished last in the online vote, which began Sunday afternoon and concluded at 4 p.m. today.
White Sox DH Paul Konerko won the American League vote.
It's still possible Morse could be named as an All-Star replacement if other players withdraw due to injury. Victorino has a sprained thumb and may not be ready to return in time, though NL manager Bruce Bochy would probably pick Ethier as the replacement since he finished second in the fan vote.
There are other potential injury scratches, though, including outfielder Ryan Braun and shortstop Jose Reyes (who was placed on the DL today).
Members of the Nationals roster know who they want to take Reyes' spot: Danny Espinosa, who leads all major-league rookies with 16 homers and 50 RBI. No other second baseman in the big leagues has hit more homers.
"Sixteen and 50, for a second baseman," teammate Jerry Hairston emphatically said in the Nationals clubhouse this afternoon. "That's an All-Star."
7 comments:
Wow, he really was cheated of that spot. Why even have a vote for someone who's injured?!
Victorino? Blech.
Maybe those in attendance tonight could do cheers for the first at-bats of Morse and Espi - "You're our All-Star." If they were so inclined, they might also wish to add a "Victorino stinks" cheer. ;-)
They'll be sorry when Espi is ROY. hehe.
But if Victorino goes on the DL, wouldn't he put McCutchen in?
Gonat said...
Jose Reyes may be headed to the DL and Troy Tulowitzki has a leg injury. Wouldn't it be nice if Danny Espinosa was added as another middle infielder to the All Star roster!
I hope Davey Johnson has called Bruce Bochy to remind him that Michael Morse has played LF this year as it is quite possible Ryan Braun won't play in the All Star game.
Morse is in the Top 5 of all players in power numbers and Danny Espinosa is the 3rd rated 2nd baseman in the NL.
I believe both are snubs and I realize there will always be snubs when you play on a losing team but guess what? This team isn't a loser right now!
Another side-effect of Riggleman's departure is he would have been an All Star game coach and hopefully would have pushed for Morse and Espy.
Back to punch in more N4s on my cell!!!!!!!
July 7, 2011 3:19 PM
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My post from early this afternoon hinting at a lot of Mark just wrote.
If you are listening to FP tonight, he said he contacted members of the Coaching staff of the Giants to suggest Danny Espinosa could replace the DL'd Jose Reyes. I had suggested Davey Johnson do something similar but glad FP was proactive.
The Nationals narrow fan base rears its ugly face once again. Even before the first vote was cast, I knew Victorino would get the most votes even though Morse is more deserving.
The system is flawed because it always rewards the player from the city with the largest fan base. This system was probably dreamed up by Sleaze Selig, who is famous for coming up with bird brain schemes. Another one is awarding the winner of the All Star game with the home field advantage for the World Series.
I'm so glad FP did that! Makes me lime him even more! I spent almost an hour today Voting for him (I know...get a life Jane!). I hope he feels how much the fans here appreciate him.
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