How About a Little Love for Dunn?

Last week I went out a limb for a Nats blogger and made the case for Ryan Zimmerman in the All Star game. Sure, it’s tough to be that man on an island, but hey, I’ll say what I think is right. In all seriousness everyone seems to be dumbstruck around here by the fact that Zimmerman is not even in the top 5 in voting, despite his recent slump. I’m the same way. Less vocal, although probably also out there, is the crowd that recognizes the All Star potential and snubbing of Adam Dunn. The difference between Dunn and Zimmerman is that there’s no Pujols in the Zimmerman category, whereas Dunn is never going to have a legit shot as the best first baseman in the NL. Here is list of top 5 1b votegetters as of today:

1. Albert Pujols (2,622,123)
2. Ryan Howard (1,137,058)
3. Prince Fielder (789,526)
4. Troy Glaus (753,249)
5. Joey Votto (691,075)

That being said, he may be deserving of some attention, let’s look at some of his rankings in the NL 1B category:

Friday Roundup (And One More All Star Candidate)

I forgot to mention in yesterday’s plea to notice that there are Nats playing well, here is where you can actually vote for All Stars:

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2009/ballot_reg.html

I just voted myself. Not for myself. That would be disingenuous.

Craig Stammen had a nice start yesterday. Not spectacular in the end, but if he was 21, he would have been taken out after the 6th inning and looked alot better. Of course if he was 21 and did that everyone would have been much more excited. Still, he pitched well, and looks to be a decent spot starter. And once the rotation fills out, isn’t that guy worthy of a shot at the bullpen? I mean, he throws strikes, that’s more than most of them can say.

Vote Milledge? How ’bout Vote Zimmerman?

As you may have read last week, there are people out there who really want to vote Lastings Milledge in to the All Star game. Regardless of the reason – embarrassing the Nats, thinking it would hamper the NL in the game, just because it’s funny, I’m not gonna judge. If people want to do it, go right ahead. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t work anyway. But I’m more concerned with getting in the guys who deserve to go. It’s a great personal accomplishment to get voted to the All Star game. Not only is it something that players are proud of, it helps them negotiate their salaries later on, and when they retire and are considered for the Hall of Fame, “number of All Star appearances” is always part of the application. So here are a few players who, in my opinion, genuinely deserve a vote, or at least consideration for it. I’m not going with alot of prose here, just the facts, and stats (up to yesterday: 5/20) compared to the competition – other players in the NL vying for the same spot.

Ryan Zimmerman – 0 All Star Appearances

.358/.416/.624, 10 HR
59 Hits  – 1st in the NL
34 Runs – Tied for 1st in the NL
.358 AVG – 5th in the NL
.624 SLG – 3rd in the NL
1.040 OPS – 4th in the NL

Rankings Among NL Third Basemen:
R – 1st (34)
H – 1st (59)
2B – 1st (14)
HR – 1st (10)
RBI – 1st (31)
AVG – 2nd (.358)
OBP – 3rd (.416)
SLG – 1st (.624)
OPS – 1st (1.040)