Not That We Will Have to Worry Again in Our Lifetimes...

But Charlie Manuel should never be allowed to select an All-Star roster again. At least somebody else noticed.

The team representation factor does make it a more difficult task, but nobody is selecting Omar Infante over Ryan Zimmerman if they are trying to win the game. Tough break for Josh Willingham as well, clearly having the best season of his career and producing at a Pujolsian-level, squeezed out by Corey Hart's home run binge, Michael Bourn's mediocre bat and speed, and required roster fillers Marlon Byrd and Chris Young.

All Star Picks... NL OF

Outfield: Several good players to choose from here. Raul Ibanez is so far ahead of the field, he can be penciled into the LF spot. After that, there are nearly a dozen players who can find their way into a strong argument to start. First, the pleasant surprises. Mike Cameron has always been a premier defensive center fielder, but his bat has mysteriously gone south at times. At age 36, he continues to impress with the glove, taking the burden of teammate Ryan Braun, but has also rebounded nicely with the bat and should match the numbers he put up during his prime. His K/BB rates have also improved. He is still at the back of the line, though. Braun is hitting the ball well, but is a little behind last year's numbers... he is an adequate left fielder, which he should anchor down on the NL side for year till arbitration, but not this year. Adam Dunn and Brad Hawpe are the two sluggers that do nothing else but hit and hit well. Each are deserving of the nod, but I'm going with the ever-consistent Carlos Beltran, and 21 year-old stud Justin Upton. Upton's .340 average is probably a mirage, but his speed and power is the only thing keeping the Backs from being a AAA team. Beltran deserves one more nod in CF before retiring to one of the corner positions as his speed decays.

All Star Picks... NL 3B and SS

I combined these two because there isn't much to debate.

Third Base: Ryan Zimmerman. David Wright has put up a decent batting average, and stole a crap ton of bases one game, but he is also striking out like it is his job, and his power way, way down. Zim, on the other hand, seems to have ironed out a few of the kinks in his swing (which actually caused my fiance and I to dub the Papa John's Zimmerman special, "What, are they going to deliver me a ground into a double play?). His line drive and fly ball rates are up, which has lead to an increase in easy singles and doubles, and along the way a 30-game hit streak. He is also fielding his position better than anyone in the league.

Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez is the Ryan Zimmerman of the shortstop position. Right now not only is he hitting the ball harder and further than anyone else playing the position, but he is also a proficient runner and superior fielder. With JJ Hardy struggling at the plate a little, nobody else enters the discussion.

Cristian Guzman? The .340 batting average (and steadily dropping) is decoration. He used to thrive on his speed, and his power numbers were driven by his ability to stretch singles to doubles, and doubles to triples. He has foregone the walk, apparently having donated his balls to science. And now, his attitude toward fielding can be illustrated by plummeting range and UZR numbers. Age and injuries may be a factor, but watching him nonchalantly jog around the infield leads me to believe otherwise.

All Star Picks... NL C

I decided to change up the order here, as the Nationals offense is really struggling and this is one of the reasons why.

Catcher: The National League has watched breakout candidates Russell Martin and Geo Soto struggle to start the season. There have been two catchers who have hit the ball consistently and with authority: Brian McCann and Jesus Flores. Their offensive numbers are similar in almost every category, though the Nationals pitching woes have affected Flores defensive numbers. Head-to-head, McCann gets the nod now for the all-star pick, though it should be noted that since Flores and Dukes went on the DL for the Nationals, offensive production has collapsed like a house of cards.

Flores should make immediate contributions as soon as he is off the DL. Our boy Wil, despite the average, doesn't scare opposing pitchers, and Bard is still clearly AAA material. Jesus Flores looks like a legitimate threat if he can continue to draw walks and hit for modest power. The 134 OPS+ is probably a temporary mirage, but 120+ over the course of a season is outstanding for a catcher hitting 6th.

All Star Picks... NL 2B

Second Base: Tough decision, and I really wanted to find a way to work Orlando Hudson into the conversation, but defensively he has regressed since getting off the turf in Toronto. Hudson has been awesome at the top of the Dodgers lineup, a product of his .400 BABIP. Rickie Weeks may have been able to steal the vote, but he is hurt, leaving Chase Utley and only Chase Utley at the top of the list. We all know what Utley does, providing a .300 average with 30 homers and 100 RBIs... and he's pretty solid with the glove too. He's basically Ryno with better tools around him in the lineup. He is almost a lock for a fourth straight Silver Slugger and will likely join Ryno in 15 years.

Where do the Nats second basemen fit in? Well, Ronnie Belliard has been so bad the Nats have turned to Anderson Hernandez, who is batting a mildly acceptable .280 with no power. This is actually shocking, considering in a full season of AAA he dropped a ghastly .568 OPS at Norfolk (Mets) for an entire season. In most cases, this would put you right out of baseball... with the Nats, immediate promotion to the majors. Honestly, I don't even know how to appropriately criticize this, since I wasn't scouting the International League last year. Soft hitting middle infielders can play if they can field well, but he looks like an average fielder and he is already 26. He seems to also be picking up some bad habits from Mr. Guzman. The Nats should be in the market for a major league second baseman this off-season.

All Star Picks... NL 1B

I always enjoy making my All-Star baseball picks. I make them for football as well, but football requires watching so many different things, from the quarterback, offensive line, defensive line, coverage assignments, play-calling. Basically, in football, too many things cannot be measured with tested metrics. KC Joyner tries, and reinvents himself every year with new analyses. Outside of that, there isn't much to measure the effectiveness of left guards and weak-side linebackers. Baseball has a qualitative measurement for almost everything now. Baseball picks are fun because they are easy to argue and defend with evidence as opposed to exposure.

I will post National league picks first.

First base: Not many incorrect answers here, but I think I will go with the less popular pick of the Padres' Adrian Gonzalez. I have Joey Votto on my fantasy team, and he has been obscenely good when not suffering from mysterious illnesses. Pujols is having another first-ballot season, but the reason I like Gonzalez is this: his road splits have him on pace for a 1.168 OPS and 73 home runs over 500 at bats. Amazingly, he has only driven in 31 runs on his 17 bombs. Seriously, get this guy out of Petco Park. It doesn't hurt that he has been the better defender of the three.

Where does Nick Johnson fit in? He isn't having a poor season at all, but doesn't hit with the power the public expects from the corner positions. He probably fits into his own group, probably seen by the public as being less effective than Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard. His numbers are slightly inflated by a .395 BABIP, but with the number of injuries he's suffered in his career, he should be due for a little luck, especially given his retarded 32.3% line drive figure.