Comments on: Wright Makes All Star Team Over Actual All Stars

By: Jonathan Atwood

Jonathan Atwood — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:41:53 +0000

If we’re talking about who you’d rather have on your team, I think it’s obvious Reyes is not the type of guy you want on your team. He’s immature. Not that Tejada is Jason Varitek or Aaron Rowand, but he’s more mature than Babyface.

That being said, Reyes’ numbers are definitely better than Tejada’s and based on that alone should definitely be on the team. And I agree, guys like Ludwick and Martin shouldn’t be on there. Or Corey Hart.

The reason I take issue with Wright is that he was added at the last minute by the manager. We can complain all we want about Corey Hart, but he was chosen by fan vote, which is never based on rational reasoning. There were other guys more deserving than Wright to be named as Soriano’s replacement. Do we really need three third basemen?

By: gozer

gozer — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:52:59 +0000

I agree that Carlos Lee should be at the All Star game, but I disagree that Wright isn’t have an All Star year as well. I also think if you asked a lot of managers, ‘who would you rather have on your team: lee or wright?’, most managers would say wright. That’s essentially the decision that Hurtle had to make, and given how close the numbers are, I don’t think you can kill him for it. Wright’s on pace for 29 homers and 120 RBI, has been an All Star in each of the last two seasons, and is coming off an MVP-type year in ‘07. If you’re going to file a complaint about the NL roster, tell me why the hell Corey Hart is on the team. Or how is Aramis Ramirez having a superior season to Wright? And do we really need three catchers on the roster? And is Russell Martin really having an All-Star year? Moaning about Wright’s inclusion seems an odd place to start. If I were to moan about anything, I’d want to know why Jose Reyes isn’t on the roster while Miguel Tejada is. That right there is a joke.

By: Jonathan Atwood

Jonathan Atwood — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:55:14 +0000

My mistake. When looking at Howard’s OBP I looked at his career average, not this year’s.

Look, anyone that knows me knows that I think Ryan Howard is the most one dimensional player I have ever seen and that I think the Phillies should trade him immediately. It’s obvious he doesn’t want to play here, or doesn’t think he’s going to get the money he believes he’s worth in Philly, and is going to leave after his contract is up. The Phils should trade him while they can still get something serious for him.

Howard makes Dunn and Richie Sexson look like triple crown winners. The glaring difference between Dunn (and Sexson) and Howard is that those two guys get on base, they walk, a lot. Howard does not, which really hurts. I definitely agree that home runs aren’t everything and that Howard hurts this team with all his strike outs, but his power numbers are still pretty amazing at this point.

Taking Howard and Burrell out of the discussion, Wright still does not deserve to make the All Star team. Carlos Lee should be an all star, not Wright.

By: gozer

gozer — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:14:59 +0000

Listen, I tear Carlos Beltran apart routinely for being a .270 hitter while being paid like a premier hitter, so you can imagine my opinion of a guy hitting .234. Adam Dunn gets kicked around in baseball circles all the time - just listen JP Riccardi’s remarks the other week. How is Ryan Howard any different? Howard hit .313 in his MVP year - what happened to that guy? And the fact that Howard should somehow receive more respect for his MVP is laughable. He’d receive plenty of respect if he earned it by even flirting with the .300 mark in years subsequent to his MVP. When instead you’re hitting .230 after nearly 100 games, you’re just gift wrapping ammunition for your detractors. I mean, admit it, Phillies fans, the 84 RBIs are HUGE, but even so, you must be growing weary of strikeouts at this point, no? I mean, he’s on pace to strike out 218 times this season. Doesn’t that embarrass him, or are homers the only thing that matter in Philly these days? I know people are bound to be defensive listening to a Mets fan dump on their guy, but personally, I remember the Ryan Howard that used to hit line drives through the outfield wall - that’s how you hit .300. What Howard has morphed into - that’s not hitting.

By: Gerard

Gerard — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:57:19 +0000

The fact that Wright looks like such a homo in that picture should automatically exclude him from the All-Star Game. What the hell is that? A scully and a blazer? I’ve lost all respect for him. The fact that Howard’s a former MVP and Rookie of the Year should give him the edge on that alone. Period… MVP’s have always been awarded more respect then Howard’s ever recieved.

By: Enriquefed

Enriquefed — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:55:11 +0000

Where did you get those stats from? I hate David Wright as much as the next Phillie fan, but you need to look at their numbers a little closer:

Wright: .285 AVG, .382 OBP, .506 SLG, .888 OPS
Howard: .236 AVG, .328 OBP, .517 SLG, .844 OPS

If you take away the raw numbers and look closer, Wright is having the better year and, unfortunately, is deserving of making the All-Star team. Pat Burrell, on the other hand, was robbed and should be on the team, but not Ryan Howard.