Posts tagged ‘All-Star Game’

The comparisons of this year’s Cubs team to last year’s repeat division-winning team have been constant this season, and at times stifling. It says a lot that you can hear an audible groan in our episodes whenever Mark DeRosa’s name is uttered. I thought that all the “what would have been”-type talk would die down by the end of April, but it’s still going strong until June. Here’s hoping it ends as soon as possible.

It’s been a strange season in a lot of ways. The injuries. The ejections. The suspension. That poor Gatorade machine. However, what’s most interesting to me is that one player (or several, but I’m not trying to be greedy) hasn’t gone All-World for the Cubs yet this season. Sure, we’ve seen some awesome performances:

* Ted Lilly’s no-hitter through 6 2/3 on a frigid April day

* Dempster’s 7 shutout innings in Saturday’s outing vs. the Dodgers

* Reed Johnson’s RBI method clinic that same Saturday

* Tuffy Rhodes’ 450th HR in Japan

* Soriano’s 2 HR game in Houston and his HR on the 2nd pitch he saw this season

We’ve also seen a good amount of suckitude, and I won’t make that list for a variety of reasons. Still, nobody pops out (poor terminology) on this Cubs roster as a runaway All-Star, even despite cleverly titled articles on the flagship Cubs site such as Soriano, Fukudome making All-Star impact.

I’ll vote for those players and will hope they make it, but if All-Stars are chosen based on a rounded game from April through June, I think Kosuke Fukudome is the only deserving Cub. Soriano can get hotter than a car on a desert highway any given game or week, but the fact that his average has dropped nearly 30 points in May doesn’t bode well for his selection. He’s still obviously one of the most feared home run threats in the league, and that counts for something to a lot of players.

Last years Cubs All-Stars: Kosuke Fukudome, Soriano, Soto, Wood, Dempster, Ramirez and Zambrano.

Is anyone more deserving in your opinion that Fukudome? Post a comment and let us know.

It was announced this weekend that the Chicago Cubs are going to have 7 players represent the National League in this year’s All-Star Game on July 15th. Seven Cubs! By mid-July it’s normally tough to throw a dart and hit 7 of them healthy enough to take the field, let alone represent something that isn’t a pain relief spray or tablet. And while the health thing is debatable on at least one Cubs All-Star, here they are, in all their glory:

Ryan Dempster – SP
Kosuke Fukudome – OF (starter)
Aramis Ramirez – 3B
Alfonso Soriano – OF (starter)
Geovany Soto – C (starter)
Kerry Wood – RP
Carlos Zambrano – SP

Congrats to each of them, and to Cubs GM Jim Hendry, who was directly involved with bringing at least 5 of these players to the Cubs. We don’t often sing his praises, but Hendry has bolstered the club especially in the last 2 years, and has made the Cubs more competitive with his deals each year since he started. Plus, it’s no secret that the day before the 2002 trade of Todd Hundley was one of the darkest days in Cubs history, or what The Rock would call rock bottom. Whenever the Cubs GM retires or moves on, he should be given a room full of plaques for that move. Not to mention any of the other moves that happened in order to bring many of the above players to the North Side.

However, there’s a few duds in every box, so since I had some time I went back and selected a few players that Hendry helped acquire that will represent no one in any All-Star game this year or likely any year. They play the same positions as the talented Cubs players selected by fans, other players, and Rockies coach Clint Hurdle.

Cliff Bartosh – RP
Freddy Bynum – OF (starter)
Todd Dunwoody – OF
Wade Miller – SP (starter)
Josh Paul – C
Neifi Perez – 3B
Les Walrond – SP

Okay, as sad as that list is, I have to admit that I only gained more confidence in Hendry in spending a few minutes looking at the lists of transactions from 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. Jim and the Cubs front office drafted both Tim Lincecum and Micah Owings in the late rounds, but they both refused to sign. If they had (especially Lincecum), maybe the Cubs could have sent 8.

Anyway, best of luck to these players at Yankees Stadium (and at the skating rink, respectively) and thanks to Jim Hendry and his staff for working to better this franchise. They unquestionably have done that.