How ironic would it be if no Yankees were elected to start in the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium? Considering how lackluster all of their regulars have played so far, no to mention the fact that A-Rod is on the disabled list and won’t be generating nearly the same buzz he did last spring when he came out mashing, isn’t it within the realm of possibility that New York won’t be able to elect any starters to this year’s game? Frankly, it all depends on Derek Jeter, who could roll out of bed and garner 2 million votes, but who’s currently hitting .277 with no home runs, no stolen bases, no range, a .303 on-base percentage, and a .351 slugging percentage.

Not exactly All-Star material.

If Jeter can’t nail down a starting spot, it’s likely the Yankees will be shut out, since Robinson Cano is doing squat at second base, where Dustin Pedroia is coming off Rookie of the Year honors, a World Series title, and is still raking. Behind the plate, Jorge Posada is on the DL, and the rest of the Yankees’ ballot representatives — Jason Giambi, Melky Cabrera, Hideki Matsui, Bobby Abreu, and Johnny Damon — aren’t going to generate meaningful fan support. Meanwhile at third base, an injured Alex Rodriquez has to hold off the likes of Miguel Cabrera, Chone Figgins and Mike Lowell, all of whom are now playing and (perhaps most importantly) playing for good teams with good fan support. Consequently, it looks like it’ll come down to Jeter, or as Michael Kay refers to him 15 times per broadcast, The Love of My Life The Captain.

The last time Jeter didn’t get elected to start was 2005, when Miguel Tejada got the nod during his second year in Baltimore. Tejada is now playing in the National League and has aged like an open bottle of Boone’s Farm wine. Given that, is there anyone in this year’s field at shortstop who could pull a Tejada ‘05 and keep Jeter from starting? Strangely enough, there is: Edgar Renteria, Boston’s former shortstop. The five-time All-Star is hitting .309 on a team that (quite suddenly) is no longer sucking and seems capable of maintaining quite a bit of fan support in Detroit this season. If Renteria can keep his average above .300, he might (I say, might) be able to give Jeter a run for his money. Otherwise, the rest of the field (Orlando Cabrera, David Eckstein, Michael Young, Julio Lugo) has no chance of getting more votes than the Yankee shortstop.

Sure, Sox fans, you could waste your vote on Lugo, but personally I could never bring myself to do that, since voting for him is like recommending your creepy drunken uncle for a job: Yeah, he’s family, but you don’t want your reputation resting on his actions. Besides, no one outside Boston is going to vote for Lugo (nor should they).

So, Sox fans, do you have it in you? Do you have it in your gut to vote for Rent-A-Wreck, the one-year stopgap who came to Boston and withered under the unforgiving glare? I do. After all, he’s our best bet for having an All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium (during its last season, no less) that features no Yankee starters. Come on, who wouldn’t enjoy that? Ya know, besides the “Universe”?

Cam Martin is a Sox fan who lives in Yankee country (Fairfield County, CT). He also covers baseball for Bugs&Cranks. E-mail: cdavidmartin@yahoo.com

7 Responses to “An All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium with no Yankee starters?”

1. Rbastid Says:
   May 1st, 2008 at 12:35 pm

   We gotta put all our hope into the fact Wang is doing pretty good and if he and a few others have the same record he could get the starting pitcher Nod.

   Matsui is having a nice year but Limited atbats and normal bleh arm can hurt him, but theres a billion people outside the US to vote for him, and Wang.

2. jackin'4beats Says:
   May 1st, 2008 at 12:42 pm

   Your opinion is clearly not biased.

   Anyway, Wang and Mariano will definitely be there, but for any of the position players to make it, they’ll really need to start scoring more than 2 runs per game to get any support outside of NY.

3. Pete Says:
   May 1st, 2008 at 12:45 pm

   Well, if you count Mariano as a ’starting’ closer, he’ll be there for sure.

4. Kevin Says:
   May 1st, 2008 at 2:07 pm

   Did you really suggest that A-Rod would have trouble fending off Lowell for the All-Star game. Have you watched Lowell at all this year or are you just a giant douchebag. A-Rod’s injury could put him in a wheel chair and he would be a better option. I predict Wang, Mariano, Jeter, Posado, A-Rod, and lets throw in Cano and MAtsui as coaches picks as well.

5. Ross Says:
   May 1st, 2008 at 2:21 pm

   Chien Ming Wang says you are wrong, since he will be the SP for the game!

6. abeetzwmoots Says:
   May 1st, 2008 at 3:26 pm

   No non-asians!

7. Sam Says:
   May 1st, 2008 at 6:06 pm

   Lol. Wang as the starter? I’m sorry, I believe Cliff Lee and has been better than Wang this year. Daisuke has even been better than Wang. He’s 4-0, should be 6-0, has a better ERA, more Ks, less hits, better WHIP, better BAA, better GameScore. Wang will probably be there, but not as a starter.

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