Matsuzaka may wind up lacking Star appeal
OAKLAND, Calif. -- In the aftermath of his 2-0 loss to Oakland Tuesday night, Daisuke Matsuzaka was asked about his chances of being selected an All-Star. It's a topic of some interest in the Bay Area, given that the All-Star Game will be played in AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.
"I would certainly love to be chosen to play in that game and it would be an honor," Matsuzaka said. "But at the present moment, looking at my performance, I don't think I'm worthy of being on that team."
The Sox have two certain All-Stars. David Ortiz, a three-time All-Star, is a runaway leader in the fan voting at first base (there is no listing for designated hitters on the ballot), while Manny Ramírez ranks second in the voting for outfield and is headed for his 11th All-Star selection, though he has asked out on three previous occasions.
Josh Beckett, Boston's unbeaten starter, would seem to be an obvious choice to go, while closer Jonathan Papelbon, third baseman Mike Lowell, and first baseman Kevin Youkilis can all make strong cases for inclusion. Matsuzaka would appear to be a long shot, at best.
"I don't know anything about the [fans] voting, but Mikey, that sucker deserves to be on the All-Star team," Sox catcher Jason Varitek said. "But there's another guy having a phenomenal year at third."
That "other guy," of course, is Alex Rodriguez, who is leading all American League players in the fan voting.
But this is where things get dicey, and not just for Matsuzaka. There are 32 players on each of the All-Star teams. The players, not the fans, pick the pitchers: five starters and three relievers on each team. They also vote on eight position players. If their selection at a certain position is the same as the fans, their second choice is added to the club.
The managers, with input from Major League Baseball, then fill out the balance of the squad -- four more pitchers, and three reserves -- and every team has to be represented. The managers, who opposed each other in the World Series last season, are Jim Leyland of the Tigers and Tony La Russa of the Cardinals.
The 32d player is picked after the teams are announced, in on-line balloting by the fans. Last season, Nomar Garciaparra was the last man in for the National League, while A.J. Pierzynski of the White Sox was the AL pick.
Matsuzaka, who is 7-4 with a 4.63 ERA, could yet reel off several wins before voting stops at the end of the month to enhance his position, but double-digit wins at the break don't guarantee a spot. Matsuzaka need only ask Curt Schilling, who had 10 wins at the break last season and did not make the squad.
Oakland's Dan Haren, who leads the league in ERA (1.70), would appear a certain selection by his peers. So would Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia (9-1, 3.40 ), the Angels' John Lackey (9-4, 2.60 ), Beckett (8-0, 2.95 ), and the Twins' Johan Santana, whose record is more modest (6-5, 3.30 ) but has two Cy Young Awards in his possession. That's five starters , and doesn't include the Tigers' Justin Verlander, last season's rookie of the year, the Royals' Gil Meche, who has pitched superbly for a bad team, the Devil Rays' James Shields, who has been a revelation for Tampa Bay, or the Blue Jays' Roy Halladay, who has struggled but is another former Cy Young winner.
Matsuzaka's only chance, it would appear, is as an add-on.
"It's not how a lot of people picture it," said Sox manager Terry Francona, who managed the 2005 All-Stars.
A pain? "It was huge," he said. "I hope to do it again, but it's not fair, is what it is."
Francona said he and bench coach Brad Mills put a lot of effort into their roster choices.
"Millsy was sort of in charge," Francona said. "We made lists, literally every couple of days. We changed lists, pared lists. It wasn't necessarily what was going to happen, but we were trying to be real organized, so that if something came up, we thought we had reason if someone on another team had to be on, or someone got hurt. It took a lot of time, but it really helped us."
While trying to satisfy the rules, Francona said, he ran into trouble with the constituency that mattered most to him. Two Red Sox players, starter Matt Clement and setup man Mike Timlin, had played well enough to merit consideration, and there may have been a perception that Francona merely had to exercise his prerogative, and they would be added to the team.
But once he made sure every team was represented, Francona said, he had no room on the club for his own players.
"I filed a thing with the league for Timlin," Francona said, "because he was our guy. I don't think Mike understood [why he wasn't selected]. I don't think, until he made it, Clement understood. [Clement was substituted for another pitcher who scratched].
"The only team meeting we had all year was about the All-Star Game. I was floored. It was like, you've got to be kidding me. We haven't had a meeting about our team, and we have to have a meeting about the All-Star team?
"But I think guys felt I wasn't sticking up for them. Nothing could have been further from the truth. You've got look at the regulations. They're set in stone. It handcuffs you."
Papelbon was voted to his first All-Star team last season, drawing the most votes of any reliever in player balloting. He is facing some stiff competition this season from Francisco Rodriguez of the Angels (19 saves ) and J.J. Putz of the Mariners (15 for 15 ) among others. There is also this component to consider: Is the Yankees' Mariano Rivera, who is off to a slow start, an All-Star? Not on his ballot, Papelbon said.
"He's an all-star-caliber player," Papelbon said, "but is he having an all-star-caliber year? No. It's the 2007 All-Star team. If it was the all-century team or all-decade team, then yeah.
"For me, personally, I think I've got to get six or seven more saves and throw up about six or seven more innings of zeroes to be that caliber of All-Star. I don't feel like I've had an All-Star first half, so to speak. I feel I've done my job, I've blown only one save, but it's been kind of a weird year for me."
Lowell said he believes most players take the voting process seriously. "When we vote, I'm not voting like a fan, I'm voting on performance," he said. "I've got to believe most guys do. This isn't like one of those Sports Illustrated polls in spring training. I think players vote because they feel people should be rewarded for doing well."
Like Papelbon, Varitek said he bases his performance on how a player is doing that season. "It's a new year," he said. "That's why I think. I'll know some stats, but I vote from playing against people, from experience, seeing highlights, the impact they've had playing against them, how dangerous they are, how dominating they are as a pitcher."
He was mortified, he said, to be leading the fans' voting last season, when he was struggling, and was relieved when Joe Mauer of the Twins overtook him in the last count. "I would have been embarrassed," he said, "because I felt I didn't deserve it."
Youkilis, despite leading all AL first basemen in hitting with a .344 average, is not listed on the ballot, because a team can have only one nominee per position -- and Ortiz occupies that spot. Youkilis has no shot as a write-in candidate. If he doesn't win the players' vote, perhaps Leyland may add him, but that's where the every-team-has-to-have-a-star rule may work against him. The Texas Rangers' only All-Star-worthy player may be first baseman Mark Teixeira (.294, 11 HRs).
Francona hopes that if all else fails, Youkilis wins the "32d man" vote.
