2014 All Stars [Announced 7/6: Ramirez and Gomez start, Lucroy and K-Rod reserves]

[djoctagone]

pretty cool that carlos gomez climbed all the way up to third place.

[HiAndTight]

I think it is kind of funny how many votes Braun is getting. Reading the op ed pieces if he gets elected by the fans one year after being suspended will be entertaining. Jeff Passan might just decide to quit.

 

Just goes to show that the silent majority doesn't really care about steroids.

 

 

While that is certainly true, Braun's deal was more than just PED's. Without rehashing it, I'm surprised fans have forgiven him so quickly for the content and suggestions behind "the denial."

 

Not that I wouldn't vote for him.

[Pugger]

IMO the All Star Game is a glorified popularity contest and I don't really mind if we only have one player in it. I haven't voted and I really don't plan on to. Often the game is on a Tuesday and I have another commitment on Tuesday nights. Usually we watch the HR hitting contest and that's it.

 

I must say I'm surprised at the number of votes Braun is getting. If you read comments on baseball sites or listen to fans boo him like crazy on the road you would think he was universally reviled except for Brewer fans.

[stoutdude04]

IMO the All Star Game is a glorified popularity contest and I don't really mind if we only have one player in it. I haven't voted and I really don't plan on to. Often the game is on a Tuesday and I have another commitment on Tuesday nights. Usually we watch the HR hitting contest and that's it.

 

I must say I'm surprised at the number of votes Braun is getting. If you read comments on baseball sites or listen to fans boo him like crazy on the road you would think he was universally reviled except for Brewer fans.

 

As someone else mentioned, I think this shows many people really don't care about PED's/know what is going on within baseball. I mean, injured players win the vote sometimes. It would be neat if the voting public got together and voted in the worst player in the league to start in a game that matters.

[jerichoholicninja]

It would be neat if the voting public got together and voted in the worst player in the league to start in a game that matters.

 

Didn't that happen to the NHL All Star game a few years ago?

[logan82]

IMO the All Star Game is a glorified popularity contest and I don't really mind if we only have one player in it. I haven't voted and I really don't plan on to. Often the game is on a Tuesday and I have another commitment on Tuesday nights. Usually we watch the HR hitting contest and that's it.

 

I must say I'm surprised at the number of votes Braun is getting. If you read comments on baseball sites or listen to fans boo him like crazy on the road you would think he was universally reviled except for Brewer fans.

 

As someone else mentioned, I think this shows many people really don't care about PED's/know what is going on within baseball. I mean, injured players win the vote sometimes. It would be neat if the voting public got together and voted in the worst player in the league to start in a game that matters.

Yuni is playing in Japan.

[gregmag]

Braun is doing the only smart thing he could do: keeping his head down and producing. The last thing he wants right now is attention. If he can just put up Ryan Braun numbers, people will eventually lose interest in the juicing story.

 

Lucroy has turned into a wonderful player. He just constantly finds ways to help his team win. The ten-pitch AB to start the rally on Saturday, going 2b to 3b on the fly ball Sunday. That's on top of great frontline numbers. He and Gomez have to be mortal locks for the ASG. Beyond that, I think we'll get at least one of Lohse, Rodriguez, and Smith. We are, after all, the second-best team in the league.

[djoctagone]

carlos gomez back in third, but only by 1658 votes.

[JohnBriggs12]

How about Scooter for an All Star spot? His numbers are looking pretty good compared to the rest of the league at 2B. He's not on the ballot of course but maybe he can sneak into the fan vote for the last guy.

 

Scooter may have a real shot at the final fan vote now with numbers he's putting up and the fact he wasn't on the original ballot.

[fondybrewfan]

Brewers fans stuffed the ballot boxes this week; holy smokes.

 

Gomez now in 3rd and within striking distance of 1st (Braun 5th)

Ramirez is now in 1st at 3rd

Lucroy is solidly in 2nd but well behind Molina

 

Brewers fans even made the questionable decision to vote for Weeks and Reynolds as they have also cracked the Top #5. Segura still in 2nd a mile behind Tulo

[DuWayne Steurer]

Brewers fans stuffed the ballot boxes this week; holy smokes.

 

Gomez now in 3rd and within striking distance of 1st (Braun 5th)

Ramirez is now in 1st at 3rd

Lucroy is solidly in 2nd but well behind Molina

 

Brewers fans even made the questionable decision to vote for Weeks and Reynolds as they have also cracked the Top #5. Segura still in 2nd a mile behind Tulo

 

 

I have been voting for Gomez, Lucoy, Gennett, and Rami. Voting for Weeks is dumb.

[Funketown]

Lucroy getting some love from ESPN for his pitch framing.

 

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/11127248/how-catcher-framing-becoming-great-skill-smart-teams-new-york-yankees-espn-magazine

 

(Also, some of their new web design is horrible. I don't need to read your articles in size 84 font with bright lights and colors.)

[djoctagone]

if voting ended today, aramis ramirez and carlos gomez would be starters.

[Bombers]

Gomez now in 2nd place. Braun in 5th.

Ramirez in 1st place by 200k votes.

Lucroy in 2nd place by 500k votes.

 

Here is a brief update on mlb.com:

The only difference since last week's update is how the top three outfielders shuffled. The trio remains the same -- the Dodgers' Yasiel Puig, the Pirates' Andrew McCutchen and the Brewers' Carlos Gomez -- but McCutchen (3,173,810 votes) moved from second to first, Gomez (3,169,748) from third to second and Puig (3,001,907) fell from first to third.

 

Additionally, the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton (2,681,019) and the Brewers' Ryan Braun (2,509,770) aren't far behind in the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.

 

Beyond the outfield, the two close races are at third base and catcher, and a couple of Brewers are involved there, too. After climbing ahead of the Mets' David Wright (1,555,717) last week, Aramis Ramirez (1,790,777) still leads by a narrow margin. And Jonathan Lucroy (2,636,640) is closing in on Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (3,100,939) heading into the homestretch.

[JohnBriggs12]

Lucroy getting some love from ESPN for his pitch framing.

 

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/11127248/how-catcher-framing-becoming-great-skill-smart-teams-new-york-yankees-espn-magazine

 

(Also, some of their new web design is horrible. I don't need to read your articles in size 84 font with bright lights and colors.)

 

 

That's the trend in web design and I hate it. pgatour.com used to be one of the best sites anywhere for golf fans seeking information. Now it's awful (information is hard to find) and they actually advertise the "upgrade" in tournament telecasts. Who do these people think are their customers? As for ESPN, it looks like they are copying their awful unreadable magazine.

[RightFieldCoder]

The new paradigm is to design for both desktop and mobile devices. No more detecting what device you are using and redirecting to a different page. That more than doubles the amount of developer time it takes to create the page. That design trend is the best design that works for small touch screens and large mouse driven screens.

[bthurley19]

The classiest fans in baseball are not going to be happy about this:

 

[torts]

what does that say?

[reillymcshane]

I have to admit that it would be really funny if Lucroy beat out Molina.

 

Brewer fans have been voting in droves. And it can't hurt that Lucroy is getting talked up as an MVP (I think Tom Verducci at SI picked him as his first 1/2 MVP).

 

Even a lot of casual fans don't like the Cardinals, so it's nice to pick someone else. Plus, you look at the numbers and Luc is killling it.

 

That said, if Molina wins it's not a big deal. I think past performance can influence selections. I don't think that's bad, but it has to be reasonable. It's not like Molina has been mediocre for several years. He's been MVP caliber for the last few. If he wins, he's deserving on several levels.

 

But it sure would be fun to have Luc win it.

[young guns]

That tweet is stupid. Its laid out like luc has passed molina overall, but apparently it only means luc recieved 24% more votes in the last 24 hours. Molina still ahead.

[DocLuna7]

So we have Ramirez and Gomez as starters. Excited to see how many guys we end up with this year.

[chadomac]

Too bad about Lucroy. At least he is the back-up.

 

Didn't expect Braun to make it, especially once it went to player-vote. Nice to see 4 representatives!

[The stache]

Josh Harrison .298 AVG 5 HR and 25 RBI over Braun is a joke.

[The stache]

I suppose it's good Braun is not going. Hopefully sitting on his butt for a few days will get his batteries recharged, rest up his calf, his thumb, his abdominal muscles and back, and have a strong second half.

[adamb100]

How A-Ram got in as a starter is beyond me, obviously better 3B out there but Lucroy did get screwed out of starting.