Early All-Star ballot results were released on Tuesday, and the Milwaukee Brewers are poised to be well-represented in St. Louis.
Outfielder Ryan Braun and shortstop J.J. Hardy are the early leaders at their respective positions, with catcher Jason Kendall and first baseman Prince Fielder currently sitting in second place.
Injured second baseman Rickie Weeks sits second in voting as well, and Mike Cameron, Corey Hart, and Bill Hall (Bill Hall?!?!) all reside within the top seven of their position leaders.
The support for Braun and Fielder is not surprising, as they are enjoying all-star caliber seasons and are among the best at their positions.
But the support for many of the other aforementioned Brewers is a head-scratching situation.
Amazingly, Hardy is leading Florida's Hanley Ramirez and Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins, despite hitting only .247 with five home runs on the season.
Ramirez (8, 22, .320) has been especially dynamic offensively and dwarfs Hardy's contributions at the plate so far.
Hardy does have those beautiful blue eyes though, so perhaps the female vote is carrying him for the moment.
Meanwhile, Kendall trails only the Cardinals' Yadier Molina in voting among NL catchers, even though he carries a .206 batting average and has as many homers as you or I do on the season.
Kendall is great with the pitching staff, but has been a dead spot in the Brewers lineup so far in 2009. He doesn't deserve to be a dead spot in the NL lineup in July either.
Hart and Cameron are enjoying solid seasons, but it is awfully difficult to justify either one of them cracking the top three with guys like Braun, Soriano, Raul Ibanez, and Carlos Beltran patrolling NL outfields.
And Bill Hall has struggled to hold his job in Milwaukee, much less represent the Brewers as an all-star.
As a Brewers fan, you have to love the enthusiasm, but the numbers just don't stack up for many of these leading vote getters.
Will voters come to their senses and vote based on performance? Or will the rabid Milwaukee fans push guys like Kendall and Hardy through to St. Louis?
Time will tell.
- Login to post comments