All Stars

As of Monday, May 24th, Mark Teixeira is leading the AL first basemen in all-star voting. The two guys behind him, Justin Morneau and Miguel Cabrera, have arguably the best numbers in the junior circuit. Let's take a look at where the three of them stand in the league in some offensive categories. The number on the left is their rank in the league.

Batting Average
1. J. Morneau .381
7. M. Cabrera .331
80. M. Teixeira .207

Homeruns
5. J. Morneau 11
8. M. Cabrera 10
23. M. Teixeira 7

Runs Batted In
2. M. Cabrera 40
5. J. Morneau 34
14. M. Teixeira 30

On Base Percentage
1. J. Morneau .497
4. M. Cabrera .415
54. M. Teixeira .324

Slugging Percentage
1. J. Morneau .697
3. M. Cabrera .598
56. M. Teixeira .374

I don't think I even really have to say much here. Morneau and Cabrera are in the top ten in just about everything, and Teixeira's numbers in HR and RBIs are adequate, but he certainly shouldn't be the starting first baseman in the all-star game. Just a little bit of the Yankees bias...

By the way, I watched ESPN news all the way through a couple times last night. The Yankees had a squirrel run on the field and that got more press than all of the national league games except one. But we've grown to expect that from ESPN. What bothers me is that we're seeing it in fan voting. I guess I shouldn't have high expectations for fan voting in the first place, but when a former MVP is hitting .380, I expect him to get a little more attention than an underproducing Yankee who hasn't even been with the team long. Yes, fans should have a little leeway to vote for the guys they like, but this is just a joke.

I read the other day that the voting tends to shake out more to the best players and less to the Yankees as the break approaches. Let's hope we see a major change. Teixeira is currently leading Morneau by about 154%. Each email address is allowed 20 votes for the all-star game. I enourage you to take a few minutes to vote for Morneau, Cabrera, Youkilis, or any other first baseman who isn't hitting around the Mendoza line.

all stats from mlb.com