My NL All-Star pitchers, with some commentary. I stick to the MLB rules. Starter is in italics.
Starting Pitchers
Lincecum (SFG) -- Buried on a horrible team, he has been the best pitcher in baseball. Yes, better than Volquez, who has faltered a bit recently. Lincecum also has very little support. Is there another team in the league that would hit Bengie Molina in the cleanup spot? But his defensive support is almost as bad.
Sheets (MIL) -- Finally healthy, and that's the only thing that has kept him out of the Cy Young race in prior years. Amazingly, he is the only Brewer on my team. Braun and Hardy came fairly close. I'm a big Corey Hart fan, but he should not be one of the guys eligible for the 33rd spot. He's very good, but this is not an all-star season for him.
Haren (ARI) -- Change of scenery didn't hurt him. The mountain man is better than Webb right now. Haren is my only Diamondback. Hard to leave off Webb, who is on my fantasy team every year and leads the league in wins. However, wins are not entirely attributable to the pitcher. Webb has had a rough 3 weeks. He almost got the last spot on this team for starters, but I gave the spot to Hamels.
Volquez (CIN) -- Starting to slip a little, but in the first part of the season, he has been practically unhittable. If the control issues don't undo him, he'll be in the Cy race at the end.
Zambrano (CHC) -- The right-handed Sabathia, but with more consistency.
Hudson (ATL) -- Of the all-star snubs, this is the one that first caught my eye. I pay a lot of attention to pitching because of the Predict-A-Matic, and Hudson has had a great season.
Cook (COL) -- When I saw his name on the All-Star selection show, I thought "there's Hurdle picking one of his own guys." But I dug into the numbers more, and he deserves this spot. Arguably more than even Zambrano.
Hamels (PHI) -- With all the great pitchers on this list, I'm not angry about him getting snubbed. I do, however, think he has been more valuable than Webb, in particular because he's playing in a hitter's park.
Relief Pitchers
Lidge (PHI) -- Wow. I have nothing more to add.
Wilson (SFG) -- Throws freakin' hard, and apparently well.
Bell (SDP) -- Unlike the real all-star game, I pay attention to middle relievers and set up men. Bell has been the second most valuable reliever in the NL, behind Lidge, in part because he always pitches in crucial situations.
Cordero (CIN) -- Not 100% sure that the final spot goes to Francisco. He is deserving, but I also considered Damaso Marte, who has been a terrific set up guy in Pittsburgh. Also, Hong-Chu Kuo has been very valuable for the Dodgers, both as a starter and reliever. In the end, though, I think Cordero has helped his team more.
