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As with any all-star roster announcement, the initial feedback is about the snubs. “Who got left off?” is a question that dominates message boards, Twitter, sports blogs and eventually coffee machines/water coolers over the next few hours and days. However, with all that whining, complaining and pontificating rarely is there anything beyond quoting of slash lines and comparison to players who DID make the team.

Never do you really hear anyone complain about the strategy in which the team was assembled or the manner in which the All Star Game manager figures out a way to get each team it’s mandatory representation.

This year, that’s exactly where the conversation should start.

Ron Washington’s assembly of the 2011 American League All Star Team could easily be compared to something you’d expect if you were to ask David Kahn and Isiah Thomas to collaborate on constructing a team. The logic of filling out the roster was utterly baffling and in turn, it cost a few well deserving players spots on the team (and the honor that goes with it), gave a few very undeserving players a chance to be called All-Stars and likely could cost the American League the game and home field advantage in the World Series (still the dumbest rule in sports by the way).

Now I know some people will argue that Washington’s hands were tied by the voting of the fans (stupid way to determine All Star starters, especially in baseball) and the voting of the players (who should determine the starters and that’s it) but in this situation that only accounts for a portion of the failure to assemble the best team possible (i.e. Derek Jeter being on the team at all, let alone an All Star Starter). Outside of Jeter, the fans gave Ron-Ron and the American League a fully capable starting lineup in which to battle the National League in just over a week.

Instead, this cluster-f*#k is placed solely on the shoulders of the man who decided how to round out his team positionally and fill the roster with participants from each of the 14 AL clubs. That is where Washington failed.

It started with the decision to have three catchers on the roster. After finding that the fans made a shockingly brilliant decision to vote the still relatively unknown but completely deserving Alex Avila into the starting lineup, Washington covered up that wonderful decision by adding not one but TWO catchers that were hardly All Star worthy.

Matt Weiters was given a spot because the Orioles needed a representative and Russell Martin was given a spot because, well, I’m not exactly sure why. Those decisions led to deserving, All Star caliber players like Paul Konerko, Victor Martinez and Alex Gordon being left to fight for the final roster spot via the “Last Man In” voting contest. Instead, two really deserving players will be hoping to be injury replacements for the Midsummer Classic instead of already making their Phoenix flight and hotel reservations.

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http://forums.sportsjabber.net/sjforums/showthread.php?t=92278