ESPN Buster Olney Blog

Imagine that the All-Star Game was something more than an exhibition, and that the managers actually did run the game as if the fate of the family farm rested on a win or loss in the Midsummer Classic. Imagine that the managers managed the same game every other day of the baseball season -- with 25-man rosters, no rule about having one player from every team, the starting pitchers working deep into the games, and relief and bench specialists playing a major role.

Who would be on your team?

If the goal were only to win the game, I would be loading up on guys with acute splits, players who were the best against either left-handed hitters or right-handed pitches and hitters. I'd want some guys who could come off the bench with some pop, some guys who could run, and a strong defensive team to finish off a lead. You wouldn't have to pick many starting pitchers, of course, although you could use a Johan Santana or a Yovani Gallardo in relief.

With that goal in mind, what follows is what my National League All-Star team would look like; we'll have the AL team Tuesday. A major standard applied here is that you've got to pick players based on performance in the first half of the 2009 season, and players currently injured are not eligible (which is why Carlos Beltran is not eligible).

Versus right-handed starter

SS Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
2B Chase Utley, Phillies
1B Albert Pujols, Cardinals
LF Raul Ibanez, Phillies
C Brian McCann, Braves
RF Brad Hawpe, Rockies
3B David Wright, Mets
CF Colby Rasmus, Cardinals (He has an .898 OPS against right-handed pitchers, which is the best among the center fielders who are at least adequate defensively.)
P Dan Haren, Diamondbacks

Bench: Matt Kemp, Dodgers; Ryan Braun, Brewers; Russell Martin, Dodgers; Adam Dunn, Nationals; Joey Votto, Reds; Chipper Jones, Braves; Brandon Phillips, Reds; Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies

Versus left-handed starter

SS Ramirez, Marlins
2B Utley, Phillies
LF Ryan Braun, Brewers
1B Pujols, Cardinals
RF Ibanez, Phillies
CF Matt Kemp, Dodgers (.477 OBP against lefties)
3B Wright, Mets
C McCann, Braves
P Haren

Bench: Hawpe, Rasmus, Martin, Dunn, Votto, Jones, Phillips, Tulowitzki

Notes: Few players are as hot as Votto right now, and he and Dunn and Jones would make for some serious punch in late-inning pinch-hitting situations. I'd use Tulowitzki to finish at shortstop, and against right-handers I'd have Kemp and Phillips available to pinch-run in the late innings. I thought about taking a third catcher, but the next-best guy with the best platoon numbers at that position, believe it or not, would be David Ross of the Braves. I'd rather have a switch-hitter like Chipper.

The rest of the pitching staff:
Tim Lincecum, Giants
Josh Johnson, Marlins
Francisco Rodriguez, Mets
Heath Bell, Padres
Ryan Franklin, Cardinals
Arthur Rhodes, Reds
Nick Masset, Reds
Randy Wolf, Dodgers

Notes: It's a coin flip between Lincecum and Haren for the starting pitcher. While Lincecum has been the more dominant pitcher over the last couple of weeks, Haren's excellence has been consistent throughout the season. Lincecum and Johnson have the type of stuff that would be fantastic coming out of the bullpen, and most of the rest of the selections are based on excellence against either right-handers or left-handers. Rhodes, for example, has held left-handed hitters to an OPS of .327; Masset has held right-handed batters to an average of .099. Right-handed hitters have an OPS of just .206 against Bell. Wolf's dominance against lefties has been so extraordinary that I'd use him in a late-inning matchup: Lefties have a .111 batting average, with just two extra-base hits (one homer) in 81 at-bats. You watch Franklin pitch and you're not overwhelmed by his stuff, but the results are there. He's allowed three runs in 31 appearances and is 20-of-21 in save chances. Smoke, mirrors, whatever -- he's getting hitters out.

Debating the actual selections

There are no standards in place for All-Star selections; no rules. Everyone who fills out a ballot, from the fans to the players, makes up his or her own rules about whether picks should be based on first-half performance or career performance, or how much a first-half injury should come into play. Here's something else worth remembering, too: It's an exhibition game that's meant to be fun.

So short of Joe Maddon picking an old high school buddy to be on the team, or Charlie Manuel taking 25 Phillies to St. Louis, the All-Star selections are not worth a whole lot of angst. Personally, I would not have voted for Manny Ramirez, given that he played in less than half his team's games in the first half, but if he had been elected by fans, well, that really isn't that big a deal.

Josh Hamilton hasn't played a whole lot in the first half of the season, but a whole lot of fans voted for him; they want him there in St. Louis.

Fine. Send him. Introduce him, give the fans a chance to cheer him, give him an at-bat, and then put somebody else in. Peace in the Middle East is not at stake.

Tim Wakefield is having a very good season but hasn't pitched quite as well as Kevin Millwood. Maddon wanted to reward a guy who has been terrific in how he has represented baseball for almost two decades, and someone who has been a strong performer for the team with the best record in the American League, so he picked Wakefield.

Millwood would have been an excellent choice. Wakefield is an excellent choice, too. And global warming will not be reversed based on whom Maddon picked here, so let's not go all nutty about this.

Ryan Howard has had a mediocre first half of the season, posting a .326 on-base percentage. But keep in mind that over the last 3½ seasons, he has 173 homers and 491 RBIs. Is Manuel embarrassing himself by picking a player without whom he rightly believes he would not have won the World Series? Hardly. He could have chosen Mark Reynolds of the Diamondbacks, but he had the power to reward his own worthy candidate, and he did it. The question of North Korea's nuclear disarmament isn't riding on the question.

Elsewhere …

Justin Morneau is looking forward to the All-Star Game, but he might forgo the Home Run Derby. This All-Star Game selection is special to Raul Ibanez, writes Sam Donnellon. Maddon picked Ben Zobrist, Marc Topkin writes. Wakefield was the star of many stars for the Red Sox.

Milwaukee's pitching search

To read the rest of Buster's blog, including riffs on six potential player moves and 17 observations off Sunday's games, you must be an ESPN Insider.