Valverde, Cabrera named to AL All-Star team

Jose Valverde, Miguel Cabrera, congratulations. You are All-Stars. There is no doubt about that. Cabrera even led the players vote for first base, ahead of American League starter Justin Morneau.

Justin Verlander, Brennan Boesch, you have pretty good arguments that you got snubbed. Not that their cases are open and shut. Not that they're alone in the snub, either. But that's just the way the All Star Game works.

Verlander, Jered Weaver and Felix Hernandez were all in the top six in WAR for pitchers, if you like sabermetric stats.  If you like traditional stats, Weaver and Hernandez were in the top three for strikeouts and top nine for ERA. Verlander is tied for second for wins.

If Boesch had been qualified for the statistics leader boards -- which he will be very soon -- he would be second among AL outfielders in OPS (.995), tied for first in batting average and just one home run behind a fourth-place tie. That might not be deserving of a starting nod, and I can even understand why he might not make the reserve. But c'mon, not being named to the final vote-in?

Of course, the interesting argument for Verlander is the argument I'd probably make against Boesch. He's a star. He's a face of the game, recognizable by even more casual observers. He's consistently put up quality numbers yearly. He should be given benefit of the doubt. Boesch, meanwhile, is none of those things. But he has put up very good numbers during the first half of this year.

If the game is about being a star. Verlander is in (to say nothing of Hernandez, who I believe was the player most snubbed in the AL). If the game is about having a successful half season, Boesch has a good argument.

But the game really isn't about anything. At all. Except it counts for home field advantage for the World Series. That's unfortunate.

These arguments arise yearly though. Nothing's going to change that. Debating All-Star snubs is as American as mom, apple pie and fireworks.

Who are your biggest snubs?

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