We all remember in 2009 when Pablo Sandoval was the deserving All-Star candidate, but the Giants' marketing department got trounced by Philadelphia's, and Shane Victorino was voted into the final roster spot. Three years later, the marketing staff has put those lessons to work more effectively than Boss Tweed did in the "Gangs of New York" days. It makes you wonder whether the marketing department has "All-Star Selection" bonus clauses in their contracts just like many players do. If not, maybe they should.
Melky Cabrera will start the ASG in the outfield. You won't find many people arguing against that. Buster Posey will start at catcher. Even though Carlos Ruiz and Yadier Molina are arguably having better years, the Posey selection is nothing to rail against. Pablo Sandoval will start at 3rd Base. Frankly, this makes me uncomfortable.
Outside of the 1957 Reds selections, and those cases where an aging veteran gets voted in as some sort of lifetime achievement award, the choice of Pablo Sandoval over David Wright has got to be up there with the worst choices the fans have ever made (from a numbers point of view). Wright is a surefire MVP candidate, while Pablo Sandoval has missed nearly half the season. And not only did Sandoval beat Wright, he trounced him, surging ahead in the final week to a 1.6 million vote margin of victory.
Many folks will say this proves the Giants fans are the "best in baseball", or that we are "passionate". Unfortunately, I think this makes us look like maleable, gimmiky, front-running bandwaggoners. Any sound baseball mind knows that Pablo has no business starting this game, and so all across the country this week, people will be pointing out how San Franciscans deprived Wright of a deserving honor in favor of a fun-loving guy with a catchy nickname.
None of this means anything, except for the fact that it does. As Jay Bruce proved yesterday, the Giants have a significant home field advantage. With the ASG determining who gets home-field in the World Series*, this shit is important. Luckily, fans don't vote on playing time, so Tony La Russa can correct this error during the game, but really, it was in the interest of Giants fans to vote in Wright. He's better. Simple as that.
The goal for the entire Giants organization, including the fans, should be to win the World Series. Root for the name on the front of the jersey, not the back.
*This, by the way, is incredibly stupid. A significant advantage in the World Series is determined by a game that is organized, managed, and played like it's a meaningless exhibition. Home-field in the WS should be determined by which league has the better record in interleague play. Logically, this makes perfect sense. If the AL beats the NL in interleague play, it's perfectly reasonable to say the AL is the better league. The team that makes it through that tougher league to the World Series should be rewarded. Simple.
P.S. As long as we're voting in record numbers, Giants fans would do well to vote for Michael Bourn in the Final Vote. He'd be the most useful to the team.
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