All-Star Voting ends tonight at 10:59 CDT

by Snake Plisskin on Jul 2, 2008 2:35 PM CDT

Ensure our guys get in, especially Fukudome:

As of the last update the National League's tightest race was for the final starting spot in the outfield with Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers trailing Kosuke Fukudome of the Chicago Cubs by a mere 32,925 votes. While the final offline votes continue to be tabulated, in the past 48 hours of exclusive online voting Braun has received 41% more online votes than Fukudome in what is shaping up to be one of the most exciting finishes in the history of fan balloting.

Click Here or on Al's link below to vote.

One person...25 votes.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation, Bleed Cubbie Blue, or Al Yellon, editor-in-chief. FanPost opinions are, however, valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Comments

Helpfully..

... I am adding a link to the ballot.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jul 2, 2008 2:37 PM CDT 0 recs

Thanks

I’ll edit the post and add one as well.

by Snake Plisskin on Jul 2, 2008 2:38 PM CDT 0 recs

I voted a bunch of times earlier today...

...but maybe I’ll throw a few more Dome’s way.

Nanika Ga Okoru!

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 2, 2008 2:48 PM CDT 0 recs

At-a boy.

...

by Snake Plisskin on Jul 2, 2008 2:50 PM CDT up 0 recs

MLB.com article on the current numbers.

See the table below for the quickest look.

D-Lee and Theriot need some votes too. Both are in third place at their respective positions, but not far behind.

by Snake Plisskin on Jul 2, 2008 2:56 PM CDT 0 recs

Would be nice...

if they would allow you to donate a buck to Cubs Care or something in order to just cast all 25 votes at once instead of doing one at a time.

Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand. - Homer J Simpson

by MikeOxbyg on Jul 2, 2008 3:00 PM CDT 0 recs

As a chicago native of voting early and often

I compiled 525 votes for all our CUBS players several weeks ago!

Sweet Lou for Mayor in '11.

by blackhawk24 on Jul 2, 2008 3:19 PM CDT 0 recs

Not Tragic If Dome Not Elected

I’d like to see Dome get elected, but Braun has had a really good season. I hope Dome can get on the team as a reserve, if he’s not elected. At any rate, I hope the NL all-stars “escape from New York” on July 15 with a win.

"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Jul 2, 2008 3:19 PM CDT 0 recs

Fixed!

I’d like to see Dome get elected, but Braun ~~has had a really good season~~. I hope Dome can get on the team as a reserve, if he’s not elected. At any rate, I hope the NL all-stars "escape from New York" on July 15 with a win.

There fixed it for you. Braun is all power. Nothing else. That’s it, that’s all. His OBP is embarrassing his BB:K ratio is little league stuff. Fukudome brings MUCH more to the table, hence why he should be the All-Star.

by IllinoisCubs on Jul 2, 2008 3:35 PM CDT up 0 recs

Burrell is also significantly more deserving of an OF slot

I’m not even going to touch the suggestions of Lee and Theriot. Lee is great but when you look at what Berkman and Pujols bring to the table, you can’t really say he deserves to go.

Theriot shouldn’t be starting for the Cubs, let alone the NL All-star team.

by Wreckard on Jul 2, 2008 3:36 PM CDT up 0 recs

nate mclouth is more deserving than pat burrell, kosuke fukudome, and ryan braun.

he doesn’t get the pub b/c of where he plays. But i won’t be too mad if kosuke does indeed get an all-star spot.

by lexmarklover on Jul 2, 2008 3:42 PM CDT up 0 recs

Mclouth has been great

and would definitely be in my all-star outfield. I think I’d put Burrell and his .340 EQA ahead of him though, but there’s no doubt that they both deserve to go. Mclouth plays the more difficult position, though, granted.

I think my OF would be Mclouth, Burrell, and Braun.

by Wreckard on Jul 2, 2008 4:00 PM CDT up 0 recs

The All-Star choice is not one

I make on the current season’s stats. It’s still just an exhibition game, and for that reason, I ask myself, which player do I most want to see out there and alternatively which player will I be likely to later look back and say, “He was an All-Star? Who was he?” Under that criteria, I don’t mind throwing a few votes to Griffey (though not all my votes) and I say Braun and McLouth need to do more over their careers to earn the title “All-Star.” I’m fairly sure that 20 years from now, I’m going to remember more fondly the times I watched Griffey play than the times I watched Nate McLouth play.

As for Braun himself, I’m not sure why he is seen as more deserving than Corey Hart, for example, let alone players on other teams.

by DGU on Jul 2, 2008 4:18 PM CDT up 0 recs

While I don't completely disagree...

“I’m fairly sure that 20 years from now, I’m going to remember more fondly the times I watched Griffey play than the times I watched Nate McLouth play”

...I’m not sure I agree wtih this quote. Having never see Nate McLouth play an All Star Game, who knows what you’ll remember. If it weren’t for the 2003 All Star Game, I’d never remember Hank Blalock in 20 years, but after he took Gagne deep to win the game he’s locked in my memory.

That said, I usually vote on an arbeitrary combination of current & past season statistics plus wildly biased opinions of my team :)

by MarchHare on Jul 2, 2008 5:42 PM CDT up 0 recs

I see your point

but I’m figuring that if Nate McLouth is really this good, he’ll make an All-Star team eventually and if he’s just having the best few months of his baseball career, then I won’t miss him not making the All-Star team. I didn’t always vote this way, but I’ve come around to this view recently.

by DGU on Jul 2, 2008 7:21 PM CDT up 0 recs

Um...

It’s still just an exhibition game

No, no it’s not. It determines who has homefield advantage in the World Series, so Cub fans should want the best players possible in this game, not there hometown favorites.

This is why fans shouldn’t be able to vote.

"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07

by gary varsho on Jul 3, 2008 7:46 AM CDT up 0 recs

It's played like an exhibition game

often times by managers who know their team isn’t going to make it back to the Series. Did Tony LaRussa’s use of Albert Pujols last year look like the use of a man who thought the game counted?

by DGU on Jul 3, 2008 9:07 AM CDT up 0 recs

Xavier Nady?

IMO he’s been better than Mclouth

Jim Edmonds has seriously become my favorite player. WHAT'S HAPPENING????

by Cub Style on Jul 2, 2008 4:36 PM CDT up 0 recs

Announcement

When will they announce it?

by FLCubsGirl on Jul 2, 2008 3:25 PM CDT 0 recs

ASG Selection Show

July 6th

The 2008 American and National League All-Star Teams will be unveiled on Sunday on the 2008 MLB All-Star Game Selection Show presented by Chevy, which will be televised nationally on TBS at 2 p.m. ET.

Go ahead, Z me.

by tony412 on Jul 2, 2008 3:35 PM CDT up 0 recs

Speaking of which...

.... the Cubs/Cardinals game is being carried by TBS after this show.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jul 2, 2008 4:34 PM CDT up 0 recs

Potential Blackout Problems

I see the July 6 game is on CSN Chicago and KSDK Channel 5 in St. Louis. I’m afraid the TBS telecast will be blacked out in Cubs and Cardinals TV territory. If you don’t get CSN Chicago or can’t pick up KSDK from St. Louis, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to watch the game on TV in Cubs and Cardinals country. I hope I’m wrong.

"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Jul 2, 2008 5:07 PM CDT up 0 recs

I believe TBS telecasts are national games, not blacked out anywhere.

Anyone know for sure?

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jul 2, 2008 5:21 PM CDT up 0 recs

This Isn't Encouraging

One sentence in this article is not encouraging.

“The games will be blacked out in each participating teams’ home TV territory, according to Turner officials.”

"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Jul 2, 2008 5:39 PM CDT up 0 recs

No, that isn't encouraging.

But does that mean the “territory” as defined by that ridiculous territorial map? Or just in the home markets?

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jul 2, 2008 7:00 PM CDT up 0 recs

Not definitive but...

I live on the very edge of what I call the Banks/Musial line, the dividing line between the Cubs and Cards countries, that cuts a swath across central Illinois from the Iowa border down through the middle of Peoria, around Champagne and to the Indiana border.

Anyway, I remember a couple weeks ago there was a Cardinal game on one of their regular stations, not FSMW one of the others. Anyway, TBS was also supposed to be broadcasting it but it was, and you guessed it, blacked out.

Like I said, not definitive, and TBS might do it on a case by case basis. But, well, never bet against stupidity.

by Snake Plisskin on Jul 2, 2008 9:40 PM CDT up 0 recs

I love Chicago

Early and often!!!!

by louslovechild on Jul 2, 2008 3:26 PM CDT 0 recs

Heh

Jimmy Edmonds is still listed as a Padre.

Jim Edmonds has seriously become my favorite player. WHAT'S HAPPENING????

by Cub Style on Jul 2, 2008 3:58 PM CDT 0 recs

And you can vote for Ben Broussard

over on the AL squad. If we’re voting for Cubbies, throw him a few votes.

by DGU on Jul 2, 2008 4:20 PM CDT up 0 recs

Who cares who makes the All-Star break

The overwhelming objective is to make the playoffs and actually win a World Series for the first time in 100 years. Who does or does not make the All-Star game from the Cubs is very unimportant.

Pitching is KING. We don't add a frontline starting pitcher and a quality bullpen arm then this season will have yet another sad conclusion.

by MDBNIU on Jul 2, 2008 6:05 PM CDT 0 recs

Baseball fans care.

Even if it doesn’t count (for much).

by DGU on Jul 2, 2008 7:22 PM CDT up 0 recs

Well it does count...

And I like the idea. It’s by far the most entertaining All-Star game and it has the best festivities. I’d like to see a pitch speed contest though.

Jim Edmonds has seriously become my favorite player. WHAT'S HAPPENING????

by Cub Style on Jul 2, 2008 7:31 PM CDT up 0 recs

It does matter....

[IF] The Cubs make it to the World Series.

Look at their home record.

Slap yourself.

DEROSA: How did it feel when you're sitting in Baton Rouge and it came across the ticker that Mark DeRosa had just signed to play second base with the Chicago Cubs.

THERIOT: In all honestly, when I saw it, I really felt like punching you right in the mouth and or breaking your leg.

by EJThunder on Jul 3, 2008 12:25 AM CDT up 0 recs

+1

Dude.

I’ve never cared about an all star game so much in my entire life.

These are the saddest of possible words: "Tinker to Evers to Chance"

by slcathena on Jul 3, 2008 12:42 AM CDT up 0 recs

A pitch speed contest?

You could start a lineup at the orthopedic surgeon’s the day after such a contest, because it would cause so many shoulder and elbow injuries it’d make your head spin.

No sane GM would let any of his pitchers participate in such a contest.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jul 3, 2008 3:50 AM CDT up 0 recs

..and have a guy throw out his arm?

yikes…! As much as I’d like to see the 100MPH on the radar gun like the slap shots in the NHL all star weekend, this has too much risk to it.

Throwing accuracy, like I would guess many of us did at one time or another; the tire hanging from a tree branch, tipped over garbage can a prescribed distance away… There could be a whole battery of throwing accuracy contests, none of which would require highest speed.

Sweet Lou for Mayor in '11.

by blackhawk24 on Jul 3, 2008 1:17 PM CDT up 0 recs

I have performed my solemn obligation

and voted 25 times for DeRo. Not that it will help…

But I deserve a gold star for citizenship anyway.

"I've never complained about it. I'm thankful to have a jersey." Mark DeRosa, 22 Aug 2007

by DeRoMyHero on Jul 2, 2008 6:56 PM CDT 0 recs

Awwww.

gold star

I voted ~ 100 times (4 different addys) for my Cubbies. I really want Dome, Soto, and Sori on that team. If I were picking the pitchers, Wood would totally be there as well.

These are the saddest of possible words: "Tinker to Evers to Chance"

by slcathena on Jul 3, 2008 12:44 AM CDT up 0 recs

It's too bad there can't be a skills contest in MLB...

something along the lines of what is done in the NHL. All star weekend in the NHL surpasses any other sport, just because there are so many things to do other than shooting a puck fast.

For baseball, I’d like to see bunting where players see how close they can get to the foul line. Throwing for IF’ers where they have to go into the hole, turn and make the throw to a 1st base target. Same thing for OF’ers, catch a fly shot from a machine at a given distance, then make the throw home, getting the ball to hit a target (or a tipped over garbage can like we did in little league). Of course there’s the HR derby, but another hitting contest could be hitting prescribed targets in the alley’s or down the lines.

There has to be something more to the contest than the biggest bulkiest guys just absolutely swinging for the fences.

MLB has to expand on the God-awfully long HR derby and mix it up a little. For once, the NHL has it right; all other sports should do an allstar contest as well as the NHL.

Sweet Lou for Mayor in '11.

by blackhawk24 on Jul 3, 2008 6:34 AM CDT 0 recs

I think those skills...

... while useful for winning baseball games, would make for a really boring TV show.

And that’s what drives this bus.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jul 3, 2008 8:05 AM CDT up 0 recs

I disagree about the boring part

A system would have to be well thought out.

The 1991 NHL all-star weekend at old Chicago Stadium was a sight to behold. Instead of just the hardest shot (I guess it could be hockey’s equivalent of the HR contest), they had raw speed around the rink, a relay race, obstacle course, 2 on 1 breaks and accuracy shooting (then it was against a goalie and not the four corner bullseyes).

MLB can put together something but like any other event of this type, it has to be well thought out and well executed or perhaps we could be faced with a boring presentation.

Sweet Lou for Mayor in '11.

by blackhawk24 on Jul 3, 2008 1:22 PM CDT up 0 recs