TASTES GREAT SEEKS REDEMPTION IN ’08 NASBL MIDSUMMER CLASSIC

(New York Daily Mirror – August 5, 2008)

HONOLULU – “Baseball is a funny game.”

Baseball icon Joe Garagiola uttered that classic line in 1960 and parlayed it into one of the best-selling baseball books of all time. And Joe didn’t mean funny as in “ha-ha,” but as in “strange.”

“Strange” would be an accurate word to describe Tastes Great’s misfortunes in the past two NASBL All-Star games. In both contests, TG clearly had the better squads, on paper at least, but were soundly beaten by inferior (at least statistically) Less Filling teams. Particularly embarrassing was last year’s 10-1 trouncing in which TG’s vaunted sluggers managed just three hits and struck out six times in front of a partisan crowd in Lake Champlain.

This year, the TG’ers intend to send a simple message: We’re better than you. Lake Champlain’s David Ortiz, who will be the starting first baseman for TG, put it plainly at yesterday’s media session by saying “we’re better, we should win, we will win. That’s it.”

With that being said, the Mirror presents its annual preview of the NASBL All-Star Game, to be played this year at Pietruszka Park in balmy Honolulu, Hawaii, home of the TG East-leading Hawaiians.

1. TASTES GREAT

Hawaiians fans fortunate enough to attend the game will have ample opportunity to root for their hometown heroes, as the Hawaiians placed five players on the TG squad, three of whom will be starting. To demonstrate how strong the TG East is, Illinois also placed five on the squad, and the Chows are in last place in their division.

Making his third All-Star appearance in the last four years is 1b David Ortiz. Through 101 games, the hefty lefty has already put up a full season’s worth of numbers for the Cannibals – 35 homers, 101 RBI, a .353 batting average and an incredible OPS of 1.184. (Knights fans may recall that Ortiz was a Knight for a few weeks in 2002, during which he hit a paltry .213 and was cut after the season.)

Backing up Ortiz is Illinois’ Carlos Pena (28 homers, 74 RBI, .275) who is making his first All-Star appearance in 2008.

Starting at second for TG is another All-Star newbie, Honolulu’s Placido Polanco. While Polanco’s power numbers are nothing special (just 7 home runs), he is only second to Ortiz in base hits (132) and has a sparkling .324 batting average. Lehigh Valley’s Chase Utley (12 homers, 58 RBI, .290 average), another All-Star newbie, will be backing up Polanco.

It may be difficult to believe given his iconic status, but Cannibal 3B Chipper Jones will be making his first All-Star appearance since the game was reintroduced in 2005. Chipper’s remarkable season for the Cannibals thus far (28 homers, 104 RBI and a .352 BA) earned him the starting nod for the TG. Madonna's favorite New Jersey boytoy and Kaballah student Alex Rodriguez (29 homers, 73 RBI, .268 BA) will make his third All-Star appearance, but first as a backup at third. (You could look for A-Rod to be the designated hitter.)

TG’s shortstop tandem for the 2008 game presents two newcomers to the contest. Starting at short for TG is the Chows’ Hanley Ramirez. The youngster’s fine first half (29 homers, 86 RBI, .298 BA and .919 OPS) earned him the starting nod over Georgia shortstop and fellow newbie Jimmy Rollins of Georgia. The dropoff between Ramirez and Rollins is dramatic; while Rollins did hit 16 homers and knock in 46 runs for the Roadkill in the first half, his .226 BA and .683 OPS are the lowest by far of any TG player in this year's contest.

One oddity in the roster is the election of Cannibal catcher Brian McCann to the starter’s job for TG this year. While putting up pedestrian numbers (11 homers, 44 RBI, .269 BA), McCann beat out New Jersey’s Yorvit Torrealba by 80,000 votes, despite Torrealba’s higher batting average (.314) and higher OPS (.827) than McCann. Familiarity may have something to do with it, as McCann is now making his second consecutive All-Star appearance while Torrealba is making just his first.

Starting in left field is the mercurial and lead-footed Pat Burrell of the Hawaiians. Burrell, making his first All-Star appearance, batting just .265 in the first half, but also hit 25 homers, knocked in 69 runs and had a 1.020 OPS. Backing up Burrell is Lehigh Valley’s speedy Carl Crawford, who batted .300 with 11 homers and 69 RBI in the first half, to go along with 48 stolen bases in 56 attempts.

Center field finds the Chows’ Carlos Beltran, making his second consecutive appearance in the Midsummer Classic, and third overall since 2005. Beltran has put up excellent offensive numbers in the first half (35 homers, 90 RBI, .282 BA) and continues to play a sterling center field. Honolulu’s Aaron Rowand, a fine defensive outfielder himself, will back up Beltran. Rowand batted a robust .339 with 19 homers and 76 RBI during the first half

In right field, Georgia newcomer Magglio Ordonez has finally unseated Roadkill teammate Vladimir Guerrero as TG’s starter in that position. It wasn’t easy overtaking the 4-time All-Star, and the vote was close. Ordonez batted .329 with 20 homers and 76 RBI in the first half, nominally better than Vlad’s 22 homers, 84 RBI and .301 average. Mags’ .934 OPS was slightly better than Vlad’s as well (.934 vs. .919). Either way, TG looks to be well-prepared in right.

On the pitching side, Honolulu’s Justin Verlander earns the starting job for TG. Verlander posted a glittering 14-2, 4.02 record in the first half with 141 strikeouts and a WHP of just 1.21. Verlander narrowly beat out Lake Champlain ace and fellow newbie Rich Hill, who went 14-4 with a 3.54 ERA in the first half.

Rounding out the TG pitching staff are Georgia’s Dustin McGowan (11-4, 3.20) and rookie Manny Corpas (2-2, 2.13, 19 saves); Lehigh Valley’s Japanese import Daisuke Matsuzaka (11-6, 2.82) and Aaron Harang (13-7, 4.37); Outlaw’s Jake Peavy (13-6, 4.23) making his third All-Star appearance, and Joakim Soria (2-5, 2.84, 25 saves); Springfield’s Javier Vazquez (10-2, 3.85) making his first appearance since ’06; Honolulu’s Mariano Rivera (3-0, 3.21, 17 saves) making his second consecutive appearance; and Illinois’ newbie Micah Owings (10-2, 3.61) and – here it comes, Knights fans – Joe Nathan (0-2, 2.87, 26 saves). Nathan joins Vladimir Guerrero as the only 4-time All-Stars on the TG roster, while the player for whom he was traded in 2005, Barry Zito, has given new meaning to the word “bust” and is about to play himself right out of New York.

2. LESS FILLING

When it comes to the Midsummer Classic, the LF is the Rodney Dangerfield of leagues – it gets no respect. The superior TG firepower was expected to demolish the LF pitchers in the last two All-Star games, but both times LF turned the tables and beat TG decisively. Yet, despite having won the last two All-Star games and two of the three played since the reinstitution of the game in 2005, LF still gets no respect, as most baseball observers again expect TG to prevail this year.

One could argue that the lack of respect goes with the territory, since the LF has the misfortune of featuring spectacularly bad teams. The solidly incompetent LF Central is well known for crowning division champions who barely manage to reach .500. In fact, of the eight clubs in the LF, only two – Pocono and Miami – have winning records thus far in 2008. The remaining clubs range from mediocre (Dallas-Fort Worth, Seattle and Grundy County) to laughably bad. In fact, three LF clubs stand a good to excellent chance of losing 100 games this season – Vermont (39-64), Troy (33-70) and our own beloved Knights, whose atrocious 28-74 record may be just a prelude to what could be the worst season in the franchise's history, including some horrible years in North Celtic. Can the Knights actually eclipse the Druids' 1999 season, when they lost 122 games? Stay tuned.

Fans of the Pocono Chin Music and Miami Surf will no doubt enjoy the contest in any circumstance, as the two clubs are sending a combined 13 players to the game, five of whom will be starting.

LF’s newbie starting first baseman, Pocono’s Prince Fielder, can match his TG counterpart, David Ortiz, stat for stat as well as pound for pound; Fielder’s 42 homers, 98 RBI, .298 average and 1.120 OPS compares quite well to Big Papi’s. Fielder’s excellence is evidenced by the fact that he beat out Vermont’s two-time All-Star Albert Pujols for the starting nod. Pujols is having an off year, however, by his standards, having hit only 18 homers, driven in 61 runs and batting .298 to this point.

Starting at second for LF is another newcomer, Grundy’s Brandon Phillips. In a year for mediocre batting performances by LF second-sackers, Phillips snagged the starting post with a lackluster .259 average, 13 homers and 44 RBI. His backup, returning All-Star Orlando Hudson from the Pilots, has even more pedestrian figures – just 9 homers, 40 RBI and a .272 average.

LF’s shortstop tandem consists of two newcomers to the game. Miami’s Jose Reyes (5 homers, 28 RBI, .272 average) does not have big numbers, but his strength lies not in his bat but in his legs – 46 stolen bases in 57 attempts. Pocono’s Orlando Cabrera numbers are similarly pedestrian – just 8 homers, 39 RBI and a BA of .285.

The only starting LF infielder to have prior All-Star experience is third baseman Mike Lowell, who will be representing Seattle in the game despite having played 43 games for Grundy before he was dealt to Seattle before Block 2. Lowell, who participated in the ’07 game, has had a good year for Seattle thus far, batting .333 with 12 homers and 38 RBI in just 61 games. His .952 OPS leads the entire LF squad. Lowell’s backup is another All-Star alum, Miami’s David Wright, who was also Lowell’s teammate on the ’07 LF squad. Wright has had a solid first half for the Surf, batting .316 with 18 homers and 59 RBI.

Starting behind the plate is newbie Russell Martin, who will be representing Grundy County, although a Block 2 trade sent him to Lehigh Valley. Grizz fans are no doubt ruing the deal, since Martin beat out DFW’s All-Star alum Victor Martinez for the starting nod. Martin batted .258 with 11 homers and 59 RBI during his time with Grundy. Martinez, whose three-run homer was a big blow in last year’s contest, batted .278 with 13 homers and 64 RBI for the Spurs.

In left field is Troy’s Matt Holliday, who slugged 18 homers and knocked in 53 runs for the hapless Haymakers, while batting a solid .295 with an .841 OPS. Backing up Holliday is the Knights’ own Hideki Matsui. Matsui last appeared in the 2005 contest, in a season where he would eventually hit 47 homers and bat .311. Given his putrid stats this season (13 homers, 42 RBI, .230 BA, .705 OPS) for the equally-putrid Knights, it’s a wonder how he managed to snag over 800,000 votes for the game. How bad could the rest of LF’s left fielders be?

In center field is Pocono’s Torii Hunter, who is making his third All-Star game. Hunter has had a solid if not spectacular year for the Chin Music, batting .278 with 24 homers and 78 RBI. His backup, the Pilots’ singularly-monikered Ichiro, will also be making his third appearance. Ichiro’s numbers are somewhat off from prior years (4 homers, 43 RBI) although his .319 average leads all LF outfielders and his 147 hits lead the entire squad by a good margin.

In right field is 2005 All-Star alum Bobby Abreu from the Surf. Like some of his LF teammates, Abreu has had an off-year in the power department, having hit just 7 homers in his 97 games played this year, but he has driven in 67 runs and scored 62 more on the strength of 30 doubles. Abreu is also hitting a very respectable .293 with a .794 OPS. His backup will be Grundy’s Mike Cuddyer, who has had a decent year for the Grizz, with 17 homers and 50 RBI. (Knights fans, of course, recall that Cuddyer was the last player cut by the Knights during last offseason. He was immediately snapped up by the Grizz in the Supplemental Draft and now here he is, an All-Star. Shades of Joe Nathan.)

The pitching side of the LF squad presents one of the biggest surprises of this year’s contest. The LF starter, Pocono’s John Smoltz, is making his All-Star debut at the age of 40. Smoltz, one of the best known pitchers in baseball, has put together a terrific first half, going 11-6 with a 3.51 ERA for the Chin Music, striking out 138 while walking just 30.

Three other LF hurlers are making repeat appearances as All-Stars. Frankie Rodriguez of the Spurs has been an All-Star every year since 2005, and his numbers this year (4-3, 2.53 ERA, 13 saves) earned him another berth on the club. 2007 LF Rookie of the Year Takashi Saito, now a member of Lake Champlain but who will represent the Knights in the game, is making his second consecutive appearance. Saito won-loss record (2-5) is more indicative of the lousy Knights team he played on this season than his personal numbers, which are as solid as ever – a 3.09 ERA, 41 strikeouts in 32 innings, a microscopic 0.88 WHP and an average-against of just .168. That Saito managed to notch 16 saves for the Knights is to his further credit. Miami’s Josh Beckett (8-5, 3.49 ERA, 123 K’s), an ’06 All-Star, is with the LF squad after a year’s absence from the game.

Rounding out the LF pitching staff are Miami’s J.J. Putz (4-2, 2.12, 0.88 WHP, 23 saves); Seattle’s Rafael Soriano (4-2, 2.25 ERA, 0.69 WHP, 10 saves); Pocono’s Bobby Jenks (3-2, 2.48 ERA, 1.10 WHP, 17 saves), Kevin Correia (7-1, 2.28 ERA, 1.12 WHP) and Joaquin Benoit (4-0, 1.99 ERA, 0.99 WHP); Miami’s Jake Westbrook (9-5, 4.40 ERA) and Dallas-Fort Worth’s Heath Bell (1-1, 1.98 ERA, 1.04 WHP).

Prediction:

The All-Star game has been nothing but difficult to predict these past two years. TG clearly has the edge on offense but LF’s bullpen, back-loaded with excellent closers, should prove to be a tremendous obstacle for TG's bats should LF take a lead into the late innings.

The old baseball axiom is that good pitching always stops good hitting. That being said, and given the experience and excellence of John Smoltz, this page will break from tradition and pick LF to win the game.

Predicted Score: LF 5, TG 2