Mike Williams is this team's All-Star

[GiveHyzduashot]

What a disgrace. I can't see how any of us can consider Williams to be an All-Star this year ... he of the 6.00+ ERA?

Giles was more deserving ... so was Kendall, Ramirez, Wells, etc.

No way is he deserving ... and seven Braves, give me a break.

[Baseball Guru]

:umm

:notme:

:umm

:notme:

I dont get it either.....

[GiveHyzduashot]

To use Mac's favorite word, I'm flummoxed.

Wonder how much influence McClendon had, since he's going to the game as a coach .. he seems a lot higher on Williams than I do.

[PopTop]

Sorry, I don't get it ... First off, it's disgrace that Dusty Baker didn't figure out a way to take Octavio Dotel, even if it had meant taking OD over the Astro he did, Billy Wagner ... And secondly, no way should Williams or Benitez go in front of Dotel ... Giles would've been my pick from Pitt.

[GiveHyzduashot]

Yeah, Dotel should've gone ... with the way Scioscia squeezed middle relievers onto the team (Donnelly ... who, btw, played for the Curve ... and Hasegawa), you know Dotel would've been there of Scioscia picked the teams.

Can't see why Andruw Jones wasn't left behind in favor of Giles, then either Willis or Dotel gets Williams' spot ... Giles was screwed last year, and probably again this year. The Braves have seven All-Stars ... one less wasn't going to kill them.

Can't believe Giles wasn't at least a vote-in option, over Patterson or Santiago.

[Baseball Guru]

Originally posted by GiveHyzduashot

Can't believe Giles wasn't at least a vote-in option, over Patterson or Santiago.

Agreed!!!

[BPBlueSox]

The All-Star game has become such a joke.

[imgreat95]

If you take away the 4 blown saves (yes, I know they are huge games... but for the sake of argument, let's do it.) Mike Williams has an ERA of 4.51-- Yes, this is not a very good ERA for a closer, but it is certainly much more respectable than the 6.29--

I believe that the thing that was looked at was the fact that Mike has still saved 21 out of 38 wins. While being slightly off of last season's pace, I still would venture to say that that is one of the top percentages for a closer in the league.

Is he the bext player on this team?? No. However, in a case like this, with the All-Star game meaning what it does this season, I guess I can understand the choice.

[GiveHyzduashot]

The bottom line on Williams is that any other reliever in the bullpen could do what he has done this year ... he's been terrible all season long.

To me, the ASG meaning what it does is exactly why the choice is a bad one ... do the Braves, Giants, etc really feel comfortable with Williams pitching to, say ARod, Glaus, and Martinez with the game on the line??

I doubt if Williams even gets in, to be honest ... and if he does get in, I doubt if he faces more than one hitter.

[3-2 Changeup]

Even in Pittsburgh -- especially in Pittsburgh, the choice of Mike Williams for the all-star team is meeting with resounding incredulity. After all, the writers and fans there see the team play every day and have a very better idea than most that he is not deserving of a slot even if the National League roster were expanded from 32 to 64 players.


Brian O'Neill of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette points out that Williams is the only closer who has more walks than strikeouts. OK, so maybe striking guys out isn't his thing. Perhaps he keeps them off the bases in some other, more beguiling fashion. No. Not really. They are hitting .287 against him -- even higher with men on base and in scoring position. O'Neill reminds us that Williams pitched very well in last year's All-Star Game. It will be interesting to see if Dusty Baker even brings him into this one. With more pitchers than innings, Baker is under no obligation to run everyone out there.


2003 SEASON STATISTICS
GM HR RBI R SB AVG
62 10 42 44 0 .305


O'Neill -- like me -- thinks the obvious choice for the Pirates All Star selection is Brian Giles, a player who seems destined to be forgotten by history in spite of his prowess. If they absolutely had to have a pitcher from Pittsburgh, Kip Wells has the lowest ERA, he writes -- except that Williams has blown three victories for him, leaving his won-loss record looking very un-all-star-like.

Getting back to Giles, why is he not on the list of five for the final position on the all-star team for which fans are asked to vote? When the unfortunate injury to Corey Patterson occurred, an opportunity opened up to address this oversight, yet a different Pirates outfielder -- Kenny Lofton -- was put in his place. As Sam Ross, Jr. of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes, "His presence in the starting lineup makes all the difference." That is putting it mildly! Giles set down in the middle of just about any lineup in baseball would be its most productive player.

When he went out with an injury on April 11, the Pirates saw what life was like in a Giles-free universe. They went 8-15 in his absence. With him in the lineup, they are very nearly a .500 team: 30-32. With him out of the lineup, they scored about 3.2 runs per game. With him playing, they are at right about 5.0 per game. Giles does not feel snubbed by Dusty Baker's inclusion of Lofton instead of him in the five-man ballot. (Lofton played for Baker in last year's World Series with the Giants if you're up for the conspiracy angle.)

"I missed a month [because of a knee injury]," Giles told Paul Meyer of the Post-Gazette. "I don't deserve to go."

As the stats above prove, it is because of that knee injury and what happens when Giles leaves the fold that he does very much deserve to go. In order to fix the problem of all-star voting, some are calling for the elimination of the mandatory player from each team rule. Ross quotes Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon as saying "I think every team should be represented.. I think that's good. If you really think about it ... every team probably has an All-Star."

[GiveHyzduashot]

Good stuff, Chris ... once again, thanks for sharing that.

Even if you eliminate Williams's blown saves from the equation, he still has the highest ERA of any closer ... I'm still searching for one good reason that Williams was chosen over Giles.

[PissedPrincess]

Well, Benetiz has blown more saves, and he made it.:hmm:

This whole voting this is a joke.:angry: