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Other Rays need some All-Star love

The Associated Press

Ben Zobrist has made a good case for inclusion by hitting 16 homers, 46 RBIs and a .297 average.

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By MARTIN FENNELLY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 2, 2009

Give the voting public some credit. Manny Ramirez will not be an All-Star. Alex Rodriguez will not be an All-Star starter. It's about truth, justice and the Longoria way.

Now, could those other Rays get some love?

I'm breaking new ground here. I don't think I've ever read a sports column arguing about who should be on an All-Star team. What can I tell you, I'm a maverick.

In-stadium voting for baseball's All-Star Game has ended, but online voting continues until midnight tonight. Fans can vote up to 25 times. Final results will be announced after any ballots left in Michael Jackson's will have been counted. We hear he went heavy for Pat Burrell.

By my count, the Rays deserve to have four players on the American League side July 14 in St. Louis.

Evan Longoria, a runaway train at third base, already has packed a shaving kit. Carl Crawford and Jason Bartlett should join him.

So should Ben Zobrist.

There's a lot standing in their way - voting procedures, the tendency to reward names, not numbers (Willie Mays made All-Star teams when he could barely walk) and the stupid rule that all teams must be represented, as if the republic would dissolve if there wasn't a National around.

It might not even help that Rays manager Joe Maddon is the AL skipper. His hands might be tied. But Maddon wouldn't be a homer if he chose three of his own to join Longoria. And players wouldn't be crazy to vote for them. And fans, in yet another vote, wouldn't be silly to pick any of them as the final member of the AL team.

Carl Crawford should be an All-Star. He's fourth in the AL with a .320 average and leads the majors in steals. Completely healthy, he is a dynamo, on pace for 110 runs, 200 hits and 80 steals. He's the most exciting thing this side of an Albert Pujols at-bat. He's just fifth in AL outfield voting. If I decided, he'd start.

Jason Bartlett should make his first All-Star team. He's second in shortstop voting, far behind Derek Jeter, but Bartlett needs to be on this team. If I decided, he'd start at short.

Bartlett's .362 average would rank second in the majors, but he's a handful of plate appearances shy of qualifying. Likewise, he'd lead the majors in hitting with runners in scoring position. The man has hit all season - and fielded, too.

And Ben Zobrist, your beloved Zorilla, should be an All-Star.

He's a long shot, as any number of second basemen (Toronto's Aaron Hill, Texas' Ian Kinsler and reigning AL MVP and all-around Red Sox gadfly Dustin Pedroia) are having very good seasons.

But Zobrist's credentials (16 homers, 46 RBIs and .297 average) are comparable, maybe even more eye-popping. Gentle Ben leads the AL with a .632 slugging percentage and a 1.051 OPS and is second in on-base percentage (.419).

Last season, the Rays had three All-Stars. That was probably one too many. Scott Kazmir was living off one hot May, though he was the winning pitcher in that All-Star marathon at Yankee Stadium.

But Longoria, Crawford, Bartlett - and yes, Zobrist - are legit.

That doesn't mean it will happen. When the fans are through voting, Maddon will have to work in a straitjacket to fill out the AL roster. Crawford he might slip in. Bartlett, too. Zobrist is a reach. Maddon likes J.P. Howell, but how do you not take Joe Nathan, Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Papelbon and David Aardsma?

We're a long way from days when the Rays were lucky to get a single All-Star. We're also a long way from the start of this season. Despite Wednesday's loss in Toronto, this Rays' season is moving in the right direction.

Will it be enough to send four All-Stars to St. Louis? Doubtful. And that won't be a crime. That's just the way it is. But there's no bad pick among Longoria, Crawford, Bartlett and Zobrist. That's just the way it is, too.

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