Number six on your scorecard, the spot between second and third base on the Yankee infield is certain to be occupied by a familiar figure for one half of the opening inning. Who plays there when the NL are on the field is much more open to debate and that doesn’t mean the AL has an outstanding nominee while the senior circuit has a group of mediocrities. Far from it.
American League – Remember those halcyon days of Jeter, A-Rod and Garciaparra (with Tejada thrown in for good measure)? At the time, the AL was awash with star shortstops. That’s not the case any longer. You could argue that the best shortstop in the league is manning third base in the Bronx, but now’s not the time for that particular argument. What we do know is that Derek Jeter is the last man standing and his place in the starting lineup is assured, even before you consider the fact that the ASG is taking place at Yankee Stadium.
No one else comes close in the voting so far. Orlando Cabrera has played well for the White Sox without quite living up to his 2007 season with the Angels. Fellow Colombian Edgar Renteria has repeated his trick of turning into a pumpkin when he leaves the senior circuit, while the 2004-2005 version of Michael Young has seemingly disappeared for good, being replaced by a solid rather than a spectacular player.
National League – From rags to riches, the NL has turned into the land of the star shortstops. Just look at the players who aren’t in the running. Heading into the season, you might have given Troy Tulowtizki an outside chance of coming up the rails and snatching this spot after an impressive rookie year. A stuttering start followed by a bad injury has put those ideas on hold for the time being. Rafael Furcal was having a great start to the season until a back injury put him on the DL at the start of May. J.J. Hardy was healthy for the first time last year and showed what he is capable of when fully fit; however he has found times tough this season. Even last year’s NL MVP Jimmy Rollins has been bitten by the injury bug and has failed to really spark into life as a result.
So that just leaves us with a choice between Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes or Miguel Tejada (with Ryan Theriot and Yunel Escobar deserving of honourable mentions as well). Tejada would be a good story, although his PED links might warn some people off him (fairly or not). With Ramirez and Reyes, you may as well just flip a coin. The latter will probably make the team thanks to playing in the mass media market of New York, so I’ll throw my weight behind Florida’s finest.
