Every team gets at least one All-Star on the roster, because life is fair in baseball. Due to this neo-communist statute, you sometimes question the validity of the accolade. But when a terrible team gets two players picked, logic tells us they were both legitimate. In the case of Arizona, pitcher Dan Haren and right fielder Justin Upton were both selected, and it's tough to argue with either of them. Heck, Haren has a strong case to start the game.
And when you get right down to it, Arizona really has 2½ All-Stars; Mark Reynolds is in the Final Vote. He probably won't win (Pablo Sandoval and Matt Kemp have better cases), but being highlighted as a potential 33rd man says something.
It says "holy crap, we have too many All-Stars." Or it says that for three Diamondbacks fielders to be mentioned, the rest of the team that's 15 games under .500 and dead last in the NL West has some 'splainin' to do.
The Diamondbacks pitching sans Haren is nothing to write home about either, other than their ability to limit walks. And yet Haren is on a crash course to win the Cy Young this year. I've always wondered why, when it comes to MVPs, they have to be on a great team, yet when it's a Cy Young candidate it's okay for them to be on a bad or mediocre team.
As non-competitive as the NL West has been, the last three Cy Youngs have gone to players in that division. None of the winners' teams finished better than third:
2006, Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks: 76-86This year Arizona is on pace to lose 95 games. They will probably finish a little better than that, and Haren may not be able to keep up that 2.16 ERA and the 0.83 WHIP, but even if he tanks the second half, who else will win the Cy Young? Linecum again? Matt Cain? Could we give it to someone on the Rockies, just for kicks?
2007, Jake Peavy, Padres: 89-74
2008, Tim Lincecum, Giants: 72-90
The NL West is the only division wherein every team has two picks. Also no other division has each team sending a pitcher. Sometimes I don't understand baseball.
Article comments
1 - Mongo
They should trade Upton to the Giants. *nods*