how does Carlos Beltran’s DL status affect the roster? Assuming he’s still voted as the starter, is Manuel allowed to pick an extra player to be a replacement?

I’m such a huge fan of them expanding the rosters to 33! Pair that up with one representative from every team, and as Mr. Incredible once said, they keep finding new ways to celebrate mediocrity.

I just have a tough time imagining Chipper Jones not on the team. He’s had a 1.000 OPS for three straight seasons. Even though he’s off that page a little bit this year, I think he gets picked on past accomplishments.

NL
C Brian McCann
1B Albert Pujols
2B Chase Utley
SS Hanley Ramirez
3B David Wright
OF Ryan Braun
OF Brad Hawpe
OF Raul Ibanez

SP Tim Lincecum

AL
C Joe Mauer
1B Kevin Youkilis
2B Aaron Hill
SS Derek Jeter
3B Evan Longoria
OF Torii Hunter
OF Ichiro Suzuki
OF Nick Markakis

SP Zack Greinke

On the plus side, all those restrictions didn’t keep Grant from taking Ben Zobrist.

Phew. I was worried.

What is likely going to happen:

NL
Manny & the Dodgers

AL
The Yankees & Red Sox

Aaron Hill is developing into a solid middle infielder. If Rolen wasn’t having such a solid season I would make that swap.

What team has the most all-stars 25 years of age and under? Wait a second… No… The San Francisco Giants? Really! Does that mean we’ve done something right?

We will have 3, that is.

I filled my ballot out yesterday. I couldn’t talk myself out of voting for Matt Kemp.

So, in the 17 seconds I spent trying to do this before giving up I found out that Ben Zobrist has been really, really , really good. I mean, I knew he was having a great year, but the man is one Pujols away from being the best hitter in the majors, and has definitely been the best player in the AL. Statheads around the world are going to be upset when he loses the MVP to Youkilis.

I’ll watch the All-Star game but I’m not going to spend any outside time thinking about it.

Astros-Padres delayed bye bees

AL
C V. Martinez, CLE
1B M. Teixeira, NYY
2B A. Hill, TOR
3B E. Longoria, TB
SS J. Bartlett, TB
OF J. Bay, BOS
OF T. Hunter, LAA
OF I. Suzuki, SEA

BENCH
C
J. Mauer MIN

IF
M. Cabrera DET
I. Kinsler TEX
C. Figgins LAA
J. Morneau MIN
M. Young TEX

OF
N. Markakis BAL
C. Crawford TB
J. Dye CHW
J. Ellsbury BOS
J. Cust OAK

PITCHERS
Z. Greinke, KC (Starter)
R. Halladay, TOR
K. Slowey, MIN
T. Wakefield, BOS
A. Bailey OAK
D. Aardsma SEA
J. Beckett BOS
F Hernandez SEA
K. Millwood TEX
B. Fuentes LAA
J. Nathan MIN
J. Pabelbon BOS
M. Palmer LAA

NL
C B. McCann, ATL
1B A. Pujols, STL
2B C. Utley, PHI
3B D. Wright, NYM
SS H. Ramirez, FLA
OF R. Braun, MIL
OF C. Beltran, NYM
OF B. Hawpe, COL

BENCH
C
B. Molina SF

IF
P. Sandoval SF
M. Tejada HOU
R. Zimmerman WAS
F. Sanchez PIT
O. Hudson LAD
A Gonzalez SD

OF
M. Kemp LAD
A Eithier LAD
R. Ibanez PHI
J. Bruce CIN

PITCHERS
T. Lincecum SF (Starter)
M. Cain SF
D. Haren ARI
U. Jimenez COL
J. Peavy SD
A. Wainwright STL
T. Lilly CHC
J. Santana NYM
J. Marquis COL
J. Cueto CIN
H. Bell SD
F. Rodriguez NYM
J. Broxton LAD