All Star Rules

I'm too lazy to go into full details of who should be on the pitch staffs for the the ASG. But I do feel strongly about these rules. To review:

32 players per team. 19 position players, 2 per non-pitching position, plus 3 at discretion.
13 pitchers, 6 starters, 3 closers, 2 middle men, plus 1 at discretion.
Numbers are most important.
Numbers are not end-all-be-all. Subjective factors shall include, in descending importance, comparing Cabrera and Rolen, two third basemen with very similar numbers:

1. team performance (Cards are in first place; Marlins at or near last, albeit a difficult division. Edge: Rolen. Note that run of the mill teams hovering near .500 should not be included)
2. player value to team (Cabrera is easily the best hitter on the Marlins without a close second; Rolen is a good hitter, but not feared. Edge: Cabrera)
3. defense (Cabrera is atrocious on defense; Rolen has half a dozen Gold Gloves. Edge: Rolen)
4. player marketability (Cabrera is younger and more flashy. Rolen is well-known but an understated star. Edge: Even)
5. track record (Cabrera's numbers so far puts him on the path to the HOF; Rolen is a perennial All-Star who, with a few more good years, should be in the HOF as well. Edge: Even)
6. special circumstance (Inapplicable this year, but Jason Bay must play in PNC this year)
   

Position players rules:

1. league leader in BA gets in regardless
2. league leader in HRs gets in regardless
3. league leader in RBIs gets in regardless
4. league leader in Runs gets in regardless
5. league leader in OPS gets in regardless
6. must hit above .250

Starting pitchers rules:

1. league leader in ERA gets in regardless
2. league leader in WHIP gets in regardless
3. league leader in Wins gets in regardless
4. team winning % in starts must be at least .500
5. must have enough innings to qualify for ERA title
6. cannot have an ERA above 4.00
7. cannot have a WHIP above 1.35

Closers rules:

1. league leader in Saves gets in regardless
2. save % must be greater than 80%
3. cannot have an ERA above 3.75
4. cannot have a combined losses + blown saves > 5 (a blown save and a loss in the same game counts as 1
5. must be on pace to have 30 saves
6. team must be within 5 games of 1st place or within 3 games of the wild card race; otherwise, the saves are meaningless

The three most important criteria for middle relievers are holds, blown saves, and relevance in a pennant race. They also cannot have an ERA over 3.00. This should weed out a lot of fillers.

My picks:

AL Starters: Halladay, Contreras, Mussina, Johan, Schilling, Kazmir.

AL Closers: Papelbon, Ryan, Rivera. Papelbon and Ryan have sub-1.00 ERAs. Rivera is, well, Rivera.

AL Relievers: Zumaya, Shields. There are no other contenders.

AL Last Pitcher: Rogers. Best starter on the best team in the league. Liriano is a close second.

NL Starters: Pedro, Schmidt, Glavine, Carpenter, Webb, Arroyo.

NL Closers: Gordon (the team record is barely good enough), Izzy, Hoffman.

NL Relievers: Saito, Sanchez. Saito's been the MVP for the Dodgers. Sanchez inspires more confidence in Met fans than Wagner.

NL Last Pitcher: Zambrano. Leading the league in K's, but the Cubs record may keep him out. Otherwise, Penny or Capuano.