The Should’s, Could’s, and Should Not’s in the AL

Catcher

Should: Joe Mauer.
Reason:
People this is not even close. Mauer has more Home Runs than everybody
else playing catcher and has been on the DL for a good chunk of the
season. He leads the AL Catchers in Home Runs with 13, Batting Average
with .413, and is 2nd in RBIs with 39. To not vote for him is insane.
He has played better baseball than just about everyone this year.
Could: Victor Martinez
Why:
He would have been a starter every other year with the stats he has.
Unfortunately, Mauer’s stats are just clearly better. Martinez has a
.339 average with 10 homers and 42 RBIs. He should definitely be in the
All-Star Game, just not as a starter as long as Mauer is healthy.
Should Not: Everyone else.
Why:
If you vote for anyone besides those two and possibly Varitek and
Posada since they have decent stats as well, you are what we call
uneducated and biased.

1st Base

Should: Justin Morneau
Reason:
Probably the hardest position in the whole Major Leagues is 1st base in
the AL. There are 6 players who all deserve spots, but I feel Morneau
has the better stats and is having the better year. With a .338 BA, 16
Home Runs, and 54 RBIs, Justin is on pace to have a career year. I
think he just edges the rest of the players in consideration.
Could: Either one of those players on the list with the exception of Justin Morneau.
Why:
You can see all their stats are very identical. They are all having
great years and should all get a good amount of votes. Youkilis spent
time on the DL so that might hurt his campaign. Pena’s average might
hurt his as well. My pick would go to Mark Teixeira after Morneau.
Should Not: Anyone else
Why: Same reason as I said for catchers. Besides those 6, no one else should get a vote.

	PLAYER	TEAM	AB	AVG	HR	RBI	SB
	C Pena	TB	214	.229	19	47	0
	M Teixeira	NYY	218	.289	19	52	0
	J Morneau	MIN	240	.338	16	54	0
	R Branyan	SEA	189	.317	14	29	2
	M Cabrera	DET	213	.329	11	39	1
	K Youkilis	BOS	160	.350	10	37	3

2nd Base

Should: Aaron Hill
Reason:
He has had a great year hitting .311 with 14 home runs and 43 RBIs. It
really should be between him and Ian Kinsler. Kinsler has 1 more home
runs and 1 more RBI, but Aaron’s average is .311 and Kinsler’s is only
.265 so Hill should get the call.
Could: Ian Kinsler
Why: Like I
said, Hill had a much better average which gives him my vote. Kinsler
did have one more home run and one more RBI and 9 more stolen bases,
but that average killed him. The stats could change dramatically so
keep an eye on these two.
Should Not: Howie Kendrick
Why: He
has no power and has a .231 average and only 6 stolen bases. Not having
a good year this year and shouldn’t have really any votes unless you
are trying to vote for the worst players.

3rd Base

Should: Evan Longoria
Reason: Do I really need to give a reason? With a .307 BA with 14 Home Runs and 56 RBIs, Longo blows everyone out of the water.
Could: Mike Lowell
Why:
He is having a fairly good season hitting .292 with 10 home runs and 40
RBI’s. Obviously it’s not as good as Longoria’s stats, but they are
really good numbers.
Should Not: Alex Rodriguez
Why:
Only has a .234 average with only 8 home runs AND is coming off the
dreaded steroids ordeal. No way he should get in this year unless he
suddenly picks it up.

SS

Should: Jason Bartlett
Reason:
Before Bartlett went on the DL, he was putting up some really good
numbers. As of now, he has a .373 average with 7 homers, 30 RBIs, and
14 stolen bases. Unlucky for him that Jeter starts regardless of the
numbers he puts up, but he should be in the ASG.
Could: Derek Jeter
Why:
He is actually putting up decent numbers, but it really doesn’t matter
as he will get the most votes out of everybody. His numbers are close
to Bartlett’s but Bartlett has the advantage.
Should Not: Orlando Cabrera
Why: .234 average, 2 home runs, and 2 stolen bases while having 239 at-bats is sad. ‘Nuff said

OF

Should: Jason Bay, Carl Crawford, Nelson Cruz
Why: Bay is hitting .277 with 16 homers, 57 RBI’s, and 5 stolen bases.
Crawford has a .325 average with a huge 35 stolen bases, 5 homers, and 29 RBIs.
Cruz is hitting .288 with 17 homers, 42 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases
Could: Tori Hunter, Adam Jones, Johnny Damon, and Curtis Granderson
Why: They don’t have as good numbers as the 3 I named, but they do have good numbers.
Jones has a .329 average with 11 home runs, 4 stolen bases, and 37 RBIs.
Hunter is hitting .313 with 12 homers, 44 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases.
Damon is hitting .286 with 13 homers, 35 RBIs, and 5 stolen bases
Granderson is hitting .267 with 14 homers, 37 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases.
It
is very close between these guys, but I think Bay, Nelson, and Crawford
edge them out. It was a close call between Bay and Jones, but I think
Bay has the slight advantage.
Should Not: Vlad Guerrero
Why: He
has only gotten 96 at-bats this year, but he has a .260 BA with only
one homer. He shouldn’t get many votes this year because of that.

Good Luck in voting and please use your 25 votes wisely!