ALL-STAR BALLOTING UPDATE

This year, it counts.

The first update on All-Star voting is in. The Red Sox have two players who would be starters if the voting ended now. Here are the leading vote getters for each position:

C Ivan Rodriguez
1B David Ortiz
2B Robinson Cano
3B Alex Rodriguez
SS Derek Jeter
OF Manny Ramirez
OF Ichiro Suzuki
OF Vladimir Guerrero

That's right, another AL East infield. I used to really want as many Red Sox players to make the All-Star game as possible, especially as starters. I used to vote 25 times online, sometimes more using my different e-mail addresses. I thought Nomar starting over Jeter in the 1999 All-Star game was a major triumph for Red Sox Nation. Now, I just don't care.

It's fun to see Manny and Ortiz in the All-Star game, but if Julio Lugo were to start at short, I'd be pissed. I want the AL to win so we get homefield advantage if we win the World Series. And I also want to see some great baseball players I normally don't get to see. I'll see Lugo about 140 times this year, one more won't make much of a difference.

But RSN wants to see their players in the midsummer classic. Dustin Pedroia is 5th in voting for 2nd base. Mike Lowell is 2nd at 3rd base. This actually makes sense because Lowell is having a good year, and he's a very distant 2nd. Julio Lugo is 4th at short-stop. Varitek is 3rd at catcher. JD Drew is 8th in the outfield. Eighth! He's hitting .230, and he's only a few thousand votes behind Magglio Ordonez! Coco Crisp is 12th in outfield votes.

Why do you people care out there? So what if your favorite players get an at-bat or two in an exhibition game? Wouldn't you rather see All-Stars instead of All-Sox?