Chris Davis has had a break-out year this season. By Keith Allison on Flickr, via Wikimedia Commons

It’s about that time again, time for the Major League Baseball All-Star game.

Most professional all-star games aren’t as competitive as the real deal, but generally thats not the case for the MLB’s version of the game. This game actually matters because the winning league earns home-field advantage in the World Series. I, like a lot of fans, disagree with this rule because like any other sport, home field advantage should be based off of record not which league played better in the All Star Game. If that were the case, the Western Conference in the NBA would have had home court advantage six times out of the past ten years. This rule needs to be changed but I don’t see it being changed anytime soon. But for what is it, it makes the game that much more compelling to watch and root on your own teams league.

And if the game is going to decide who gets World Series home field advantage, it is certainly wrong that the fans vote the starting players into the game. It should be based off the best players from each position that get to play in the game not off of bias fan voting. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy putting in my own votes every year but, to be honest, I usually vote for my team’s players who I know will never make the cut.

Here are my starting nine players from each league that should be in the starting lineups for this year’s All Star game next month and some of their stats (as current as June 24th, 12:03am):

American League:

Catcher: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins (.330, 8 HR, 25 RBI)

First Base: Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles (.336, 27 HR, 70 RBI)

Second Base: Robinson Cano, New York Yankees (.276, 16 HR, 45 RBI)

Shortstop: J.J. Hardy, Baltimore Orioles (.267, 15 HR, 44 RBI)

Third Base: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers (.370, 20 HR, 75 RBI)

Designated Hitter: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox (.316, 16 HR, 55 RBI)

Outfielders:

Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles (.298, 15 HR, 55 RBI)

Mike Trout, Anaheim (not Los Angeles) Angels (.306, 12 HR, 46 RBI)

Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays (.254, 16 HR, 42 RBI)

Starting Pitcher: Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox (9-0, 1.71 ERA, 81 K)

National League:

Catcher: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals (.353, 5 HR, 41 RBI)

First Base: Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks (.306, 19 HR, 65 RBI)

Second Base: Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds (.265, 11 HR, 60 RBI)

Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers (.358, 4 HR, 10 RBI)*

Third Base: David Wright, New York Mets (.309, 12 HR, 41 RBI)

Outfielders:

Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals (.305, 17 HR, 46 RBI)

Justin Upton, Atlanta Braves (.240, 15 HR, 34 RBI)

Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies (.3004, 21 HR, 57 RBI)*

Starting Pitcher: Matt Harvey, New York Mets (7-1, 2.05 ERA, 121 K)

*Because of injuries to Troy Tulowitzki and Bryce Harper

I am so excited about baseball starting this year. The Spring always brings an energy. Something about fresh beginnings always puts a smile on my face.

Going to Spring Training in late March will not be bad either. It will be my last Spring Training before becoming a father, and while that has me thinking about life in a different way. After reading Out of My League, by former major leaguer Dirk Hayhurst, I will view this Spring Training a little differently too.

Dirk Hayhurst’s writing style is compelling and a great read — especially before Spring Training. By Djh57 (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

Hayhurst’s tale is one that many professional baseball players have experienced. After six years in the minor leagues, Hayhurst gets his chance at the majors and has to battle with a conflict between the mentality he thinks it takes to be a successful major league player and the mentality it takes to be a soon-to-be married man in a long-distance relationship.

In the world of baseball, where language, logic, and communication are often sacrificed for tradition and machismo, Hayhurst fights wavering self-esteem and over-thinking all the way to the Big Leagues in the Padres organization.

Hayhurst describes, among other things, what it is like to be a virgin in a minor-league environment filled with everything you would expect from a stereotypical locker room. His ability to “get along” in this environment is something that definitely sets him apart.

His insights into real conversations that happen in the bullpen, in the locker room, and outside the field are sharpened by a great writing style and snappy real-life conversations that provide a unique look into a fringe player’s true experience in Major League Baseball. More importantly, though, Hayhurst finds an honesty that strikes at a truth about families, dysfunctional relationships, and resilience.

Not everything Hayhurst does turns out positive and everything definitely doesn’t go his way. His internal monologue both between and outside the lines is something I know I related to at some level, even if I’d never experienced the pressure he clearly did.

If you’re a baseball fan and a human being, this book is definitely for you.

And I, for one, cannot wait for spring.

David Price and the Rays look to have the pitching advantage in the wide-open American League East. By Wknight94 (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

“Good pitching will always stop good hitting, and vice-versa.” – Casey Stengel

Much has been made of pitching in baseball over the past few seasons. The game has seen a shift from more dominant power-hitters to more shutdown pitchers since the “steroid era” “ended.”

While there are still many bona fide power hitters in the the majors (Miguel Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Matt Kemp, Ryan Braun, Robinson Cano, etc.), building a strong pitching rotation has become more of a prominent priority for successful teams. Just last season (2011), baseball had a pitcher, Justin Verlander, win both the MVP award and the CY Young award in the American League. Pitching has always been important to America’s pastime but now it’s more crucial than ever.

Especially in such a competitive division as the AL East, good starting pitching becomes even more valuable and necessary to have. Here is a breakdown of each teams potential starting rotation for the 2013 season with the average Earned Run Average (we know averaging an average isn’t scientifically sound, but we’re doing it anyway…):

New York Yankees:

1. C.C Sabathia (15-6, 3.38 ERA, 196 Strikeouts)
2. Hiroki Kuroda (16-11, 3.32 ERA, 167 Strikeouts)
3. Andy Pettitte (5-4, 2.87 ERA, 69 Strikeouts)
4. Phil Hughes (16-13, 4.23 ERA, 165 Strikeouts)
5. Ivan Nova (12-8, 5.02 ERA, 153 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 3.76

Baltimore Orioles:

1. Jason Hammel (8-6, 3.43 ERA, 113 Strikeouts)
2. Wei-Yin Chen (12-11, 4.02 ERA, 154 Strikeouts)
3. Chris Tillman (9-3, 2.93 ERA, 66 Strikeouts)
4. Miguel Gonzalez (9-4, 3.25 ERA, 77 Strikeouts)
5. Zach Britton (5-3, 5.07 ERA, 53 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 3.74

Tampa Bay Rays:

1. David Price (20-5, 2.56 ERA, 205 Strikeouts) Also was the 2012 AL CY Young Award Winner
2. Jeremy Hellickson (10-11, 3.10 ERA, 124 Strikeouts)
3. Matt Moore (11-11, 3.81 ERA, 175 Strikeouts)
4. Jeff Neimann (2-3, 3.08 ERA, 34 Strikeouts)
5. Alex Cobb (11-9, 4.03 ERA, 106 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 3.31

Toronto Blue Jays:

1. R.A. Dickey (20-6, 2.73 ERA, 230 Strikeouts) Also was the 2012 NL CY Young Award Winner
2. Josh Johnson (8-14, 3.81 ERA, 165 Strikeouts)
3. Mark Buehrle (13-13, 3.74 ERA, 125 Strikeouts)
4. Brandon Morrow (10-7, 2.96 ERA, 108 Strikeouts)
5. Ricky Romero (9-14, 5.77 ERA, 124 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 3.80

Boston Red Sox:

1. Jon Lester (9-14, 4.82 ERA, 166 Strikeouts)
2. Ryan Dempster (12-8, 3.38 ERA, 153 Strikeouts)
3. Clay Buchholz (11-8, 4.56 ERA, 129 Strikeouts)
4. John Lackey, 2011 season (12-12, 6.41 ERA, 108 Strikeouts)
5. Felix Doubront (11-10, 4.86 ERA, 167 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 4.40

The stats above are from the 2012 season and based of ERA alone, it would show that the Rays would have the best starting rotation going into the 2012 season with the Orioles a close second. For the Red Sox I only calculated four pitchers since John Lackey missed the entire 2012 season because of Tommy John Surgery and somehow they still wound up having an expediently higher ERA than any of the other teams. But just stats from don’t show or prove which team will have the best starting rotation next year.

The team that I predict will have the best starting rotation in the AL East is the Toronto Blue Jays. I think that the huge trade between Miami and Toronto will resurrect the careers of both Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle from their down 2012 seasons. Also, any time you can land the raining Cy Young winner in a trade, that’s not too bad either. The Blue Jays rotation is greatly improved and I think will do very well in the 2013 season. However, I still don’t think that the Blue Jays will be the best overall team in the division. For that, I still have to give it to the Yankees. They were the division winners and until someone knocks them out, I am predicting that the Yankees will win the AL East again.