Hi Twins Fans! Awhile ago I voted for the American and National League All Star teams. Now here are my selections for the AL pitching staff. Assuming that AL All Star Manager, Joe Madden will name a 12 man pitching staff, it looks like my selections will narrow down to 6 starters and 6 closers. The starters are pretty much locks, and the same for the closers. Toronto’s Roy Halladay headlines the staff. He was the first pitcher in the AL to 10 wins and after a brief respite, he is back in action. I would expect he will be the starting pitcher for the AL in St. Louis. The other starters include Boston’s Josh Beckett, Justin Verlander of the Tigers, Kansas City’s Zack Greinke, Seattle’s Felix Hernandez, and Kevin Millwood from the Rangers. Some starters on the bubble include Chicago’s Mark Buehrle, Edwin Jackson from the Tigers, Boston’s Tim Wakefield and Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver of the Angels.
Now here are my closer choices. Certainly Joe Nathan. Not to take anything away from Brian Fuentes of the Angels (he leads the Majors in saves), but for me, Joe Nathan is the best closer in the game right now. Along with Nathan and Fuentes, Mariano Rivera is a lock (he just saved his 500th game). Bobby Jenks from the White Sox will make it, as will Jonathan Papelbohn. That leaves room for one more pitcher to be named to the team. Kevin Slowey was a bubble candidate but unfortunately his recent struggles and injury will remove him from All Star consideration.
Touch’em All!
John Gordon
