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Free-swinging Giants 3B Sandoval headlines my 2009 All-Snub Team

1. The argument for All-Star snubs is losing some of its merit now that a whopping 66 players are named, and that's before the inevitable additions because of
Tom Verducci|
Free-swinging Giants 3B Sandoval headlines my 2009 All-Snub Team
Free-swinging Giants 3B Sandoval headlines my 2009 All-Snub Team

1. The argument for All-Star snubs is losing some of its merit now that a whopping 66 players are named, and that's before the inevitable additions because of injuries and other circumstances. But here goes, anyway. The All-Snub Team:

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• Rafael Soriano, RP, Atlanta• Yovani Gallardo, SP, Milwaukee • Ian Kinsler, 2B, Texas• Matt Kemp, CF, Dodgers• Russell Branyan, 1B, Mariners• Mark Reynolds, 3B, Diamondbacks• Cliff Lee, SP, Cleveland• And the biggest snub of all: Pablo Sandoval, 3B Giants

Sandoval has carried the Giants in stretches, just not recently. (He was hitting .214 this month entering last night.) And he has an entertaining hitting style, hacking at a greater percentage of pitches than anybody except teammate Bengie Molina. He deserved to go.

2. Where have all the good left-handers gone? Only four left-handers are All-Stars, including one relief pitcher (Mark Buehrle, Brian Fuentes, Ted Lilly and Johan Santana). Of the top 15 strikeout leaders in baseball, only three are left-handed (Jon Lester, Santana and Wandy Rodriguez). Neither manager, Charlie Manuel nor Joe Maddon, have the luxury of working for many platoon matchup advantages.

Last year there were five lefties named to the All-Star Game and none made it back (Cliff Lee, Scott Kazmir, Joe Saunders, George Sherrill and Billy Wagner).

3.Oliver Perez may have picked up a victory Wednesday, but his seven walks didn't create confidence that he is progressing as a pitcher. The guy has lost four mph off his fastball in the past five years, led the league in walks last year and still can't find the plate consistently enough.

His win against Los Angeles marked the first time since 2006 that an NL pitcher walked at least seven batters and still won the game. It was the second such game for Perez, but he's no Nolan Ryan in that category. Thirty-three times Ryan managed a win in games when he walked at least seven.

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Tom Verducci
TOM VERDUCCI

Tom Verducci is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who has covered Major League Baseball since 1981. He also serves as an analyst for FOX Sports and the MLB Network; is a New York Times best-selling author; and cohosts The Book of Joe podcast with Joe Maddon. A five-time Emmy Award winner across three categories (studio analyst, reporter, short form writing) and nominated in a fourth (game analyst), he is a three-time National Sportswriter of the Year winner, two-time National Magazine Award finalist, and a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient. Verducci is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame, Baseball Writers Association of America (including past New York chapter chairman) and a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 1993. He also is the only writer to be a game analyst for World Series telecasts. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, with whom he has two children.

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