Monday, March 29, 2010

bdj610's End of Year MLB All-Star Teams: 2004 Edition

The year 2004 (wow, the years have gone by pretty quickly) saw our daughter going into preschool for the very first time (separation anxiety, more on the parents than the kid), the prospect of our son having major eye surgery (and he hadn't even turned two yet)...oh, did I mention our first ever big trip to Los Angeles, CA? It was for my dad's school reunion, and thanks to scheduling and travel arrangements convenient for us (us meaning my wife, my kids, and I), we wound up going to LA one night ahead of everybody else. What an adventure that turned out to be, just the four of us travelling around by ourselves. And then, after the 4th of July fireworks in Pasadena, was a day at Disneyland, a place that I thought I'd never visit in my lifetime. But that's another post for another time.

Just because the Cubs couldn't do it did not mean that another "cursed" team wouldn't have another shot at busting theirs. The Boston Red Sox, after years of agony and just rotten luck, finally won their World Series, their first since 1918 (against the Cubs, funny enough). Any shot of the Cubs repeating their success in 2003 went south, thanks to the reliance of hoping that certain starting pitchers would come back (they didn't...not the way we had hoped), and the White Sox weren't doing any better (little did we know what was going to happen the following year...AHEM!!!). For the 18th straight year, I was able to name my All-Star teams at the end of the year. This new fangled thing that we hooked up at home called the internet made poring over stats and choosing players a heck of a lot easier. And being able to work on this pet project when everyone else was asleep (just like me typing this post now) made the process convenient. I had yet to copy this year's roster onto my Excel spreadsheet, so bear with me as I try and figure out what I wrote on this loose sheet of paper.

This year's teams include 10 pitchers on each team (six starters, four closers), and the usual 3 players per position (1b, 2b, 3b, ss, c, 9 of), and the middle reliever position used last year was put on the shelf once again and replaced with a DH because the 2005 ASG would be in Detroit (at Comerica Park), keeping the rosters at 35 players per team.

Without further ado, for the first time online, I am proud to introduce my 2004 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

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American League

First Basemen

  • Ken Harvey, Royals*
  • Paul Konerko, White Sox*
  • Mark Teixeira, Rangers*

Second Basemen

  • Bret Boone, Mariners
  • Brian Roberts, Orioles*
  • Alfonso Soriano, Rangers

Third Basemen

  • Aubrey Huff, Devil Rays
  • Melvin Mora, Orioles*
  • Alex Rodriguez, Yankees

Shortstops

  • Derek Jeter, Yankees
  • Miguel Tejada, Orioles
  • Michael Young, Rangers

Outfielders

  • Carl Crawford, Devil Rays*
  • Vladimir Guerrero, Angels
  • Torii Hunter, Twins
  • Mark Kotsay, Athletics*
  • Carlos Lee, White Sox*
  • Manny Ramirez, Red Sox
  • Gary Sheffield, Yankees
  • Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners
  • Vernon Wells, Blue Jays

Catchers

  • Javy Lopez, Orioles
  • Victor Martinez, Indians*
  • Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers

Designated Hitter:

  • David Ortiz, Red Sox*

Pitchers

  • Mark Buehrle, White Sox*
  • Francisco Cordero, Rangers*
  • Pedro Martinez, Red Sox
  • Mark Mulder, Athletics
  • Joe Nathan, Twins*
  • Troy Percival, Angels
  • Mariano Rivera, Yankees
  • Kenny Rogers, Rangers
  • Johan Santana, Twins*
  • Curt Schilling, Red Sox

Manager:

  • Ron Gardenhire, Twins

The Starters:

  • 1B: Teixeira
  • 2B: Soriano
  • 3B: ARodriguez
  • SS: Jeter
  • OF: Guerrero
  • OF: Ramirez
  • OF: Suzuki
  • C: IRodriguez
  • DH: Ortiz
  • P: Santana

*First-Time All-Star


National League

First Basemen

  • Todd Helton, Rockies
  • Derrek Lee, Cubs*
  • Albert Pujols, Cardinals

Second Basemen

  • Luis Castillo, Marlins
  • Jeff Kent, Astros
  • Mark Loretta, Padres

Third Basemen

  • Adrian Beltre, Dodgers*
  • Aramis Ramirez, Cubs
  • Scott Rolen, Cardinals

Shortstops

  • Cesar Izturis, Dodgers*
  • Jimmy Rollins, Phillies
  • Jack Wilson, Pirates*

Outfielders

  • Moises Alou, Cubs
  • Carlos Beltran, Astros
  • Lance Berkman, Astros
  • Miguel Cabrera, Marlins*
  • Adam Dunn, Reds
  • Jim Edmonds, Cardinals
  • Juan Pierre, Marlins*
  • Scott Podsednik, Brewers*
  • Craig Wilson, Pirates*

Catchers

  • Johnny Estrada, Braves*
  • Jason Kendall, Pirates
  • Mike Piazza, Mets

Designated Hitter:

  • Jim Thome, Phillies

Pitchers

  • Armando Benitez, Marlins
  • Roger Clemens, Astros
  • Eric Gagne, Dodgers
  • Livan Hernandez, Expos*
  • Jason Isringhausen, Cardinals*
  • Randy Johnson, Diamondbacks
  • Roy Oswalt, Astros
  • Carl Pavano, Marlins*
  • Jason Schmidt, Giants
  • John Smoltz, Braves

Manager:

  • Phil Garner, Astros

The Starters:

  • 1B: Pujols
  • 2B: Kent
  • 3B: Rolen
  • SS: Rollins
  • OF: Beltran
  • OF: Cabrera
  • OF: Pierre
  • C: Piazza
  • DH: Thome
  • P: Clemens



Twenty-six players are first-time all-stars (14 for the American League, 12 for the Nationals). One-person teams on my 2002 rosters include the Blue Jays (Wells), Indians (Martinez), Royals (Harvey), Tigers (Rodriguez), Brewers (Podsednik), Diamondbacks (Johnson), Expos (Hernandez), Giants (Schmidt), Mets (Piazza), Padres (Loretta), Reds (Dunn), and Rockies (Helton). The Rangers, Astros, and Marlins each send five representatives to their respective rosters, leading both leagues. The Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, and Cardinals each send four players to the squads.

As always, seven regular games (10,000 simulations each, six with the same starting pitchers, one where lineups and starting pitchers change), and one All-Star Game will be simulated during the course of the week. I hope to have the results of all the games by the end of the week.

Now it's time for me to create the .DAT files before getting the games set. Game results coming next week. Here's hoping that I don't take too long with this...

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

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