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