Reyes, Heyward, and Morneau out of the ASG, Furcal, Kuo, and Konerko Named Replacements.

As we get closer and closer to the All-Star Game, there are more and more roster updates to report.


Jose Reyes of the Mets, named to the All-Star team as the replacement for Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies, was put on the DL this weekend. Rafael Furcal of the Dodgers will now be taking his spot on the NL Roster. He is now a two-time All-Star, last appearing in the ASG for the 2003 classic.


Jason Heyward, who was on the DL at the time and was going to be a last minute decision as to whether or not he'd make the game, has now taken himself off the roster. Corey Hart of the Brewers will now start in Heyward's place, and Hong-Chih Kuo, a relief pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been added to the roster in his place. Originally, Charlie Manuel offered the invitation to Braves closer Billy Wagner, but Wagner, a final man candidate, declined. Furcal and Kuo, the first Taiwanese-born player to be named an All-Star, join Jonathan Broxton and Andre Ethier as the Dodgers contingent on the NL squad.


Finally, Justin Morneau is taking himself out of the game because of concussion related issues. Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers will take over at first base as the starter, and Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox, another Final Man Candidate, will now join the AL roster as a reserve. He joins fellow Pale Hoser Matt Thornton on the AL side.

If you're going to add Furcal, Kuo, and Konerko's 2010 Topps cards to your All-Star binder (I'm doing this, I can't be the only one), Furcal's cards are #491 and LAD12, Kuo is LAD16 (he doesn't have a regular Topps card this year, maybe he'll be added to Topps' Update Series), and Konerko comes in as #638 and CWS13.

More roster changes (if any) to come soon.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama