bdj610's 2011 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams...The Starting Pitchers

Yesterday, I named the bullpens for each of my End of the Year All-Star Teams. Now it's time to name the starters.

To recap, here is my National League relief corps:

• John Axford, Brewers
• Heath Bell, Padres
• Tyler Clippard, Nationals
• Craig Kimbrel, Braves
• J. J. Putz, Diamondbacks

And the American Leauge bullpen:

• Neftali Feliz, Rangers
• Brandon League, Mariners
• Mariano Rivera, Yankees
• David Robertson, Yankees
• Jose Valverde, Tigers

So, who would they be relieving???

Starting with the National League six-man rotation, we have (in alphabetical order):

• Yovani Gallardo, Brewers (17-10, 3.52 ERA, 207 K's)
• Zack Greinke, Brewers (16-6, 3.83 ERA, 201 K's)
• Roy Halladay, Phillies (19-6. 2.35 ERA, 220 K's)
• Ian Kennedy, Diamondbacks (21-4, 2.88 ERA, 198 K's)
• Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers, (21-5, 2.28 ERA, 248 K's)
• Cliff Lee, Phillies (17-8, 2.40 ERA, 238 K's)

Honorable mentions go out to (meaning, if I had more space, I'd would have added) Matt Garza (10-10, 3.32, 197 K's), Cole Hamels (14-9, 2.79, 194 K's), Daniel Hudson (16-12, 3.49, 169 K's), Tim Hudson (16-10, 3.22, 158 's), and Tim Lincecum (13-14, 2.74, 220 K's). Yeah, some of the ERA's could be considered on the high side, but when the lowest strikeout total of the six is 198, you have power pitching.

In the American League, my All-Star six man rotation includes:

• Gio Gonzalez, Athletics (16-12, 3.12 ERA, 197 K's)
• CC Sabathia, Yankees (19-8, 3.00 ERA, 230 K's)
• James Shields, Rays (16-12, 2.82 ERA, 225 K's)
• Justin Verlander, Tigers (24-5, 2.40 ERA, 250 K's)
• Jered Weaver, Angels (18-8, 2.41 ERA, 198 K's)
• C. J. Wilson, Rangers (16-7, 2.94 ERA, 206 K's)

Honorable mentions go out to Josh Beckett (13-7, 2.89, 175 K's), Felix Hernandez (14-14, 3.47, 222 K's), Derek Holland (16-5, 3.95, 162 K's), Ivan Nova (16-4, 3.70, 98 K's), and Ricky Romero (15-11, 2.92, 178 K's). The AL rotation shows a lot of balance between power pitching and low ERA's.
So the pitching staffs are done. Next, we'll get to the position players. The first step is to ensure that every team has a representative, regardless of what position he plays. At this point, seven AL teams and nine teams from the NL need to have a player. I have a few people in mind. Who will they be? Tune in some time tomorrow and find out.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama