There were 84 players named to the 2011 MLB All Star Game this year, mainly because of injuries and pitchers who threw on Sunday, but also because players simply do not want to go. It has essentially turned into the NFL Pro Bowl, which is fine if MLB would treat it like an exhibition game, but they don’t, so it’s a joke. You can debate the All Star Game and players who make the team each year, that’s part of the fun. So here’s another, less talked-about list:
Presenting the 2011 MLB All-Not-Star Team: (Note: Expectations are a major factor, so this could easily be named the All-Disappointing-Team.)
Starting Pitcher:
John Lackey has been the worst starting pitcher since the beginning of 2010, when the Boston Red Sox signed him to an identical contract to that of AJ Burnett. A jump in numbers was expected when Lackey moved from the AL West, with its lousy hitting teams and big ball parks, to the AL East, with its juggernaut offenses and bandbox parks. Nobody expected an ERA over 5.00 and WHIP nearly 1.50 however; and all that for a mere $18M/year.
Rafael Soriano has been a complete disaster for the Yankees this season, and combined with Joba Chamberlain being lost for the season there is no a rumor that the Yankees are interested in Heath Bell to combine with a deserving All Star David Robertson.
Catcher:
You can go with a couple guys at Catcher. Instead of giving you statistics on why John Buck is disappointing the few Florida Marlins fans out there, I will take this opportunity to rag on JD Drew, who has seemingly given up in his last year in Boston—and possibly his career. He could never live up to $70 Million contract in Boston, but one post-season grand slam and misleadingly high OPS was just barely enough to get a pass. Not this year; Drew is on pace for a career worst in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, RBI, and just about everything else.
First Base:
Aubrey Huff resigned with San Francisco after a strong postseason but has not been able to recapture what he had last October. The Giants offense is miserable and Huff is not helping; his OBP is below .300 and has just 8 home runs in 90 games played this season.
Second Base:
Dan Uggla has been one of the most disappointing players this season, despite his 15 home runs. He is still batting below .200 and has not come close to the production Atlanta hoped when they traded for and extended Uggla in the offseason.
Shortstop:
Juan Uribe was another player who flourished in the October spotlight with the Giants last year. This year with the Dodgers Uribe has been terrible, slugging 120 points below his career average.
Third Base:
Do you think Seattle is regretting the $36 Million over 4 years they gave Chone Figgins a year and a half ago? In that time Figgins has been one of the least productive players in Baseball, becoming the latest Free Agent to be lost in the cavernous Safeco Field.
Outfield:
Carl Crawford is a better player than he has been this season. Regardless, Boston is paying Crawford roughly $3.3M per home run, $2.5M per stolen base, and worst of all $2.25 million per walk. Crawford’s best attribute is that he can impact a game on the bases, and a .275 OBP is just not 
good enough.
Because the LA Angels lost out on the Crawford bidding with Boston, they ended up trading for Vernon Wells’ massive contract. Wells is hitting .222/.248/.409. Even the ‘Rally Monkey’ can’t help Wells.
Jason Werth. Notice a theme here? Most of these guys are on this list because they have huge contracts but itty-bitty numbers. Werth is no different. I hope Washington is happy when they are paying him $21 million in 2017; when Werth will be 38 years old and batting .220 with 20 home runs—actually those are his projections this year.
Designated Hitter:
I, like the Chicago White Sox organization, thought that Adam Dunn would be a tremendous designated hitter. Yes, he would strike out 140+ times. He would also hit 40+ home runs. It seems as if we should have taken Dunn at his word all those years when he said that he did not want to be a DH.
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Andrew Rotondi
NYYUniverse.com Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @Yankees_talk
