My All Star Heartbreak

The National League All Star team was announced yesterday afternoon. With no surprise, Joey Votto will be representing the Cincinnati Reds in the starting line up. Votto was leading the votes by almost 3 million. Jay Bruce was selected through manager vote and Aroldis Chapman was selected through player vote.


My heartbreak began when TBS announced the NL reserves... Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips were not selected by player/coach/manager votes. "Take a second and breathe," I told myself, "This can not be happening. Tony LaRussa would not be that immature." 

Well. It just so happens that he is that immature.

In case you all don't remember, on August 10, 2010, the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals had a bench-clearing brawl. The fight was originally between Brandon Phillips and Yadier Molina. Brandon Phillips said some pretty immature comments about the "whiny Cardinals." Johnny Cueto became involved when he was pushed against the diamond seat net, and began kicking. He caused Cardinals backup catcher and former Reds Jason LaRue to have a concussion, and supposedly cut Chris Carpenter. Since then, we've had many situations of immature arguments and accusations between these two teams.
(I was 10 rows behind the Reds dugout at that game, pictures below!)

Joey Votto had some comments about these snubs:
“It’s kind of difficult to be overly happy today, considering the two guys I thought were shoo-ins aren’t going to be on the team,” he said. “That’s frustrating. I knew I was going to be an All-Star. I was hoping those two guys, the five of us, would go to Kansas City. As much as I don’t want to get into a (debate) right now, as happy as I am for myself and Jay, I’m disappointed for the two guys who are very, very meaningful to this first-place ballclub.”


I have 4 notes about this All Star snub:

- Do I believe Tony LaRussa is holding a grudge against Brandon Phillips and Johnny Cueto for a past problem? Yes, I strongly believe it. He chose Astros second baseman Jose Altuve over Brandon Phillips. Now, I understand giving all teams equal opportunity to represent their team in the All Star Game, however, I believe Brandon Phillips is the best defensive second baseman in the game. If you look back at the beginning of the season, Phillips started off slow, following a hamstring injury. LaRussa might possibly be basing his decision off Phillips' start of the season numbers.

- Johnny Cueto has a  9-4 record and a 2.26 ERA, which is better than 6 of the 7 pitchers picked for the All Star Game. Clearly, these numbers speak for themselves. I don't have much to say for this.

- The fans didn't vote enough. As much as I love the Reds organization, they pushed the "#VotePhillips" campaign too late. Fans were aware Phillips was only 1 million votes away from passing Atlanta Braves' Dan Uggla. Why they decided to campaign a couple weeks before voting ended, I don't know. Take note for next year, Reds fans. Some people outside of Reds Country do not appreciate the way Brandon Phillips carries himself or acts, so people just resort to Dan Uggla.

- A positive note, the Reds are being well represented in Kansas City. Joey Votto is starting at first base, first Red to start in an All Star Game since Ken Griifey Jr. in 2007. Jay Bruce is known for his power hitting and great defense in right field. And Aroldis Chapman seems to just blow everyone away with his ridiculous amounts of strike outs and speeds on his fastballs.

- Even though you hate to say it, or even think it, we have to respect Tony LaRussa. His managerial numbers speak for themselves. I just would like to say, if you retire from baseball, you're retired.

Hope you all enjoy your week, and I will be back for Reds vs Dodgers preview! Be easy!
Maggie