A Travesmockery

So A.J. Pierzynski, who may be the 5th or 6th best Catcher in the American League this season, won the "last chance" fan vote to make the All-Star team today. This means, barring any righteous changes over the weekend, that Travis Hafner, the league's most valuable hitter, and Francisco Liriano, the league ERA leader, will not be AL All-Stars.

Can you imagine David Stern standing for this?

There are always deserving players who miss the cut for the All-Star teams, but Hafner and Liriano are more than just deserving, they're a couple of the most valuable players in the league to this point in the season. If the Indians hadn't tanked this spring, Hafner would be a leading MVP candidate; and, despite his late entry into the Twins rotation, Liriano looks to be on his way to win the Rookie of the Year and possibly even the Cy Young Award. Yet neither player is on the AL All-Star team, because a player from Chicago actively campaigned for votes on Fox Sports Net this week, but also because the commissioner will not exert some of his authority to override Ozzie Guillen's shenanigans and make things right.

Bud Selig could have said no when Guillen picked Mark Buehrle, on the grounds that not only Francisco Liriano but several starting pitchers in the league have been better than him this season. Selig could have stepped in to name Hafner when Alex Rios or Robinson Cano withdrew because of injury. Selig could have said, there are enough White Sox players on the team, so, no, we're not putting another White Sox player on the "last chance" ballot.

Manny Ramirez has announced that he will skip the All-Star Game to rest a sore knee. I've heard that Guillen has promised to add his 3rd baseman Joe Crede to the All-Star team. Last night, Dick Bremer reported a rumor that former White Sock, and Guillen's fellow countryman, Magglio Ordonez would get the nod. Either way, more cronyism.

Selig could put his foot down. He is the Supreme High Commander, after all. But, as usual, it looks like he'll act as if it's all out of his hands. Maybe he'll commission a Blue Ribbon Panel to study the issue, and announce the findings as soon as George Mitchell is done asking players if they know anyone who ever used steroids, or sometime next decade, whichever comes first.