Tampa Bay Rays Send Four All Stars To St. Louis; Longoria Voted #1 in Home Run Derby

by Tommy Rancel on Jul 5, 2009 3:33 PM EDT Comment 20 comments

Despite the snub of J.P. Howell a.k.a the Iceman, the Rays will send four all-stars to the mid summer classic for the first time in the franchise's history. They stand a chance to send a fifth in Carlos Pena, who is a finalist for the final spot in the American League. Remember just a year ago, Evan Longoria made the team via the final vote.

Longoria won't have to wait for the final vote this year. The 23 year-old was the leading vote getter at third base and will be the first Rays player to start an all star game. He is the AL leader OPS among third basemen and remains one of the top defenders at the hot corner. Longoria also finished first in the fan voting for the home run derby. It is not known if he will participate in the event. He did compete in the 2008 home run derby finishing in last place with three home runs.

Joining Longoria in St. Louis will be a pair of first timers. Last year's team MVP, Jason Bartlett was selected to his first all star team as well as former super sub turned Zorilla, Ben Zobrist. Bartlett is enjoying a career year at the plate hitting .362/.402/.567 with a career high eight home runs. His .362 average is second to Ichiro Suzuki, however Bartlett is about 10 plate appearances short of qualifying for leaders boards thanks to his DL stint.

DRaysBay has covered Ben Zobrist probably more than any other player on the team and deservedly so. After showing power potential in 2008, Zobrist has literally exploded in 2009. His 1.015 OPS is tops in the AL as is his .323 ISO. Hitting .286/.406/.609, he is tied with Longoria for second on the team with 16 home runs. Besides home runs, Zobrist has set career highs in doubles, triples, runs scored and RBI. While his offense has grabbed the headlines, Zobrist has excelled at his new home of second base. His 7.0 UZR (min. 250 innings) at second base is the best in the big leagues.

Rounding out the Rays quartet is the old man, Carl Crawford. At age 27, CC will make his third all star appearance. Crawford struggled in the early portion of the season, but has rebounded nicely. In his seventh full season, he is hitting .318/.374/.459. His batting average and OPS would be career highs. Recently, Crawford has shown more power at the plate and his could possibly top his career high of 18 home runs if he continues to swing the big stick.

I admit I am very disappointed that J.P. Howell didn't make the team. Howell has been the glue that has held the Rays bullpen together and he deserves a spot. Each year players skip the all star game or unable to participate, and with Joe Maddon as the manager, maybe he will reward Howell with one of those spots. If not, you still have to be proud of the four guys who made the team. As R.J. pointed out, you'd be hard pressed to find a better group of players on one team in the AL.

AL WAR Leaders Min. 240 PA	WAR
Ben Zobrist	4.2
Joe Mauer	4.0
Evan Longoria	3.8
Jason Bartlett	3.4
Carl Crawford	3.2

The time is NOW to vote Carlos Pena in as the 5^th member of the Rays on the squad.

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Comments

If Pena wins

I bet Maddon goes at least an inning with the INF of Longo – Barty – Zobrist – Pena

Rotation: 1. James Shields 2. Matt Garza 3. David Price 4. Scott Kazmir 5. Jeff Niemann

by joeybw on Jul 5, 2009 3:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

An all rays INF

would be Epic

Matt Garza on his famous Count von Count impression:
"One strike, two strike, three strikes, you're out Ah ha ha ha"

by Some other guy who does not care on Jul 5, 2009 5:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He needs to do this

Like when the Pistons had all their guys in the NBA ASG

Swav or Die
For the lulz

by SRQman on Jul 5, 2009 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well 4 out of 5

but you get the idea

Swav or Die
For the lulz

by SRQman on Jul 5, 2009 5:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know if I even want Longoria to play the HR derby

Dude looks terrible at the plate right now as it is

by Rjw123 on Jul 5, 2009 4:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Well

tboraysLongoria earlier on the HR derby possibility: “I kind of don’t want to hit in it this year, but if they need somebody I’ll do it again.”

Swav or Die
For the lulz

by SRQman on Jul 5, 2009 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Translation: "You people out there give me more then just All-Star votes. You give me something to hate. And I hate you, you brainless mutants."

I can't wait until we trade him for a reliever.

by kericr on Jul 5, 2009 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I love Longo to death

but PLEASE don’t hit in the HRD

2009 Rays Baseball: Still Kings of the Sunshine State

by JMB on Jul 5, 2009 8:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What if he has a great HRD?

It could be the thing that gets his confidence back in his swing. You never know.

Album coming soon

by Han The Man And The Band on Jul 5, 2009 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The HRD does not ruin your swing.

I don’t understand why people keep thinking this. Hell, I think RJ did a post on this last year that showed a within-margin-of-error (read: slight) downward performance trend.

I can't wait until we trade him for a reliever.

by kericr on Jul 6, 2009 12:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs