1) What is your main criteria when evaluating which hitters should be all-stars?
Matthew Taylor: I am a big sucker for the RBI. There is a reason that the RBI hitters make the big bucks and that's because they are the ones who get the clutch hits and drive in the runs that win games. It's all fine and dandy if a player can hit .330, but if he isn't bringing in any runs and lighting up the scoreboard, how much is he really helping? I understand that lead-off hitters aren't expected to hit many RBI, but for players who hit in the middle of the order, I think that RBI are much more important than batting average or even walks. I want my star player to put the team on his shoulders and bring everyone in rather than taking a walk and diverting the RBI opportunity to the player batting behind him.
Joey Almars: For hitters the main stat that I focus on is, OPS. For me it starts out with making the most out of every at bat and that does the best in my mind at translating that as a statistic. It touches on batting average but more so on slugging and it is also a stat that includes walks which can often times be under valued. From there I look at batting average because OPS can be misleading if a player hits a bunch of home runs but has a bad average. Then from there I look at the quantity stats like Runs, HRs and RBIs.
2) What is your main criteria when evaluating which pitchers should be all-stars?
Matthew Taylor: For me it all begins with ERA when evaluating pitchers. If my pitcher is allowing a lot of runs, he's not an all-star. It's as simple as that. From there I go to innings pitched. I want my all-star pitcher to be a workhorse and put in a lot of innings. That takes the load off of the bullpen and puts it squarely on the shoulders of my ace. Just the way I like it. Lastly I look at strikeouts. Pitchers who can get a player out in any situation are invaluable and are extremely important.
Joey Almars: For pitchers I look at quality starts. I would say wins but in the case of James Shields this year, even if you have a good start it doesn't translate into a Win if your team's hitting doesn't do their part. That stat says for me, "the pitcher did his part." He pitched a strong amount of innings and kept his team in the game which on a consistent basis is all you can ask for from a pitcher. After establishing that threshold, I look at ERA, since we covered quality starts we know the pitcher has pitched his share of innings and now we look at how well he shut down the other team. I don't focus on WHIP too much because I tend to look at the scoreboard. If the runners don't cross the plate then you are fine. I look at Innings Pitched and Strikeouts next, these stats are extras in my book but are important when it comes to considered who is the all-star work horse and can blow pitches but hitters.
3) Which player did Matthew/Joey include in their all-star rosters who you most think does not deserve an all-star roster spot?
Matthew Taylor: The biggest issue I had with Joey's all-star ballot is that he has Shin-Soo Choo as a starting outfielder. Choo has had a very solid season with the Reds this year and his .419 on-base percentage is something that certainly can't be ignored however, in my eyes he is not a starting outfielder for the NL all-star squad. He is batting a mediocre .269, has a measly 76 hits (T-27th in the NL), and has only a 0.61 stolen base percentage. He is having a good year, but he doesn't deserve to be a starting outfielder. In his place I would have Carlos Beltran. Beltran is batting .308 with 18 home runs and an impressive .546 slugging percentage. He is having a career year and deserves to be a starting outfielder.
Joey Almars: I really liked Taylor's list and I was on the fence about one. Nelson Cruz has had a large amount of RBIs but the .268 average is a little too low for my cut (By that some principle I should have picked him over Bautista, but I think that he'll get more votes either way). In place of Cruz I would say Nate McLouth, having an OBP of .361 and having the second most steals in the AL I think that he deserves a nod.
4) Which players were snubbed by Matthew/Joey of an all-star roster spot?
Matthew Taylor: I think Joey really snubbed Shelby Miller of an all-star roster spot. Miller is having an excellent season. He has a stellar 2.35 ERA. He is 3rd in the NL with a 9.88 K/9. He is anchoring the staff along with Adam Wainwright of a St. Louis Cardinals team that has the best record in baseball. Shelby Miller is an all-star.
Joey Almars: I really like Jay Bruce, but for me it came down to him or Shin-Soo Choo. Bruce had the RBIs and slightly better AVG and Choo had the Runs a better OPS. For me I saw that Choo being at the lead off position allowed Bruce to get those RBI chances when we was batting the fourth spot. And Bruce did his job fantastic thus far. But when picking between Reds outfielders, I had to go with Choo and his Run production.
5) Which 8 players (4 from the AL, 4 from the NL) would make for the most exciting home run derby?
Matthew Taylor: AL: Chris Davis, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, and David Ortiz
NL: Yasiel Puig, Bryce Harper, Carlos Gonzalez, and Pedro Alvarez
Joey Almars: AL: Miguel Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Chris Davis, and Prince Fielder
NL: Domonic Brown, Paul Goldschmidt, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Gonzalez
Joey Almars: For pitchers I look at quality starts. I would say wins but in the case of James Shields this year, even if you have a good start it doesn't translate into a Win if your team's hitting doesn't do their part. That stat says for me, "the pitcher did his part." He pitched a strong amount of innings and kept his team in the game which on a consistent basis is all you can ask for from a pitcher. After establishing that threshold, I look at ERA, since we covered quality starts we know the pitcher has pitched his share of innings and now we look at how well he shut down the other team. I don't focus on WHIP too much because I tend to look at the scoreboard. If the runners don't cross the plate then you are fine. I look at Innings Pitched and Strikeouts next, these stats are extras in my book but are important when it comes to considered who is the all-star work horse and can blow pitches but hitters.
3) Which player did Matthew/Joey include in their all-star rosters who you most think does not deserve an all-star roster spot?
Matthew Taylor: The biggest issue I had with Joey's all-star ballot is that he has Shin-Soo Choo as a starting outfielder. Choo has had a very solid season with the Reds this year and his .419 on-base percentage is something that certainly can't be ignored however, in my eyes he is not a starting outfielder for the NL all-star squad. He is batting a mediocre .269, has a measly 76 hits (T-27th in the NL), and has only a 0.61 stolen base percentage. He is having a good year, but he doesn't deserve to be a starting outfielder. In his place I would have Carlos Beltran. Beltran is batting .308 with 18 home runs and an impressive .546 slugging percentage. He is having a career year and deserves to be a starting outfielder.
Joey Almars: I really liked Taylor's list and I was on the fence about one. Nelson Cruz has had a large amount of RBIs but the .268 average is a little too low for my cut (By that some principle I should have picked him over Bautista, but I think that he'll get more votes either way). In place of Cruz I would say Nate McLouth, having an OBP of .361 and having the second most steals in the AL I think that he deserves a nod.
4) Which players were snubbed by Matthew/Joey of an all-star roster spot?
Matthew Taylor: I think Joey really snubbed Shelby Miller of an all-star roster spot. Miller is having an excellent season. He has a stellar 2.35 ERA. He is 3rd in the NL with a 9.88 K/9. He is anchoring the staff along with Adam Wainwright of a St. Louis Cardinals team that has the best record in baseball. Shelby Miller is an all-star.
Joey Almars: I really like Jay Bruce, but for me it came down to him or Shin-Soo Choo. Bruce had the RBIs and slightly better AVG and Choo had the Runs a better OPS. For me I saw that Choo being at the lead off position allowed Bruce to get those RBI chances when we was batting the fourth spot. And Bruce did his job fantastic thus far. But when picking between Reds outfielders, I had to go with Choo and his Run production.
5) Which 8 players (4 from the AL, 4 from the NL) would make for the most exciting home run derby?
Matthew Taylor: AL: Chris Davis, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, and David Ortiz
NL: Yasiel Puig, Bryce Harper, Carlos Gonzalez, and Pedro Alvarez
Joey Almars: AL: Miguel Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Chris Davis, and Prince Fielder
NL: Domonic Brown, Paul Goldschmidt, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Gonzalez
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