This email just popped into my inbox. "Send your Nats to New York." We can choose between the injured Paul Lo Duca, the injured Nick Johnson (they should have figured he would get hurt), the injured Ronnie Belliard, the above average Cristian Guzman, the injured Ryan Zimmerman, the awful Wily Mo Pena, the injured (and especially awful) Austin Kearns and the average Lastings Milledge. All I'm going to say: It's a great time to be a Nationals fan!!! Nottttttt. I'd say the odds are definitely pointing toward Jon Rauch getting the nod. He certainly deserves it, with a 2.20 ERA, 12/14 SV, 0.942 WHIP, 6.25:1 K:BB ratio, etc. He's really the guy that sticks out. Sorry, Guz, but Rauch deserves it a little more than you.I got a phone call at 6:15 last night asking if I wanted to come to the game with a friend. We drove (and had to pick up 2 others), so we didn't get there until 7:30 or so thanks to traffic on 395 and the search for parking (and the long walk from the car to the stadium, as we didn't have a permit). So I was in the car for the first inning meltdown and already gone by the time Lohse had his RBI single (was dragged out by my ride just after the second rain delay began). There were only 2 mildly amusing plays while I was there: Boone's diving stop and force-out at second and the "double steal" (where I think Lopez, but maybe Guz...whoever was covering the throw at second, should have just tagged Ankiel).
One word definition of last night's game: Meh.
And to top it all off, the injury bug bites again. Mock better get the call if someone needs to be summoned from Columbus to replace Odalis in the rotation. Unfortunately for Perez, the burning sensation means it's NOT working.
How does Rauch get to the All Star game if he is not on the ballot? Do they get any reward(Money)to play in this game?Can us National's fans vote to get Rauch on the All Star Team? A lot of questions and as you can see I have no clue.
ReplyDeleteGood question. Here's a bit of a tutorial to the selection process (via Wikipedia):
ReplyDeleteAs of 2007, the rules call for each team to consist of 32 players (squad size for regulation games is 25 maximum, 24 minimum, until September 1). These players are currently selected through the following process:
* Fan voting: Baseball fans vote on the starting position players for the All-Star Game, with ballots distributed at Major League Baseball games before mid-season and, more recently, on the Internet. When the game is played at an American League park, the designated hitter for the AL team is also selected in this manner. This method has been recently criticized because most of the starting players from the American League are from teams that have large fan bases, such as the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.[1]
* Player voting: Pitchers and one back-up player for each position are elected by the players. If the top vote-getter at a position has also been selected via fan voting, the second-place finisher in this category is selected.
* Manager selection: The managers of the 30 MLB teams and the Commissioner's Office will fill the roster up to 31 players.
* Final vote: After the lists of 31 players for each league is announced, fans will vote for one additional player, chosen from a list of 5 players provided by the manager and the Commissioner's Office.
* Replacements: After the roster is selected, the manager and the Commissioner's Office will replace players who are injured or who decline to participate.
So basically the only players we can vote for are the 8 listed (and any batters we want to write in). Pitchers are voted by the players and filled in by the managers.
I can't find anything about if players get rewards for playing in the ASG, but I'm pretty sure that there is no across-the-board bonus (someone correct me if I'm wrong). I think that the only payment they would get would be if there is some sort of ASG bonus in their contract. Hope this helped.
Hubby went to the game Wednesday nite in the middle of the rain and wind and tornadoes. Don't know why he thought the hapless Nats would be playing during the deluge. Maybe they would have done well playing in a monsoon!
ReplyDeleteIf I heard correctly, I think Hubby can exchange that ticket for one at any game for the rest of the year. Not sure if I heard it right, but that would be pretty cool.
ReplyDelete