Cain and Lincecum Named All-Stars

The 2009 Major League Baseball all-star rosters were announced on Sunday, and, as expected, the Giants had their top two starting pitchers named to the NL's squad. However, not all the Giants that were deserving of the honor got the nod.

Pablo Sandoval, who's leading NL third basemen in OPS and average and is amongst the leaders in all other major offensive categories, did not get named to the team as a reserve, but he is on the ballot of five NL players with a shot at that final roster spot. Sandoval's numbers are more impressive, all around, than the NL's starting third basemen, David Wright, but with the fans deciding who gets to start, Sandoval never really had a shot at getting more votes than the Mets third basemen, but I'm a little perplexed that he wasn't named as a reserve. Whens the last time you saw a guy who's fourth in the league in hitting? Not only does he have all these impressive offensive numbers, but he's also got the ability to play multiple positions, which would make it easier for Charlie Mannuel to actually work into the game. Giants fans, hit the Internet and start voting, because The Big Panda deserves to be in St. Louis for the mid-summer classic!

In addition to Sandoval, Bengie Molina and Brian Wilson were two others who had the numbers to get selected, but did not make the team. Wilson's numbers are quite as spectacular as what Sandoval's doing on the offensive side, but the Giants' closer is tied for second in the NL in saves and ranks third among NL closers in strikeouts. Wilson's 1.22 WHIP and 3.41 era, while still very impressive numbers, weren't quite up there with the league's other elite closers though, and those are likely the areas that separated him from the guys that were selected. Molina leads all NL catchers in homers and RBI's and he's leading in RBI's by a landslide. The closest full-time catcher to Molina's 47 RBI are Brian McCann's 33, just to show how much more valuable he's been to the Giants than other catchers have been to their respective teams. Molina's also catching and doing a great job with one of the best all-around pitching staffs in baseball. He's certainly done enough in this first half to warrant a selection, and probably should have actually gotten the start, based on the numbers.

OK, enough about the guys who didn't make it, or are on the bubble, and back to the guys who will actually be there. Tim Lincecum will be making his second appearance at the mid-summer classic, while Cain will take it in for the first time in his career. However, Lincecum missed the game last year due to illness, and wasn't able to fully participate in all the games' festivities, or the ballgame itself, so it's almost like these guys will be enjoying the whole process for the first time. It was pretty obvious that Lincecum, who's 9-2, with a 2.23 era, 1.05 WHIP and a major league best 141 strikeouts in 121 innings pitched this year, was going to get named to the squad. In fact, he's probably the favorite to start the game for the NL at this point. It wasn't as sure of thing that Matt Cain would make the team, so hearing his name get announced was certainly re-assuring. Cain has really been a lot better pitcher over the last couple of years than what his record shows, and this year, the Giants are finally giving him some support. His numbers on the year are very impressive: 9-2, 2.48 era, 88 k's and only 90 hits allowed in 108 innings pitched. This is year in which it's kind of all coming together for the big 24 year-old righty, and it's been a pleasure to watch. Can't wait to see both of these guys represent the Giants on July 14th, and hopefully Pablo Sandoval can be there with them!