NOBODY ELSE IS GOING TO SAY IT, SO I WILL

by WCT, The Ship of Fools

In the uproar that has emerged over Jason Varitek's laughable inclusion on the 2008 American League All-Star team, one thing has slipped under the radar, and that is Derek Jeter's inclusion in the starting lineup.

Now, I am not someone who normally gets bent out of shape about this sort of thing, because after all, the All-Star starters are picked by the fans, and the fans by and large have no idea what they are doing. But if people are going to kill the Red Sox captain, then someone needs to point out just how average the Yankee captain has been this year.

We have come a long way since the 90s, when the position of AL shortstop was the glamour position in baseball. Where so many great players played that position that there was an absolute stud who was forced to be left off the All-Star team each year. As it stands now, the position of AL shortstop is weak, and you could make a good case for Jeter to be included on the All-Star roster. But the fact is, he should not be starting over Michael Young. Young, a reserve, has a higher batting average, higher OPS, more HRs, more RBI, more runs scored, and more hits than Captain Clutch. Yes, Young plays his home games in a better hitter's park than Jeter, but he also has committed fewer errors, has a better fielding percentage, has turned almost twice as many double plays, and has a better range factor than Jeter. So he is also a better fielder than Jeter. In fact, you could even make an argument that Jhonny Peralta, of the pathetic, colossally-disappointing Cleveland Indians (give me a second as I breathe into a brown paper bag...ok) deserves the nod over Jeter. Peralta has more HRs, more RBI, and a better OPS than DJ, but with the way the Indians have shit all over themselves, (give me a moment...serenity now! Ok) Jhonny isn't going to get the benefit of the doubt.

I know that everything done by the Red Sox and Yankees is necessarily more important than everything done by everyone on the other 28 MLB teams, but to me, Derek Jeter doesn't deserve a starting spot on this year's All-Star team. Nevermind the fact that 2008 has been arguably his worst year, there is at least one other guy more deserving. Jason Varitek has been the sports world's punching bag today for his inexplicable All-Star invitation, but we also need to question the inclusion of the SS with the .385 slugging percentage.