And the NL All-Stars Are ... (Final Edition)

Here's the second part of the final series of my condemnation of All-Star voters (the AL is here):

Catcher

Should be the starter: Brian McCann (ATL)
Lost in the glory of Chipper Jones' season, McCann has had a great season. His ..306/.379/.562 line with 14 HR, 44 RBI, 22 DB, and 35 R make him the best choice. However, this season, four catchers have a legitimate argument to be in the discussion.

Reserves: Russell Martin (LAD) and Geovany Soto (CHC)
My sincere and utmost apologies to Bengie Molina because he deserves to be here in any other year, but the time is now for the young catchers to take over the game. Martin was the easiest as his .315/.412/.451 line, 38 R, and 6 SB are better than the other two. Soto beats out Molina due to his better OBP (.358 to .333), SLG (.508 to .449), HR (12 to 6), and R (26 to 24).

First Baseman

Should be the starter: Lance Berkman (HOU)
His .354/.438/.683 is tops among NL first sackers except for Pujols' OBP (.475). Berkman was a favorite for the NL MVP until his Astros have fallen recently.

Reserves: Adrian Gonzalez (SD) and Albert Pujols (STL)
Gonzalez might be the most underrated and unheard of great player in the game. With 21 HR and 65 RBI while playing at Petco, Gonzalez is truly astounding and deserves to be in the game. Until Pujols' recent injury, Pujols may have had an argument for the starter spot with his .347/.475/.631 line, 16 HR, 42 RBI, and 41 R. He still deserves to be in the game. My apologies to Derrek Lee, but I can't have four first basemen.

Second Baseman

Should be the starter: Dan Uggla (FLA)
Yes, I said Uggla. Just a quick comparison between the two reveals Uggla's advantage. Uggla has a .294/.379/.643 line with 23 HR, 57 RBI, 57 R, and 24 DB to Utley's .291/.379/.643 with 22 HR, 63 RBI, 57 R, and 19 DB. It's so close, but Uggla gets the nod with the SLG being the big difference. You can throw the fact that Utley has 40 less K in my face, but I'm still taking Uggla.

Reserve: Chase Utley (PHI)
Who else? Maybe Brandon Phillips or Kelly Johnson, but I can't.

Third Baseman

Should be the starter: Chipper Jones (ATL)
David Wright and Aramis Ramirez have arguments, but how can you deny Chipper's .394/.485/.631 line compared to Wright's .272/.369/.466 and Ramirez's .299/.404/.530? Chipper's just been better.

Reserve: Aramis Ramirez (CHC) and David Wright (NYM)
I couldn't justify leaving either off.

Shortstop

Should be the starter: Hanley Ramirez (FLA)
It's a tough battle between Ramirez, Jose Reyes, and Miguel Tejada, but the lines tell the story. Ramirez has a .295/.386/.521 to Tejada's .294/.332/.468 to Reyes' .297/.356/.490. Ramirez also has more HR and R.

Reserve: Jose Reyes (NYM)
Quietly having a really good season despite the Mets not doing well. It's not his fault Beltran and Delgado can't knock him in. Reyes' line, five times the SB (26 to 5), and more R (55 to 53) give him the edge over Tejada, who has gotten worse each month.

Outfield

Should be the starters: Ryan Ludwick (STL), Nate McLouth (PIT), Ryan Braun (MIL)
Ludwick has been the man, as he is another unknown having a great year, with a .297/.370/.606 line with 16 HR, 56 RBI, 47 R, and 21 DB. McLouth has a .292/.375/.546 line with 15 HR, 51 RBI, 58 R, and 24 DB. Braun has also been awesome with a .288/.325/.565 line with 20 HR, 56 RBI, 44 R, and 19 DB.

Reserves: Carlos Lee (HOU), Pat Burrell (PHI), Carlos Beltran (NYM), Xavier Nady (PIT)
This wasn't as hard as the AL to pick, but there were some good ones left like Kosuke Fukudome, Aaron Rowand, Alfonso Soriano, and Corey Hart.

Pitcher

Should be the starter: Edinson Volquez (CIN)
His 10-2 record with miraculous ERA of 1.71 with 110 K in 95 IP makes this decision pretty easy.

Reserves: Brandon Webb (ARI), Aaron Cook (COL), Ben Sheets (MIL), Ryan Dempster (CHC), Tim Lincecum (SF), Brad Lidge (PHI), Jon Rauch (WAS), Kerry Wood (CHC), Billy Wagner (NYM), Brandon Lyon (ARI), Tim Hudson (ATL)

Rauch gets in because I need a National, and he has been pretty awesome (15 SV, 2.39 ERA). Tim Hudson gets in with a need for another starter and having more IP with almost the same ERA of Santana, but honestly, they are about the same. My apologies to Johan Santana (who could very easily be on the list with a better record), Kyle Lohse (who has the record but not the ERA or IP), Carlos Zambrano (because he's actually worse than Hudson and is injured), Dan Haren (because there were already enough Diamondback pitchers and had a higher ERA than Hudson), Brian Wilson and Jose Valverde (because they have high ERA's with their saves), and Matt Capps (because he just lost the competition with Wagner and Lyon at the end).

Pretty tough, but the lack of DH made the NL a little easier. Interesting note, each league should have the middle infields occupied by guys on the same team (Texas and Florida).