Tuesday Bantering: All-Star Stuff

The starting lineup for the AL All-Star team has Vlad batting second , Marcus Semien hits sixth, and Teoscar hitting eighth. Shohei Ohtani leads off and is the starting pitcher:

1) Shohei Ohtani, DH (LAA)

2) Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B (TOR)

3) Xander Bogaerts, SS (BOS)

4) Aaron Judge, RF (NYY)

5) Rafael Devers, 3B (BOS)

6) Marcus Semien, 2B (TOR)

7) Salvador Perez, C (KC)

8) Teoscar Hernández, LF (TOR)

9) Cedric Mullins, CF (BAL)

In the NL Max Scherzer starts:

1) Fernando Tatis Jr., SS (SD)

2) Max Muncy, DH (LAD)

3) Nolan Arenado, 3B (STL)

4) Freddie Freeman, 1B (ATL)

5) Nick Castellanos, RF (CIN)

6) Jesse Winker, LF (CIN)

7) J.T. Realmuto, C (PHI)

8) Bryan Reynolds, CF (PIT)

9) Adam Frazier, 2B (PIT)

I generally don’t pay attention to the All-Star Game, but I likely will watch until Vlad, Teoscar, and Marcus leave the game. However, I’d like to see Bo hit too. We will put up an open thread for the game.

Let’s have a poll:

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Jim Bowden isn’t a fan of Austin Martin:

Most disappointing prospect: Austin Martin, INF, Toronto Blue Jays I was really disappointed, as I had high expectations for Martin when he was drafted last year. I don’t like his setup, pointing the bat at the pitcher, because I feel he’s late getting in position to hit and wraps the bat at times. Don’t get me wrong — the potential is there. He just didn’t stand out as I expected with the best players on the field.

Austin just had a hit and a walk in two plate appearances in the Futures Game. And he is hitting .273/.394/.379 in his first professional season, at Double-A.

Of course, Bowden also thinks that Ryan Borucki has been out for two months with a reaction to the Covid vaccine. When someone says something like that without, you know, checking if it is true or not, you can bet he is an anti-vaxxer.

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Stephan A. Smith had an opinion that we have seen too much of over the year. About Shohei Ohtani, he said:

When you talk about an audience gravitating to the tube or to the ballpark to actually watch you, I don’t think it helps that the No. 1 face is a dude that needs an interpreter so that you can understand what the hell he’s saying, in this country.

We have heard the same stuff about players like Vlad and other Spanish-speaking Blue Jays. Speaking through an interpreter gives players a level of comfort. Speaking on TV is nerve-racking. It isn’t easy. I’ve only done it a few times, but your mind is racing to remember all the things you were told. ‘Smile, be positive, get the pronunciations right, talk clearly, remember the interviewer’s name...’

Trying to do it in a language that isn’t your native tongue adds in a degree of difficulty that wouldn’t help anyone.

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I watched about five minutes of the Home Run Derby. It isn’t my thing. Trey Mancini has a great story, but the story is just as good during a regular-season game as in the Home Run Derby.

Pete Alfonso won it for the second time in a row.

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If you wanted to bet on Vlad to win the MVP, Otani is the huge favorite, so might be a good plan. These are from Sports Betting.

AL MVP

Shohei Ohtani -350

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. +225

Xander Bogaerts +4000

Aaron Judge +5000

Carlos Correa +5000

Marcus Semien +5000

Matt Olson +5000

Rafael Devers +5000

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The Jays have released part of their proposal to the Canadian Government to allowing baseball in Toronto (obviously the Jays are trying to get the public on their side). It looks good to me: