Clippard Makes ASG Plus Snubs

Congrats to Peaches for making his first All-Star game!

Once again the workhorse of the Nationals staff, Clippard is 2nd in WPA of all baseball relievers with a 3.14 Win Probability Added. He has a sub-2 ERA (1.96) and a sub-1 WHIP (0.87). His 11.15 K/9 ranks him in the top 10 of all NL relievers.

Once again the Nationals have just one all-star representative, despite being .500 and in sole possession of 3rd place in one of the toughest divisions in baseball. Clippard was definitely deserving of the nod, but so were Storen, Zimmermann, Espinosa and Morse.

Danny Espinosa

Leads all MLB rookies in WAR, HR, Runs, and RBIs. He leads all NL 2B in Homers and is 2nd in WAR, UZR, and RBIs. Case closed.

Jordan Zimmermann

Though his win-loss record is a paltry 5-7, Jordan Zimmermann has far and away been the Nats best pitcher this year. His ERA (2.63) is 5th best in the NL, WHIP (1.07) is 6th best, BB/9 is 5th best, K/BB is 6th best, and his HR/9 is 2nd best. Wins and losses are what gets a starter to the ASG, but if you look past that to some actual numbers, there's no question that Zimmermann has been one of the National Leagues best pitchers.

Drew Storen

He has the 4th most saves in all of the NL, and is 20 for 23. He is one of the best personalities on this club and would've represented the team very well.

Michael Morse

Hampered by the dearth of quality first-basemen in the National League, Morse is still up for the MLB Final Vote. His Slugging Percentage is 5th in the NL, OPS is 10th, OPS+ is 9th, and his AB/HR ratio is 6th. In addition to the silly offensive numbers he has put him in the past 2.5 months, he has filled in admirably at 1B for the injured LaRoche - picking up a .997 Fielding Percentage at first, good for 3rd in the NL.

VOTE MORSE!

Bryce Harper Chosen For Futures Game

And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming... at least until Jim Riggleman says something else crazy. Until then, though, let's talk about the guy that was making much of the Nats news before the recent winning streak and managerial meltdown: Bryce Harper.

Lost in the hubbub of a stellar 2 weeks of baseball and the front office drama, the Hagerstown Suns star was selected to be participate in the All-Star Futures Game during the All-Star festivities in Phoenix in July. Harrisburg Senators P Brad Peacock will join Harper as the other representative from the Nats organization.

This season in Hagerstown, Harper is sporting a .330/.429/.586 slash line and an about-expected 14 homers at the break. He's also put together a stellar 23.9 wRAA (weighted runs above average), showing his offensive prowess with the low-A club.

The honor of being selected to the Futures Game is certainly not lost on Harper, as he told MLB.com's Bill Ladson. In Harper-esque form, he trivialized the Sally League All-Star Game as "a miniature game" compared to the distinction of playing in the big league All-Star Weekend. And of course, he isn't wrong. We just look forward to how he plays against a host of talent from across the minors, all the way up to the Triple-A level.

Early All-Star Predictions

It's certainly never too early to start predicting and pontificating on who will be the Nats All-Star representative(s). Last year, we thought there was a real chance that the Nats could have multiple all-stars for the first time since 2005, when Cordero and Livo represented the team. But, after the final-man vote the Nats were left with Matt Capps as their lone (yet very deserving) all-star.

This year, the Nats are playing baseball that goes against Nationals history, with stellar pitching and atrocious hitting. This year, it stands to reason that the Nats will once again have a pitcher repping the club, especially with Zimmerman on the DL.

So, just who are those candidates? In the order from Most to Least likely...

Drew Storen - 1.48 ERA - 0.86 WHIP - 9 for 9 Saves - 11 SD

The former 1st round pick is showing his true colors after a dreadful spring. In our mind there is no other pick for our All-Star Representative. Storen has stepped up and grabbed a stranglehold on the "not-yet-named" closer position.

Jason Marquis - 5-1 Record - 4.08 ERA - 1.38 WHIP - 3.22 FIP - 2.04 BB/9

Marquis has gotten the best of the Nats this year, after giving the Nats his worst last year. Taking advantage of the Nats offense, Marquis has pitched very effectively to a 5-1 record - sparking talk of a possible trade. Though his stats got slightly marred by Friday's slaughter of the O's, Marquis has been one of the big standouts on the team.

Tyler Clippard - 1.69 ERA - 1.05 WHIP - 12 SD - 1.84 WPA - 20 of 26 Stranded Runners

Struggling a bit as of late, Clippard had been a model of consistency for the entire 2011 season. He has spend all year locking down opposition, making save situations happen in the 7th and 8th innings - cleaning up for other pitcher's messes. The likelihood of a non-closer reliever making the All-Star team are slim, but it's always possible.

Jordan Zimmermann - 3.98 ERA - 2.81 FIP - 1.4 WAR - 6.63 K/9

Zimmermann's stats are better than every Nats starter this season, as evidenced by his owning the highest WAR on the team. Though, traditionally sabermetric stats haven't really helped anyone make the all-star team. The only reason Zimmermann stands a lesser chance is because of his 2-5 record.

Danny Espinosa - 27 RBI - 1.4 WAR - 2.7 UZR

Danny has struggled to make the necessary adjustments of late, but his solid play could come back and he could conceivably make the all star team. If the stars align perfectly.

Wilson Ramos - .262 AVG - .336 OBP - 7 for 14 CS

Ramos doesn't stand much chance to make the team with the dearth of quality catching in the National League - Yadi and McCann. But the young standout will make his fair share of All-Star Games in the future.

What say you, CapBallers? What does your list look like??

MLB All-Star Weekend is Terrible

I really don't like baseball's All-Star game very much. It's fun to see the stars get together, but it's typically not very representative of the league's best players, and you don't really get to see player's personalities (minus maybe the Home Run Derby). But after this year's fantastic NHL All-Star Weekend, I thought we could explore what makes their weekend so much better, in my personal opinion. And rather than just complain, we'll also look at how MLB can improve their showcase of the league's best talent.

1. Player selection and fantasy player draft: I was really up in the air on this before it happened, but I have to say, the NHL got this just right. Besides Phil Kessel sitting out there last, though he did get a car out of the deal. The players genuinely seemed to enjoy the process; fans even got to see inside many players' personalities. The fans still got to select some players to the festivities, and the league selected the remainder of truly deserving players. So although teams like the Penguins and the Blackhawks got a lopsided share of the fan vote, the league stepped in to make sure other deserving players made the cut.

MLB should consider a similar format. The fans could select a portion of the representatives, and then the league can step in to pick out the people who have had an outstanding first half, not just by name recognition. I understand that the Yankees and the Phillies often have the most respresentatives because they're among the best teams, but it'd be nice to see things a little more equal.

Then, pick captains based on host city and seniority, and draft teams for the weekend. Baseball has a lot of free agent action and a very active trade market between the American and National Leagues. It could make for some very diverse teams and a great way to show the players' personalities.

I read this after I already finished this post, but the folks over at FanGraphs did a great job of a mock MLB draft, a la NHL Fantasy Players Draft, for the ASG. Check it out here.

2. Skills competitions: I don't think there's much debate here. The NHL SuperSkills Competition is simply outstanding. Players are judged on all aspects of the game, shooting accuracy, shooting speed, skating speed, passing, finesse, and goaltending. The MLB All-Star Game has the Home Run Derby. That's it. That's basically the league saying, "all we care about is home runs" (See: Steroid Era). But if baseball wants to move past the Steroid Era, let's show that they actually care about more than how hard you can hit a baseball.

Why not do a base stealing competition for speedsters, a hardest pitch competition for pitchers, a fielding range competition for position, a longest toss competition for outfielders, or even spitball throwing competition? Who doesn't wanna see Michael Bourn against Carl Crawford in a foot race around the bases? Or see Jayson Werth throw a ball into a bucket at home plate from the outfield? There are so many opportunities that MLB is missing out on here.

3. "This one counts.": To me, this is the worst part of the game. Players should be out there having fun. Pitchers playing with different pitches to see how silly they can make hitters look. Batters should want to kill the ball every time. They should be relaxed and having fun. These players have to give 100% effort 162 times a year. Why not give the players one chance to goof off during the season in a game setting? Furthermore, it totally negates the incentive to have the best record in baseball, as long as your league wins the All-Star Game.

Baseball gets a few things right though, including the Final Vote. It's nice to give a few players a shot at the end of the official player selection process, a play-in vote if you will, to have the fans get the final say. But it'd be better if those fans didn't do all the selecting of position players from the start. The fans could really let the league know where they left someone great out.

So these are just a few thoughts about how MLB can improve the All-Star experience for both players and fans. What say you, readers? Leave your thoughts on the MLB All-Star Game in the comments!

Tip Your Caps to Capps

As we prepare for the All-Star Game this evening, it only seems fitting that a Nats blog should write about the Nats only ASG representative: Matt Capps.

This season Capps has the 3rd most saves in the NL (23) and has been basically automatic in every appearance. He has a tendency to give you a mild heart murmur every once in a while, but he's blown only 4 saves all season.

If you look back at Capps' career, it's obvious that this season is by far his best ever. The only time he's had more than 23 saves in a full season was last year with Pittsburgh. He had 27 all year in 2009 and posted an atrocious 5.80 ERA. It's safe to say that Capps will exceed that level in 2010. But will it be with the Washington Nationals?

It's hard to tell what the Nats front office thinks about this idea at this point, since most trade rumors are focusing on Dunn and Willingham. But Matt Capps' trade value will never be higher than it is today. He's an All-Star for the first time in his career, he's sporting an ERA just over 3.00. He's pitching with purpose as a guy who was dumped by the team that drafted him.

With any contender that is interested in Capps, he would almost certainly not be a closer barring a late season injury to that team's closer. He is a closer with the Nats because they needed someone to hold a place for Drew Storen. With another organization, he could be an above average setup guy that helps take a team deep into the post-season. The Nats shouldn't balk at this opportunity, especially if they're able to land another strong pitcher. The problem is, contenders aren't going to be willing to trade away a strong player in return for Capps.

So what say you, Capitol Baseballers? Is it time to pass the torch to Storen this year since the Nats aren't playoff bound? Should they hold on to Capps as the closer of the near future and leave Storen to that task in a few years?

I tend to think you get whatever you can for him, even though I really like him, because his numbers show he may be far outperforming what he is actually capable of. I await your comments, and enjoy the festivities tonight!

Ryan Zimmerman Is An All-Star

Last night, MLB Network announced that Cincinnati Reds 1B Joey Votto would be the final vote selection for the 2010 All-Star Game in Anaheim. Originally, I was going to write a scathing post about the the voting process, how Ryan Zimmerman should have been selected, that Zimmerman's numbers were much better than the rest of the people at his position, especially compared to Votto's elite competition at 1st base. That post quickly became impossible, as it's simply not true.

Joey Votto is hitting .314 with a .417 OBP and is slugging at a staggering .595 rate. He ranks #1 among all NL first basemen in these 3 categories. Better than Pujols, better than Howard, better than Gonzalez. So then you really have to wonder, why wasn't Votto selected before the final vote when he is the best player thus far in 2010? It's not like he's even playing for a bad team; he's playing for the #1 team in the NL Central. But I digress...

Ryan Zimmerman is the best all around 3rd basemen in the NL, and quite possibly in baseball. David Wright is a quality 3B, and Rolen is having a great season as an older player, but the fact remains that Zimmerman is the reigning Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner. Unfortunately for Zimm, he plays for a Washington Nationals team that's in last place in its division. And has been for most of the team's short history. It's also team that, besides Stephen Strasburg references, barely gets acknowledged by local, let alone national, media. So although Zimmerman is 2nd in on-base percentage and 3rd in slugging percentage among qualifying 3rd basemen, he was left off of the list for Omar Infante, a utility player for the Atlanta Braves. That's right. A utility player.

I would like to be outraged by this development, but I'm simply not surprised. The Washington Nationals front office didn't exactly do an ideal job getting out the vote for any Nationals players this year. I saw ushers passing out ballots once all season. Meanwhile, in Baltimore, ushers were passing out ballots to everyone in the seats.... The Nats got outshined by the worst team in baseball. But in all reality, it probably wouldn't have mattered. When you have an average paid attendance of barely 20,000, you're not going to compete with teams like the Yankees and the Phillies that have average attendance over 45,000. That's more seats than exist at Nationals Park.

So 2011 is another year, and maybe if the Nationals are respectable this year and get the dream rotation that Boswell wrote about, the team will be visible nationally, and more Nats players will get a serious chance at making the All-Star team. Guys like Zimmerman, Dunn (RE-SIGN HIM!), Willingham, and possibly even Strasburg could make a run. But until then, let's hope that Matt Capps can help the National League win a game that they hasn't won since 1996. That game was hosted by the Philadelphia Phillies... at Veterans Stadium... and the MVP of the game was Mike Piazza. It's time to start a new baseball legacy for the NL... one from this millennium.