2003 NL All-Star picks
© Greg Spira
Catcher - Javier Lopez is playing like he did years ago, when he was a star. He's looked almost washed up the last few years, but his power surge - 23 home runs so far - earns him this spot since perrenial NL All-Star Mike Piazza is out with an injury.
First Base - Todd Helton's stats may be pumped up by Coors Field, but he's still been the best first baseman in the NL over the last year and a half.
Second Base - Ray Durham has given the Giants a good bat at the top of the lineup, something the team hasn't had in year, and as a result he gets my nod over the injured ex-Giant Jeff Kent.
Third Base - While Mike Lowell has been hogging the headlines with his home runs, Scott Rolen still gets the nod here since he's been playing at this level for years.
Shortstop - The NL has a lot more depth at shortstop this year, but Edgar Renteria's combination of offense and defense still marks him as the head of the class.
Leftfielder - Barry Bonds. Because.
Centerfielder: Jim Edmonds is having yet another great season with 24 home runs and a 1098 OPS, not to mention his usual defensive exploits.
Rightfielder: Gary Sheffield has been by far the best rightfielder in the game this year and is seemingly leading the Braves' great offense to yet another division championship. And it isn't exactly a fluke.
Others- Well, Albert Pujols is probably the MVP so far this season, so he clearly belongs. And Mike Lowell is a must thanks to his home run tear.
Starting Pitchers: Kevin Brown has recovered from his injuries and has been the best pitcher in the league during the first half. Filling out the rest of my pitching staff will be Jason Schmidt, Hideo Nomo, Brandon Webb, Shawn Chacon, Woody Williams, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. I'll also pick the two dominant cloers in the game, John Smoltz and Eric Gagne, plus probably the best middle reliever in baseball, Octavio Dotel.
Now, we need a representative from each team, so we need to pick a Brewer, a Met, a Red, a Phillie, a Pirate and a Padre.
We'll take Mike Liberthal to back up Lopez at catcher. Nobody from San Diego clearly deserves to be picked, so we'll take Mark Loretta as a back-up infielder. Brian Giles is clearly the most deserving Pirate; he's one of the best players in baseball every year. From the Mets, we'll take Cliff Floyd for his past efforts. We'll take Richie Sexson from the Brewers for similar reasons - though Geoff Jenkins would be just as good a choice. And from the Reds, we'll pluck Jason Larue to be our third catcher.
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