What a good idea to comment on the MLB choices for each team’s most outstanding player.  I have been casting my votes…here they are, along with some comments.  I’ll rank all five for each team.  First my favorite, the senior circuit…

Arizona:  Randy Johnson’s perfect game and Series championship beats out Gonzalez’s steady career.  Williams also starred for the Giants, Bell for the Pirates.  Why not Greg Counsell or Curt Schilling?

Braves:  (1) Aaron, no question. (2) Spahn is the all-time winningest lefty. (3) Niekro won 300 pitching for horrible teams. (4) Tie!  Chipper’s run of 100+ RBI seasons and Smoltz’s 150 wins and saves put them at Cooperstown’s doorstep…but how do you pick them over Maddux or Glavine?  Dale Murphy’s back to back MVP seasons also take a back seat, because the selectors must’ve wanted young voters to bleed votes away from Aaron.

Cubs:  Five fine choices…Ernie, Billy, the underrated Jenkins, Ryno, and Santo.  And I wore Sandberg’s 23 at the fantasy camp.  Yes, Sammie got the shaft.

Reds:  I’ve been voting for Bench instead of the tainted hit king.  Robinson had a great career, but it was so split between the Reds and Orioles.  Bench, Rose, Robinson, Morgan, Perez.

Rockies: Not much to pick from here, though Larry Walker was a five tool players before being slowed by injuries.  Career Rockie Helton tops, Walker, Coor’s Field stud Vinny, El Cate Grande (loved by all Braves fans), and Bichette.

Marlins:  With the revolving door swinging after each title, nobody has taken a foothold.   Dontrell becomes the Marlins all-time wins leader this year.  Then Series hero Beckett, followed by Castillo, Conine, and Nen.

Astros:  Tough call…I’ll pick Nolan over Biggio and Bagwell, then the Toy Cannon, and Dierker, who has done everything in the organization.  How about Ceasar Cedeno?

Dodgers:  Even tougher.  Jackie is tops, for all he went through.  Koufax’s short, excellent career is second, then Campy, Pee Wee, and Duke.  Tough to leave off Drysdale, Orel, and Fernando.  A step below are Garvey, Dusty, and Kirk.

Brewers:  Yount was great at the plate, at short, and center…beating out Molitor and Fingers, both of whom also starred elsewhere.  Then the under-rated Cooper and Gantner.

Mets:  As a Braves fan, perhaps I should be voting for Strawberry.  Surely Tom Terrific is tops.  The other guys pale in comparison.  (2) Strawberry tore it up while he was a Met.  (3) Franco’s long career tops (4) Series hero Tug and (5) Piazza, whose best days were in Dodger blue.  What about Dwight Gooden?

Phillies:  I’m taking Lefty over Schmidt, then Roberts, Klein (who I don’t recall), and Ashburn.  They outrank Luzinski, Bowa, and that great centerfielder (Elliot Maddox?).

Pirates:  Being old school, Honus barely tops the excellent Clemente.  Feared power hitter Stargell then beats Series hero Maz and Kiner.  Didn’t Pittsburgh have a skinny outfielder win a few MVP’s in the 90’s?

Cardinals:  Again the old school Stan the Man beats out the tough as nails Gibson, whom I still dislike for his stint as the Bravos pitching coach…trying to make Rick Mahler a power pitcher!  The Wizard’s illustrious career tops Pujols, whom I love…he could be the player of this decade.  Brock is no slouch, but brings up the rear of these five.

Padres:  Gwynn spent his entire career in San Diego, and boy could he hit for average…most of the time in pain.  That beats the amazing Winfield, whom I’m telling my boys about.  Winfield spent many years with other teams.  Hoffman has been quietly piling up saves for a mostly average team.  Jones pitched a no-hitter, and maybe Giles is the current favorite…what about the shortstop Greene?  Or Garry Templeton…or Ozzie?

Giants:  Say Hey Willie tops this tough five.  Perhaps if Bonds wasn’t so tainted and self-absorbed I would pick him.  Third is Mel Ott, who hit his 500 homers in a tougher time than Stretch…who stuck around past his prime to pile up homers.  Marichal was quite the competitor.

Expos/Nationals:  Whether Tim Raines?  Wasn’t his number retired?  And Ellis Valentine, or even Warren Cromarte?  Carter was not my favorite, but he beats le Grande Orange.  Write in time!  Soriano’s performance for the Nats this year puts him third, then Raines and Valentine.  Don’t the Nats have an above average closer?

Even after the sweep by the mighty Mets, the CPA says…Atlanta still has a chance to win the Wild Card.  The Reds are leading the Wild Card pack at 55-50 - a .524 winning pct.  That puts them on pace for a 85-77 record.  Atlanta is 48-56, and to get to 86 wins, they would have to go 38-20 – a .655 winning pct.  A .655 winning pct. is a 106 win pace, but over the course of only 2 months, it is more reasonable – especially considering that other than 6 games with the Mets, the rest of the schedule consists of mediocre NL teams..

In order to pull this off, every time through your rotation, you would have to get 3 Quality Starts.  Smoltz will give you one, but Hudson, James, Ramirez and Schiel/Davies would have to pitch much better than they have lately.  With Wickman and Baez, the bullpen should be settled down.  The offense has cooled down, but they are still 2^nd in the NL in runs scored.

I still say there is a chance.  And if they do get the Wild Card, then they would probably have a 1^st round matchup against a very beatable St. Louis team.  And then, 7 games against the Mets.

SI.com writer Lang Whitaker’s dad chimes in…Was listening to ESPN radio talk this AM and they were discussing records that would never be broken.  The one record that was pretty much considered unbreakable was an NBA player who averaged 48.5 min per game, playing 3882 total minutes out of a possible 3890, and also averaged over 46 min per game for 7 seasons.  I did not know the answer, but I'm sure you do.

Do you know any other record that will not be broken?  David Justice said Pete Rose's total hits would stand forever.

I correctly replied…That wasn't Wilt Chamberlain?  He would be the only one I would think would've come close, and I think that was the year he scored 100.  I don't think he ever fouled out - maybe once or twice (correct again, old school strikes again).

The pitcher who won 511 MLB games...I think that record is safe! Perhaps Rose's 4000-plus hits (4195?)  How 'bout winning 15 or more games in 16 straight seasons...Greg Maddux?  Will anyone ever beat Maravich's collegiate scoring records......over 40 PPG for 3 straight years?

I've heard people say that no one has broken Maris' 61 homes runs...without steroids!  Perhaps Pujols or Ortiz will challenge it soon.