Nearing the end of his home run chase and with shouts of "Cheater" encircling him wherever he goes, Barry Bonds was chosen as a starter for the All-Star game.  The fans have looked past the rumors and scandal and hate and have awarded a great player the berth that he deserves in what is probably his final All-Star game. In the heat of all the accusations and the chase for the legend, we've been missing that Barry is back to his old self, mashing the ball around the yard with every at bat, and fully deserving that All-Star start. Gee, it's a good thing the fans got this one right.

This is apparently what everyone would like you to believe. Barry deserves to be the All-Star starter, and if you don't think so than your view is clouded by the steroid accusations. You know what? I don't buy that. I couldn't give a crap about the steroid stuff, whatever he did he did, there's no way I can know. What I do know is this.

Barry Bonds does NOT deserve to be starting the All-Star game. Not only that, but you could make a good case that he doesn't deserve to be there at all. Now, I know that this is the case with several players on the All-Star roster (Carlos Beltran, Ivan Rodriguez anyone?), but none of those guys have gotten the kind of attention that Bonds has gotten for it, and everybody is admitting that they don't belong there. Nobody is saying that about Barry, yet it needs to be said. So, with all those gaudy offensive numbers we see associated with Barry, why doesn't he deserve that spot?

Reason #1: Fielding

Barry is, quite possibly, the worst fielding semi-regular outfielder in the NL. His Zone Rating is a horrific .817, because he just doesn't have any kind of range in the outfield anymore. Of LFers with a comparable number of innings played, Barry's 105 total chances are by far the lowest. Not only does he not have range, but he doesn't have an arm anymore either. Of all LFers with over 200 innings played, Barry is the only one who doesn't have an assist. 480 innings in the outfield, and not one assist. There's not a statistic to measure how many runs Barry gives up with his poor fielding, but I would wager it's a pretty large number.

Reason #2: Playing Time

Barry can hardly even be considered a regular anymore, he takes too many games off. He's actually played less innings than the Astros' Hunter Pence, despite the fact that Pence didn't even start the season with the team. Most people didn't even think of Pence for the All-Star roster (despite his gaudy numbers) because he's a rookie who got called up halfway through the season, but he's played more innings than Bonds.

Reason #3: This isn't the old Barry

Lets get something straight, this isn't the same Barry Bonds who was absolutely destroying pitchers from '00 to '04. That Barry put up completely unheard of numbers, with slugging percentages in the 800s, a batting average in the high 300s, and a ridiculously gaudy OPS. Now? Barry's average and power numbers aren't nearly as good as they were in his dominant years. The times he does put the ball in play he's good, but not nearly on the same scale as before, when it seemed like every pitch Bonds saw over the plate turned into a home run. The thing is, pitchers are still pitching him like they did before, they're still incredibly scared of him. He's on pace for over 160 BBs this year, nearly the same amount he had when he smashed 73 dingers in '01. Yes, some of that has to do with Barry's plate presence and keen eye, but it's mostly a factor of pitchers being afraid of the dominant Barry we all think of, and being afraid to give up yet another home run on the quest to break the record. That treatment from pitchers, despite Barry having regressed a good deal as a hitter, is giving him a ridiculously high OBP, which is the main statistic people will bring up with him this year. Barry is still a good hitter, but scouts and analysts all year have been saying that he looks much more human at the plate than he has every looked, and yet pitchers continue to treat him like a god.

The fact is, there are more deserving players to start this game than Barry. Matt Holliday is an MVP candidate and should've been a shoe-in as the starter. He's an excellent fielder, has offensive numbers that are comparable, and he trails only Jason Bay among LFers in innings played. Alfonso Soriano could also lay claim to that starting spot, with similar offensive statistics, more games played, exceptional fielding (better zone rating, range factor, fielding percentage, and he's got 10 assists to no errors) and he steals bases. Also, why not talk about Hunter Pence here, as he's been arguably the best outfielder in the NL since he was called up. Even Eric Byrnes (who didn't make the NL roster) deserves consideration over Bonds with his higher average, ability to steal bases, and his exceptional fielding in all 3 outfield spots. 

Does Barry deserve to be an All-Star? You can certainly make a case for that, especially with stinkers like Beltran and Aaron Rowand on the team. You can argue him for sentimental reasons or because he was really the only Giant worthy of going, whatever. What you can't argue is that he deserves that starting spot. Lets stop making this into "the fans' apology to Barry" and start being mad that 2 guys who clearly deserved that spot more didn't get it.

 More All-Star Notes

• My boy Prince Fielder got his starting nod at first base, now I want to see him crush some balls in the Home Run Derby. Just remember Prince, they don't count inside the park homers.
• Brandon Phillips getting left off the roster made me cry. Freddy Sanchez? Phillips is on pace to go 30/30 this year, it's a travesty that he isn't on that roster.
• Poor Roy Oswalt, the man gets no respect. He goes out and suffers for a terrible team (a lot, he leads the league in innings pitched), and gets no love as an All-Star.
• This year's big "What were they thinking?"  award goes to Brian Fuentes, who lost his role as closer just as he was being picked as an All-Star. Apparently his 20 saves were more important than his 4.17 ERA in 36 innings.
• The backlog at SS in the NL is amazing. All 5 of the top shortstops (Reyes, Ramirez, Renteria, Rollins, and Hardy) probably deserve to be All-Stars more than half the guys on the roster. Not only that, but there are more coming. Troy Tulowitzki and Stephen Drew might just be joining that group in a few years. Wasn't it not long ago that shortstops were just supposed to be the light-hitting, good-fielding guys?