At Halfway Point, Fans Got It About Half Right

In the popularity poll that is all-star voting, fans hit about .500 this year.

Great in the batter’s box but only fair at the ballot box.

No biggie.

The managers almost always make up for election mistakes with their selections of the reserves, and the midsummer exhibition is just that--an exhibition showcasing career accomplishments rather than a reflection of first-half performance.

The starting lineups for Tuesday night’s game at Coors Field, for instance, wouldn’t include about half of the fan selections if based strictly on the first three months.

Consider:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Fans were right to select Ivan Rodriguez as the catcher, Jim Thome as the first baseman, Alex Rodriguez as the shortstop and Ken Griffey Jr. and Juan Gonzalez as two of the three outfielders.

But Damion Easley should be the second baseman instead of Roberto Alomar, Dean Palmer or Scott Brosius should be the third baseman instead of Cal Ripken Jr., and Darin Erstad, Ben Grieve or Bernie Williams should be the third outfielder instead of Kenny Lofton.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

The fans’ selections of Mark McGwire at first base, Craig Biggio at second and Walt Weiss at shortstop are legitimate, but the rest is debatable--if not simply wrong.

The choice here would be Javier Lopez over Mike Piazza at catcher, Vinny Castilla over Chipper Jones at third base, and an outfield of Sammy Sosa, Greg Vaughn and Dante Bichette over Tony Gwynn, Barry Bonds and Larry Walker, although Gwynn, Bonds and Walker should be there.

As for the ’98 All-Star Snub awards, Nomar Garciaparra in the AL and Kerry Wood in the NL are obvious choices.

BOOMS AND BUSTS

The first-half booms: 1--New York Yankees; 2--Angels; 3--San Diego Padres; 4--Boston Red Sox; 5--Houston Astros.

Comment: Yankee domination and Angel determination have been two first-half highlights. Can Omar Olivares, Steve Sparks and Jarrod Washburn hold up during the second-half caldron in which the Angels play 44 of 76 games on the road? Can they count on Ken Hill returning in August or should they heed coach Larry Bowa’s public recommendation and pursue that “one more veteran arm”?

The first-half busts: 1--Baltimore Orioles; 2--Seattle Mariners; 3--Dodgers; 4--Colorado Rockies; 5--Florida Marlins*.

Comment: It cost only $72 million for the Orioles to blow up faster than the Mariner bullpen, which is what owner Peter Angelos gets for investing in an old-age home. The question now is, who will be the first to go: Alomar, Rafael Palmeiro, Joe Carter, Eric Davis?

There may be a clean sweep by the July 31 trade deadline, but the undeterred Angelos says, “We will continue to spend what it takes to put a competitive team on the field.”

As for the Mariners, explosive at the plate and in relief, Alex Rodriguez says, “In one word, what 25 guys on this team have done is underachieve. We have to realize that winning takes more than talent, it takes heart. Maybe we forgot that when we’ve been playing in the postseason [in 1995 and ‘97], those Anaheim guys were home watching and getting hungry.”

* The Marlins, of course, were destined to be a bust before the season started. The all-star reunion of Gary Sheffield, Moises Alou, Kevin Brown, Devon White and Robb Nen is a dramatic measure of owner Wayne Huizenga’s sellout--which isn’t over. The next Marlin to go may be all-star shortstop Edgar Renteria--possibly to San Diego.

HALFWAY AWARDS

Most valuable player--Greg Vaughn could be the first to win MVP and comeback of the year in the same season. “I shudder to think where we’d be without him,” Gwynn said of the man who has carried the Padre attack, much as Juan Gonzalez, who is the halfway choice here in the AL, has carried the Texas Ranger attack.

Cy Young (or Dept. of What’s New?)--Greg Maddux in the NL and Pedro Martinez in the AL, although David Wells and David Cone can make a case in the AL and might each win 25 before the Yankees are through.

Rookie--Oakland’s Grieve has lived up to expectations in the AL, and Arizona’s Travis Lee is returning quick dividends on that $10-million bonus in the NL.

Rookie pitcher--Rolando Arrojo of Tampa Bay made the AL All-Star team with 10 wins, and Wood of the Chicago Cubs should have made the NL with his eight wins and that 20-strikeout one-hitter against the Astros--a major PR gaffe by Jim Leyland and the National League.

HOMER INTRIGUE

Increased attendance and a stunning array of remarkable individual performances distinguished baseball’s ongoing recovery during the first half.

Unfortunately for the industry, the second half will begin with only the division race in the AL West seemingly undecided. The Yankees and Cleveland Indians can’t be expected to blow sizable division leads in the AL, and the Padres, Astros and Atlanta Braves are coasting in the NL.

The focus will be on the wild-card races--which adds spice to the trade market but hasn’t proved to be an attendance or conversation stimulus--and the ongoing pursuit of a home run record by McGwire, Griffey, Sosa and what at times seems to be a cast of thousands.

That alone figures to be a spectacular show, beginning with the home-run contest in mile-high Coors Field on Monday, but what does it really mean?

Consider:

* The St. Louis Cardinals, through Thursday, were 16-16 in games in which McGwire had homered.

* The Cubs were 13-13 in games in which Sosa had homered.

* The Mariners were 14-18 in games in which Griffey had homered.

Doubleday--Abner, not Nelson--was right.

It is not a one-man game.