One of the more glaring All-Star snubs this year was Cincinnati Reds ace Johnny Cueto, who as of this very moment has a 2.35 ERA in 114.2 innings, which is very good. Rather than picking Cueto to his team, NL manager Tony La Russa instead chose Jonathan Papelbon, who has inferior numbers in far fewer innings (as a reliever). It was a baffling decision, and one that looks a little shady considering Cueto's role in an ugly brawl between the Reds and LaRussa's Cardinals a few years back. Was LaRussa getting revenge by keeping Cueto from his rightful spot on the All-Star team? Not according to what LaRussa said:
"If [Reds manager] Dusty [Baker] had been more interested in Cueto being on the team, then he wouldn't be pitching him on Sunday."
LaRussa's excuse: the old rule that pitchers starting the Sunday before the All-Star Break are ineligible to pitch in the game. The problem with that: the rule was changed this year. Pitchers who start on Sunday can be named to the game, and even pitch an inning. Oops.
So, Johnny Cueto lost his rightful designation as an All-Star EITHER because Tony LaRussa is acting on an old grudge OR Tony LaRussa did not have a complete grasp of the All-Star selection rules. That seems...unfair.
But not to Jon Heyman. He writes:
"N.L. manager Tony La Russa doesn't hold a grudge against the Reds. And even if he does, I can't say I entirely blame him.
Johnny Cueto was deserving of making the team based on his first half, but if Reds manager Dusty Baker is correct that La Russa didn't pick Cueto or second baseman Brandon Phillips because those two players played significant roles in a noted brawl between the Cardinals and Reds, well, so be it. Picking All-Stars is one of the benefits of winning the World Series.
If La Russa recalls that Cueto didn't just play a significant role in the brawl (as Baker characterized it), but actually kicked ex-Cardinals catcher Jason LaRue in the head, causing LaRue to have a concussion and to have to retire, well maybe Cueto should think twice before behaving that way."
That's right. As Cueto's foot was in the air, flying toward Jason LaRue's head, he should have paused and thought to himself, "Wait. Hang on a tick. What if, in a few years, I'm up for a spot in the All-Star Game, and the guy in charge of deciding whether or not I make it turns out to be the manager of the team whose catcher I'm about to clobber, and that manager will keep me from pitching in this future hypothetical All-Star Game because of a petty, long-standing grudge?" Come on. No one's saying that kicking LaRue in the head is acceptable behavior. But Cueto was in a brawl with a bunch of other players, from both teams. I'm guessing none of those other players involved that day were denied from All-Star Games. Punishments were handed down by MLB authorities. That should be the end of the matter. It's ridiculous to suggest that Cueto should still be paying for that day years later, especially at the hands of a retired manager entrusted with objectively choosing the most worthy All-Star participants.
Of course, I don't think LaRussa left Cueto off the roster as revenge. I think it's totally within the realm of possibility that the guy didn't know the Sunday rule had changed. But Heyman seems convinced that this whole operation is a "revenge is a dish best served cold" thing, so here we are.
"La Russa didn't suggest he was paying Cueto back for LaRue, nor would I expect him to. But it's a hard thing to forget.
To summarize, Cueto has won no World Series and caused one Cardinals concussion. What should he expect?"
To be judged fairly on the basis of merit alone? To be properly recognized for his accomplishments in 2012? And docking points from Cueto for not winning a title yet ranks pretty high on the Crazy Scale, since Cueto hasn't even spent five years in the majors yet. And hang on, take a step back: since when is winning a World Series part of the criteria for All-Star Game selections, anyway? (answer: never.) This is lunacy.
"Apparently, he expects to be on the team. I see on the Internet where Cueto might challenge his non-selection, citing the fact La Russa had Cueto's pitching schedule wrong in explaining his omission. Here's my take: Suck it up, Johnny. Try to win a title this year, then wait 'for Dusty to take you next year."
Again, with the title. Why, suddenly, is Johnny Cueto the only player in baseball who needs to win a World Series to warrant an appearance in the All-Star Game?
In a perfect world, none of this would matter much. It should just be an entertaining diversion and an interesting side-plot for the All-Star break. I couldn't care less about it. But here's the thing: to Jon Heyman, All-Star selections actually matter. A lot. He votes for the Hall of Fame, and actually uses figures like "X Number of Times He Was An All-Star" to judge which players he votes for. It apparently doesn't matter that this very article, written by Heyman himself, shows how flawed that "statistic" is. He thinks it's okay that a deserving All-Star, like Cueto, can be denied that designation just because the manager of the defending World Series champion has a bone to pick, or just because the manager of the defending World Series champion isn't entirely familiar with the selection rules. Immediately, we see that "Number of Times He Was An All-Star" is a "statistic" so completely subject to personal bias and randomness that it's almost useless when it comes to building Hall of Fame cases.
And yet...I know that in a few months, Jack Morris will once again appear on the Hall of Fame ballot, and Jon Heyman will be writing an article that vehemently claims Jack Morris deserves to be a Hall of Famer because he started three All-Star Games, and was an All-Star a total of five times. And Jon Heyman will try to convince me that those numbers actually mean something. And I will think back to this article, when Jon Heyman tried to convince me that Johnny Cueto, of the 2.35 ERA, didn't deserve an All-Star spot because of an old brawl and a grudge. And then I will remember just how subjective, unfair, and utterly useless the "Number of Times He Was An All-Star" statistic really is.
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