I didn't realize it'd been so long since I've posted. I apologize. I'll write again soon and try to make up for lost time. Now, on to the Mini-Manny rant.
Bud Selig’s hands are tied; the rules are clear. He can go around saying that Manny as All-Star will take some consideration and he’s weighing his options all he wants – there are no options to be weighed. Can the rules be changed for future years? Sure. But this year, the rules say that the PED suspension can’t bear weight on All-Star participation.
It should bear weight in the voting, though. Manny is one of the best players of our generation – steroids or not, but he hasn’t earned the spot this year – not necessarily because he took PEDs but because he missed 50 games. The reality of it is that if Manny makes the team, someone more deserving won’t. Somebody who played twice as many games as Manny and put up equal or better numbers will be sitting at home watching. And what are the chances that Manny will actually show up to the All-Star game? Was it last year or the year before when Manny led all voting for the All-Star game and some phantom injury that didn’t bother him the game before or after the break kept him from playing in the AS game? Manny’s presence (if he shows) requires someone else’s absence, and this is what I think isn’t fair. Somebody more deserving and clean will be sitting at home while Manny pulls a Manny by coming but refusing to play (or some similarly bizarre scenario).
