It's been almost a month since I updated the front page of the site; I had actually started work on an article that I wanted to post this weekend, but Retrosheet has been down for a couple of days and I'm lost without it. Instead, I'll just quickly go over some All-Star picks and other stuff.

Note to Retrosheet: please get well soon.

We're a third of the way through the season; this morning I voted online for the All-Star Game. Here were my picks, along with the actual leaders:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1B: Mark Teixeira - an easy choice. Tex had a slow April, then caught fire in May and has been a force of nature in June. He is third in the AL with 16 home runs; all 16 have been hit from the left side of the plate.

Vote leader: Tino Martinez - he had a heck of a May, crunching eight home runs in eight days. But he was poor in April and has been invisible in June, and his batting average has dropped to .237.

2B: Brian Roberts - he was unbelievably great in April and May before an injury knocked him out of the lineup for a few games. He just came back; currently one of the top-three MVP candidates in the AL.

Vote leader: Roberts - his home/road stats:

3B: Alex Rodriguez - is hitting as well as he ever has, leading the league in home runs and RBI.

Vote leader: Rodriguez - he is hitting .380 with 12 home runs at Yankee Stadium, giving the home fans lots to cheer about.

SS: Miguel Tejada - the Orioles' other MVP candidate. An incredibly durable player who has outclassed some other fine shortstops.

Vote leader: Tejada - in six games against the Yankees, he is batting .481 with 13 RBI.

CA: Jason Varitek - there are lots of good catchers in the AL this year, but Varitek has clearly been the best with the bat. No one questions his contributions with the glove or in the clubhouse.

Vote leader: Varitek - the fans aren't doing too bad this year. Or maybe I've hacked the MLB database. It can't be that hard, can it?

OF #1: Gary Sheffield - it should be noted that almost all of the best outfielders in baseball are in the National League this year. Coco Crisp, for crying out loud, is leading AL left fielders in VORP.

Sheffield and Vlad Guerrero have been the slugging stars among AL outfielders, but the latter dislocated his shoulder. Sheff has slumped badly in June, though, batting only .138 so far this month.

OF #2: Johnny Damon - second in the league in batting average, also a fine defensive player. Clearly the best of a weak group of centre fielders. Like Sheffield, he has slumped in June.

OF #3: Ichiro Suzuki - he's not having his best season, is just 13th in the league in batting average. Hit .356 in April, .288 in May and so far only .182 in June. But who the hell else are you going to vote for? Damon Hollins? Guerrero will probably deserve this spot if he can stay healthy.

Vote leaders: Manny Ramirez - a great star, but he just can't get on track. Is batting a mind-boggling .127 against left-handed pitching.

Ichiro Suzuki - no surprise, obviously.

Vladimir Guerrero - just returned to the lineup last night. The Angels nicely survived his absence.

DH: David Ortiz - had a slow start but has just ripped the ball the past six weeks. Are we sure that Ortiz is a real person, and not the product of a computer simulation?

Vote leader: Ortiz - the other good DHs have been Raul Ibanez, Travis Hafner and the remarkable Dave Dellucci. Jason Giambi has more votes than any of them.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1B: Albert Pujols - Derrek Lee, of course, as been the best, while Carlos Delgado and Nick Johnson have also been outstanding. But Pujols is The Man that everyone wants to see.

Vote leader: Pujols - There's a DH, right? Lee can fill that role.

2B: Jeff Kent - had a great April, a horrible May but has caught fire again in June.

Vote leader: Kent - the best hitter among NL second basemen, and also the biggest star; I don't think that any of the other candidates (Counsell, Grudzielanek, Biggio, Utley) is going to win the Gold Glove (though admittedly I haven't seen much of Utley in the field, so maybe Phillies fans will make his case).

3B: David Wright - remember when the NL was deep with great third basemen? That was, like, nine months ago. But Rolen is hurt, Chipper is hurt, Beltre has gone missing. Aramis Ramirez and Troy Glaus have been OK but not great; Rob Mackowiak and Morgan Ensberg have been good but I will stick with the kid.

Vote leader: Rolen - out of action.

SS: Cesar Izturis - one of two former Blue Jays who are kicking ass and taking names in the NL. Felipe Lopez has been the better hitter but Izturis is more established and has the great glove. But he's also batting just .091 in June.

Vote leader: Nomar Garciaparra - he won't play, obviously. David Eckstein is close and may win the vote, and he's had a good year, too. Rookie Clint Barmes was in the mix but is now hurt.

CA: Ramon Hernandez - a good hitter and very good defensive player. But he's yet another player who is slumping in June (.188).

Vote leader: Mike Piazza - you know you're a future Hall-of-Famer when you get voted as a starter every year, no matter how useless you are.

OF #1: Bobby Abreu - a great player who is finally getting credit for being one. Has carried the Phillies back into contention for both the division and wild card.

OF #2: Miguel Cabrera - the best of some wonderful left fielders in the NL, including Jason Bay, Cliff Floyd, Adam Dunn, Luis Gonzalez, Pat Burrell and Carlos Lee. Has gone strangely missing during the Marlins' recent swoon.

OF #3: Brian Giles - is having a terrific comeback season for the Padres, helping to make the trade with Pittsburgh look not-so-bad. He still doesn't like the Pet Shop (.210 average, 2 homers) but has been a monster on the road.

Vote leaders: Carlos Beltran - has been OK, but hasn't found his power stroke. Has stolen only one base, which obviously raises questions about his physical condition. His teammates, Floyd and Mike Cameron, are both better candidates.

Jim Edmonds - has been pretty good; I won't knock his selection. Edmonds and the surprising Brady Clark have been the best centre fielders in the NL. Actually, Mike Cameron has been the best, though he hasn't played centre this year.

Bobby Abreu - that's not a typo; the man who has only played in one All-Star game (as an injury replacement, no less) is actually third in voting. But watch out; Ken Griffey Jr. is close behind.

Barry Bonds is 15th in voting among NL outfielders, which is kinda surprising; for some reason, people are voting for Nomar Garciaparra but not Bonds. Obviously, there has been A LOT of publicity surrounding Bonds' inactivity, among other things.

The fans don't vote on pitchers, of course; the current VORP leaders in each league are Roy Halladay and Roger Clemens, and if the All-Star game was held tomorrow, my guess is that they would be the starters. Two young pitchers in the NL, Dontrelle Willis and Brett Myers, have been extremely impressive, while old Kenny Rogers just keeps getting better. Johan Santana and Pedro Martinez have both had good starts, and both are obviously capable of going on a streak where they just stop giving up runs completely.

I'm paying a bundle of money for MLB's All Access package, and last night finally took advantage and watched Game Seven of the 1975 World Series. Game Six, of course, has become part of baseball legend, but the seventh game is also worth watching. A few notes:

• I like umpires who wear old-fashioned uniforms and make quick, decisive calls
• a conversation between Joe Garagiola and Pete Rose is not must-see television
• whatever happened to the Winged Victory Chorus? they weren't bad
• I'm not a fashion maven, but that was one heck of a sports jacket that Tony Kubek was wearing
• according to Curt Gowdy, there was a full moon out
• Gowdy twice called Don Gullett "one of the four best pitchers in baseball" without saying who the other three were. OK, Seaver and Palmer... then Hunter? Perry? Carlton? Randy Jones?
• Gullett's pitching motion lived up (down?) to its reputation - short, violent and over-the-top. Looked like he was throwing pretty hard, though.
• Bill Lee's slow curve was a thing of beauty
• but don't throw it twice to Tony Perez
• Lee only committed one balk in his 14-year career, which is almost impossible to believe. His complete stops weren't very complete
• if you think that Joe Morgan looks like a great player on paper, then you really need to see him in action
• after the game, Morgan cried out "I'm so happy, man" then went on a rambling stream of consciousness. Funny, in the booth, Jon Miller always comes across as the more relaxed of the two
• Pete Rose may be a douchebag, but he was a force of nature at the plate and on the bases. Played an awfully deep third base, but made a couple of nice plays
• the World Football League folded earlier in the day
• Allan Roth was NBC's statistician
• Clay Carroll was nicknamed "the Hawk"
• knowing what the final score was, I nodded off a bit in the bottom of the 9th... but did a double-take when Bob Montgomery pinch-hit, and didn't wear a batting helmet. A quick Google search reveals that Montgomery was the last player in baseball to wear a hard liner inside his hat instead of a helmet. You learn something new every day
• anyone over 30 knows this already, but power hitters in the 1970's were really, really thin. I think that Adam Dunn weighs more than Tony Perez, George Foster and Cecil Cooper - combined