So I'm taking a few minutes this morning to continue to the task of organizing, formatting and publishing all of the stuff I wrote five years ago. The summer of 2003... what an unsual year to be a baseball fan, especially here in Toronto. I was 28 years old at the time, was working a 10pm-6am overnight shift, and spent a lot of hours at night updating my little baseball website. Some of the stuff I wrote was good, some of it not so good, most of it uneven...

...at some point this summer I will have to do a fill retrospective, and see how much I've changed in five years. I mean, I know I have a lot less hair than I did then - but I've rethought just about everything I wrote that year, and probably should put pen-to-paper or finger-to-keyboard at some point.

But today I'll be a little lazy. On June 16, 2003, I made my All-Star picks for that season. I don't spend as much time thinking or caring about the All-Star Game as I used to - hell, I don't think I even watched the All-Star Game last year - but All-Star picks are an annual rite for baseball fans, and serve three useful purposes:

1. They force you to actually look around the league and see who's having a good year;
2. They give you something to write about, on a day in which the site hasn't been updated for a week, and you don't feel like finishing your half-written article about Ryan Howard;
3. You can make fun of yourself five years later. Did I really write that Greg Myers deserved strong consideration for the All-Star team in 2003? Well, he was batting .345 when I wrote it, but still...
4. There is the Sudoku-like challenge of trying to make sure that every team has a representative. I know that there are many fans who hate this rule, to which I have to say, "raspberry jam"

I have yet to actually fill out an All-Star ballot this year, so I will make my way over to MLB.com to do the online thing. Before I can vote, I have to give MLB my first name (Brett), last name (Smith), email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and birth date (April 21, 1854 - yes, I was at the Battle of Little Bighorn, and the same year watched Albert Spalding win his 44th game).

American League picks:

CA Joe Mauer (Twins)
- that was easy

1B Justin Morneau (Twins)
- New Yorkers have gone through their annual rite of declaring Jason Giambi's career to be dead in April; of course he has again caught fire, and has the best rate stats of any first baseman. He also has the usual Giambiesque flaws. Kevin Youkilis has similar numbers to Morneau, and is a better defensive player... but for aesthetic reasons I choose the Canadian former MVP

2B Mark Ellis (Athletics)
- Ian Kinsler has the best offensive numbers in the league (and has been perfect in all 17 of his stolen base attempts!). EDIT: and a couple of hours later, he gets thrown out! Mark Ellis has been decent with the bat, and I think is now the best defensive middle infielder in the American League.

3B Alex Rodriguez (Yankees)
- batting .322 with 11 homers, 34 RBI... still easily the best, despite spending a month on the DL.

SS Michael Young (Rangers)
- The best hitting shortstop in the league so far, by a wide margin. He's a butcher defensively... but so are his competitors.

OF Manny Ramirez (Red Sox)
- Carlos Quentin had a super start for the White Sox, but has really cooled off. Manny is having a nice comeback season, and made the coolest defensive play of the year

OF Josh Hamilton (Rangers)
- you've probably heard of him. Still leads in homers and RBI, trails the batting leader by 11 points. Great fun to watch; graceful, stylish, like a young Larry Walker. An argument can be made that Grady Sizemore, with this defence, has been just as good... but I don't care to make it today

OF Milton Bradley (Rangers)
- Bradley has been starting mostly at DH, but is listing on the ballot as an outfielder. Leads in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS... all sorts of good things

DH Jack Cust (Athletics)
- having another nice year for Oakland. David Ortiz is hurt, Jim Thome is getting old, Travis Hafner is in freefall, Bradley is an outfielder, Giambi is playing first base... so Cust has to be the man.

AL Reserves:
Rod Barajas (Blue Jays)
Kevin Youkilis (Red Sox)
Jason Giambi (Yankees)
Ian Kinsler (Rangers)
Derek Jeter (Yankees)
Joe Crede (White Sox)
BJ Upton (Rays)
Grady Sizemore (Indians)
Magglio Ordonez (Tigers)
JD Drew (Red Sox)
Nick Markakis (Orioles)
Roy Halladay (Blue Jays)
Cliff Lee (Indians)
Shaun Marcum (Blue Jays)
Jose Contreras (White Sox)
Scott Kazmir (Rays)
Jon Danks (White Sox)
Felix Hernandez (Mariners)
Joe Saunders (Angels)
John Lackey (Angels)
Joakim Soria (Royals)
Mariano Rivera (Yankees)
Bobby Jenks (White Sox)

In the tradition of Greg Myers, I name Rod Barajas. My preference would be to let Joe Mauer play the entire game - but Barajas has been really good, and since Jason Varitek actually LEADS the voting, I make no apologies.

The game is in Yankee Stadium, and of course Jeter will start and that's OK. Three teams (Orioles, Royals, Tigers) get only one rep. Apologies to Carlos Quentin, but he loses the numbers game in favour of teammates Jon Danks and Joe Crede - plus he's slumping, while JD Drew is really hot and is now having a better season, and we need an Oriole so Nick Markakis gets the nod. EDIT: It occurred to me that I could/should have taken Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui - but then Drew just homered again and Ellsbury homered too. The truth is, when you get down to the last two outfield spots, there are 6-7 guys whom you can make a good argument for

John Lackey has made only six starts, while Kazmir has made only eight - but they've both been unhittable since returning from injury. I'd rather have them then guys like Francisco Rodriguez and George Sherrill, who have piled up lots of saves but really haven't pitched all that great.

Who should start the game? I'll be a homer and say Halladay, although teammate Marcum has arguably been the best pitcher in the AL. Trying to be more objective... by the time July rolls around, I'm guessing that Kazmir will be the best choice.

MLB's online ballot now includes "interactive stats" that give you the oppotunity to compare the candidates. The only stats listed are at bats, batting average, home runs, RBI and stolen bases, but I guess it is a start. One of the common complaints about All-Star balloting is that fans often vote for names that they recognize, rather than the most deserving candidate. Well, duh; the traditional ballot has nothing but names on it, so why would anyone be surprised if the average fan picks "Ken Griffey Jr" instead of "Nate McLouth"? Fans have taken a lot of crap for their picks over the years, but their choices have mostly been a reflection of the ballot itself.

National League picks:

CA Russell Martin (Dodgers)
- a better defensive player than Brian McCann... the best catcher in the game? He's comparable to Joe Mauer, and possibly more durable

1B Lance Berkman (Astros)
- having a monster season; Pujols' injury makes him the clear choice

2B Chase Utley (Phillies)
- when you take ballparks into account, there's not that much difference between Utley and Dan Uggla - but Utley is the better defensive player

3B Chipper Jones (Braves)
- batting .373 over his last 162 games

SS Hanley Ramirez (Marlins)
- I'm not sure if he's been any better defensively, but he's really exciting (Jose Reyes is also exciting, but because "this time it matters", I'd like to keep the amount of Mets Karma to a minimum)

OF Pat Burrell (Phillies)
- Mr. Streaky was great in April, slumped in May, but has been red hot in June. Jason Bay might be a better overall player, but we don't need two Pirates in the outfield...

OF Nate McLouth (Pirates)
- I prefer to take Stars, and not guys who have just been hot for ten weeks... but McLouth may as well start because he's been great, and the other candidates are kinda depressing

OF Brian Giles (Padres)
- one of my favourite players, quietly having another wonderful season for the Padres.

NL Reserves
Brian McCann (Braves)
Geovany Soto (Cubs)
Albert Pujols (Cardinals)
Adrian Gonzalez (Padres)
Dan Uggla (Marlins)
Mark DeRosa (Cubs)
David Wright (Mets)
Cristian Guzman (Nationals)
Jason Bay (Pirates)
Ryan Braun (Brewers)
Ryan Ludwick (Cardinals)
Carlos Beltran (Mets)
Carlos Zambrano (Cubs)
Edinson Volquez (Reds)
Tim Lincecum (Giants)
Brandon Webb (Diamondbacks)
Tim Hudson (Braves)
Aaron Cook (Rockies)
Cole Hamels (Phillies)
Ryan Dempster (Cubs)
Brad Lidge (Phillies)
Brandon Lyon (Diamondbacks)
Carlos Marmol (Cubs)
Kerry Wood (Cubs)

I take no joy in adding Cristian Guzman to the All-Star team, but the Nats need a rep - and not only has Guzman played fairly well this year, he was pretty good last year, too.

The NL will need a DH... Pujols will start if he's healthy, otherwise Adrian Gonzalez or Ryan Braun or someone (actually, Ken Griffey will likely be voted on to the team as an outfielder... it would be nice if they could figure out some way to make him the DH instead).

Can the Cardinals actually hang on and win the Wild Card? I'm kinda hoping so, if only because a Pujols-vs-Lidge rematch would be awesome...

Starter? Scott Kazmir vs Tim Lincecum would be a nice matchup...