Get me George W.'s attorney, not Al Gore's

Can someone please explain to me why Jim Thome isn't on the All-Star ballot? I was less than happy about having to write him in. Poor guy. He's having an amazing season and was snubbed in favor of players like Kevin Millar. (Um, what?) Even more horrifying is the fact that Joe Mauer can't break the top 5 for AL catchers. Joe fricken Mauer. How can an entire nation of voters ignore the fact that he leads not just catchers, not just the AL, but the ENTIRE LEAGUE in batting?? Jason Varitek is in first place for voting?! In case no one has noticed, he's sucking it up this season with a .257 BA. And it seems like everytime the Sox have the bases loaded, good ol' Varitek comes up to the plate and kills the rally.

Having the fans vote for who they think should be in the All-Star game sounds good in theory, but think about how the mind of a casual ball fan (or a passenger on the Red Sox or Yankee bandwagon) works. Favorite shortstop? Derek Jeter. Duh. Third Baseman? A-Rod! Who's the best hitter in the game? David Ortiz, of course. (And I have absolutely nothing against Ortiz. I'm just trying to prove a point here.) MLB higher-ups should take into consideration what fans think but ultimately select the rosters themselves. Then, ideally, the guys who truly deserve to play in the game will get that chance.