MLB.com: A Frozen Wasteland

I was trolling about MLB.com, looking for an article to disparage. Since Major League baseball puts forth very little effort in finding the best candidates for pretty much very position except baseball player, I wasn't surprised to see a good deal of tripe. I read this article on the high level of talent of MLB 3rd sackers. I know that the readers of this site share my distaste for the current format of the All-Star Game, but if we're going to hit at low-hanging fruit like Scoop Jackson, we might as well hit them for a home-run-mixed-metaphor.

My favorite bit from that article:

Some established AL stars such as Hank Blalock, Eric Chavez, Joe Crede and Chone Figgins have seen their seasons get off to relatively slow offensive starts. But don't count out late surges from players who can turn it on when the stakes are high.

When the stakes are high?! I can't wait until the stakes get high for the annual June All-Star Game/Pennant Race, where Clutch Players turn it on in order to get those Crucial Hits to help their team to first place... in June. Bryan, in case you forgot, this article is about the All-Star game. I have never been in a major league player's mind, but I am certain that no player considers the stakes higher at any point in the first half of the season - ostensibly the time when you suggest the stakes are high.

The point is: no player in MLB considers the stakes to be "high" in June, the middle of the All-Star game voting process. In fact, that might be the time in which the players consider the stakes to be lowest!