2009 National League Pre-Season All-Star Team

In honor of the REAL Opening Day today, we’re going to give our preseason All-Star team. The pre-season awards are usually a college thing, but we thought we’d put one together for the professional level and see how it goes. Today we’re taking a look at the National League and tomorrow we’ll shift our focus to the American League.

Whenever we talk about professional awards, it gets clouded on what the award is rewarding. Take the MVP for example: are they the most valuable to their team? Does the team have to be a contender for the player to win?

Then if you’re talking about having any player in the league to start a franchise, you start to consider talent as it relates to their age. If two guys are reasonably close in talent level, then you’d take the younger guy, guy with a better contract, etc.

This preseason All-Star team ignores all of that. No, this is simple and straightforward. If you’re playing a game tomorrow and you want to win, which team do you field? Forget contracts. Forget long-term potential. We’re talking about a game being played in 2009—who is the best at each position?

2009 National League Pre-Season All-Star Team

First Base: Albert Pujols – St. Louis Cardinals
He’s simply the best hitting 1st baseman of our time; and if he continues at this ridiculous pace that he’s started his career with, he could be one of the all-time greats. The National League has some very good talent at 1st, but he’s a once-in-a-generation kind of player.
Others gettin’ some love: Ryan Howard, Adrian Gonzalez, Lance Berkman, Prince Fielder, Derrek Lee, Carlos Delgado

Second Base: Chase Utley – Philadelphia Phillies
This is the kind of middle infielder that everyone wants. He can hit for average, he can field his position and he can hit for power. But most importantly, he can lead. The Phillies took on his personality towards the end of last season, which lead to Philadelphia’s first World Series win since 1980.
Others gettin’ some love: Brandon Phillips, Freddy Sanchez, Dan Uggla, Rickie Weeks

Third Base: Chipper Jones – Atlanta Braves
This might raise some eyebrows, but David Wright isn’t the 3rd baseman on this team. Take a look at what Chipper was able to do last season: .364 average with a .470 on-base percentage at the age of 36. In fact, when you look at his statistics, his 2 best seasons in his career (thus far) have been the last 2 years. David Wright might be the guy in a couple of years, but when a guy like Chipper Jones is at the peak of his career, I’ll take him on my team.
Others gettin’ some love: David Wright, Aramis Ramirez

Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez – Florida Marlins
He might be the most impressive guy in the majors right now. He was one of the best leadoff guys in the entire league, but the Marlins wanted to move him down to the 3rd spot in the order because they thought his power would make him a better asset in a power spot. Speed to lead off, power to hit clean-up and a high enough average to put him where ever you want. Oh, and he’s pretty damn good in the field too. There are some great shortstops in the National League right now, but even at this position, he’s the best of the best.
Others gettin’ some love: Jose Reyes, Rafael Furcal, Jimmy Rollins

Left Field: Manny Ramirez – Los Angeles Dodgers
The guy completely transformed the Dodgers from a mid-level team to a participant in the NLCS. In the two months that Manny was in the City of Angels, he hit almost .400 (.396) with 17 homers in only 53 games. His slugging percentage was a crazy .743. Red Sox fans will tell you how he breaks up locker rooms—he was such a disruptive force in Boston they won 2 World Series while he was there. Dodger fans will just tell you that he was the difference that made the Dodgers relevant again.
Others gettin’ some love: Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Braun, Carlos Lee

Center Field: Shane Victorino – Philadelphia Phillies
For anyone who saw the Phillies in October, you can see the value he brings to the team.  62 stolen bases, played a great center field in the stretch-run and was incredibly clutch.  Carlos Beltran might be getting screwed here because his teams have collapsed over the last two seasons or maybe because he has higher expectations.  But Victorino wins and exceeds expectations.  That’s the kind of guy I’d want on my team.
Others gettin’ some love: Carlos Beltran, Nate McLouth, Matt Kemp

Right Field: Ryan Ludwick – St. Louis Cardinals
Of every position, this is easily the weakest for the National League. In a year or two, Corey Hart could be in this position if he could stop striking out; or Jay Bruce could be in this spot if he fulfills all of the potential that the Reds organization thinks he’s capable of. But as of today, Ryan Ludwick wins by default. Sure, he has a few deficiencies in his overall game, but he hit about .300 and had 37 home runs last year. ESPN’s Fantasy staff might not be very high on him, but I’d rather have a guy that has proven that he can produce over a guy that MIGHT produce in the future. Show me.
Others gettin’ some love: Jay Bruce, Corey Hart

Catcher: Russell Martin – Los Angeles Dodgers
This was a very close call between McCann and Martin. On the field, they’re both very similar players in that they do EVERYTHING well. Hit, run, field and guide a pitching staff. The determining factor is that Martin is the heart-and-soul of the Dodgers. You can’t go wrong with either guy, but I’ll take Russell Martin’s leadership any day.
Others gettin’ some love: Ryan McCann, Geovany Soto

Starting Pitcher: Tim Lincecum – San Francisco Giants
First of all, the dude’s name is The Freak. I don’t care what you say, that scores some serious points. There are some serious front-line pitchers in the National League right now, but Lincecum seems like the best of them all. Just look at his numbers from last year and then remember that he did it with the San Francisco Giants. The term “pathetic” doesn’t even do them justice. The fact that he was able to win 18 games with the Giants last year just shows how dominating he was. Throw in that he had 265 K’s over 227 innings while maintaining a 2.62 ERA and you can see why he’d be the starting pitcher for this team.
Others gettin’ some love: Big Z, Jake Peavy, D-Lowe, Brandon Webb, Cole Hammels, Johan Santana, Dan Haren

Closer: Brad Lidge – Philadelphia Phillies
The guy still hasn’t blown a save since he became a member of the Phills. 41 for 41 in the regular season and 7 for 7 in the postseason. In fact, since Lidge has been in Philadelphia, the Phillies haven’t lost a game when they were leading going into the 9th inning (80 straight). He might not be the most dominant looking closer, but his purpose is to finish the game and make sure his team wins as often as possible. You could say his job is to avoid screwing up. Well, he hasn’t screwed up for the Phillies yet.
Others gettin’ some love: Francisco Rodriguez, Jose Valverde

Manager: Charlie Manuel – Philadelphia Phillies
It’s hard for me to admit that I’d go with Manuel, mostly because I can never understand a word he’s saying in his interviews. But when you look back on his career, he’s finished worse than 2nd in his division only once (and that was 3rd place). Both in Cleveland and in Philly, he’s had his teams playing meaningful games late into September every season. That’s all you can ask for:
Quick side note: I wanted to throw my support to Bobby Cox, solely because he holds the Major League record for most ejections in a career. But alas, he has one too many 6th place finishes.
Others gettin’ some love: Ned Yost, Tony La Russa, Joe Torre, Bobby Cox

General Manager: John Schuerholz – Atlanta Braves
Schuerholz has been the GM of the Braves since 1990. Since that time, the Braves have won 14 divisional titles. They’re just good EVERY YEAR! So good in fact, that people in Atlanta are sick of going to playoff games. Think about your team—now think about going to the playoffs so often that it becomes repetitive. That’s called consistency at a very high level.
Others gettin’ some love: Cardinals John Mozeliak, Cubs Jim Hendry, Phillies Pat Gillick (if he hadn’t retired), D-Backs Josh Byrnes

Don’t forget, we start our interactive NFL Mock Draft on Wednesday. Each day, we’ll lay out the current state of an NFL Franchise. You’ll see where they stand and then you’ll be able to vote for the player they should take in the draft. Whichever player earns the majority of the votes in the Daily Poll will be drafted for that franchise. Each day we’ll move onto the next pick.

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