Back in the day, before baseball banned steroids and amphetamines, picking All-Star teams was quite a chore.
Griffey's selection amounts to a lifetime achievement award, but for goodness sake, he just hit his 600th home run. McLouth makes it over Bay and Nady because I need a center fielder; all three Pirates are worthy.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
*denotes starter
Notable omissions: David DeJesus, Royals; Johnny Damon, Yankees; Nick Markakis, Orioles.
Bradley leads the league in OPS, ahead of A-Rod, ahead of Drew, ahead of Hamilton, too. Suzuki and Ramirez are performing below their usual standards, but they're still All-Stars. For once, none of the omissions is especially painful.
