From the St. Petersburg Times’ Marc Topkin.
Carl Crawford won’t be joining Danys Baez at the All-Star Game next week. Crawford finished last in the five-man competition for the final spot on the AL team.
Chicago’s Scott Podsednik (above) won, helped by a big push from the team that included signs, buttons, T-shirts and announcements around U.S. Cellular Field and a computer in the dugout so players and team staff could vote.
New York’s Derek Jeter was second, followed by Minnesota’s Torii Hunter and New York’s Hideki Matsui.
“I don’t know how that will go over with the players, campaigning like that,” Crawford said. “It’s a little bush league, probably.
Podsednik had a stellar first half and is one of the main reasons the White Sox have baseball’s best record. Crawford, though hardly without merit, toils for a team that will finish last with him and could do the same without him. The White Sox promoting Podsednik is “bush league”? I don’t know if Carl has paid much attention to what happens in other towns (y’know, actual big league cities where fans turn up for the game) but there’s nothing unusual about franchises encouraging fans to vote for the home side’s players. In this instance, Podsednik was a worthy choice.