1ST HALF ALL STARS

In the MLB All Star game this year a lot of Big names were missing.
No Big Papi.
No Jose Reyes
No Ryan Howard.
No Johan Santana.
No Bonds or Clemens uh .. let's not get into them.


Well the same thing happened in my NYC Softball 1st Half All Star Team


Due to multitude of reasons ranging from work, injury, personal commitments, taking care of the kids, etc .... perennial Softball Studs like Castillo, Gubi, Lou 22, and Simon did not make my list.

While I have no doubt that these notable players and others not mentioned will play a significant role in propelling their team toward the Championship let's see who are the 1st Half Softball All Stars.

P.S. Before I begin I would like to say that Softball All Star games are a waste of time. Totally boring and meaningless.


Starting Outfield

Elvis - Cardinals - Should have been a Pro. Best CF in all of Softball.
Carlos Castro - Mariners - Not yet 21. Off the Chart Talent
Alex Goldman - Diesel - Only 25. Fundamentally sound with very good bat speed.
George Colon - West/Sox - When he's not going through ump rage, George solidifies the OF and is lethal Lefty bat.


Reserves
Matt Wasowski - Working Class White Chocolate catches everything hit his way.
Aldo Lopez - has hit 4 Home Runs for West and no one knows about it.
Aaron Fernandez - wouldn't be as good if he played sober
Dusty Quinones - Combines with Elvis to give the Cardinals the strongest up the middle OF combination in 10 Man Softball.

1st base
Gilberto Gonzalez - Gilbert is more known for his pitching and 2nd base play.
But under the radar is an excellent 1st baseman and is a Professional Hitter.
Only downside is he can be a little high maintenance Divaish once in a while.
But when his game is on he is well worth it.

Reserve
Berg - Sox - Incredible left handed extension in his swing and for a right handed fielder has no problem throwing to 2nd to get lead runners on double plays

2nd Base
Ray Ray - Sox - By far the best new player I have seen this year.
Massive Power and a very heads up defender.

Andy Santana - Tianos/Bombers.
Very solid, Good pull hitter stroke. Great kid.

Shortstop
Alex Vasquez - Hurricanes/Merrill Lynch - check him out. He's the real deal

Reserves
Hector Hernandez - improved his ability to drive the ball combined with his game changing/saving defense makes him so valuable.
Sito - Tainos/Bombers - Easily one of the best young players in all of softball who can more than hold it down in the field.
Has one of the best power hitting mechanics I have seen all year.
Vic - Choice Parts - The guy is always in perpetual motion on the field. So good.
Eric "Cabezza" Espinal - Why is he playing 2nd on Sundays with the Parts when he could be the starting SS anywhere else? A joy to play with.

3rd base - It's been sort of a down year at 3B in softball.
I find that weird considering its such a key position, probably b/c of lot of top notch 3B's haven't been showing up.

I'll go with Larry "Tony Soprano " Trillo from Wall Street - The guy is tough.

Reserve
Kip - Choice Parts - he's a class act and good player

Catcher -
Ricardo ( not me) - Merrill Lynch - good hitter who yells "Toma" (take that) after he hits a blast

Reserve
Tommy Colon - more on him below

Starting Pitcher
Edgar Jr. - Sox - has been incredibly focused and in control almost all year.

Reserve Starter : - Tough Call

I'll call it a 3 way tie between Franny from the 29's - risers all day
Gilberto - smart will keep you in game with knucklers
Manny from Working class - Who? When Manny has command he is filthy.

Please note the following 2 points :
(1) I have only seen Caquito pitch 1 inning - so he is not eligible
(2) Slingers like Mike Cueves etc are not eligible for consideration


All Star Manager
Rudy - Bombers - It's amazing how smart a manager gets when he has Cedric and Bobby Langer throwing for him.

Reserve Mgr:
John RosenMiller - say what you want but year in year out the Parts are serious contenders

All Start Forfeit Avoider

I'll go with my man Tommy Colon
Tommy's bat speed is easily one of the best kept secrets in softball.
An ultimate team player who can play 3b,2b,C, and even Pitch - he is a gamer

Good luck in the 2nd half everyone