AL Allstar starter ......

[Bloody Sox]

Manager gets to pick the SP, correct? So then its not a "popularity vote" because the manager gets to pick whoever he wants. I think Beckett will still get it, especially if he only has 1 or 2 Ls by the time the All-Star break comes around (managers will look at W/L instead of ERA, WHIP, etc., as wrong as that is....)

Yes, but by your logic, everyone around here wouldn't get to whine about the big bad East Coast bias.

And even though I'm a big time BoSox fan, my nod like most here would go to Haren. Beckett has the nice record, but has clearly been inferior to Haren. In fact, I think he's been inferior to James Shields for that matter, but he gets the incredible run support and strong bullpen backing him to get him to 9-0.

Speaking of Shields, I hope he at least makes the all-star team along with Crawford for the D-Rays.

[DevilDriver]

I think it should be Beckett.

[DevilDriver]

I want Haren to get the nod just because he's been amazing all year, but it'll probably go to Beckett and that will burn me up.

Because Beckett hasn't been amazing all year?

Both deserve it, you shouldn't mind if it's either of them.

[davidmarver]

It'll depend a lot on the timing of the All-Star game and how close to the All-Star game Haren's last appearance was. I agree that he'll regress, but he's still pitching too well to not get the nod. After him, it should be Tampa's James Shields.

[Pokey]

Re: Beckett vs. Haren, allow me to play devil's advocate. It's good that we're statistically minded enough to see that wins aren't the be all and end all of what makes a good pitcher. But if we're going to be so critical about wins, we have to be equally critical about ERA. For instance, we're quick to point out that Beckett's wins are inflated by the offense behind him, but no one's mentioned how Haren's home ballpark deflates his ERA. Park effects are very real.

Okay, here's where you say "But Haren's road ERA is lower than his home ERA." Yes. Haren has been very impressive on the road, but that doesn't mean his home ERA wouldn't be higher if he pitched in another ballpark. It would be.

The real question, to me is, who's pitched better? You can't answer that just by looking at ERA, because they've both pitched in very different circumstances. Haren pitches in an extreme pitcher's park in the AL West. Beckett pitches in a hitter's park in the AL East. DIPS ERA might be a good place to start.

Haren's DIPS: 3.34
Beckett's DIPS: 2.71

All that said, I'm not really convinced Haren doesn't deserve it. But Beckett getting the nod wouldn't be the travesty you all are making it out to be.