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The major league All-Star teams were named on Sunday, and as expected, the Chicago Cubs were not well-represented, landing only one player, lefty starter Ted Lilly, on the roster for the National League. Derrek Lee made a late push with his recent hitting exploits, but unfortunately first base is a loaded position in the N.L., and Lee was finally trumped by Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez and Ryan Howard, all of whom are more deserving.
There is absolutely no one else on the Cubs’ roster who deserves anything remotely resembling All-Star consideration. Not Carlos Zambrano (too few wins), not Ryan Theriot (maybe if he’d kept his average up around .310), and certainly not Alfonso Soriano who for awhile was actually in the top 3 in outfield voting, proving once again that baseball fans don’t take All-Star voting as seriously as they should. It has been, statistically as well as record-wise, a miserable first half for the team.