I voted for Varitek because he has been very bad. I think that the argument against Tejada is almost as strong though. The guys who got snubbed in favour of Varitek we're probably AJ Pierzynski and maybe Gerald Laird or Pudge, none of whom have really staked their claim on being all star worthy.

The NL, however, is stacked with short stops. Jose Reyes is hitting .301/.363/.483 with 32 steals, JJ Hardy: .291/.358/.483, Ryan Theriot has an OBP of .388, etc. Heck, Jimmy Rollins won an MVP and has an OPS of .766, and is 22/22 stealing bases. Yet somehow Miguel Tejada, he of the .277/.319/.430 line makes it in?

George Sherrill is working hard on getting write-in votes for the least-deserving.

I went with Fukodome.  As bad as Varitek's been, AL catchers not named Mauer are an uninspiring lot, and at least Varitek has a history of being [a little overrated] but good.

Fukodome on the other hand is not very good and is keeping out players that really should be all-stars.  In fact the whole NL outfield situation is weird.  I think it's possible to put together a better all-star outfield from the leftovers (starting with Burrell, Beltran and Bay) than what's actually going.

How is a player with an OPS+ 110 and an OBP of .387 "not very good"... that's really stretch the definition. Also Burrell, Beltran and Bay don't play RF, I guess OF is OF, but I think the managers are loathe to have people play out of position in this game (and rightly so, it just isn't worth the problem a player playing out of position getting hurt would cause).

I have to admit, I put Jeter on the list as a red herring to see how many would vote that way -- but nearly 15 percent? Really?

I don't think he should be starting -- Mike Young is clearly better, IMHO -- but who should bump him from the team? Betancourt? Lugo? Peralta? Hard to make the case for any of those.

Overpaid? Probably. Overrated? Arguably. But Derek Jeter is almost certainly the second-best shortstop in the AL. Somebody make the case otherwise, seriously!

The shortstops in the AL this year are truly mediocre.  We remember the early 80s with Ripken, Trammell, Yount, Fernandez and Franco and the Holy Trinity of the late 90s with fondness.

Damn, those 80s shortstops were good.  The hottest position right now in the AL is probably right-field with Drew, Markakis, Ordonez, Dye and Guerrero all playing very well. 

Tejada has been brutal in July.  His numbers have declined ever month.

I'm surprised to see Cristian Guzman. Being the best player  in Washington doesn't really say much.

I'd take Cabrera over Jeter even though he's in the middle of a slump. Jeter and Pedroia will be an interesting double play combination.

How is a player with an OPS+ 110 and an OBP of .387 "not very good"

When he ranks 18th out of 32 qualifiers in OPS for outfielders?  When many of those ranked below play center?  The fact he may possibly play center is irrelevant if that's not where he is playing.

Look there's nothing wrong with him as a ML outfielder, just as an all-star (that's what my comment intended, sorry if it wasn't clear).

"I'd take Cabrera over Jeter even though he's in the middle of a slump."

Why? Jeter's OPS+ was 99 going into today and Cabrera's was 82.Now considering the major difference in their career's and the fact that it's in Yankee stadium (a minor point considering the first one) why would you pick Cabrera over Jeter? Is it the 9 extra SB?

Depending on how much you value OBP, David Eckstein's 92 OPS+ gets an honourable mention. Might even play better defence too.