Team politics cloud All-Star game choices

It’s not easy to select a Major League Baseball All-Star team; in fact, it may be even harder than that. Yesterday Joe Torre named the pitchers and reserve players for the American League and Bobby Valentine for the National League. They’re the managers for the game in Seattle since their teams won the pennant last year.

Here are a couple of stories that show just how difficult the task of filling out the team can be after the starters are announced based on the votes of fans.

Valentine had to deal with the Marlins’ Cliff Floyd. He’s an outfielder who has all-star power numbers. However, because of bad blood between Valentine’s Mets and the Marlins relating to an early season bean ball episode, Floyd said he didn’t want to be selected as an all-star because he never wanted to play on any team managed by Valentine.

Valentine said fine. Then Floyd rethought his statement when his parents thought it was an honor. He would like to go. Floyd was not on the list of players named yesterday.

Cubs’ manager Don Baylor received the mailing all managers get to name the pitchers they think should be on the team. He threw it in the circular file. “Why should I put down names that are only going to make someone mad at me, including my own players. Let Valentine take the heat.” Baylor said.

Jon Lieber of the Chicago Cubs is on the list.

The Mets star reliever, Armando Benitez, said he didn’t want to go to the game. He wanted to go home and rest his arm for the second half of the season. Valentine tiptoed around the issue for a couple of days and then didn’t name Benitez.

Torre had his own problems. None of the Yankees were named as starters. He then named Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettitte, Mike Stanton, Roger Clemens, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada to the team. That sent up howls of protests.

Torre has said before that he leans to his players first if there are close calls. He has to live with them for the rest of the year and wants his guys on his side.

Since many of the players have contract clauses that award them money for making the team, they want their manager to take care of them if he can. Torre did.

The old rivalry between the leagues is much less now than in the past. The All-Star game has become more theater than baseball. The real show is the pre-game introductions, not the nine innings played. That said, the politics of selecting the non-starters has increased since the outcome of the game is secondary to the selections themselves.

Both Valentine and Torre would just as soon have had someone else make the choices, but that wasn’t an option. There are always arguments about the selections and the managers take the heat. The rosters are complete. Let the complaining begin.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and NBC sportscaster.