All managers need to vote for all-stars

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It’s time to pull the plug on the previous year’s World Series managers choosing the pitchers and reserves for the Major League All-Star teams.

This year’s mess should be the final straw. It’s a mess every year.

American League manager Joe Torre chose seven Yankees including pitchers Andy Pettitte and Mike Stanton.

Yes, the Yankees have won the last three World Series and four of the last five.

Yes, a manager certainly wants to repay his own players for their performance and loyalty.

Yes, players have incentive clauses in their contracts that gives them bonuses for making the All-Star team. So the manager wants to keep them happy.

It also looks good on their resumes in arbitration or renegotiating a contract.

But to choose seven players out of 30?

Managers are in a no-win situation. They want to reward their players but don’t want to leave deserving players from other teams off the roster.

Joe Torre is one of the most respected men in the game in addition to being one of the finest managers.

Yet he was placed in a difficult situation and was chastised.

Now, the [National League manager] Bobby Valentine-Clifford Floyd soap opera is almost not even worth mentioning.

Floyd denigrated Valentine in the press earlier and Valentine left him off the team. The two had a phone conversation to patch things up only to have a misunderstanding occur.

Floyd thought Valentine said he was going to be on the team but Valentine said he never said that.

Floyd had purchased $16,000 worth of All-Star tickets for family members.

Floyd was eventually picked to the team when an injury claimed Mets pitcher Rick Reed.

The only answer is to let all the managers choose the All-Star reserves and pitchers.

Don’t leave the burden on two managers.

Earnhardt Jr. brings closure

Weren’t you happy to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. win the Pepsi 400 at the same track his father died during the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18?

My joy wasn’t so much that Little E won.

I personally couldn’t care less if he ever wins another race.

But, hopefully, this will bring closure to his father’s tragic death. Enough is enough. This is a wonderful way to close the book.

There is no question his dad was a legend. And no one will dispute what he meant to the incredible growth of the sport.

But The Intimidator, like other great athletes, shouldn’t be thought of as a hero.

Heroes are people who risk their lives to save lives of others or to guarantee freedom and a better way of life for future generations.

Heroes are people who put their own self-interests on the back-burner to ensure that those who are less fortunate can have better lives.

Great athletes can be positive role models and, to many, Earnhardt was and still is.

Let’s leave it at that.

Battered Sox staying alive

Let’s hear it for Team Dysfunctional.

The Red Sox may be the most diverse collection of players to ever exist in the same clubhouse.

But they have done a remarkable job staying in the American League East wild-card chase with the injuries they have sustained.

Whether you like them or not, general manager Dan Duquette, manager Jimy Williams and pitching coach Joe Kerrigan have kept the ship afloat.

If they can regain a healthy Pedro Martinez, Nomar Garciapparra, Carl Everett and Jason Varitek, which is less than half the injured list, and they pick up another good starting pitcher, a Cubs-Red Sox World Series could become a reality.